Negotiating a New Car Price -- Your Stories. - Page 2

omegadan · #11 10-30-2007, 03:35 AM

I work as a full-time car salesman and One Outer is one the right track. A vehicle like a Toyota Matrix with an MSRP of around $16,000 has only about a $1500 profit margin. Overall if you buy any car for only $500 over invoice you are getting a good deal. However there are times that with rebates or other factory incentives you really need to be buying the car below invoice to get a good deal.

You should check carsdirect.com and get their pricing report for your area. You can definitely get the dealer to go below cost depending on how slow the day is and what inventory they have available.

Since tomorrow is just before the end of the month you should be able to get a good deal. You need to be flexible and take something off of the dealers lot.

With regards to the warranty it is a good idea only depending on the price. Toyotas have a 3 year warranty as standard but you really need to think about how long you want to keep this car. Also you should think about the fact that in 3 years your car will be worth half of what you paid for it. Any costly repair will be a huge chunk of the relative value of the car. Fortunately this is a Toyota which is unlikely to have a costly repair.

I don't sell warranties so I do not know what a good deal on that would be. Most places do not discount the warranty.

If you want to simplify things you can also call the Fleet department at any of your local dealers and one of the Fleet salespeople will give you a very aggressive price close to the dealer invoice.

It is very easy to make one dealer beat another's deal. Make a few phone calls, pick out something in stock and you are good to go.

Feel free to PM with more questions.

TheRover · #12 10-30-2007, 04:04 AM

If you are going to buy a hateful, boring car why not save money by buying one used? Get a 90's Camrolla or whatever.

RR · #13 10-30-2007, 04:16 AM

[ QUOTE ]
If a dealership shows you the invoice and says they'll sell it to you at that, or you can talk them to it, take it. Trying to get it under invoice because you know they may make some money somewhere on it is pretty fruitless. My boss sent a girl packing the other night because she was trying to buy a car from us doing that [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]

There is always another dealer. The last car I bought was a couple hundred under invoice, the dealer still made $450. That seems like enough profit; I mean if they don't want to make $400 I am sure there is a dealer somewhere that would like the $400.

One Outer · #14 10-30-2007, 04:36 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If a dealership shows you the invoice and says they'll sell it to you at that, or you can talk them to it, take it. Trying to get it under invoice because you know they may make some money somewhere on it is pretty fruitless. My boss sent a girl packing the other night because she was trying to buy a car from us doing that [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]

There is always another dealer. The last car I bought was a couple hundred under invoice, the dealer still made $450. That seems like enough profit; I mean if they don't want to make $400 I am sure there is a dealer somewhere that would like the $400.

[/ QUOTE ]

They didn't actually make $400. That's more like a factory rebate to the dealer to cover overhead. Generally, if a dealer is digging into holdback it is a net loser deal. They just wanted to get rid of the car.

Now, how do dealers do this and stay in business on new stuff? Easy. You weren't looking in the right place. You were likely so focused on the price you didn't notice when they totally buttsecksed you on the financing. Have a nice day!

Stagger_Lee · #15 10-30-2007, 04:59 AM

Get onto a car broker. Tell them exactly what you want - these guys will beat any deal you can negotiate on your own.

RR · #16 10-30-2007, 05:24 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If a dealership shows you the invoice and says they'll sell it to you at that, or you can talk them to it, take it. Trying to get it under invoice because you know they may make some money somewhere on it is pretty fruitless. My boss sent a girl packing the other night because she was trying to buy a car from us doing that [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]

There is always another dealer. The last car I bought was a couple hundred under invoice, the dealer still made $450. That seems like enough profit; I mean if they don't want to make $400 I am sure there is a dealer somewhere that would like the $400.

[/ QUOTE ]

They didn't actually make $400. That's more like a factory rebate to the dealer to cover overhead. Generally, if a dealer is digging into holdback it is a net loser deal. They just wanted to get rid of the car.

Now, how do dealers do this and stay in business on new stuff? Easy. You weren't looking in the right place. You were likely so focused on the price you didn't notice when they totally buttsecksed you on the financing. Have a nice day!

[/ QUOTE ]

Or maybe they understand marginal revenue. I wrote them a check, they were happy to make $400.

I guess it is important to you that people think buying a car at invoice is a good deal.

One Outer · #17 10-30-2007, 05:36 AM

It's not really important to me anymore. If anything, I'm a dealership's worst enemy.

z28dreams · #18 10-30-2007, 10:19 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Get onto a car broker. Tell them exactly what you want - these guys will beat any deal you can negotiate on your own.

[/ QUOTE ]

Stagger, any tips for finding these people and working with them? I just met a guy that claims he could do this for me- but it sounds a little scammy.

Snafu'd · #19 10-30-2007, 10:33 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Get onto a car broker. Tell them exactly what you want - these guys will beat any deal you can negotiate on your own.

[/ QUOTE ]
I've got a buddy who is trying to start up a brokerage business right now. I had never heard of this service before. Do you have any experience with them? If so, was it positive?

epdaws · #20 10-30-2007, 10:59 AM

Great stuff, everyone.

Some questions.

Is there a simple resource that should tell me what invoice is for a Matrix?

The dealership told me yesterday that their "break-even" price was $18,515 (the sticker is $20,060). I wish I knew if that were truly their break-even.

My two current offers (which should improve today):

1) $400 trade for my falling-apart 1998 Dodge Neon with 136k miles, additional $1300 off, total price of $18,315. Dealer tells me that this would be selling it at "$200 above break-even." Warranty is standard 5-year, 60k on power train.

2) $500 trade; $900 off for a total of $18,660. Lifetime warranty on power train, but warranty seems designed to be voided.

Both dealers have said, "We could re-evaluate the trade value."