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Be sure to be as detailed as possible, Your name, contact information, car you are looking for including trim line, color, options and if you are trading in a vehicle as well.
The more detailed request, the better response you will receive.
You got two replies. golic is a consumer, lrguy44 is a salesperson. (Not knocking golic. I like his posts).
As they say, YMMV -- Your mileage might vary :shades:
The one thing they both agree on (and I agree too) is that you need to be as specific as possible to let them know you're a serious buyer.
Best of luck, and let us know how you make out.
One more question...is it good to tell the dealer up front that I want to pay the car with cash. (actually a credit card to get the points and then pay that off)
Thanks!!
JC
FAIK, most dealers won't let you buy a car w/ a credit card. So, I would certainly mention that upfront.
And especially if you're planning to put your purchase on a credit card, ask the dealer ahead what's the most they'll take on credit cars, as usually the limit is $3000 - $5000 due to high service charges that a dealer has to pay for credit card transactions. You may not be able to put your whole purchase on credit card.
Good luck.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
JC
It's always a good idea to let a dealer know how you plan to pay for a car.
However, there aren't any discounts for cash.
If you do go the RFQ email route, don't be one of those people who say you won't accept phone calls.
When I have sent out my email requests in the past, I would use the response to determine if I would continue dealing with that dealer. Those that were come on down and will talk, I put on the back burner.
Those that responded with a price or a phone call I would engage further. I have often gotten the best price over follow up phone calls when the dealer knew I was serious about buying and not using him to shop price and save $100 over another guy.
keep us posted..
Secondly the best way to get quotes is by going to the dealer’s website. Find a car that you are looking for and ask for the itemized Out the Door price for that stock number.
Asking for quotes works. Here are some examples of first responses I received last week on a $35K+ Honda Odyssey.
Hello,
My name is XXXXXX, and I am the Internet Salesperson at xxxxx Honda in xxxx VA.
Here is the breakdown you requested on the 2009 Honda Odyssey EXL DVD:
Sale price $28,774.00(includes freight)
Processing fee 189.00
Title fee 20.00
Tag Fee 38.75
VA Taxes 926.44
Total Out the Door $29,948.19
Please let me know that you received my offer, and if I can further assist you. Thanks!
Here is another one:
From your inquiry, I understand you are interested in the 2009 EX-L Odyssey with DVD . Your on the road price is as follows $28,035 Odyssey + $670 freight (destination-same thing) + $99 processing fee = $28,804.00 taxable total + $864.12 VA tax 3%, + $115 out of state title work fee + $15 temp tag + $43.75 tags + 2.00 reg. card + $10.00 title + $6.00 lien fee = $29,859.87. The price is based on 3% sales tax, if you county is higher, that is not assumed, nor are any inspections or emissions that may be required. Our price is good for 3 days and in stock units. Sterling Gray is currently in stock. Have you driven the Odyssey? If not, when would be a good time to do so? We are open Monday - Friday from 10-9 and Saturday from 9-6.
And this is the best one:
MSRP: The Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price or MSRP represents the selling price recommended by the manufacturer for the vehicle you
are considering. MSRP on your vehicle is $35,425.00
Invoice: The price the dealer pays to buy a car from the manufacturer, exclusive of hold back or other discounts. Very seldom is this the bottom line of the cost for the vehicle to dealers. Invoice on the vehicle you are considering is $32,250.80**
Dealer Holdback: An allowance paid by the manufacturer to the dealer to allow the dealer to purchase a vehicle for less than the invoice price.
Dealer holdback on the vehicle you are considering is $695.10
Dealer Cash: An incentive to a dealership from the manufacturer to assist in selling a particular model. The dealer cash that is available on the vehicle you are considering is $2,500.00
xxxxxxx Honda of xxxxx Internet Discount*: A special incentive from our dealership to you!
Your Internet Discount is time sensitive:
Purchasing within 72 hours a discount of $500*
Purchasing within 1 week an additional discount of $300*
Purchasing before the end of the month an additional discount of $200*
Your quote is based on the following formula:
Your Quoted Price-Dealer Holdback-Dealer Cash-xxxxxx Honda of xxxxxxx Internet Discount.
$32,250.80-$695.10-$2,500-$500*=$28,555.70**
And they say dealers play games. I don't care if it is finance or cash until after the deal is done. There are 3 separate transactions in a car deal, car, trade and payment.
All I got from an Infiniti dealer is avoidance of my questions and "come down and talk".
To me, that doesn't make sense to say that if you are the internet manager?
Ah, I have a similar story about our Honda dealer (only one in this area). Had engine problems with my ’98 Accord and took it there. Said I need an alternator for $670. Called an independent shop for a quote and they were $250 less. Called the dealer back and said no thanks. They say oh, we happened to find a deal on an alternator for $150 less than our first quote. No thanks still, I don’t trust you now. Pick up the car and get it over to the independent shop and they simply diagnose that I need a new battery. Two years later, the alternator is still going strong. I guess I won’t be using or shopping that dealer ever again.
Dealers DO play games but so do customers of course. It’s all a matter of my desire to pay as little as possible while the dealer wants to get as much as possible. It’s the great American marketplace and I have no problem with that if the process is honest and upfront on both ends. The disadvantage to the customer is, dealers do this every day and have a system they practice over and over to extract the maximum dollar from each customer. The customer does this maybe every few years and is not only at a disadvantage in the experience department but this is also done on the dealer’s home field (necessarily so of course). The bait and switch and unsuspecting “add-in’s” (well documented in these forums) that go on by the dealer are simply dishonest. Using the internet is a good way to take emotion out of the equation and get exact details in writing, assuming those details are honored.
Frankly, if I don’t need a test drive, don’t have a trade-in and have a check from my bank or credit union ready to go after a bottom line price by e-mail, why can't I simply show up and pick up the car? I have no desire to sit down with a slick finance guy because I’ve arranged my own finances and I don’t want an extended warranty. He doesn’t need to convince me on what I’m “missing out on”. I don’t really need to become buddies with the salesman either, just show me the necessary papers to sign and I can be out of there without wasting too much of your time. Perhaps there are people that enjoy the personal interaction and hands-on stuff and will get wide-eyed about extra options (and don’t mind paying for them) but for me, I just want a good value on a basic automobile. If your dealership or you personally gain something from it and I don’t feel ripped off, I’ll feel good about that too.
I think you should be as honest as possible... gives the sales person an impression that you are a straight shooter.
In the end you should treat sales person the way you would want him to treat you... AND I AM NOT A SALES MAN
My last three car purchases were internet/email.
In all cases I told them that
1) I do have a car that I am replacing. If you give me a good deal then I might trade it in else I will sell it myself. So lets keep the transaction separate.
2) I will buy cash. But if I can get preferred financing then I might consider it. However the chances of that happening are remote.
3) Please give me your OTD price.
4) I always give them the time frame in which I will make a purchase.
So how did this fare for me:
A) First car: 1995 Infiniti Dealer in Cleveland OH. Mainly email/phone communication. Very smooth transaction. Ended up taking Infiniti financial loan rate of 0.9% instead of cash. Time frame was one week.
C) Third car: 2008 Acura dealer in Southern CA. Again three emails and two phone calls. Infact in last phone call sales man said that the dealer incentive has gone up from 3500 to 4000 so your price will be 500 LESS then what I quoted you. Trade in and financing was not attractive so paid cash. No negotiations at the dealsership. Time frame three week. At the end of it he did say that he appreciated the "streight shooter" attitude.
In my mind be honest. There are sales man that play games. You can always walk away or come back later and talk to some other salesman.
Well said.
Thanks SO much for the generalization. Obviously, you deal with the low end screamer ad stores. Try a good high end store and you may not be attacking everyone.
Generalization? Attacking? I guess your comment about the "low end screamer ad stores" isn't a generalization esp. since you don't define what one is?
I thought his post summarized what he looks for when buying a car siting the positives and negatives for both the consumer and salesman sides.
I think you should be as honest as possible...
Why volunteer information that you are not asked for? Information that can put you at a disadvantage during negotiations. I don't consider that as being dishonest, but a negotiations tactic.
Salespeople deflect questions all the time. As a matter of fact, they are trained to do that. Are they being dishonest?
As for the keeping cash or finance to the end do that if you wish. In most stores the sales people are not paid on the back end. I am, but my first objective is to sell a car. Then, lets talk about how you wish to pay for it. If I can be of service with financing, fine. If they can beat my rate or wish to pay cash, fine.
The one that gets me are customers who will not provide trade payoff information, but want me to work to a payment. Well, the payoff has no bearing on the cost of the new car or the trade value. It is just a part of the payment equation.
I care. With the ways the banks are these days, the first thing you need to do is get an app if the customer is financing.
Doesn't help to hammer out a deal only to find out that the bank won't do the deal.
If you tell me you're not paying cash then I can't show you on paper the applicable cash purchase rebates you can get.
We both have to work together to make a transaction happen. If you can't provide me some basic info, then how can I really be of any help to you?
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Doesn't help to hammer out a deal only to find out that the bank won't do the deal.
I agree too. To give an example, I am working with a sub prime customer who wants a $50k vehicle. We did an online pre approval with him and the max any bank would lend him is $20k.
We explained that to him, and yet he's wanting us to try and do a deal (give me your best price etc...) on the $50k unit although it will never happen unless he brings in $20k to $30k cash down which he doesn't have.
We're not even going to get into negotiations on this one cause what's the point?
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Your approach to negotiations is a zero-sum which, IMHO, is in most cases, not a good tactic. If you approach it as a win-win then there is some hope.
Why volunteer information that you are not asked for?
You have to volunteer the information because:
1) More often there are cash incentive that cannot be combined with finance... so if you dont "volunteer" info then how can you get the best price.
2) If I am a cash buyer and coming in with a check why should a dealer assume that my check is legit? He will (and should) run a credit to protect himself. Nothing wrong with it. This I believe should be done after price negotiations.
I still believe that basic human being is same everywhere. You treat them the way you want to be treated you will get a good service. There are scums out there.... but I dont assume that they are scum unless I feel that they are not as up front as I am... then I just walk....
As I said the only negative experience I had was in 2008 at a subaru/Hyundai (Foe Genesis) dealer in San Diego. I felt he was not being as honest so I just walked away... just not worth my time
Good point. If the check is from a previous customer, no problem. if it is from a new customer we can do one of 3 options:
1. Have the customer wire the money prior to delivery
2. Do a credit report and a back-up contract that can be cashed if need be (never so far)
3. Go to the bank with him and get a check from the bank.
We have been defrauded in the past - therefore a policy.
This is a very standard practice...as when I asked that can I write a personal check...almost all dealers said "YES and we will put something in the contract to protect ourselves".
With Acura they had something like
"If the chk is not honoured or we do not recieve the cash in 30 days then you agree to a loan of XXXXX at Y% from a ZZ bank. First payment in the amount of AAA.aa will be due on (date)bb/cc/dd.(In my case it was 60 days from the day I purchased the car)
"Win-win" works ONLY when both players are dedicated to it.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Because of Madoff should I cast slurs on ALL investment brokers?
This generalization I can understand!
I don't get the whole "don't tell them you are paying cash" argument either. payment is a separate part of the transaction. The best thing people can do if they are confused or unsure about anything in the transaction is ask the salesman if you can "sleep on the deal" and give a set time to call by xx a.m. the next morning.
--Oh c'mon, you can't tell me there has not been a time where your SM said do the deal and wanted to rip the buyers eye balls out?????
Very true... In most cases both parties are dedicated... IMHO its just how you approach it.
With the availability of information on the Internet - sites like edmunds etc. the playing field is levelled for buyers.
Which makes approaching the problem as win-win much easier.
You know whats the invoice, you know the incentives, you know the holdback.
If you dont like to deal with the dealers then just go to carsdirect.com... the prices are not that bad (considering no negotiation are involved)
So my question is do I still email the dealers before going to get a quote; and tell them that it is between these cars and my wife would like to come in to look at the car and/or a test drive. And we would already have the pricing for the car. Or do we just go in first and send out the emails later.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!
JC
Seems silly to email for prices if you don't even know if she would consider the car. You would just be wasting a lot of peoples time.
The flip side is that you are going to waste at least 3 salesmans time by driving a model that you will not ultimately buy. Maybe 4 people if the place where you drive the chosen model isn't competitive on price and end up buying from the 5th guy.
This is a good question and I hope that some salespeople will give some good insight. I would like to know this as well as I will be in "jungle cats" shoes in a few months myself.
Personally, I am thinking "get quotes first." The dealership can respond when it is convenient for them rather than me showing up to test drive at a busy or otherwise bad time. I'll have a better idea who to approach first when I see their quote and gain some insight to who might be the easiest to deal with and most helpful. It would seem to me to be less work to give a quote than to invest an hour or two if we end up too far apart on price, have personality conflicts, etc. If I nail down a price on the various models upfront, it may help narrow the decision process. A vehicle that I thought might be too expensive may come into play or I might find that one model is particularly hot and no discounts are available. I may be able to save myself and the dealer some time and effort if I know basically where I stand on each choice upfront. Pick the model that I am most interested in, price in hand, and visit the dealership in person to verify that the car drives and "feels" right. If so, write the check and take it home. If for some reason the car isn't what I expected it to be, then move to model choice #2 and repeat.
Edit: in jungle cats example, only two manufacturers, Honda and Toyota, are being considered so he will not have as many folks involved and as much running around to do as I will. We are considering several more manufacturers that will further complicate the process.
On the other hand, emailing many dealers (perhaps what, 3 or 4 per brand?) for prices when you don't even know if you will buy that particular car seems like a waste of their time as well as yours.
You should be able to get a good idea what they sell for right here on Edmunds. I really do think the time to get your multiple quotes is when you have decided exactly what you want. IMHO of course.
I do agree with you on this part but it often seems that in the eye of the salesman, you have wasted their time if you end up buying from someone else. I see it as "you win some, you lose some -- it will all balance out over time." If they don't offer me their best deal upfront, don't blame me if their competitor will do better. Of course, I don't advocate cutting the salesman's throat over $100 either. If the quotes are close, buy from who has invested time with you and has been most helpful. IMHO.
You have 4 vehicles you're interested in. By test driving them you will find ones you love, and ones that you can't see yourself in at any price.
Once you drive all 4, and narrow it down to one or two, then send out for pricing. Seeing them in person and driving them will also help you see which colors you like or don't like, what options you want or not want and so on.
No point negotiating on something you might not even buy after test driving it.
Would you put an offer in on a house you haven't stepped your foot in?
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
One can't really know what one wants without pricing information.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Of course they can and should do that!
The reality, however, is that not everyone does what is sensible. I think it's a miscommunication problem. A potential customer simply wants some idea of what the price would be but the salesperson regards whatever price he or she may reveal would be binding. As a salesperson, I'd be reluctant too if a price I stated in those cirumstances would be regarded as binding.
As a customer, I'd like to have some good idea of the pricing to help me decide what I want. Catch 22?
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
So I don't see bottom line pricing as an issue here as the vehicle range is about $10-$15k apart from a base CRV/Rav4 to a top level Pilot/Highlander.
If the OP wants an SUV and is not sure what kind, then as lrguy suggested see what price range they're in, see if that's at least affordable or not, and drive the cars in your price range, and negotiate on the one you like.
Pretty simple.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper