We've all heard it before. Someone just purchased a new car and they are boasting about the amazing deal they got. Man oh man, the salesman was borderline crying, they were giving the car away to me. Well, I happen to know better... Or not.
I've sat through all types of negotiations in my life. The craziest one was with my mother, when I was a young lad. She literally had the salesman begging, chasing us out of the dealership. She was ruthless and from her, I learned. Or so I think I learned. What I learned was, if you were patient enough, if you enjoyed the process enough, if you were willing to deal with the stress, if you were persistent, then you get what you want. Some of the time.
I began my search roughly 3 weeks ago. It took me about a week, but I narrowed down the car I wanted to purchase. From there my story begins. It's not epic, there is no hobbit bringing my Subaru Forester through valleys and hidden forests to my fortress on Tesla ave. Just me, I am my own Frodo (save the short jokes you bastards!). The most important thing is figuring out what you can walk out the door for. Having a trade changes things, but they say always to negotiate as if you don't have a trade then swing it on them in the end. I'm sure that tactic works some of the time, but dealerships are prepared for that. You think you really snuck one on them? Doubt it.
I like bullets, so here goes: (has anyone noticed I have used all caps so far? WTF, back to the old ways)
- google search a forum of the car you want to buy. i looked up forester forums and signed up
- research what others have paid for your trim (forums have threads dedicated to this)
- find the highest, lowest and average: i calculate the percent off MSRP that the best person got and the average person got.
- put together your car on the car manufacturers website and calculate out the % off for max and average. now you know what the dealership is willing to let the car go for
- so now you have a baseline price and the fun begins
- go online and e-mail EVERY dealership within a 50 mile radius ( i suggest creating a new e-mail for this) and tell them that you're interested in XYZ and the top dealership can earn your business.
the point of that last step is to take away the first 30 minutes of negotiation. dealerships know what's in the inventory, let them do the work, let them get down as far as they can on their own. does end of the month/end of the year matter? IDK. i'm currently getting a deal 1.5k less than i was 2 weeks ago. it's the beginning of the month and year. you tell me.
how close are they to the max% off you found online etc? you can surely work towards it. i find that once you step into the dealership you have MUCH more negotiating power. talk to a few dealerships, go there and get price. now you can go to other dealerships and work with that. if you have the time. otherwise go to the best priced dealership, negotiate and go from there. i hate wasting my time with these tactics, i did MOST of my negotiating online. but i went to a dealership. got a damn good price and the next day i had another dealership who was willing to go 500 less and waive dealer fees (saving me 900 total). yes, i did waste 2 hours of my time and gas money. but 900 bucks for 2 hours of time? i got 99 problems but driving 2 hours for 900 bucks ain't one.
IF you have a trade... consider this. look what your car is worth on bluebook. calculate what YOU think it's worth and what the lowest you'll let it go for is. average the two, take that cost out of your final sale price. that is the price you're negotiating for. i set a hard price of X and i got it. did i get a deal? how the hell do i know. i got something i wanted for something i was willing to pay. that's all that matters. lets just put it this way, people are NOT going to sell you something at a loss. that's not how business works. if they sold you the car for X dollars they at least made a penny off of it after their overhead etc (manufacturer kickbacks, bonus, selling/auctioning your trade).
another silly tip, make sure you bring (or in my case, can find) your god damn title. oh, if your check engine light is on, remember to flash the computer, it's not hard to do. don't be lazy, like me (it didn't matter, luckily).
lots of people find purchasing a car stressful, just remember, you can minimize the amount of stress you have to deal with by doing your homework and controlling the action. if i could compare the car purchasing experience to something else in life I would presume it would be like playing a high stakes poker game (with my net worth on the line) with an ex - gf that well, will always be an ex gf. yeah, something like that.
