Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeV
I sold new and used cars for a while. Here is how I shop for cars knowing what is going on in the managers office first hand. I go to the dealership and find the car on the lot that I want to buy. I write down all the retail costs of the base price and options noting the delivery cost (which is not discounted). Then I go to a site like kbb.com and find out what the dealer cost is and what the fair price is for THAT car in my area. With that knowledge in hand I go to the dealer around the end of the month (more likely to take offers because the dealer is rewarded by the car company on sales by the month and year) and "steer" the sales person to that car. I test drive it etc. When it comes to price negotiation I know what the fair price should be and I stick to it. If they will not sell at the price I want I get up to leave. You will be amazed at how often they will then accept your fair offer. It used to be that a dealer would take as little as $100 over dealer cost but now it seems they want more.
|
Very much agree with the EOM scenario. All salespeople and the dealership themselves have monthly sales budgets to meet and they are more likely to make a deal than at other times of the month. However, please note that Mike talks about making a "FAIR" offer. He's absolutely right. Do your homework on sites like KBB or Cars.com and be prepared to indeed give a "FAIR" offer. The dealer wants to make as much money as he can, and I cannot blame them for that. They are not engaged in a hobby they are there to make a profit. You want to pay as little as possible. But if you go in with unrealistic ideas about what to pay, then you are never going to make a deal because there's a point where the dealer cannot do business with you, because there's no money in it for them. And at that point, why should they?