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My dad does something similar every few years when purchasing a family car. This is what he does: 1. Decides ahead of time what exactly he wants and how much h
by zaidf 14y ago
My dad does something similar every few years when purchasing a family car. This is what he does:
1. Decides ahead of time what exactly he wants and how much he wants to pay(via internet, friends etc.)
2. Calls up area dealerships that have the exact model/make
3. Asks them to skip the pitch. No, he is not visiting the dealership. Yes, he is damn serious about purchasing this car.
4. Tells them to write down his number, which is the price he is willing to pay.
5. Requests them to call when they can sell him for that number. Promises to buy it if they do so.
How it works out:
Typically he will get multiple calls back trying to get him to reset his price. He stays firm and politely informs them he is serious about that price and that he is ready to purchase. That part is very important because dealerships get a fair share of timewasters. He usually ends up with a dealership that can chalk up his sale as an easy one even if the margins were low/non-existent.
I'll emphasize that my dad, like the negotiator in the story, will not budge. This is harder than it seems but the key for him is to keep the conversations short and set a no-bullshit attitude up front. He has had instances when the dealership will lure him in and then try to do a switcharoo. He will laugh or express disappointment depending on the day but in either case, he will walk out.
That said, he is a reasonable party. If it is $100 more, he will likely accept it--but even then, only as a final compromise. If it is $1,000 more than his price, he will almost certainly walk away.
Another key point is that my dad does his homework in figuring about the lowest he feels a dealership can go while still having interest in selling it to him.
Also, his being a doctor may help him in being taken serious, though it also makes the salesman more aggressive in trying to get additional $ out of him.
- Tichy 14y agoHow can he promise to buy if he contacts several dealers? He would only buy from the first one, I suppose.
- zaidf 14y agoSure, I think there is an understanding the first dealer to give him the price will get his business.
- anthonyb 14y agoThat's one of the other ways to get a good price. Figure out what you want, what options, etc. and ring around all the local dealers "I'm going to buy this car at the end of next week, lowest price gets it." Haven't tried it myself, but apparently it works reasonably well.
- chrsstrm 14y agoI did something similar with my last car purchase, with a little bit more back-end research. I found dealers with the exact car I wanted on their lot. I put copies of the window stickers of these cars onto my iPad, which I brought with me during the negotiations. I also knew the exact MSRP and margins of each of these cars, as well as the price paid for similar cars in the area (truecar.com was very helpful). I walked into the first dealership and showed them the sticker of the car I wanted and said, "I want this car, this exact car, I'm paying cash, and I want to drive it off the lot today." We talked (argued) for at least 30 minutes about price and they wouldn't come down. At one point there were two other salesmen and a manager at the table with us right in the middle of the showroom - apparently we were the main event. Each of them tried their own pitch (one actually tried to sell me some random used car that wasn't anything close to what I wanted). For each of their arguments I showed them the data on my iPad and said my offer was fair, I wasn't budging. They got angry, they yelled, they called me a liar and a thief and talked about their kids who had to eat. Eventually I just stood up and started walking out without saying a word, at which point they called me back and said they would do my offer. The salesmen tried to give me a pep talk while the GM approved the offer (at which point I caught him in a huge lie and I thought the kid was going to have a breakdown right there). They presented me with a written offer and I picked it up, folded it and put it in my pocket, and said I would be back (they're not supposed to let you out of the dealership with their written offer). I drove straight to the next dealer, presented him with the window sticker of the exact car I wanted on their lot, gave him the offer sheet from the previous dealer and told him I would be paying cash today. 10 minutes later I had the exact car I wanted at the price I wanted to pay. If you're informed and persistent, there are deals to be had. Also, everything you hear about all the tricks car dealers use are completely true, yet not difficult to overcome.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- khuey 14y agoThe "huge lie" was about the vehicle? It's not entirely clear why you went to the second dealer after getting the terms you wanted out of the first.
- uptown 14y ago"I'll emphasize that my dad, like the negotiator in the story, will not budge. This is harder than it seems..." I've never understood that. Are most people unwilling or unable to stay firm to something they've decided to stay firm about? I went through this last time I bought a car, and as hard as a Toyota dealer tried to move me on a car he had, I quickly learned that the longer I sat there and just did nothing, the lower the price fell. I ended up not even buying the Toyota - but a car dealer has literally zero power over what I do or where I spend my money.
- kragen 14y agoYes, most people can be persuaded to do things by repeated requests, even when they think they've made up their mind.