Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - New car negotiations
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Old 09-21-2025, 11:45 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123 View Post
I would make two comments:

1. Most dealers will not give you their best price and compete with other dealers in that manner. This is because they have no control over how you are shopping the price. They may give you a price, but it will not be their best price.

2. If you do provide a deposit for a vehicle that you order, they may ask you to sign an agreement to provide that car "OR EQUVALENT". If you sign it, even if you use a credit card, you may not get the car you want and you most likely will not get your deposit back. That is why I always buy a car that is on the lot and ready to drive away. I never give a deposit.
Good information, thanks. I fully anticipate at least some of the dealerships not wanting to do it my way. That’s fine, I’ll work with those that do, and expand my dealer radius if necessary. If a dealer puts a contract in front of us that has “or equivalent”, we won’t sign it. But thanks for the heads up, that will part of the up front specifications. I will also specify a very low mileage limit, so the car isn’t used for potential buyers test driving it while on the lot. It will also be specified that the car will not have any permanent dealer logo or badging on the vehicle. If they want to put on a removable license plate bracket on the car with a dealer logo, that’s fine.