4 ms·

Here is my recipe for purchasing cars. At first I really tried to purchase a car through car-max because I hated the negotiating process with the normal dealers

Here is my recipe for purchasing cars. At first I really tried to purchase a car through car-max because I hated the negotiating process with the normal dealers. What I discovered was that car max typically priced their cars 2-3K above what I could negotiate with another dealer. I also discovered if you want a used honda don't go to a honda dealer all the time, try going to a porche dealer or other high end dealers that don't want those hondas in their inventory at the end of the month. Also be willing to walk away Summary: 1. Goto car-max to get the max price of the vehicle and deduct 2-3k from it and try to find another dealer that will negotiate that price. 2. Goto to high end dealers for non high end cars. 3. Try to go towards the end of the month so I have been told by people in the business but I'm not sure on this. 4. Most importantly don't be afraid to walk away . Last car I purchased I walked away then the dealer called me back a couple of weeks later and I got them for what I wanted to pay. This really shouldn't be an issue as most cars are not one of a kind and can be found at anytime for purchase. 5. If the car is a hot model than all the above will likely be negated and they will be willing to not put to much time into selling you the car (negotiate) 6. Buy at the end of the year nov-dec timeframe. This is because once January hits the car will be officially a year older. Hence the dealer will work harder to sell you that 2014 or 2015 model before it becomes 2016 and it gets tainted officially as last years or 2 years ago model. 7. Try to go by yourself and not with with your spouse or significant other , so you are the final word.

amalag 11y ago
Nice tips, I will try to use these. End of the month is when they are trying to fill their quotas. You can similarly get decent deals on new cars when the model year is finishing and the new model year is coming into stock so they want to get rid of their old stock.
- crapolasplatter 11y ago
  You are absolutely right about the model year coming to an end. I typically also buy 1 or 2 year old low mileage models at the end of the year around nov-dec timeframe. This is because once January hits the car will be officially a year older. Hence the dealer will work harder to sell you that 2014 or 2015 model before it becomes 2016 and it gets tainted officially as last years or 2 years ago model.
pc86 11y ago
#4 and #5 are especially important. Cars are built on an assembly line. Yes, there may be one on the lot that is exactly what you want, but that dealer is probably getting 6 identical models over the next few months. Being able to walk away is a must. All this haggling and negotiating is great when it means 4% or 5% off MSRP for a car, free oil changes, etc. It sucks when you want a hot, very in-demand car that is trending 8-10% above MSRP and still has an 8-month wait.
- crapolasplatter 11y ago
  Yep, Hot vehicles means there are 10 suckers behind you that are begging to overpay to get what they want or 5 others that don't care about money. Hence the dealer are willing to tell you to go F-off (not literally but negotiation type). I actually had a dealer act like I was crazy when I laughed at the price of their stock Jeep wrangler in the 35K range. I had a couple jeeps before and I love jeeps but I'm also aware that they are not good vehicles for everyday usage and they are not very reliable . They are fun to drive and and off road with, but there is no way that I would justifying a 35K jeep for off-roading or weekend getaway vehicle. Apparently others do and are willing to pay that 35K for it, so I'm out of luck in purchasing a Jeep as they don't need to negotiate. So dealing with a dealer will be pointless for a 1-3 year old jeep.The only hope is to buy from an individual in need of getting rid of it, but even then that will be tricky because they likely owe more than its worth or what you would be willing to pay. So my options are to buy an much older paid off jeep from an individual or possibly look at other alternative jeep like vehicles. Also luckily for me I have a friend with a dealers license that allows me to buy at auction. So that will likely be my method of purchase when I'm ready again next time around.
  - pc86 11y ago
    I've got to disagree with you on the word "overpay." You can't have one side of the equation constant negotiation below MSRP or below invoice and then call it overpaying when the market will bear an above-MSRP purchase price. The alternative is a CarMax-type scenario where you have a sticker price that cannot be negotiated. That being said, $35k does seem like a lot for a Jeep :)
lawpoop 11y ago
> 7. Try to go by yourself and not with with your spouse or significant other , so you are the final word. Although, if you have a willing partner, you can play good cop/bad cop with them. One partner wants the car, but you don't. The salesperson has to be the intermediary, and make concessions to get you on board. It makes it very easy not to be interested in whatever the salesperson offers. "$1000 off? I don't care: I don't want the care."
- crapolasplatter 11y ago
  We originally thought of the good cop bad cop scenario as well, but in reality it didn't pan out like that . Once the salesperson saw that one of us wanted the car they were more hesitant to negotiate because in the end they knew one of us wanted the vehicle. Since we were in a relationship they new that carried some weight. In addition we also discovered that many dealers were less willing to negotiate with a female than a male as they assumed the female would be a more impulsive buyer. No matter how wrong they were to assume that they still believed and negotiated with that mentality. Hence what we concluded our best method to purchase a car was: 1. Select the car ahead that we BOTH wanted or my WIFE wanted: via online methods or car shopping late night when nobody is at the dealer. 2. Goto to the dealer by myself and negotiate directly with them without my wife being present. Hence they knew if I walked away there was nobody else there to talk me back into buying the car. Hence they took me more serious.

amalag 11y ago

Nice tips, I will try to use these. End of the month is when they are trying to fill their quotas. You can similarly get decent deals on new cars when the model year is finishing and the new model year is coming into stock so they want to get rid of their old stock.

crapolasplatter 11y ago
You are absolutely right about the model year coming to an end. I typically also buy 1 or 2 year old low mileage models at the end of the year around nov-dec timeframe. This is because once January hits the car will be officially a year older. Hence the dealer will work harder to sell you that 2014 or 2015 model before it becomes 2016 and it gets tainted officially as last years or 2 years ago model.

pc86 11y ago

#4 and #5 are especially important. Cars are built on an assembly line. Yes, there may be one on the lot that is exactly what you want, but that dealer is probably getting 6 identical models over the next few months. Being able to walk away is a must. All this haggling and negotiating is great when it means 4% or 5% off MSRP for a car, free oil changes, etc. It sucks when you want a hot, very in-demand car that is trending 8-10% above MSRP and still has an 8-month wait.

crapolasplatter 11y ago
Yep, Hot vehicles means there are 10 suckers behind you that are begging to overpay to get what they want or 5 others that don't care about money. Hence the dealer are willing to tell you to go F-off (not literally but negotiation type). I actually had a dealer act like I was crazy when I laughed at the price of their stock Jeep wrangler in the 35K range. I had a couple jeeps before and I love jeeps but I'm also aware that they are not good vehicles for everyday usage and they are not very reliable . They are fun to drive and and off road with, but there is no way that I would justifying a 35K jeep for off-roading or weekend getaway vehicle. Apparently others do and are willing to pay that 35K for it, so I'm out of luck in purchasing a Jeep as they don't need to negotiate. So dealing with a dealer will be pointless for a 1-3 year old jeep.The only hope is to buy from an individual in need of getting rid of it, but even then that will be tricky because they likely owe more than its worth or what you would be willing to pay. So my options are to buy an much older paid off jeep from an individual or possibly look at other alternative jeep like vehicles. Also luckily for me I have a friend with a dealers license that allows me to buy at auction. So that will likely be my method of purchase when I'm ready again next time around.
- pc86 11y ago
  I've got to disagree with you on the word "overpay." You can't have one side of the equation constant negotiation below MSRP or below invoice and then call it overpaying when the market will bear an above-MSRP purchase price. The alternative is a CarMax-type scenario where you have a sticker price that cannot be negotiated. That being said, $35k does seem like a lot for a Jeep :)

lawpoop 11y ago

> 7. Try to go by yourself and not with with your spouse or significant other , so you are the final word. Although, if you have a willing partner, you can play good cop/bad cop with them. One partner wants the car, but you don't. The salesperson has to be the intermediary, and make concessions to get you on board. It makes it very easy not to be interested in whatever the salesperson offers. "$1000 off? I don't care: I don't want the care."

crapolasplatter 11y ago
We originally thought of the good cop bad cop scenario as well, but in reality it didn't pan out like that . Once the salesperson saw that one of us wanted the car they were more hesitant to negotiate because in the end they knew one of us wanted the vehicle. Since we were in a relationship they new that carried some weight. In addition we also discovered that many dealers were less willing to negotiate with a female than a male as they assumed the female would be a more impulsive buyer. No matter how wrong they were to assume that they still believed and negotiated with that mentality. Hence what we concluded our best method to purchase a car was: 1. Select the car ahead that we BOTH wanted or my WIFE wanted: via online methods or car shopping late night when nobody is at the dealer. 2. Goto to the dealer by myself and negotiate directly with them without my wife being present. Hence they knew if I walked away there was nobody else there to talk me back into buying the car. Hence they took me more serious.