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Question: If a dealer does a trade with another dealer that's maybe 50 or 100 miles away, it's more difficult (or impossible) to test drive the car before committing yourself...right? What language do you have them write into the sales agreement before you put down any deposit? "Fully refundable if vehicle is not delivered in satisfactory condition by X date?" Or "Sale contingent on customer's test drive", or something to that effect?
You are probably better off just going to the dealer that has the car you want. Two reasons:
1) You can inspect and test drive the car before you buy--scratches, stains/burns in the fabric, etc.
2) Dealer holdback. The holdback (3% of msrp) is retained by the originating dealer, even if they sell it to your local dealer. This means that the local dealer cannot go as low as the dealer with the car in inventory.
FYI, my dealer gave up his holdback to make the deal, and sold my Maxx at invoice price.
MSRP of $22,305. Per Edmunds, invoice is $20,461 minus $669 holdback equals $19,792.
I paid $19799, less $5500 rebates, for a total of $14,299 for my Maxx LS with floor mats.
Hope this helps.
MadMaxx
email me off list for more info.
I only have one.
Joe
MSRP..........................$23,150
dealer discount................ 1,403
GM Rebate..................... 3,500
GM Financing rebate........... 1,000
is it possible to negotiate a greater dealer discount over internet? I just don't want to drive a couple of hours and ended up back with nothing. btw, I'm in Missouri.
thanks.
I'd try for the GMAC amount that others are getting and ask for a dealer discount of $1,800 (up from $1,403)...that way you might end up with another $250 from the dealer plus the $500 from GMAC...tell the dealer about not wanting to drive two hours to negotiate and that if they can reach your numbers, they have a deal (something to that effect). There are lot's of good deals that other people are getting and they should be aware of his too.
Just a thought...good luck!
FWIW, I solicited P-B/Equotes back in late June for our '04 Tahoe. I got MUCH more competitive prices (granted, only a few dealers were competitive) than I got with my Maxx quotes. No idea what happened in those 6-8 weeks.
1) Hit a major library that has lots of local newspaper, and scour those papers for Maxx ads. I've had a number of e-quotes come in much higher than their own ad prices. Hate to say it, but the majority of salesmen assume the customer is completely uninformed, and price product accordingly.
2) Stay in your local area, just extend the range of your P-B price requests. Also, know how many of your vehicle each dealer has on his lot.
3)Talk to the fleet/P-B manager directly (may be different from internet manager), and tell him what your 'cousin' just paid for a Maxx up in Boston. Refer him to the Quirk's internet ad: ask him why the rebartes are the same, but your discount is $1500+ less. You gotta play poker with some of these guys if you wanna save some $.......
Could you tell me which dealer you went to. I am interested in buying a similar one.
Thanks.
Thanks a lot for your help. Just bought the Maxx LS 1SB package for $16500 out of door. The price is not that a big deal, but I guess it's a reasonable price. I need a car now otherwise maybe I could get the car at a lower price after one or two more months.
Where are u?
The dealer is chicago
BOEHMER CHEVROLET SALES, INC.
416 W LIBERTY ST
WAUCONDA , IL 60084 -2444
Phone: (847 ) 526-2424
Fax: (847 ) 526-7569
when I bought the car, my dealer showed me a sheet of current promotions. He applied two $500 instant saving coupons toward the maxx. That was the reason I could get the car at a price of $16500. The coupons are valid until Sep 30. Don't know if it's national.
From talking to dealers in MA, I sorta got the impression that the market for the LS with 1SA is REALLY slow, so they can take a bigger $ amount off, which equates to an even bigger % off the sticker (than the LT or LS/1SB). Should be able to find an LS with 1SA in the 14,5-14,8 range with just a little work (Quirk is 14,8 for an LS/1SA in their ad and 16,5 for an LS/1SB on the phone; saw another ad for $1500 under invoice for any car on the lot plus any rebates)......
You got sun roof?
Mine is 15,2K without sun roof.
It killed me to pay that much; I didn't want to go over 15,5. But Med. Grey with just 1SB and May/June build dates are getting scarce in the northeast. Plenty of Sandlewood and Red available, as well as 1SB with either sunroof or 6CD added on or Jan-April build dates, tho.
Also, my dealer had to 'borrow' it from another dealer (who quoted me ~$1200-1500 for the very car that I bought), so that meant two groups wanted their piece of the pie.
All those higher$ rebates and extra regional rebates in the other parts of the country are NOT in the northeast, so my starting point is already $500-1000 in the hole. That extra $1K I listed I considered part of the dealer discount that I had to negotiate for (since we were already at 16,0 before the August ISC news hit the internet)
MSRP 23,150
Discount 2,85x
GM rebate 3,500
GMAC 1,000
Final 15,800
The northeast tends to quote the cost of the car ONLY, and it's assumed you then add on tax, tags, gov't paperwork fees, excise, etc. Since states are so small here, and tax can vary from 0% to 8+% from one state to the next, it can be a moot point when discussing prices.
I can give you a FINAL cost for NJ in a few hours; we're heading to the DMV in a few minutes......
The dealer located my car (drifted wood LS/1SB no sun roof Maxx) from another dealer 30 miles away and shipped. I got the car with 57 miles on it.
Hopefully, it is as reliable as my Honda Civic, which is trouble free.
It was built on March. There was one recall on the seat belt according to GM's database. The dealer claimed they had fixed it before giving it to me.
There is no recall record on ABS. I hope there is no problem with ABS to begin with.
I am very pleased with my car. It's excellent for the price I paid comparing with Subaru outback, VW Passat, Mazda 6.
My Maxx is LS with 1SB option without sun roof. The dealer also gave me mud guard for free.
I think this is a pretty good price and i've been watching the MAXX since March. Absolutely no MAXX seen on the Street in Northern California. Guess I'll be the first!
So now I'm officially part of the Club! I pick up the car Saturday
Incentive Amount
Customer Cash 3500
Bonus Draft 1500 financing through GMAC, no prepayment penalty
Marketplace 500 MI rebate similar to some other regions
GMS GM relative1000 recently announced employee/relative rebate
Total Rebates 6500
I would think everyone should be able to get at least $5000 through 9/7. See my full post under Chevrolet Malibu Owners: Meet the Members Discussion: Run, Don't Walk...yes, the incentive may continue but if you are seriously looking I'd lock it in. After exhaustive review and evaluation my experience and impression of the Maxx is extremely positive.
This is the first time I've ever NOT seen a car that really thrills me...seems each manufacturer is making everything "loaded"=mostly power and that concerns me as my previous 3 cars weren't and they had NO problems for each of their 8 YEARS! Wish me luck.
Thank You
Ill post the deal we get but thinking it will turn out to be simply invoice minus the $6,000 in rebates so looking at around $13,764 (no sales tax in Oregon).
My mother says there are lots of rebates so it is confusing to know which ones we qualify for and there may be more bonuses on top of those listed. She says she has no idea what new rebates may become available after today so we will jump on this bargain.
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Share your vehicle reviews
We got the 2004 Galaxy Silver Maxx LS with:
Preferred equipment group 1SB
Power Sunroof
Onstar
XM Satellite Radio
6-Disc CD Changer
for $16,104 out the door (no sales tax in Oregon but inclusive of about $150 in title fee, plates and registration).
Got the $3,500 cash back, $1,500 GMAC financing rebate, $1000 GM relative bonus plus dealer holdback thrown in (about $750).
Actually would have preferred the base model without all the extras for about $2000 less but they didn't have any other LS's in stock. Didn't go for any of the extra garbage they try sell their such as paint protection, fabric protection, overpriced gap insurance (get it at one sixth the price through our regular insurance company) or an overpriced extended warranty we can get at half price directly from the source online.
Will be refinancing as soon as the paperwork arrives in the mail through our credit union at 4.59% for 84 months......yes seven years! Hopefully it gets done before Sept. 21 when Greenspan is set to hike rates another quater point!! Note well there is no pre-payment penalty or other penalty clause for refinancing at anytime as others have alluded to in prior posts.
Now its time to wait and see what new rebates they bring out on the '04s and kick myself if they are better!
One said the conquest rebate was on through Sept 04. Another said there has been no conquest rebates since early summer. Edmunds indicated it ended Sept. 7. where can the consumer get accurate current information? GM buypower indicates only $4500(3500 + 1000 GMAC)is available on the Maxx. So how little can I finance through GMAC for the least time to qualify for the $1000? The incentives piqued my interest but the smoke and mirrors [non-permissible content removed] is turning me off to making any purchase.
But have gotten about three different stories about how many payments you must make before you can prepay the loan.
1 month, 3 months, and 6 months
Remember though that even 6 months intrest on a simple interest loan of 10k is not much....
We would have refinanced the week of August 24, but we had an unexpected trip out of town that week.
Steven
- $2,652 Dealer
- $3,500 GM Rebate
- $1,000 GM Instant Value
- $1,500 GMAC
- $1,526 GM Card
- $ 827 Drivers Edge Rebate
= $12,145 TOTAL
Got the Light Driftwood, not my fist choice but for 12K who can complain. Built in Feb/04, would have liked a later date but some were Dec/03.
It is the light driftwood color, 5/04 build date. Seems to be absolutely flawless. It had 5 miles on it when we got it.
It was by far the most pleasant car buying experience we've ever had. I located the car on the GM website, at the dealer right here in town, Hanlee's Chevrolet. (Very few '04 LS left here in Northern California). I went in and asked to see it. It was still in the wrapper, on the storage lot, had never been driven. I showed them my trade, and in about 10 minutes they came back with a deal on the Maxx at $200 over invoice, and a trade in amount that was right about where I thought it should be. Not counting the trade, and with the $5000 rebate, the car cost $15913 plus tax and license. I didn't bother asking if they could go any lower. That's about what I paid for a new Pontiac 6000 20 years ago!
In order to get the $1500 GMAC bonus we took the GMAC financing at 6.99%. That's a bit high, but we'll refinance it soon, and plan to pay it off in a couple of years. Prepayment penalties are illegal in California.
It was very helpful to read all the posts here before buying. Also the GM website was terrific in terms of learning about the car and the options, and for locating the one I wanted.
It looks like folks on the right coast are getting bigger discounts (on the order of $2000 or more) than we left coasters. I think it has always been that way. Domestic cars are usually cheaper to buy in the East.
We're planning on getting 200K miles from this car. It certainly seems like it's engineered to provide that kind of service. Of course I will be meticulous about maintenance, and plan to change the oil every 5K (unless the oil life computer tells me to do it sooner--which I doubt since this is mostly freeway driving in moderate temperatures).
Thanks again for all your great posts.
DavisMaxx
DavisMaxx
Is the information about additional incentives such as GM family member (the recent $1,000 offer which I believe is not currently in effect) usually located on GM's primary websites (gm.com, chevrolet.com, etc.)? I do not see any information like this posted in the places where I've looked.
Some particulars of the deal:
Demo vehicle (driven by 60 year-old parts manager who drives like a grandpa, according to the salesperson) with 5300 miles.
Maxx LT with 1SB, DVD, XM Radio, CD changer, and sunroof. No OnStar.
MSRP $27,250
GMS $24,225.25
Discount ($1,500) - this is the amount below GMS that I negotiated.
Rebate (3,500)
Price before tax and other state fees $19,225.25
I also paid $1,699 for a $0 deductible 5 yr / 90k mile Major Guard warranty. This was probably more than I should have paid, but I didn't feel like hassling with bargaining on it from multiple dealers and I gave in to the sales pressure. It was about $200 below the 'GMS' price that the salesperson originally quoted.
Our Maxx is Driftwood with the tan interior. The Maxx's exterior styling has grown on me over the past several months. It's not exactly beautiful, but I think of it as different - in a good way.
The interior flexibility, features, and quality is much more important to me. The Maxx scores big in all those areas.
No trade-in involved in this transaction.
Dealer did add a $75 'doc' fee to the $19,225 price.
Competing dealers were willing to sell $500 to $550 below GMS pricing on a brand-new 2004 Maxx LT. We decided the extra $1,000 discount was worth it in exchange for taking a vehicle with 5,000 miles on it.
Dealer indicated they couldn't / weren't allowed to show the price of the vehicle below GMS. So I paid tax on the $24,225 price instead of the price after the $1500 discount and the $3500 rebate. The $1500 and $3500 were shown as down payment, basically. I did not press the salesperson on this, as I assumed it must be required by state law or something. I doubt the dealer is charging me extra sales tax and then keeping it, since this would be unwise and illegal.
I had a feeling I overpaid somewhat, but I just didn't feel like dealing with it any more.