isellhondas, I'm paying about $1,200 less than the dealer that Costco referred me to who "might be able to get the car by early July but no promises" and about $2,200 less than the quote from the Edmunds Authorized Dealer. The closest dealer told me there was no way they could get me a car without NAV so I didn't stick around for a quote from him.
So I guess at a minimum, I paid negative $1,200 for this trouble-free service. That's the easiest service fee I've ever had to pay!
Oops, I almost forgot. I discovered I'm getting an additional bonus. The sales tax in the county where the dealership is located is .5% lower than where I live. Life is good!
that is related to the Carsdirect discussion. I am sorry if this gets long,
I have been reading the line of posts and they made me think of my last 2 car purchases made in the past several months. As internet savy consumers, we do our research on models, comparisons, and pricing. When we buy appliances, we know the price at the big box store and know that the one down the street will match if we ask. Pricing for the most part is know and competition has price matching guarantees.
This leads me to buying my last to cars. We narrowed down the models and options, did our homework and were ready to buy. Now over the part few days, I have read comments about asking for a salesman's best offer and making a decision on where and whom to buy from based on those responses. These are the types of comments that cause me to scratch my head (with what little hair is left). I have read comments here that basically stated that the dealerships' numbers were too high, too insulting for me to talk to them further... Why should we leave it to the dealer to tell us what their best offer is?
What is so wrong with, and I believe this is the modified Bobst method, of being up front when talking with the salesperson, internet manager though e-mail or whatever - my offer to by xyz with options abc is $XX,XXX? If I have done my research correctly, I will have determined the price for the deal that I am happy with and the salesperson should be able to accept. It took one e-mail for my salesperson to agree to our proposed price for her car, which my research showed, was at the low end of prices for the car at that time. Same process for my car - 1 e-mail and a conversation over final lease terms.
I tell my kids that they cannot get mad at me for not being able to read their minds, but we do get mad at car salespeople for not giving us the price we feel we want to pay the first time price is mentioned.
Finally, with regards to dealer trades, I have dealt with dealers who only wanted to sell me a car from their inventory and those that traded for what I specifically wanted. When I want that brand again, I will go back to the dealer willing to go to bat for me and get me what I want.
Now that this is off my chest, I feel much better.
Your asnswered yourself. Put too high and people refuse to buy (miss sales target). Put too low and you make too little. Other stores can make it on a sticker price (it's actually majority of the retail) and people keep buying - car store is not that different - or does not have to be, anyway.
Also - sticker does not mean "manufacturer" sticker. Sears or JC Penney put their own stickers all the time - and then charge them customers, who are more than happy to buy. Which means most find them making some sense (those who don't go to WalMart or a flea market). And that's all I meant by making sense - as being acceptable to enough people so your sales targets are met. I don't really know how much it is, but it's obvioulsy not the "mfr suggested" price, since currently most people buy most cars for less.
Our dear host's example is more complicated than that. Sure, Albertson's charges the same price to everybody. However, Albertson's is free to change the price as often as it wants. Today it sells it for $2.95. But tomorrow, that same milk might cost $3.15.
Saying that everybody should pay the MSRP price is not feasible. In an ideal world everybody would pay the MARKET PRICE.
But since it's impossible for anybody to know what the market price is for a particular car at a particular moment in time, the current system will never go away.
So stop complaining, do your homework and find a good salesperson.
The sales tax in the county where the dealership is located is .5% lower than where I live. Life is good!
Are you sure? In California, you pay the sales tax of where you reside regardless of where you bought the car. Double check that so it doesn't come bite you in the you-know-what later.
OK, all you ethical sales guys...here's your chance. Anyone from a Toyota dealership? Tell me what I should be paying for this car:
Highlander Limited AWD Options: Radio: AM/FM/6 CD Changer/9 JBL Speakers Heated Seats Rear Automatic Air Conditioner Power Back Door Rear Spoiler w/High Mount Stop Lamp Power Tilt and Slide Sunroof Towing Prep Package Carpet Floor/Cargo Mat Set/3rd Row Mat
"Mack, there may be some customer somewhere who's thinking about such things as after-sale service when they buy a new car, but I gotta believe such people are very few and far between."
I'll disagree with you on that one. I just spoke with one of our Master mechanics and his team alone services 25 or more cars per day. No multiply that by 5 teams and and that gives you 125 cars serviced per day, not counting the express lube which do 30 minutes or less and there's three bays for that. Service and parts is 80% of the dealerships revenue. We are a medium sized dealership and have been at our current location since 2003 and outgrew it 2 years ago. The owners are still searching for a piece of land that they can purchase to build another store.
"People will often drive across town to get a lower price, knowing they're never going to visit that dealership again and will get the car serviced at their local dealer. "
We call those type of buyers "mooches", "squirrels", and "strokers". These are the ones that complain about spending too much time at the dealership, complain about the price of the car (even though we should call the police since they are "stealing" the car) And also burn you on the CSI survey. No thanks. Only customers that I will do a deal like that are previous customers. At least I can count on an "Excellent" survey from them.
I'll get back to you on the Highlander. What color are you looking for? \ Mack
"they were spending over 10,000 dollars in enhanced residuals and money factors to buy down the lease payment for a X3."
I had always thought the new X3's had some fantastic lease deals, but I had no idea they were subsidized anywhere near this extent!
I agree this is a much better method to move units, avoiding the "fire sale" mentality. However, does this really protect resale? BMW doesn't offer similar lease deals on Used/CPO vehicles, and so it will likely be cheaper to lease a new X3 instead of a 3-yr old X3. This may create a higher Supply vs a lower Demand for used X3's.
If home prices were only one price, then there would be even more inventory just sitting around waiting on someone to purchase.
Never bought a new home have you? Most homes going up in a subdivision are one price no negotiations allowed. There is always someone walking in the door ready to buy.
From a dealership's perspective, the "best price" is the price that both parties are willing to do.
No that would be the most the customer will pay for the car. Truth be told most cars are sold somewhere between the best price from a dealers perspective and the customers perspective.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Unless it is a custom home, you can find a home that looks just like yours,
While true you will never find one just like yours at the exact same location. Remember location, location, location. Location in real estate is everything, even moving the house one lot over can have a great effect on the price.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Uhh, yeah. They are far from dead, In the past couple years they've been making a very good comeback, considering the circumstances. They're starting to take advantage of some European platforms, while the Outlook is a very popular full-sized crossover, by both the critics and consumers.
Mack, my point about after-sale service was that it's just not a significant consideration for the typical new car buyer (speaking as one who's in the midst of just that). We're thinking about whether we should pop for the NAV system, whether we'll like that dark color, whether our gas mileage will be the same as the EPA estimate and a bunch of other uncertainties directly associated with actual purchase decision.
And regardless of the derogatory names you have for folks who sneak in from out of town to buy a car, they're simply shopping for the car they want and/or the lowest price, something that their local dealer may be unable or unwilling to give them (as is the case with my purchase).
And on the color, I'm buying Magnetic Gray Metallic.
What is so wrong with, and I believe this is the modified Bobst method, of being up front when talking with the salesperson, internet manager though e-mail or whatever - my offer to by xyz with options abc is $XX,XXX? If I have done my research correctly, I will have determined the price for the deal that I am happy with and the salesperson should be able to accept.
That's exactly what I did when I bought a Camaro many years ago and before anyone had ever heard of the word "Internet". I went to the local library and researched what the car cost the dealer, along with each option. Several of the resources also listed what a buyer could reasonably expect to pay for each item.
I drafted up a proposal and printed it out on my old dot matrix printer. I then took copies of that to several dealers, along with Xerox copies of my resources so they would know I wasn't just pulling numbers out of the air.
I told each dealer that the first one to agree to my price would get my business. I was prepared to drive to all 8 of the Chevy dealers in my area. The third dealer said that since sales were slow at the moment they'd take me up on my offer. They got the sale.
I remember one kid, who obviously was new to sales, telling me that they were not in the business of GIVING cars away when he read my proposal. Naturally, I got up and left.
The funny thing to that was that the dealer who I ended up buying from did not have the exact car I wanted in stock. They did an area search and ended up getting it from the dealership where the kid insulted me. Afterwards, I felt like driving up there, pulling into the lot, honking my horn and giving him a sarcastic wave but I never did. Oh, the lost opportunities.
If people can't afford it, there are many great manufactureres that can meet your budget. They ain't for everybody.
I like that attitude. I tell my sales folk to keep that same attitude. No talk about discount on the floor. You want it? This is the price. If you don't like it, come back next time when you can afford it.
Well I would like to see the statistics for the "typical new car buyer"
I'm not the only one that has the names for those folks. The other guys here do too! And they are not from out of town. Some of them live right down the street.
Now which Highlander would you buy? Dealer A's "best price" is $35,499 out the door Dealer B's "best price" is $35,699 out the door, but dealer B has free oil changes, free state inspections, discounted service maintenance intervals, parts and accessories. (Factory roof rail crossbars ) and more. I doubt you will be getting anything like that from your CarsDirect dealer.
By the way, we don't have any Highlanders equipped like you are getting. A Limited with no moonroof?
"Afterwards, I felt like driving up there, pulling into the lot, honking my horn and giving him a sarcastic wave but I never did. Oh, the lost opportunities. "
But I just saw that Tim Russert Died about an hour ago of a heart attack.
May God bless his soul and give strength to his family.
The best there was on journalism.
But let me tell you one thing.
About 3 months ago, when I started watching him cover the primaries with Keith O., I saw that he was no longer the energetic person I knew 5 years ago. Somehow he was sapped of his strength. Somehow I felt something not right with him, inside him.
btw, they say it is cardiac arrest, not heart attack.
Oops, I almost forgot. I discovered I'm getting an additional bonus. The sales tax in the county where the dealership is located is .5% lower than where I live. Life is good!
Interesting. When I bought a vehicle in Philadelphia, I was charged the tqx rate based upon the "address where the car will be garaged overnight", and not where I purchased it from.
Anyways, US tax rules also say that the tax is determined upon ship-to party address, not where it was sold-to. In your case, the car was "shipped" to your address, so just wait for a tax correction document from the dealership.
That's exactly what I mean... Scion has a great product and people are buying it. If you don't like haggling, so much the better.
And I was just being tongue-in-cheek about Saturn. Their Opal import is pretty sharp. I have a friend who's had good luck with an older Saturn. She always says, "watch out, I've got my Ion you."
It really doesn't tells us much. What amount or percent over dealer invoice did you pay? Give us the MSRP and the price you paid without taxes, fees, carsdirect fee, etc, etc,,...Enquiring minds want to know. Are you getting the crossbars? :P
The Aura which is a clone of the Chevy Malibu is doing really good as is the Astra which has been in Europe for years. GM should bring more of their European models to the US. Same as Ford. For some unknown reason they give us the worst products. :confuse:
Mack, a sunroof was on the list of options that I posted here on the forum. And IF the price you listed included that and all the other options and IF the two dealers you described had this car in my color in stock or could get it, then I overpaid by almost a thousand bucks because my price out the door is $36,470.
But if either of your dealers are near my house, then they lied to me about having access to the car I'm buying. I talked to the three closest dealers and none had my car nor were they willing to trade to get it. The two dealers that quoted me a price were $1-2,000 higher than what I'm paying. And I certainly wouldn't chose dealer B with the free service because I'd waste a ton of gas (and time) getting to that dealer since he's obviously not near me.
Finally, for future reference, what buyer strategy would have allowed me to get my car at the prices that you quoted?
Thanks for the warning, chikoo. But maybe with some luck and bookkeeping ineptitude, they won't catch it. Last year, the IRS sent me $2,200 that they miscredited to me from another taxpayer. I told them about the mistake and they rewarded me with a bill for interest while I held the money. This year, they sent the same $2,200 back to me again. Stupid me...I called and told them they'd screwed up again but fortunately the agent I talked to said, "Just sit tight and wait to see if we discover the error. If we don't, it's yours to keep." Gotta love government bureaucracy.
Mack, after taking delivery tomorrow, I'll post the MSRP. All I know is that I'm paying $33,584, $55 doc fee, $330 lic/reg fees, $8.75 gov't fee and $ 2,493.20 use tax for a total of $ 36,470.95. I'm sure that CarsDirect gets its cut but it's not broken out as a separate fee; apparently they're paid by the dealer.
And no, I'm not getting the crossbars, which CarsDirect's site shows as $160 list. While the CarsDirect rep suggested after-market, I assume I can get them from the dealer if I like theirs better.
I don't recall seeing the moonroof option on your list. However, all we have on our lot as far as Limiteds go have the navigation system on them. Closest I have to your configuration is a Cypress green with beige leather with: DK owner's portofolio FE fifty state emissions HD heated seats NV dvd based navigation/Bluetooth. PB power liftgate QR rear a/c RF rear spoiler SR moonroof TO tow prep package WL wheel locks 3T crossbars. MSRP: $40,345.00
We now continue with the next installment of Mackabee's saga: "The tough negotiator"
I was stunned by the voice mail as I didn't think a sweet old lady would pull a dirty trick like that. Man did she fool me!
I call the dealership and speak with Benny. He tells me my customer just called and said she bought the car at XYZ Toyota. Benny had dropped the price to $14,990.00 and supposedly they beat it by $200.00 dollars. Oh well, live and learn.
15 MONTHS LATER
We are sitting at the same table that we did 15 months earlier. I start going over the new changes to the Corolla. I also tell her that the 09 Corolla does not have the simulated wood dash and door trim. "Oh? I really like that." she says. "The only way to get it is to get the XLE." I tell her. "I looked at an XLE, man that's a pretty car. You have XLE's on the lot?" she asks. "Only two, a silver and a blue one."
I tell her. "I have to have a white one. Just like my old one." she responds. "I don't know if I can get someone to trade with me. These cars have suddenly become a highly sought after commodity since the price of gas increased." I tell her. "Well show me the silver one. I might be interested in that one." she says. "Ok, let me go get it. You stay right here and I'll be right back."
I go to the lot and get the silver xle.
I park it on the side of the building and go inside to get her. 'Come on Ruby, let's go take a look at your new car." I say. "My car?" she responds and giggles. I open the door and have her sit in the driver's seat. She looks at the dash and around the car and she comments again how nice it is. "I really like it, I don't know if I can afford it." she states. I start telling her about the standard side and curtain airbags, abs, optional vsc (vehicle stability control) which I explain to her how it works and she keeps confusing it with a stabilizer bar. This Corolla has the optional JBL system with Bluetooth capability. I show her how to program a Bluetooth phone and tell her to go ahead and call someone she knows. She pushes the talk button and says: "478-0987 please". "Ruby, first you have to push the button and say "dial by number" then wait for the lady to reply and then push the talk switch again and wait for the beep and say the number." she tries it again and says "please" again. The Bluetooth device tells her she didn't understand the command. I tell her to not say "please". She goes ahead and says the number, I then tell her to press the off hook button. As the phone rings she is looking at the dash lights and giggles again. The phone on the other end picks up and it sounds like a young kid. "Hello?" he answers. 'Jason, it's grandma. I'm talking to you from the car phone. Can you hear me alright?" she asks him. "I hear you fine grandma." he replies. "Ok sweetheart, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love you." she says. "Love you grandma."
"Ok, let's take it for a test drive." I tell her. "I'm just going to drive it around the lot. I can't turn the steering wheel very well due to the accident." she tells me. "The car now has electric power steering which does away with the power steering pump and other components so you don't have to worry about maintenance." I tell her. "Electric power steering? That sounds good!." she exclaims. She starts complaining about the headrest making the back of her head hurt. "Do you think the headrest from my old Corolla will fit this one.?" she asks. "It might, let's drive over to where the used Corollas are and I can pull one out and put it here to see if it will work." I tell her. "You know I really regret not buying the 08 Corolla from you. I felt so bad afterwards. You were such a nice guy. I was going to take you to lunch, I called one day but you were not in." she tells me. "Well, what about the other days?" I ask and she says nothing. I get out of the car and open an 07 Corolla grab the headrest and try to put it on the 09. The headrest goes in but it's wobbly. I tell Ruby that I would just try to adjust the seat so the headrest wouldn't hurt her head. And also mention that they are active headrests which go up and forward in the case of a rear end collision to minimize whiplash. She likes that feature too. I put the 07 headrest back in its proper place and get back in the 09. Right then her friend is walking towards us and says: "I thought you got lost. Where have you been?" she asks. "We are just looking at the headrest as it hurts my head and we were driving around the lot." Ruby tells her. "Well I'll meet you back inside." she says.
It's now about 8:30 and I'm hoping she will make it a quick negotiation and I'll deliver the car to her home if I have to but I don't want to stay past 9pm. So much for wishful thinking.!!
We drive back to the showroom and go inside. We sit down at the table again and Ruby says to me. "I want you to go to your manager and tell him to give me his best price out the door."
For some reason the link takes me back to a vehicle I configured first without the rear a/c as I couldn't find it. I added it and also the JBL upgrade and that's how I came up with those numbers. Later....bed time..
Not so grasshopper. A friend of mine who grows sweet corn for his farm stand had a problem with city folks who were driving by, stopping and stealing his corn from the field near the road. To combat this problem he planted a few rows of cow corn close to the road.
He always got a chuckle when a customer would come in and state: "I hope your corn is better than the corn we just had down the road. It tasted so bad I wouldn't feed it to a cow!"
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Anyways, US tax rules also say that the tax is determined upon ship-to party address, not where it was sold-to. In your case, the car was "shipped" to your address, so just wait for a tax correction document from the dealership.
I can't take it anymore!!!!
You will pay taxes in the state you register the vehicle... If carsdirect is delivering the vehicle from out of state... they will give you the Certificate of origin and you will bring that to your local registry to register the vehicle. Than you will pay your state sales tax!
Since you are paying cash... they will probably just drop it off in your driveway and say good luck
My question to you is are they bringing the car registered to you?
I doubt they will register a vehicle until you pay for it and I doubt that is registered and includes your state tax. For your case I hope it does... If it is than I would say you got a good deal butwill have to wait 12pm today when you finalize your deal. :shades:
Finally, for future reference, what buyer strategy would have allowed me to get my car at the prices that you quoted?
You can get invoice here at Edmunds go to a dealer and make a offer... Go to more than one dealer!
I can see that there is no accounting for taste. At least I didn't put "To Be Continued". You have now forfeited your opportunity to market the book. :mad: I am also reporting you to Team Jipster. :P I wonder where he has been lately?
Comments
link title
I don't know what to say he was one of my favorite journalists and just seemed like an overall great guy.
So I guess at a minimum, I paid negative $1,200 for this trouble-free service. That's the easiest service fee I've ever had to pay!
Oops, I almost forgot. I discovered I'm getting an additional bonus. The sales tax in the county where the dealership is located is .5% lower than where I live. Life is good!
I have been reading the line of posts and they made me think of my last 2 car purchases made in the past several months. As internet savy consumers, we do our research on models, comparisons, and pricing. When we buy appliances, we know the price at the big box store and know that the one down the street will match if we ask. Pricing for the most part is know and competition has price matching guarantees.
This leads me to buying my last to cars. We narrowed down the models and options, did our homework and were ready to buy. Now over the part few days, I have read comments about asking for a salesman's best offer and making a decision on where and whom to buy from based on those responses. These are the types of comments that cause me to scratch my head (with what little hair is left). I have read comments here that basically stated that the dealerships' numbers were too high, too insulting for me to talk to them further... Why should we leave it to the dealer to tell us what their best offer is?
What is so wrong with, and I believe this is the modified Bobst method, of being up front when talking with the salesperson, internet manager though e-mail or whatever - my offer to by xyz with options abc is $XX,XXX? If I have done my research correctly, I will have determined the price for the deal that I am happy with and the salesperson should be able to accept. It took one e-mail for my salesperson to agree to our proposed price for her car, which my research showed, was at the low end of prices for the car at that time. Same process for my car - 1 e-mail and a conversation over final lease terms.
I tell my kids that they cannot get mad at me for not being able to read their minds, but we do get mad at car salespeople for not giving us the price we feel we want to pay the first time price is mentioned.
Finally, with regards to dealer trades, I have dealt with dealers who only wanted to sell me a car from their inventory and those that traded for what I specifically wanted. When I want that brand again, I will go back to the dealer willing to go to bat for me and get me what I want.
Now that this is off my chest, I feel much better.
FULL STICKER! It's not distressed merchandise.
:P
Also - sticker does not mean "manufacturer" sticker. Sears or JC Penney put their own stickers all the time - and then charge them customers, who are more than happy to buy. Which means most find them making some sense (those who don't go to WalMart or a flea market). And that's all I meant by making sense - as being acceptable to enough people so your sales targets are met. I don't really know how much it is, but it's obvioulsy not the "mfr suggested" price, since currently most people buy most cars for less.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Our dear host's example is more complicated than that. Sure, Albertson's charges the same price to everybody. However, Albertson's is free to change the price as often as it wants. Today it sells it for $2.95. But tomorrow, that same milk might cost $3.15.
Saying that everybody should pay the MSRP price is not feasible. In an ideal world everybody would pay the MARKET PRICE.
But since it's impossible for anybody to know what the market price is for a particular car at a particular moment in time, the current system will never go away.
So stop complaining, do your homework and find a good salesperson.
Are you sure? In California, you pay the sales tax of where you reside regardless of where you bought the car. Double check that so it doesn't come bite you in the you-know-what later.
Highlander Limited AWD
Options:
Radio: AM/FM/6 CD Changer/9 JBL Speakers
Heated Seats
Rear Automatic Air Conditioner
Power Back Door
Rear Spoiler w/High Mount Stop Lamp
Power Tilt and Slide Sunroof
Towing Prep Package
Carpet Floor/Cargo Mat Set/3rd Row Mat
For you.................... As much as possible
I'll disagree with you on that one. I just spoke with one of our Master mechanics and his team alone services 25 or more cars per day. No multiply that by 5 teams and and that gives you 125 cars serviced per day, not counting the express lube which do 30 minutes or less and there's three bays for that. Service and parts is 80% of the dealerships revenue. We are a medium sized dealership and have been at our current location since 2003 and outgrew it 2 years ago. The owners are still searching for a piece of land that they can purchase to build another store.
"People will often drive across town to get a lower price, knowing they're never going to visit that dealership again and will get the car serviced at their local dealer. "
We call those type of buyers "mooches", "squirrels", and "strokers". These are the ones that complain about spending too much time at the dealership, complain about the price of the car (even though we should call the police since they are "stealing" the car) And also burn you on the CSI survey. No thanks. Only customers that I will do a deal like that are previous customers. At least I can count on an "Excellent" survey from them.
I'll get back to you on the Highlander. What color are you looking for?
\ Mack
You'd probably get a premium price for that spectacle ... but you'd have to catch us first! :P
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Some guys will do anything for a sale. :P
In many states, it doesn't matter. You pay the sales tax charged by the dealer, if that dealer is in the same state you reside.
I had always thought the new X3's had some fantastic lease deals, but I had no idea they were subsidized anywhere near this extent!
I agree this is a much better method to move units, avoiding the "fire sale" mentality. However, does this really protect resale? BMW doesn't offer similar lease deals on Used/CPO vehicles, and so it will likely be cheaper to lease a new X3 instead of a 3-yr old X3. This may create a higher Supply vs a lower Demand for used X3's.
Never bought a new home have you? Most homes going up in a subdivision are one price no negotiations allowed. There is always someone walking in the door ready to buy.
From a dealership's perspective, the "best price" is the price that both parties are willing to do.
No that would be the most the customer will pay for the car. Truth be told most cars are sold somewhere between the best price from a dealers perspective and the customers perspective.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
One last thing, in the surveys, my salespeople have always deserved 5's becasue they have earned them.
I will go back to lurking now.
Car_rm
OK, go buy a Scion. Or a Saturn, are they still in business?
While true you will never find one just like yours at the exact same location. Remember location, location, location. Location in real estate is everything, even moving the house one lot over can have a great effect on the price.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Uhh, yeah. They are far from dead, In the past couple years they've been making a very good comeback, considering the circumstances. They're starting to take advantage of some European platforms, while the Outlook is a very popular full-sized crossover, by both the critics and consumers.
Yeah, because the foundation won't be nearly as solid after you move it!
... ducking and running...
And regardless of the derogatory names you have for folks who sneak in from out of town to buy a car, they're simply shopping for the car they want and/or the lowest price, something that their local dealer may be unable or unwilling to give them (as is the case with my purchase).
And on the color, I'm buying Magnetic Gray Metallic.
Mack :shades:
That's exactly what I did when I bought a Camaro many years ago and before anyone had ever heard of the word "Internet". I went to the local library and researched what the car cost the dealer, along with each option. Several of the resources also listed what a buyer could reasonably expect to pay for each item.
I drafted up a proposal and printed it out on my old dot matrix printer. I then took copies of that to several dealers, along with Xerox copies of my resources so they would know I wasn't just pulling numbers out of the air.
I told each dealer that the first one to agree to my price would get my business. I was prepared to drive to all 8 of the Chevy dealers in my area. The third dealer said that since sales were slow at the moment they'd take me up on my offer. They got the sale.
I remember one kid, who obviously was new to sales, telling me that they were not in the business of GIVING cars away when he read my proposal. Naturally, I got up and left.
The funny thing to that was that the dealer who I ended up buying from did not have the exact car I wanted in stock. They did an area search and ended up getting it from the dealership where the kid insulted me. Afterwards, I felt like driving up there, pulling into the lot, honking my horn and giving him a sarcastic wave but I never did. Oh, the lost opportunities.
I like that attitude.
I tell my sales folk to keep that same attitude. No talk about discount on the floor.
You want it? This is the price. If you don't like it, come back next time when you can afford it.
I'm not the only one that has the names for those folks. The other guys here do too!
Now which Highlander would you buy?
Dealer A's "best price" is $35,499 out the door
Dealer B's "best price" is $35,699 out the door, but dealer B has free oil changes, free state inspections, discounted service maintenance intervals, parts and accessories. (Factory roof rail crossbars
By the way, we don't have any Highlanders equipped like you are getting. A Limited with no moonroof?
:P
Well, that says a lot about you.
May God bless his soul and give strength to his family.
The best there was on journalism.
But let me tell you one thing.
About 3 months ago, when I started watching him cover the primaries with Keith O., I saw that he was no longer the energetic person I knew 5 years ago. Somehow he was sapped of his strength. Somehow I felt something not right with him, inside him.
btw, they say it is cardiac arrest, not heart attack.
Interesting. When I bought a vehicle in Philadelphia, I was charged the tqx rate based upon the "address where the car will be garaged overnight", and not where I purchased it from.
Anyways, US tax rules also say that the tax is determined upon ship-to party address, not where it was sold-to. In your case, the car was "shipped" to your address, so just wait for a tax correction document from the dealership.
And I was just being tongue-in-cheek about Saturn. Their Opal import is pretty sharp. I have a friend who's had good luck with an older Saturn. She always says, "watch out, I've got my Ion you."
Same difference.
Are you getting the crossbars?
:P
:confuse:
But if either of your dealers are near my house, then they lied to me about having access to the car I'm buying. I talked to the three closest dealers and none had my car nor were they willing to trade to get it. The two dealers that quoted me a price were $1-2,000 higher than what I'm paying. And I certainly wouldn't chose dealer B with the free service because I'd waste a ton of gas (and time) getting to that dealer since he's obviously not near me.
Finally, for future reference, what buyer strategy would have allowed me to get my car at the prices that you quoted?
And no, I'm not getting the crossbars, which CarsDirect's site shows as $160 list. While the CarsDirect rep suggested after-market, I assume I can get them from the dealer if I like theirs better.
Are you sure about that? I do believe that it is the sales tax of the local in which you live that matters in most states.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
DK owner's portofolio
FE fifty state emissions
HD heated seats
NV dvd based navigation/Bluetooth.
PB power liftgate
QR rear a/c
RF rear spoiler
SR moonroof
TO tow prep package
WL wheel locks
3T crossbars.
MSRP: $40,345.00
Mack
:shades:
Man...that was one torturous post. I do, however, agree that you need to put your Friday afternoons to better use. :P
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
HD heated seats
PB power liftgate
QR rear a/c
RF rear spoiler
SR moonroof
TO tow prep package
Carpet Floor/Cargo Mat Set/3rd Row Mat
"The tough negotiator"
I was stunned by the voice mail as I didn't think a sweet old lady would pull a dirty trick like that. Man did she fool me!
I call the dealership and speak with Benny. He tells me my customer just called and said she bought the car at XYZ Toyota. Benny had dropped the price to $14,990.00 and supposedly they beat it by $200.00 dollars. Oh well, live and learn.
15 MONTHS LATER
We are sitting at the same table that we did 15 months earlier. I start going over the new changes to the Corolla. I also tell her that the 09 Corolla does not have the simulated wood dash and door trim. "Oh? I really like that." she says. "The only way to get it is to get the XLE." I tell her. "I looked at an XLE, man that's a pretty car. You have XLE's on the lot?" she asks. "Only two, a silver and a blue one."
I tell her. "I have to have a white one. Just like my old one." she responds. "I don't know if I can get someone to trade with me. These cars have suddenly become a highly sought after commodity since the price of gas increased." I tell her. "Well show me the silver one. I might be interested in that one." she says. "Ok, let me go get it. You stay right here and I'll be right back."
I go to the lot and get the silver xle.
I park it on the side of the building and go inside to get her. 'Come on Ruby, let's go take a look at your new car." I say. "My car?" she responds and giggles. I open the door and have her sit in the driver's seat.
She looks at the dash and around the car and she comments again how nice it is. "I really like it, I don't know if I can afford it." she states. I start telling her about the standard side and curtain airbags, abs, optional vsc (vehicle stability control) which I explain to her how it works and she keeps confusing it with a stabilizer bar. This Corolla has the optional JBL system with Bluetooth capability. I show her how to program a Bluetooth phone and tell her to go ahead and call someone she knows. She pushes the talk button and says: "478-0987 please". "Ruby, first you have to push the button and say "dial by number" then wait for the lady to reply and then push the talk switch again and wait for the beep and say the number." she tries it again and says "please" again. The Bluetooth device tells her she didn't understand the command. I tell her to not say "please". She goes ahead and says the number, I then tell her to press the off hook button. As the phone rings she is looking at the dash lights and giggles again. The phone on the other end picks up and it sounds like a young kid. "Hello?" he answers. 'Jason, it's grandma. I'm talking to you from the car phone. Can you hear me alright?" she asks him. "I hear you fine grandma." he replies. "Ok sweetheart, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love you." she says. "Love you grandma."
"Ok, let's take it for a test drive." I tell her. "I'm just going to drive it around the lot. I can't turn the steering wheel very well due to the accident." she tells me. "The car now has electric power steering which does away with the power steering pump and other components so you don't have to worry about maintenance." I tell her. "Electric power steering? That sounds good!." she exclaims. She starts complaining about the headrest making the back of her head hurt. "Do you think the headrest from my old Corolla will fit this one.?" she asks. "It might, let's drive over to where the used Corollas are and I can pull one out and put it here to see if it will work." I tell her. "You know I really regret not buying the 08 Corolla from you. I felt so bad afterwards. You were such a nice guy. I was going to take you to lunch, I called one day but you were not in." she tells me. "Well, what about the other days?" I ask and she says nothing. I get out of the car and open an 07 Corolla grab the headrest and try to put it on the 09. The headrest goes in but it's wobbly. I tell Ruby that I would just try to adjust the seat so the headrest wouldn't hurt her head. And also mention that they are active headrests which go up and forward in the case of a rear end collision to minimize whiplash. She likes that feature too. I put the 07 headrest back in its proper place and get back in the 09. Right then her friend is walking towards us and says: "I thought you got lost. Where have you been?" she asks. "We are just looking at the headrest as it hurts my head and we were driving around the lot." Ruby tells her. "Well I'll meet you back inside." she says.
It's now about 8:30 and I'm hoping she will make it a quick negotiation and I'll deliver the car to her home if I have to but I don't want to stay past 9pm. So much for wishful thinking.!!
We drive back to the showroom and go inside. We sit down at the table again and Ruby says to me. "I want you to go to your manager and tell him to give me his best price out the door."
TO BE CONTINUED......................
Here's the link to the configured vehicle. I might have put in an extra option. link title
Mack
Not so grasshopper. A friend of mine who grows sweet corn for his farm stand had a problem with city folks who were driving by, stopping and stealing his corn from the field near the road. To combat this problem he planted a few rows of cow corn close to the road.
He always got a chuckle when a customer would come in and state: "I hope your corn is better than the corn we just had down the road. It tasted so bad I wouldn't feed it to a cow!"
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I can't take it anymore!!!!
You will pay taxes in the state you register the vehicle... If carsdirect is delivering the vehicle from out of state... they will give you the Certificate of origin and you will bring that to your local registry to register the vehicle. Than you will pay your state sales tax!
Since you are paying cash... they will probably just drop it off in your driveway and say good luck
GP
My question to you is are they bringing the car registered to you?
I doubt they will register a vehicle until you pay for it and I doubt that is registered and includes your state tax. For your case I hope it does... If it is than I would say you got a good deal butwill have to wait 12pm today when you finalize your deal. :shades:
Finally, for future reference, what buyer strategy would have allowed me to get my car at the prices that you quoted?
You can get invoice here at Edmunds go to a dealer and make a offer... Go to more than one dealer!
GP
I can see that there is no accounting for taste.
Richard