5 ms·

For that matter, a lot of us aren't comfortable with haggling and are only willing to buy a car if we can buy it like any other appliance at Walmart or Costco.

by amyjess 10y ago

For that matter, a lot of us aren't comfortable with haggling and are only willing to buy a car if we can buy it like any other appliance at Walmart or Costco. The demise of Saturn means I'll probably never own a car. My only hope is that some Chinese or Indian company will come to the US and strike an exclusive contract with Walmart or Costco to be the exclusive retailer (the contract will specify that the term "dealership" will never be used) of their cars in the US with a nationwide policy of only selling at MSRP.

CptJamesCook 10y ago
Tesla sells cars with a flat, non-negotiable price. And you can buy it online. The model 3 is somewhat affordable.
- dexterdog 10y ago
  Somewhat affordable and non-existent.
  - CptJamesCook 10y ago
    Give it a year. He was implying that he would never buy a car again for the rest of his life!
- woobar 10y ago
  Did any other dealer ever refuse to sell a car on similar terms? "I would like that car. What is your flat, non-negotiable price?"
woofyman 10y ago
Scion has a no haggling policy.
- amyjess 10y ago
  Toyota pulled the plug on Scion almost a year ago: http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/03/autos/toyota-killing-scion/ http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/03/autos/toyota-killing-scion/
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
ams6110 10y ago
CarMax is no-haggle.
- npiazza83 10y ago
  Bought two cars through Carmax. They are like the Ikea of car buying. In a good way. They plugged my numbers into what I will call, "The eBay of Financing" and got me the most money at the best rate in real time. I went on to get a low interest credit card and will probably do my mortgage through a totally different financing institution than my personal bank because I had no idea (before going to Carmax) there was a bank that wanted MY money with my credit score debt/income ratio. I was flatly rejected by my personal bank and about 3 other financing institutions in the app. I would have had no idea I qualified for financing without going to Carmax. PS I would love to know what the hell app they use to find financing... and if I can use it personally for things like personal loans, credit cards, Roth IRA or other investment vehicles.
- netcraft 10y ago
  I bought my last two cars from carmax. It really is a superior process, but its hardly free from having to deal with car sales people.
  - sndean 10y ago
    At least in mine and my family's experience, if you find a Carmax salesman you like and remember to save their number/email, you can contact them directly. Happen to like dealing with this quiet older guy who's happy to get you out the door in ~1 hour.
ghaff 10y ago
There are some no haggle dealerships though I don't know how common they are. I bought my last Honda from one. Honestly though. If you can detach the financing ("Got the cash. Nope. Not interested in talking monthly payments.") and trade-in ("If you don't give me X, I'll just donate it.") whether or not either of those things are true. Then look up the dealer cost on Edmund's or whatever. Add $500 and tell them to take it or leave it. It's still a bit of a hassle and you may not totally optimize your purchase but there need be very little actual haggling involved. The issue with your suggestion BTW is that manufacturers probably couldn't sell to them because doing so would violate their contracts with existing dealers.
- mikeash 10y ago
  Another nice technique is to pit dealers against each other. Pick a dealer, ask them for a quote on whatever car you're after. Be specific about exactly what you want. Once you get a number, ask the next dealer if they can beat it. Repeat until you're tired of it or salespeople start saying "wow, I can't beat that" in a defeated voice. Of course, the process can still suck. They'll still give you a spiel about how you must have the undercoat or extended warranty or whatever. There's room for other shenanigans too. Last time I bought from a dealer they managed to overcharge me $1.25 (originally it was $20 over but I fought that, but figured $1.25 wasn't worth it) and then they filed a lien on my title even though I didn't finance with them, which I didn't find out until I tried to trade the car in much later. Untangling that mess was quite entertaining.
  - aidenn0 10y ago
    Yeah, a lot of dealers in CA will have you sign the loan paperwork even if you are paying in cash; this causes a hard query on your credit report even if they don't file the lien. If you say "but I'm paying with cash" they say something like "well we have everyone do it." If you get up and walk away you magically no longer need to sign it though.
    - mikeash 10y ago
      I don't think I ever signed anything like that. But since I didn't find out what had happened until much later, there was plenty of time for memories to fade.
drunken-serval 10y ago
> For that matter, a lot of us aren't comfortable with haggling and are only willing to buy a car if we can buy it like any other appliance at Walmart or Costco. I purchased a used Toyota Prius from a Toyota dealership like this. I reviewed their inventory online, test drove the car, and paid the price they had advertised online. The only thing they asked was if I would prefer their financing options over the loan I was preapproved for from my bank. They had a much better rate so I went with their financing. Overall, it took about 2 hours to do the paperwork and get the keys after the test drive. It would be been faster if I didn't need financing.
epimetheus 10y ago
Can't you just order a car online, on the car manufacturers website? I've not yet done it, but I have built a few custom vehicles, to checkout out options and configurations. I've done it on Nissan's website, as well as GMC, Chevy, Audi, and Jeep. Is there further haggling on the price once you have your car custom built and shipped to the dealer?
wil421 10y ago
You don't need to haggle. Just do your research before hand, find cars with the exact same options, and come prepared with what you just found. Bought a new car for the first time this year. First I found the options I wanted. Searched all over from Southeast to mid Atlantic, found the lowest priced and documented it along with several similar cars locally. Came in with print outs and links to my findings. Told them either they match or I talk to one of their local competitors or if needed fly to Virginia using sky miles. A couple trips to "talk to the manager" and 7.5k off MSRP. All while the customer next to me bought a similar car at full price. You need to be able to get up and walk out at any point.
- deeth_starr 10y ago
  7.5k off MSRP can be kinda subjective. 7.5k off MSRP on a 100k car is not the same as off a 35k car. What was it relative to the dealer invoice? That's the real metric. Sorry, programmer. Also, my brother-in-law bought a RAV4 in a cold weather state recently and did the whole "I will only pay invoice!" thing. They were like, "Yes sir!. Sign this this this. Bye". It's hard to know what kickbacks the dealers are getting over invoice so the dealer may still be making a good 5% over invoice (and on volume this is really good). Don't get me wrong, you did the right thing. I got hard core scammed when I bought my first new car and now only buy used. Fell in love with a car from a magazine at 22, walked into a dealer and bought a dealer car (essentially a used car) at near full price with their financing (something crazy like 22%). I'm not against negotiation. Just buy used and negotiate. Dealerships are evil. https://help.edmunds.com/hc/en-us/articles/206102377-Invoice-Price-or-Dealer-Cost- https://help.edmunds.com/hc/en-us/articles/206102377-Invoice... Edit: deleted a hanging sentence Edit2: Tip #2: join a credit union. When I finally read the 22% rate (on a 35k car, in 1992) I called my bank. They gave me a 6% quote and said "don't do anything. we'll take care of this". I got so many angry calls from the dealership claiming my credit will be ruined, they will repossess the car, I'm a scumbag, etc. None of those are true. You have a few days in California to transfer a loan if you fuck up (thanks Cali).
oculusthrift 10y ago
people think they want "no haggling" but it actually results in worse prices for all. it's usually just a few "suckers" who pay a lot and subsidize the cheap rates hagglers get.
- amyjess 10y ago
  I'm fine with paying higher prices if it means I don't have to negotiate with anyone. The experience of buying a car should be the exact same as the experience of buying a refrigerator or a washing machine or any other appliance.
  - oculusthrift 10y ago
    why? should your insecurities/shortcomings cause everyone's prices to be higher? You're massively screwing over people who actually want to haggle and save money. this is a common game theory scenario, and what ends up happening is more money just ends up going to the car dealers and consumers spend more on average.

by amyjess 10y ago

CptJamesCook 10y ago

Tesla sells cars with a flat, non-negotiable price. And you can buy it online. The model 3 is somewhat affordable.

dexterdog 10y ago
Somewhat affordable and non-existent.
- CptJamesCook 10y ago
  Give it a year. He was implying that he would never buy a car again for the rest of his life!
woobar 10y ago
Did any other dealer ever refuse to sell a car on similar terms? "I would like that car. What is your flat, non-negotiable price?"

woofyman 10y ago

Scion has a no haggling policy.

amyjess 10y ago
Toyota pulled the plug on Scion almost a year ago: http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/03/autos/toyota-killing-scion/ http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/03/autos/toyota-killing-scion/
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

ams6110 10y ago

CarMax is no-haggle.

npiazza83 10y ago
Bought two cars through Carmax. They are like the Ikea of car buying. In a good way. They plugged my numbers into what I will call, "The eBay of Financing" and got me the most money at the best rate in real time. I went on to get a low interest credit card and will probably do my mortgage through a totally different financing institution than my personal bank because I had no idea (before going to Carmax) there was a bank that wanted MY money with my credit score debt/income ratio. I was flatly rejected by my personal bank and about 3 other financing institutions in the app. I would have had no idea I qualified for financing without going to Carmax. PS I would love to know what the hell app they use to find financing... and if I can use it personally for things like personal loans, credit cards, Roth IRA or other investment vehicles.
netcraft 10y ago
I bought my last two cars from carmax. It really is a superior process, but its hardly free from having to deal with car sales people.
- sndean 10y ago
  At least in mine and my family's experience, if you find a Carmax salesman you like and remember to save their number/email, you can contact them directly. Happen to like dealing with this quiet older guy who's happy to get you out the door in ~1 hour.

ghaff 10y ago

There are some no haggle dealerships though I don't know how common they are. I bought my last Honda from one. Honestly though. If you can detach the financing ("Got the cash. Nope. Not interested in talking monthly payments.") and trade-in ("If you don't give me X, I'll just donate it.") whether or not either of those things are true. Then look up the dealer cost on Edmund's or whatever. Add $500 and tell them to take it or leave it. It's still a bit of a hassle and you may not totally optimize your purchase but there need be very little actual haggling involved. The issue with your suggestion BTW is that manufacturers probably couldn't sell to them because doing so would violate their contracts with existing dealers.

mikeash 10y ago
Another nice technique is to pit dealers against each other. Pick a dealer, ask them for a quote on whatever car you're after. Be specific about exactly what you want. Once you get a number, ask the next dealer if they can beat it. Repeat until you're tired of it or salespeople start saying "wow, I can't beat that" in a defeated voice. Of course, the process can still suck. They'll still give you a spiel about how you must have the undercoat or extended warranty or whatever. There's room for other shenanigans too. Last time I bought from a dealer they managed to overcharge me $1.25 (originally it was $20 over but I fought that, but figured $1.25 wasn't worth it) and then they filed a lien on my title even though I didn't finance with them, which I didn't find out until I tried to trade the car in much later. Untangling that mess was quite entertaining.
- aidenn0 10y ago
  Yeah, a lot of dealers in CA will have you sign the loan paperwork even if you are paying in cash; this causes a hard query on your credit report even if they don't file the lien. If you say "but I'm paying with cash" they say something like "well we have everyone do it." If you get up and walk away you magically no longer need to sign it though.
  - mikeash 10y ago
    I don't think I ever signed anything like that. But since I didn't find out what had happened until much later, there was plenty of time for memories to fade.

drunken-serval 10y ago

> For that matter, a lot of us aren't comfortable with haggling and are only willing to buy a car if we can buy it like any other appliance at Walmart or Costco. I purchased a used Toyota Prius from a Toyota dealership like this. I reviewed their inventory online, test drove the car, and paid the price they had advertised online. The only thing they asked was if I would prefer their financing options over the loan I was preapproved for from my bank. They had a much better rate so I went with their financing. Overall, it took about 2 hours to do the paperwork and get the keys after the test drive. It would be been faster if I didn't need financing.

epimetheus 10y ago

Can't you just order a car online, on the car manufacturers website? I've not yet done it, but I have built a few custom vehicles, to checkout out options and configurations. I've done it on Nissan's website, as well as GMC, Chevy, Audi, and Jeep. Is there further haggling on the price once you have your car custom built and shipped to the dealer?

wil421 10y ago

You don't need to haggle. Just do your research before hand, find cars with the exact same options, and come prepared with what you just found. Bought a new car for the first time this year. First I found the options I wanted. Searched all over from Southeast to mid Atlantic, found the lowest priced and documented it along with several similar cars locally. Came in with print outs and links to my findings. Told them either they match or I talk to one of their local competitors or if needed fly to Virginia using sky miles. A couple trips to "talk to the manager" and 7.5k off MSRP. All while the customer next to me bought a similar car at full price. You need to be able to get up and walk out at any point.

deeth_starr 10y ago
7.5k off MSRP can be kinda subjective. 7.5k off MSRP on a 100k car is not the same as off a 35k car. What was it relative to the dealer invoice? That's the real metric. Sorry, programmer. Also, my brother-in-law bought a RAV4 in a cold weather state recently and did the whole "I will only pay invoice!" thing. They were like, "Yes sir!. Sign this this this. Bye". It's hard to know what kickbacks the dealers are getting over invoice so the dealer may still be making a good 5% over invoice (and on volume this is really good). Don't get me wrong, you did the right thing. I got hard core scammed when I bought my first new car and now only buy used. Fell in love with a car from a magazine at 22, walked into a dealer and bought a dealer car (essentially a used car) at near full price with their financing (something crazy like 22%). I'm not against negotiation. Just buy used and negotiate. Dealerships are evil. https://help.edmunds.com/hc/en-us/articles/206102377-Invoice-Price-or-Dealer-Cost- https://help.edmunds.com/hc/en-us/articles/206102377-Invoice... Edit: deleted a hanging sentence Edit2: Tip #2: join a credit union. When I finally read the 22% rate (on a 35k car, in 1992) I called my bank. They gave me a 6% quote and said "don't do anything. we'll take care of this". I got so many angry calls from the dealership claiming my credit will be ruined, they will repossess the car, I'm a scumbag, etc. None of those are true. You have a few days in California to transfer a loan if you fuck up (thanks Cali).

oculusthrift 10y ago

people think they want "no haggling" but it actually results in worse prices for all. it's usually just a few "suckers" who pay a lot and subsidize the cheap rates hagglers get.

amyjess 10y ago
I'm fine with paying higher prices if it means I don't have to negotiate with anyone. The experience of buying a car should be the exact same as the experience of buying a refrigerator or a washing machine or any other appliance.
- oculusthrift 10y ago
  why? should your insecurities/shortcomings cause everyone's prices to be higher? You're massively screwing over people who actually want to haggle and save money. this is a common game theory scenario, and what ends up happening is more money just ends up going to the car dealers and consumers spend more on average.