[wendyquat]

Has anyone found a car dealership that doesn't play "the game"? When I'm ready to buy a new car I hate to be treated like an idiot. I recently found a car I liked. Instead of getting a straight answer about price, the salesman had to "talk with my manager" and the "game begins"! The manager comes with a "deal you can't refuse". I did refuse and built the same car online for much less than my "deal" I was quoted!

I don't know if this bothers anyone else but it just rubs me wrong! Price the darn things at prices where you make the profit you want and tell me what it is! I can then take it or leave it!

[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.

[eweissenbach]

I can't answer your question, but it reminded me of a time years ago, when we went to a dealership to look at used cars for my son. I told the salesperson what I wanted, in general, and that I would pay a maximum of $5000. He took us to a Toyota corolla and asked my son if he would like to drive it? I asked how much they were asking for it and he said the asking price was $7500. I said "either you weren't listening to me, or your prices are so ridiculously inflated that you could sell a car for 2/3 what you are asking; either way I don't want to do business with you". We got in my car, went across the street to a Saturn dealer who had no-haggle pricing policy and bought a used Buick Skyhawk within minutes. Some of these car sales operations don't deserve to stay in business.

[wendyquat]

Thanks Mikev. With your knowledge how do I determine fair price to offer? $100 over invoice doesn't seem like a lot but what do I know?

[downeaster]

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.

Great info, Mike. I have copied your post and will save it for reference when I am ready to shop.

Thanks to you too, Wendy, for posting the question.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by downeaster

Great info, Mike. I have copied your post and will save it for reference when I am ready to shop. Thanks to you too, Wendy, for posting the question.

My thanks too - We just went through the exact same thing, Wendy. We drive a perfectly good car, but had the "urge" to get a new car. Went to Ocala to the dealership we were interested in and found a car we liked, then the game began. I finally told the slick willy trying to get my other half to buy, that we were done, tell me the price or let me out of here - at that point we realized they had the keys to our car because they wanted to test drive it. I had a hell of a time getting them to turn over the keys so that we could leave.

We are from the North East. When we needed a new car, my other half would drive the Auto Mile and leave a card with each dealership showing make and name of car required and price prepared to pay, and call me when you have the car. We bought all our cars that way until we came here. I guess the moral of the story is to go back north to buy our next car. What a pain!

[Mack184]

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?

[l2ridehd]

Make your decision this way using my 8 step process. You will need to test drive to complete step one, but always just say your not sure and want to check out a few more first.

1. Decide on the make and model you want
2. Determine all the options you want and are willing to pay for.
3. Identify 3 near by dealers that sell that model.
4. Go to kbb.com and edmunds.com and determine dealer cost for that exact vehicle.
5. If you have a trade, either sell it first or get a written offer from Carmax.
6. Go online and send to those dealership internet sales person exactly what your looking to buy. Provide your name and number. Do this step around the 25th of the month.
7. Wait until the next to last day of the month before going to the dealership that provided the best internet price.
8. ALWAYS ask for the out the door price. If you don't they will start doing add on's once you agree to a price. If your going to trade in your current vehicle, make sure you get more then the Carmax offer or sell it to them. Give the dealer a fair profit, usually around 1%, maybe 1.5%, 2% for some Luxury models. This % includes any dealer prep fee, paper work charge or other extras.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by Mack184

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?

Thanks to the posters for all GREAT information given here. Tried KBB.com and was more than impressed. This will keep the other half busy for a couple of days!

[Bill-n-Brillo]

If you're in the market for a Honda and don't like the haggling aspect of buying new, you might check into Classic Honda or Holler Honda, both in Orlando:

Classic Honda

Holler Honda

Here's a list of how they do things (same found on Holler's web site as well):

Our 10 Buy Smart Be Happy Promises | Classic Honda

I've never done business with either place and have no connection with either dealership. But I've seen their commercials and it does sound like they're "no haggle" dealerships.

Also, if Scion offers anything that floats your boat, all their dealerships are no-haggle/one-price dealerships. You pay sticker price plus tax, title, and doc fees. Scion vehicles are sold via the Toyota dealerships.

Lastly, in addition to the good info noted by MikeV, do some research and find out if there are any customer rebates or financial deals available at the time you're looking to buy. There are also instances where factory-to-dealer incentives are going on. Dealers will tell you those are dollars that don't go directly to the consumer (which is true) - but you CAN use them as a bargaining chip in your discussions with the dealer regarding the ultimate purchase price of the car.

Bill

[Ecuadog]

Originally Posted by Bill-n-Brillo

...

Also, if Scion offers anything that floats your boat, all their dealerships are no-haggle/one-price dealerships. You pay sticker price plus tax, title, and doc fees. Scion vehicles are sold via the Toyota dealerships.

...

Scion is no-haggle and their vehicles are among the most reliable on the road. I had heard that the Scion XB has tons of room inside for cargo (with the back seats down) and for my large self. On a whim, I tried one. I even fit comfortably in the back seat, with the front seat back all the way. Great little car.

[laceylady]

Since 1995 we have purchased our cars through the Costco program or thru Edmunds.com. Get the price on line or thru Costco, go to the dealership and pick up the car. My father was a New York Italian and haggling was in his blood. He loved the car deal game. I have no patience for it. I dont know if we get the best rockbottom price, but my stress level is much lower and we keep our cars long emough to get our money's worth.

[villager]

I think all replies are excellent and thank you to all. The only other thing I thought to add was this... When I go to a dealer and the sales person asks if they can help me, I tell them I am interested in buying a car. I test drive the car I'm interested in and once I decide it is a candidate for my garage, I look at my watch and then say to the salesperson he has 30 minutes to sell me a car at a price mutually agreeable to both of us. I tell them if we don't come to an agreement in that 30 minutes, I will leave. They usually think I'm being bitchy and if I get any attitude, I let them know I want to buy a car and it doesn't matter to me who I buy it from, I just want "my" price (which I already know is a fair price because I've done my homework). If they start with the "have to talk to my manager" routine, I make a point of looking at my watch and remind them the clock is ticking and they have X minutes left. I'm always nice, but firm. It's amazing how much time is saved when they understand you will walk away. And, yes, I have walked after the 30 minutes. They didn't realize I was serious. I have had sales people follow me to my car asking me to reconsider because they realized they messed up but I never do. This also allows you to see how much they want to sell a car based on the price they come back to you. If they aren't serious about selling then you can leave and save lots of time and hassle. Good luck!

[tommy steam]

Originally Posted by wendyquat

Has anyone found a car dealership that doesn't play "the game"? When I'm ready to buy a new car I hate to be treated like an idiot. I recently found a car I liked. Instead of getting a straight answer about price, the salesman had to "talk with my manager" and the "game begins"! The manager comes with a "deal you can't refuse". I did refuse and built the same car online for much less than my "deal" I was quoted!

I don't know if this bothers anyone else but it just rubs me wrong! Price the darn things at prices where you make the profit you want and tell me what it is! I can then take it or leave it!

If you want no haggle when buying a car go to the web site, Truecar.com...I bought my car with the Information they supplied there.my honda accord listed around 28 something and I was able to get it from the dealer for about 24 .....the site gives you everything you need to know to get your car withouy going to dealer till you are ready to buy. Any brand or model ,they have all the info and it does not cost a dime.

[charlie49]

The last time I bought a new car, I made an offer, after research, and told the dealers that their response needed to be 'yes' or 'no.' After walking out of two dealers without them accepting my offer, I knew I was close to the bottom price they would accept.