Buying Tips - How Do I Get the Best Deal?

mujahidmd

Ok so i emailed the dealer that was giving me the 19805 price OTD asking him to make sure that the price wasnt with the rebates, and included the features i want.
Then i asked him to send me a buyers contract for this car. (The dealer is closed today)
I just finished talking to this one dealer saying that he would beat that price if i fax him the buyers contract.
Also what is the difference between a buyers contract and a purchase order?

verdugo

I just finished talking to this one dealer saying that he would beat that price if i fax him the buyers contract.
Also what is the difference between a buyers contract and a purchase order?

I find that unethical. I'm outtie from this conversation.

snakeweasel

I agree,

madmanmoo

Gonna save that $100 huh? Way to go, Mujahid.

A dealership has a very low price that seems too good to be true. So what do you do? Go shop it. You don't make the purchase...you shop it.

Brilliant.

plekto

Man - this guy is why I have to deal with so many salespeople who won't even talk to be unless I'm willing to "buy today". I'd feel that way too if I was them.

If you think you have a good price, go get it. How much time have you wasted on trying to save $100? How much of the dealer's time? I bet if I offered you a TV for $25, you'd haggle me down another 50 cents. Sheesh.

Note - the dealership works both ways. If you mess with them, they can always say that they don't want your business and to get out. You had your chance at a good deal. (You'll note that 99.99% of businesses have a "we reserve the right to refuse service" type sign somewhere)

mujahidmd

Ok so no one beat his deal, but every dealer that i talked to said that he is gono be taking a loss of more then a thousand dollars if he sells it to me at that price. I got the buyers order from him and everything seemed legit except it didnt give a VIN bc i didnt give him the exact color i wanted since he has a few of these on the lot. I plan on going down there but the price 19805 is OTD minus the 2 year tag fee of 140 which isnt a big deal to me. So iam going to ask to be spoken to the manager on the phone before i go out there to make sure that all the number crunching is done correctly. I know that it may seem like iam a penny pincher but iam just trying to get the best deal.

mikefm58

Look dude, if you can't see that you're being set up to be low balled, then I don't feel sorry for you. I understand wanting to get the best deal, but cars are not sold like a pair of jeans, well except for Carmax. Do your research over on the prices paid forum for what you're seeking, determine what price is acceptable to you, and then go in to your favorite dealer and offer that price. Keep in mind not all of the deals over on prices paid are legit or include all pertinent information.

There's not a person on this planet that can walk in to a dealer and guess the absolute rock bottom price that a dealer is willing to sell for at that particular moment. And whatever that price is, it can vary from day to day and even hour by hour.

mujahidmd

I see what you mean well i talked to some other dealer and they said there version has a spoiler so they would add 250 to the price they quoted me, iam gono tell them if they can give me 19 OTD (since their in MD tax, tags will be taken care of from the dealer which is good for me) and my Corolla KBB is 1500-975 if i even get a thousand for it ill be happy and i will take their deal.

verdugo

So iam going to ask to be spoken to the manager on the phone before i go out there to make sure that all the number crunching is done correctly.

I am not picking on you. However, if your strategy to make sure you're not getting lowballed is to talk on the phone with the manager to make sure all is legit, I think you need to do a bit more learning (I didn't say research).

Talk is cheap. The only thing that matter is what is on paper and has a signature from both parties. Until then, nothing is set in stone.

plekto

I'm waiting for the story from the actual attempted transaction, complete with one of those 4 square sheets, the lost paperwork/license, the funny math, the 5 trips to the manager to check something... :P

The deal feels bad, even from a distance. Be very very wary. And double-check the VIN to make sure it's not a repo or salvage title or something.

(wishes there was a popcorn eating smiley here...)

madmanmoo

Here's what is going to happen. They did not include destination in their price and they will need to add that back in. That will add another $650 approximately. Maybe they will take a loss from there or just decide that they need to add options on too.

Lowball FTW!

mujahidmd

I will let you guys know how the deal goes.

wachen

I am looking to buy a CPO car from a dealer. I would like to know what fees I should expect the dealer to add on?

document prep?
group advertising?
etc?

Some threads talk about this but they are in the context of buying a new car. Since I am going to buy CPO, I was wondering if there are differences in terms of dealer fees that I will get hit with.

Thanks

madmanmoo

You need to speak directly with the dealer about this.

You will have a dealer fee and a cost of certification with a vehicle. Just ask what those 2 are they will quickly give you the information.

joel0622

Let me get thei straight, in one post you talk about the monster the buyer has created and in the next post you talk about making $6K on a deal and want people to figure out the "trick".

Do you really have to wonder where the anamosity comes from???/

mujahidmd

I got the car from Fitzmall for 19500 OTD, no hassles i would recommend the dealer it is a very good dealership.

oldfarmer50

"...I got the car from Fitzmall..."

Just curious, did that price include an "ad fee"? Also, was your car one that was listed on their website or did you special order?

mujahidmd

ad fee? I dont think so
It was listed on the website but thats not what i did to get it. I just emailed them asking if they would match a buyers order price i got and they said yes, and they had a car that matched what was on the buyers order except that it had an added spoiler.

verdugo

they had a car that matched what was on the buyers order except that it had an added spoiler.

Did they charge you extra for the spoiler? Or did they throw it in for free?

mujahidmd

100 dollars more

Kirstie_H

A tv reporter is hoping to talk with victims of automotive scams and ripoffs in the greater Seattle area. If you have a story to share, please email jfallon@edmunds.com no later than May 15, 2009 and be sure to note your daytime contact information and a few words about your experience.
Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com

verdugo

100 dollars more

:confuse: I'm really confused. Let me see if I got this straight. You spent a lot of effort, did something (IMHO) unethical (taking a buyer's contract and asking for a match) all in an effort to get the best price, right? So far, I'm following.

So once you have a buyer's order for the exact car you want, you go to another dealer who matches that price, but then charges you an extra $100 for a feature you didn't want?

Why not just go buy from the first dealer who had the exact car you want, and it was the dealer with whom you worked? (Richard, note that I didn't end my sentence with a preposition :shades: )

I don't understand buyers, and completely understand how frustrated the good salepeople get.

mujahidmd

That other dealer was in PA which is 80 miles from me. And i would of had to take care of registration myself. So i went to fitzmall instead.

madmanmoo

CHOOOOOOOOOOCHHHH

verdugo

Agreed.

I feel bad for all the salespeople who have to deal with buyers like him.

isellhondas

You have no idea what some people will put themselves through in their desperate zeal to wring every last possible penny out of a deal.

Unbelievable!

snakeweasel

Oh I agree, you should see some of the things salesmen have tried to pull on me.

isellhondas

Possibly in response to the way ther were treated by you!

snakeweasel

It could be my response was to the way they treated me. If you ever dealed with me you would know that your response is nonsense.

My whole point is that the percentage of salesmen/saleswomen and dealerships that go to great lengths to squeeze every nickel out of the deal is about the same as customers who do it. Lets face one fact, the current environment of car sales is a creation of the seller, not the buyer.

fezo

Oh, good! A "he started it" argument! Didn't your moms teach you better?

snakeweasel

Well let me ask you, who is more to blame for the current way that dealerships and customers interact?

tidester

who is more to blame for the current way that dealerships and customers interact?

Probably the customers and the dealerships.

But let me ask you, how does this help me get the best deal and where's the buying tip?

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

grandtotal

Funniest post I've read on here in a long time.

Buying tip: Trust, but verify.

isellhondas

Its' hard to disarm a hostile customer sometimes but that's the job of a good salesperson. Some salespeople are unable to do this and they will treat their customers in the same manner they are treated.

If you were selling your own car in a private sale, you would be trying to get every dollar possible. Wouldn't you?

And the person looking at your car would be trying to pay as little as possible. All of this can be done in an easy, friendly manner.

snakeweasel

If you were selling your own car in a private sale, you would be trying to get every dollar possible. Wouldn't you?

True but I am also not going to apply a dollars worth of scotch guard to the interior and charge them $100.00, or add $50 just because I advertised the car in AutoTrader nor charge them $250 for $25 in accessories that they don't want just because every car I sell has it.

Its' hard to disarm a hostile customer sometimes

What about hostile sales people?

jwilliams2

Yeah, but you probably would if your buyers demanded 20% off your asking price.

And hostile sales people wouldn't last long.

isellhondas

Why do you bring up this scotchgard stuff?

This has nothing to do with the topic.

I think you reap what you sow and I get the feeling that you walk in looking for a battle.

What about hostile sales people?

They don't last very long in this or in any business.

Kirstie_H

Hostile salespeople? You don't disarm them. You walk.

But we are way off track, and this has been done to death. Post a buying tip or move on, please.

snakeweasel

Why do you bring up this scotchguard stuff?

You were the one that mentioned that if I were selling a car I would want to get every dime out of it. I just mentioned that dealers do mark up things like scotch guard like you wouldn't believe.

I think you reap what you sow

True, now apply that to what dealers reap.

snakeweasel

Fair enough, I just find it amazing that there are people that complain about buyers trying to save every last dine but defend sellers getting every last dime. So I will now move on.

fezo

You have a fair argument. For some reason things never got past the "it's the dealers" vs "it's the customers" stage.

I absolutely refuse to pay a penny for anything the dealer has added on. If they say all our cars have it I say thank you for your time but I can't do business with you. Once or twice they've backed down and just ate that. Usually they will try to discount it maybe 60 - 70% and try to sell what a deal it is. Sorry. Paying anything at all for something I don't want is a bad deal.

The sales folks - even the ones at straight shooting dealerships - have to realize that the industry has poisoned the well of good will on this. I spend far too much of transaction time trying to guess how they are going to screw me over in a way I haven't thought of. They do deals every day. I don't. I better be on defense.

jipster

I absolutely refuse to pay a penny for anything the dealer has added on. If they say all our cars have it I say thank you for your time but I can't do business with you. Once or twice they've backed down and just ate that.

The overpriced dealer add-ons have a cost to them, so you end up paying somewhere for it. If there is $2,000 worth of add-on junk (i.e mop n glow, mud guard, pin stripes, key card security system) and the dealers cost is $400 for parts and labor, they aren't just going eat the loss. That's $400 less you'll be able to haggle off the cost of the car.

The local Kia dealerships play that slimy game. They run SCREAMER radio ads almost nonstop. Every car on their lot has $2,000 plus in dealer add ons. Better to just go somewhere else, which I did.

fezo

Yeah, walking and giving your business to an honest place is the way to go.

We have a Hyundai dealership north of here who does all his ads as "30% off the posted dealer price." Don't even have to guess that the posted dealer price will exceed MSRP by something like, oh, 30%.

murphydawgman

Ok guys I'm one of those dealers. Some dealers mainly in your metro markets do play the add on game mainly because they can get away with it. If they loose you there are 10 customers behind you that will never hear from you, and your bad experience. There are some legitimate add ons. Mud guards and pin stripes are legit, unless they are priced unreasonably. And to be honest with you many of the OEM accessories are not competitive with you local pep boys down the street, but on th other hand you local pep boys doesn't guarantee that accessory for 3 yrs and 36000 miles. Many Manufacturers do . If they are trying to sell you a undercoating or rustprofing for $300 walk away. Nothing more than a high quality wax job and sometimes not even high quality. anyway my two cents worth. THose are the guys that give the rest of us a bad name.

jipster

Some dealers mainly in your metro markets do play the add on game mainly because they can get away with it

All 3 Kia dealerships in my metro area are all under the same ownership, which is why they can get away with it.

I don't necessarily have a problem with mud guards or pinstripes, it's when dealerships put them on every one of their vehicles and have a mark-up of 400%
that makes one think these dealership can't be trusted. It's almost like a bait and switch. They advertise the low prices on radio and newspaper, then when you come in there are all the dealer add ons jacking up the price by thousands.

dealer add-ons not included.

grandtotal

...pin stripes are legit...

Well, we're all entitled to our opinions.

snakeweasel

pin stripes are legit

Ok I have to ask what is legit about putting pinstripes on all the cars?

jwilliams2

Ok I have to ask what is legit about putting pinstripes on all the cars?

Car dealers can use pinstripes as a way to differentiate their product from their competition. Many cars simply look better with pinstripes. So it is the dealers choice. And obviously there is potential for increased gross profit.

Now the consumer has the choice to purchase the car as is, or refuse to pay for the pinstripes. Or as some have suggested, simply shop elsewhere.

It is kind of a stretch to imply this is illegitimate.

snakeweasel

Car dealers can use pinstripes as a way to differentiate their product from their competition.

OK I have to ask how does it differentiate from which competition? If you mean from the same model car from another dealership I don't see how (since most people won't see them from distances greater than 10 feet), if you mean different makes I think that being a different make is difference enough.

It is kind of a stretch to imply this is illegitimate.

Its only legitimate if the customer asks for the pinstripes to be applied. It really is a stretch to apply them to every car and say its needed.

jwilliams2

OK I have to ask how does it differentiate from which competition? If you mean from the same model car from another dealership I don't see how (since most people won't see them from distances greater than 10 feet), if you mean different makes I think that being a different make is difference enough.

Differentiate, meaning makes the car look better/sharper than a competitor's without. Not that hard to understand.

Its only legitimate if the customer asks for the pinstripes to be applied. It really is a stretch to apply them to every car and say its needed.

A dealer can offer a product configured any way he sees fit. If a dealer wants to sell all cars with upgraded purple wheels, thats his choice, and he can charge what he wants. As long as he puts it on the proper addendum.

The consumer always has options, and can buy or not. Never heard a dealer say its "needed". Just his way of marketing. Smart, maybe not.

Again, not that hard to understand, and not illegal or illegitimate.