negotiating a vehicle price (my turn to rant)

[DAC244]

If it was me I would walk and not look back.

[JR19]

What did your friend say the dealer gave them for the truck when he sold it to them?

He did not say and I did not ask. When I said a guy I have know since high school bought the truck new, I should probably mentioned he is someone whom I know by name and face. I had to call a mutual friend to get his phone number. We both bass fish and we will talk when our paths cross. I consider him a friendly person and someone whom I trust based on what I know about him but he is not in what I call my inner circle of friends so I did not feel comfortable asking what he got out of the truck when he traded for another new one. The one thing that keeps me interested is knowing it was bought new by someone local I know and they had it serviced at the dealership like clockwork. He even said that about the service work and the carfax shows it was at the dealer every 5K or less for an oil change.

[Les Young]

If they can’t tell me the actual price of their truck i’m not buying. I absolutely hate buying vehicles because of some of the crap the dealers try. It about came to blows with a sales manager at a big local dealer once because he called me a liar when I told him I could go to Nicholasville & Buy the same exact one year old leftover car for $4000.00 less than he was pricing his for. If it hadn’t been for my wife we would have fought right there. She squalled at I me to calm down. Anyway we went to Nicholasville & bought the car just like I said & I took him the paperwork to show him & told him what a dumbass he was. I actually heard them advertise the deal that day on the radio & my wife saw it on tv is the only reason I knew I could buy it like that. I bought my current truck 3000 dollars cheaper with 25,000 less miles then my buddy at work did the same exact truck. I did make a big down payment though too & made big monthly payments when I could afford it to get it payed off in 10 months. Hopefully it lasts me until 200,000 like the last one then i’ll Do it all over again.

[jrbdad]

If the truck is so great then they WILL sell it. And if it hasn't been on the lot long why would they come down on price?

If you want the truck you pay their price, or you walk away.

Jerry, I too think it is funny how everyone knows a businesses profits.

[mzack]

I didn’t think negotiations happened that much on a used vehicle. Around here it’s usually take it or come look at this new truck instead. The person who traded it in doesn’t know what he got for it anyway...only what they told him.

[Les Young]

If the truck is so great then they WILL sell it. And if it hasn't been on the lot long why would they come down on price? .

Give me a sure sale at a decent profit anytime before having to sit on it & you’ll own it.

[D.O.C. 989]

There are thousands of dealerships in this country and the internet has never been easier, figure what you are comfortable with and make that offer, if they can't or won't take it, move on and eventually you will find what your looking for. I fail to see how beating up the salesman or telling them what a pos company they are solves anything.

[Perchpro]

Knowing the true history of the vehicle would be worth the $900 to me. The financing negotiations sound shady tho.

[bassman6805]

This why I always liked Saturn. The only negotiation was your trade if you had one. The price of the vehicle never changed. Take it or leave it. I wish I could go to the grocery and negotiate what I wanted to pay for each item.

[jrbdad]

Give me a sure sale at a decent profit anytime before having to sit on it & you’ll own it.

If the truck is as good as he says it will not sit. And I assure you $900 is a lot of money to leave on the table for most dealers.

[BMCD]

Sucks, sounds like you walked away. And sounds like they are not calling you. Sounds like they are ok with that.

[ChuckS]

If you don't like the deal, or things start to get flakey, then walk away.

I have noticed a trend lately were dealers just want to talk about the difference financed and payment rather than just giving a rundown of sales price, minus trade, plus payoff, along with the interest rate and monthly payment.

I experienced the worst truck buying experience of my life this past August. I thought I had a deal on a new Silverado at McCarthy Chevrolet in Lee's Summit. Had talked with the internet folks and we had agreed on a number for my trade and price of the new truck. One of the price incentives was tied to dealer financing, so I filled out a credit app online and made an appointment for two days later. Figured it would take less than an hour to test drive the new truck, have them confirm condition of mine, and get paperwork complete. Far from it.

It was like they had never heard of me before. I was handed off to a sales guy who looked about 12 years old. Test drove the new truck and he couldn't answer any questions, and in some instances, just made things up. When I asked to see something in writing that detailed the agreement, he never could come up with it. Just kept scratching out numbers on a piece of printer paper. I figured it was inexperience and since I was getting a really good deal on the truck, was willing to put up with it.

After two hours, get back to the finance guy who hits me with a 7% interest rate. And my credit score is above 800. Finance manager couldn't even look me in the eye when he told me. I just started laughing. Told him that was the last straw, and this deal was over. Told the kid salesman to take the plates off the new truck and put them back on mine and then took off.

[BigFishSteve]

I swear, I just don't get how so many have problems, or deal with shady dealers. Get financing before you go. Offer a price. Settle on a price or leave. If you must, then settle on a trade in value. The difference is the amount financed with whomever you chose, at the % you got. It's not rocket science, it is simple math.

[BigFishSteve]

Or you could play hardball like

“Take it or leave it.” They acted like they were having a stroke and I picked my check up and walked out the door at least 4 times

[Goldstar225]

Never negotiate based upon monthly payment $, especially if you don't know the final price on the vehicle you're purchasing. I almost made that mistake once. I was getting prepared to retire the first time almost 25 years ago and was trading down to reduce monthly expenses. I had a max payment I was targeting. When the first negotiation didn't meet the goal the salesman came back with one that worked. When I ran the numbers they had increased the term of the note AND increased the final price at the same time. I walked and never came back.

I completely understand targeting a maximum payment, I do also. Before I go I determine how much I budget, get my interest rate and calculate the final price that falls within that budget.

I don't care what their profit is because they know their numbers better than I do and every business has to turn a profit or close the doors. I simply have a personal limit on what I'm willing to pay and won't exceed that. I try to be realistic in my expectations for both the purchase and trade in. On my last two trucks the dealer came off the sticker price by $10,000 and $11,000 respectively and met my trade goals which were in line with NADA and Kelley. It's business, not personal. If we can't make a deal I'll shake their hand and shop elsewhere or wait for a better sale to come along.

[Rangerman2006]

I will not step foot in a dealership until I have the out the door price emailed to me and a preapproval from my bank. Once we've agreed on the cost of their truck through email I'll go to the dealership to negotiate my trade.

[Gsmith223]

Sell your trade out right. Get your financing approved on the truck at you local credit union. Ask the for the best price out the door, offer them 10% less than there best price. Let them counter offer, then you are going to see closer to what they have in the truck.
Odds are your trade in will go straight to the auction with it being that old. They are not going to give you near as much as you are wanting.

[BMCD]

I just bought a new Chevy Blazer RS for my wife. Could not get to the price I wanted, walked out. 5 days later they called me and said they could do it, we bought it.

[Tromanoski]

Please don’t feel bad, and congrats on your perseverance. The vast, overwhelming number of BBCers who claim they got $10k, $15k or more off sticker are fooling themselves. They are far and away the most likely to have been screwed over. They don’t build shiny dealerships by losing money on sales—any sale.

You are correct. I bought a truck last year and kept the official window sticker. After about 3 weeks I wanted to see when my vehicle was made. The internet took me to a site that I had to type in the VIN number. A MSRP window sticker came up for the truck that had a lower price than the MSRP sticker that I have. I also read a couple of different articles that said that the true MSRP that a dealership pays is a highly guarded number that sales people/mangers don't know. They are working off of costs etc. supplied to them by the owners. But anyway, car dealers have to make money. I did not work for free and I don't expect them too. I just don't want them to lie to me.

[C0MRAD]

I hate when dealers will only talk about monthly payment and not total price. Just because I can afford a high monthly payment doesn't mean I'm willing to over pay for a vehicle. What you should do is open the calculator app on your phone and multiply the monthly payment by term in months. Do this directly in front of them. If that isn't the total price you want to pay then tell them.