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Smart Shopper Purchasing Strategies - Questions & Success Stories
3884 messages, Last post on Apr 08, 2009 at 1:08 PM
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Replying to: weathermike (Sep 16, 2008 9:25 pm) I would agree with the letting them make the first offer, and giving a price lower than you wanted to pay. But, I think once you get to the point of explaining why the car should be priced lower, you're just wasting your time. You only wanted to pay $4,200 for the Neon. So, I would have said "That's what I think the car is worth and is all I'm willing to pay, if something comes up in the next day or two where you can sell it for that, give me a call"... then walk out. i>I thought I made a strong case and did everything right-- we just couldn't agree. That happens I've always said a buyer should use whatever negotiation method they are most comfortable with. But, as you said, sometimes an agreement can't be made... certainly has happened to me on more than one occasion. |
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Replying to: isellhondas (Sep 16, 2008 3:30 pm) I'd go a bit further and say that there all kinds of cheap cars out there- and most of them are better drives then a Neon. Even one with a "sporty" rear spoiler. |
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Replying to: weathermike (Sep 16, 2008 9:37 pm) Everyone has their advice on what you could have done differently. All of that is ok, but realize it is all coming from different perspectives. Everyone has their own way of handling this kind of thing. There is lots here that we don't know. We don't know everything that was said during your time with the salesman. You may have said something or done something that gave the salesman the impression that you were hot for the car. If that is the case, it is no big surprise he stuck to his guns on price. The salesman could have been a little put off by the education you gave him on how the car should have been priced. Might have ticked him off just enough for him to dig in and hold a hard line. These kind of things happen. It is just hard to tell if they happened here. My advice, always be willing to walk away. Never fall in love with a car before you buy it, or at least if you do, don't show it. Personally I would make my first offer much closer to my target price, and be open to one bump to my target price. My offer is presented as what I am willing to pay, and I may share one reason why, but never multiple reasons why and most especially never any reason that disparages the dealer (such as it is too bad for them they paid too much for the car). BTW - when researching value of a used car, post the details of the car here in the Real World Trade in Values thread. Knowing what similar cars are going for at auction is a good piece of info, and most likely more up to date than the pricing guides.
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Replying to: mattandi (Sep 17, 2008 5:31 am) Of course, they can't get rid of the trucks and SUVs with people freaking out about gas prices. If you're looking in that price range and your commute is light, I'd say buy one of those. The reason all the cars are marked up $1K or more is because people will pay for that "because of the gas savings". There was a comment about buying a new moped for $1500. Many people have done that, too "for the gas savings" - but if you work out the mileage to save the outlay on the purchase, it doesn't make sense. Not many folks bother to do that. So I know for next time, how do I show I'm an "informed buyer" without doing what I did? I mean I went in there, let him make the first offer, gave him a price lower than I wanted to pay, and one by one as the situation dictated, laid out all the facts. Isn't that what a savvy buyer does? Everyone has their own method. Here's mine - cue reminiscence of bobst here. You go in, find your car (you've already done your pricing homework), YOU (the customer) make the offer, they accept it or you leave. Why waste time letting them make an offer, etc. You already know what they want for the car, that's why there's a sticker on it. If the dealer makes the first offer, the sticker price will be it. Then you are going to waste your next two hours (and the salesperson's next two hours) trying to chip away at the price. After two hours, you'll both be frustrated, but the dealer has the much greater advantage (you're in their store, after all). Many customers get worn out and pay just to get it over with. The bottom line is this: if you like that car so much, buy it for $4700 and drive it like you stole it!  But seriously, if this is an '02 Neon that they bought from auction with over $100K miles on it, I'd stay away. There's a reason the original dealer (the one who took it in trade) didn't keep it. Good luck either way!
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Replying to: weathermike (Sep 16, 2008 9:37 pm) (Yoda speaking) " either do or do not do... there is no try."  I'll take you back four and a half years, to a time when this young jipersnapper was just a novice on Edmunds. I was in the market for a Buick Regal. The dealership had stickered a 1999 Buick Regal for $8,999 and put it on "sale" for $7,999. A very nice car, excellent condition, only 54k miles. After negotiating on the price a bit, I was able to get a price of $6,500, which was a bit under private party value. So, it can be done... is done all the time as a matter of fact. Pushing for dealer trade-in wouldn't be out of the question either. Used cars is where dealerships make all their money. Edmunds has pricing for "Dealer Trade-In", "Private Party Sale", and "Dealer Retail". Dealerships buy at wholesale prices that are less than Edmunds "Dealer Trade -In". So if your dealership gave $3,000 Edmunds trade-in for a 2002 Neon, they would pay around $2,500 at auction. Say Edmunds Private Party price would be $4,500, and Dealer Retail would be around $6,000. So, look at what a dealership pays for a car... and then what it tries to sell it for. You're looking at a 30%-40% mark-up... and on lower priced cars even 50%. I think it better to look at what a dealership pays for a car, then go from there, as opposed to what price they are listing a car at.
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Replying to: weathermike (Sep 16, 2008 1:04 pm)  Any way, your experience sounds like one I had a few years ago at a Chrysler store. The car was priced thousands higher than NADA retail, the salesman frequently repeated that he had 30 years in the business and he claimed that all the books were bogus because his used cars were going up in value not down. After all the dancing was over he offered dealer retail, I offered dealer wholesale and we met in the middle. I probably paid too much. BTW, if you're in the market for a car with 100K miles for $4200 I can sell you the Chrysler I bought at that store. Just don't look up the TMV on it. 
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Replying to: jipster (Sep 17, 2008 5:57 am)  I'm OK, living there, paying everything on time and more, not going anywhere anytime soon, but Geez - it does suck to learn that in next five years or more I'm going to get less than I paid - only goo side is my real estate taxes went down significanlty. (just as I always said, the house you live in is a lifestyle choice first, expense and liability second and if you lucky may turn into money saver/investment third - but in that order).
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Replying to: oldfarmer50 (Sep 17, 2008 6:26 am) ...which is around Edmunds Private Party sell price. You offered dealer wholesale, and am assuming you weren't "laughed out of the building", as you ended up with the car. So, I think looking for a price between dealer trade-in value and private party would be a good strategy to save some money. You don't ask you don't get. |
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Replying to: dino001 (Sep 17, 2008 6:54 am) Right. For a car in this price range I may start around $500 over what I think the wholesale price of the vehicle would be. That should take care of profit and whatever reconditioning is done.. , which usually is not a whole lot on a $4,000 vehicle. |
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Replying to: jipster (Sep 17, 2008 9:45 am) How do I know what the wholesale value of the car ought to be, or what the dealer probably paid? And even if I know these things, what good will they do me in negotiations? For example, if I had a good idea of what the dealer probably paid and I went in there and used that figure, then the salesman would have used his "we paid $5200" line. How do I counter something like that? I have no proof of what they paid. He could just say "your guess is wrong." I did a lot of research on cars, and I thought the Neon was about the best value I could get. I'm sure that will make you guys laugh, but that it does shows that it shouldn't cost much money to buy. I want a fairly recent car (so the bank would agree to finance) that handles well and is at least fairly good on gas (i.e. economy class). With my budget, I really don't want to pay much more than this. You guys say there are lots of cars just as good out there: what are they? Thanks. |
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