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Internet vs. Traditional Car Buying

3113 messages,  Last post on Nov 19, 2012 at 5:43 AM

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Messages Page 308 of 312

#3064 of 3113 Re: Perspective from an actual buyer... [biancar] by daileyad

Apr 21, 2010 (8:08 am)

Replying to: biancar (Apr 17, 2010 1:22 pm)
2010 Nissan Frontier LE crew cab. I love it so far!

#3065 of 3113 Re: On-line inventory details [greatlakesjr] by boomchek

Apr 21, 2010 (11:35 am)

Replying to: greatlakesjr (Apr 20, 2010 6:32 pm)
I understand where you're coming from but the lack of service these days is not just in car sales but pretty much everywhere in customer service. Especially when it comes to younger people who are in customer service. It just seems like people don't really care whether they return a call or proivde info that was requested. Most shrug their shoulders and say "oh well, if they need the info they'll call back" before going back to texting on their smartphone.

#3066 of 3113 trying to haggle a better price for FJ toyota by aceyace

Nov 15, 2010 (3:08 pm)

I am trying not pay for administrative service fee $300 for what?At the dealership for a better price for a new car also the $100 for license,license tranfer,title.It seems as though I pay for the twice at the dealer,and at the tax office.Can anyone help on this matter.

#3068 of 3113 Internet shopping for certified pre-owned, how to test drive? by pelican05

Apr 09, 2011 (2:47 am)

I've narrowed my car search down to three choices: Accord coupe, Altima coupe, Impreza. I'd like to buy from one of the certified pre-owned programs.
 
I'd also like to negotiate price online. I'm a single female and have had terrible experiences at car dealers before. The last time I bought a car I gave up doing it by myself and dragged a male friend along for the day, which is ridiculous.
 
But I want to test drive the cars I'm interested in. How do I do that and still negotiate online? Is it possible to negotiate an out-the-door price via email BEFORE I test drive without making a commitment to buy? Should I test drive similar cars at a different dealer and then negotiate? That's difficult since some of the options I want are hard to find, plus if negotiations go sour I might want to change dealers later.
 
What's the best way to go about this?

#3069 of 3113 Re: Internet shopping for certified pre-owned, how to test drive? [pelican05] by tallman1

Apr 09, 2011 (8:26 am)

Replying to: pelican05 (Apr 09, 2011 2:47 am)
First of all, remember that you are the customer with the money. You can purchase the car (or not) by any method you choose.
 
Many dealers have a salesperson devoted specifically to internet sales so you may want to keep that in mind if you should visit the store. You may want to contact that person first so that it doesn't get messy with a sales person on the floor.
 
I wouldn't worry about starting the process online, then going in to test drive, and then leaving to negotiate online. Many sales people are going to do whatever they can to get you to come to the dealership anyway. Based on what others have said, it isn't always easy to get a salesperson to agree to a price online, especially if they have no relationship with you.
 
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

#3070 of 3113 Re: Internet shopping for certified pre-owned, how to test drive? [tallman1] by fezo

Apr 09, 2011 (8:51 am)

Replying to: tallman1 (Apr 09, 2011 8:26 am)
Having someone with you is not necessarily a bad thing. Doesn't have to be a guy either - just someone that can put the brakes on for you if they see you hitting that zone where the salesman figures he's got you locked into things and is now just playing for more profit.
 
As tallman pointed out it's your money and your decision. You don't owe the salesman anything. He plays this game every day and you don't so be careful.
 
The most important thing to me is to be sure of what this vehicle is worth to you and hold to that. You can do that by shopping around on line (autotrader, cars.com, dealer sites, etc) and checking the Edmunds TMV (none of these sources is foolproof but you'll get a good idea of the value).
 
Best of luck. Keep us posted.

#3071 of 3113 Re: Internet shopping for certified pre-owned, how to test drive? [fezo] by pelican05

Apr 09, 2011 (9:12 am)

Replying to: fezo (Apr 09, 2011 8:51 am)
Thanks tallman and fezo. It will be several weeks and maybe a few months before I get through this process, I'm just trying to prepare and get this done before my current car kicks the bucket. I'll let you know how it goes.

#3072 of 3113 Re: Internet shopping for certified pre-owned, how to test drive? [pelican05] by scottklein1

Apr 13, 2011 (4:41 am)

Replying to: pelican05 (Apr 09, 2011 2:47 am)
This is an easy one...
 
Go drive all three (or how many you're interested in buying. When you get to the dealership tell them that you're a serious buyer that is ready to buy. Tell them you have your financing already arranged (or if you're paying cash, tell them that). Tell them that you are also looking at a couple of other cars. Tell your salesperson, "If you do a good job today...who know's...I might buy today."
 
You'll have your salespersons complete attention which is what you want (you don't want an indifferent salesperson do you? I didn't think so).
 
When you get done with the demo and they ask you to buy, tell them that "You need to think about it." 99.9% of salespeople don't know how to deal with that objection.
 
Use that same process with the other cars that you want. After you decide on the vehicle you want, you can negotiate the car deal via email. When you negotiate the deal make sure you negotiate a "Drive out" deal meaning that all the taxes and fees are included in the drive out price. Also tell them to break down all the fees, taxes and the selling price.
 
When you communicate to them that you are a serious buyer, they'll play ball with you.

#3073 of 3113 Re: Internet shopping for certified pre-owned, how to test drive? [scottklein1] by ken117

Apr 13, 2011 (4:14 am)

Replying to: scottklein1 (Apr 13, 2011 4:41 am)
Car buying is relatively simple, for the numbers. The difficult part is working with the salesperson. However, understanding the ultimate goal, which is the price or monthly payment to be paid and keeping that always in mind makes it easy.
 
Many experts recommend avoiding monthly payments as a goal. That is incorrrect. The monthly payment is what most of us pay so it has to be the goal. The key is to understand the items comprising the monthly payment such as sales price, trade-in, taxes and fees, term length, finance rate and not let the salesperson deviate from those parameters.
 
A savy buyer will research the price of the vehicle, the trade-in value, available interest rates and use an on-line calculator to compute an expected monthly payment. Armed with that information any buyer can achieve a good overall deal.
 
On the last vehicle I purchased I computed a monthly payment of about $490 for 60 months would be a good overall deal. I was able to negotiate my numbers (price, trade, finance, etc.) and added tax, tags and the infuriating doc fee (in my case only $100) and used those to compute the $490. In the finance office, the F&I guy came with a monthly payment of about $500. For 60 months that was a $600 difference, so obviously something was amiss. After I confronted the guy, he painfully admitted he had added some silly insurance type items which he said he assumed I would want as everyone does! Very unethical and I wonder how many times this guy pulled this on unsuspecting buyers. My simple understanding of the monthly payment clearly stopped this guy in his tracks. Needless to say, I mentioned this on the customer satisfaction survey I got from the manufacturer.
 
The most important thing is good research. Last month my son was buying a new vehicle. He visited a dealer or two and concluded a good selling price for the new vehicle was $23,500, the value of his trade was about $10,000, and the manufacturer's financing was .9%.
 
Having bought vehicles for too many decades, I did my own research and determined a very good selling price for his area was actually $22,000, the trade value was about $11,000 to $12,000. Armed with this info, my son revisited the dealers and ultimately bought the vehicle for about $22,000 and got $11,500 for his trade. In this case, my limited knowledge saved my son about $3,000.
 
As with everything knowledge is key!

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