How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

DH and I are in the market (or will be soon) and I would love to hear what tactics you have used in the past that were successful in negotiating a deal on a new car.

TIA!

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

when they say "how much do you want to pay per month" DO NOT ANSWER!

tell them that you want to negotiate on the price of the car, not the monthly payment.

www.edmunds.com will give you the invoice amount (how much the car costs to build, market, etc) and the MSRP - the difference is usually a few thousand. try to get them to about $500 above invoice. then they are still making $$$.

Also, if there is a rebate on the car, you can still get them down- they will act like they are giving it to you, but really its from the manufacturer, not the dealer.

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

I know a girl who went to two dealerships and expressed interest in one particular car. Got a quote from dealership #1, and presented it to dealership #2. She had them duke it out, and ended up with a really good deal.

The best is to go in there without specific requirements. If you are hooked on a particular car, with a particular color, etc., they know they have you. Be flexible and walk away if the deal isn't to your liking.

Also see if you can get some freebies thrown in. When I negotiated for one of my cars, I told him I'd take the deal if he threw in a free CD changer, which he did.

Oh yeah, NEVER negotiate on monthly cost - they can really get you by extending the term so it may seem like you're getting an affordable deal, but you really aren't. ALWAYS negotiate on base price.

Message edited 3/5/2007 10:48:00 AM.

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

I just went in and told the sales person I am only spending xxx amt of $. He tried to play the #'s game and I got up to leave and he ended up giving me the car for the price I wanted. Just make sure you do your research on what you want beforehand. Good Luck!

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

OMG wheeling and dealing on the price of a new car is what I live for! I love haggling!

My thing is to say you are putting money down today "if you can make it happen". Also make sure you tell the salesman you are aware that he will need run it by his manager so to get him/her over to the desk so there is no running back and forth. And last but not least, NEVER pay extra for the car mats!

Good luck!

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

First, go to Edmunds.com and find out the invoice price and the market value and what others are paying.


My brother in law successfully talked down a lease from $440 to $379 per month. He stuck to his guns and said "I am not paying more that $375 per month", the guy kept saying "I cannot do it, I can't" so BIL walked out. The salesman ran out and said OK OK, I can do it for $379. BIL signed on the spot. But the salesman needs to be desperate and you need to be willing to walk away.

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Sleep with the dealer

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

I went in with a stack of papers I printed from Edmunds, Kelly's Blue Book and a few other sites. I told them outright that I know how much the car costs, how much is a fair markup for them, and if they take my offer now, they get the sale with no effort on their part, otherwise I go down the street to another dealer.

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Posted by Libragal07

Sleep with the dealer

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Posted by Libragal07

Sleep with the dealer

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Posted by SweetestOfPeas

Posted by Libragal07

Sleep with the dealer

pfffffffffft what if it's a woman?

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Posted by Libragal07

Posted by SweetestOfPeas

Posted by Libragal07

Sleep with the dealer

pfffffffffft what if it's a woman?

Then cross your fingers and toes that shes a lesbian

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

when they give us the number- and we don't like it- say thanks but that's way to high- and start to walk out- we have never gotten far

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

When we bought our Sequoia a few years ago, I got what I believed to be the best price at Cars Direct.com. Unfortunately, the car was somewhere in NJ. After putting a $300 hold, on an AMEX card, (we had 3 days to back out of the deal), my husband, who was definitely not thrilled about going to Jersey, walked into the Toyota dealership in Huntington, showed them the receipt for the reserved truck and told them if they could match it on the spot, he would buy immediately. They did and an hour later, with temporary plates on the new truck, and the salesman driving his old car home, he walked in and told me "I told you I wasn't going to Jersey" Interestingly enough 2 weeks before this dealership told us they couldn't come anywhere near this price.

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

thank you to all who responded...

my Uncle is the absolute KING of negotiating cars. I wish he didn't live in NC so that he could go with us.

he told me that any dealer has a certain amount of cars (3 or 4) a month that they're allowed to sell BELOW dealer cost and that they get reimbursed by the auto maker. he has ALWAYS bought cars below what the dealer gets them from, I just don't know how! LOL he also said to never buy a car at the beginning of the month since they all have quotas and are more willing to negotiate at the end of the month.

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Posted by Libragal07

Sleep with the dealer

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Posted by lorich

Posted by Libragal07

Sleep with the dealer

I did

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

yes- go at the end of the month

it was how we got such a great deal on the last mustang we got

for example- let's say a dealership gets $500 for every car they sell up to 10 cars

if they sell 11-20 then they get $500 more per car )including the first 10

and so on and so on

so at the end of the month- the car you buy could be the difference between $500 per car and $1K per car

scarsdale ford took 20% off the sticker price of the car we got- b/c us buying the car bumped them up into the next range and they knew they would more then make it up- we just had to pick the car up by the end of the month

(which wasn't good for us- b/c the totaled one wasn't paid off- but they worked it out for us- and we didn't want to screw them)

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Posted by SweetestOfPeas

Posted by lorich

Posted by Libragal07

Sleep with the dealer

I did

yea but you have a Honda and he sells GM

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Posted by lorich

Posted by SweetestOfPeas

Posted by lorich

Posted by Libragal07

Sleep with the dealer

I did

yea but you have a Honda and he sells GM

Yeah...somethings wrong with that picture

Re: How do you negotiate a better price on a new car?

Message edited 3/5/2007 1:58:36 PM.