New Car Buying?

“Anyone used one of those internet services to get a "lowest price" quote on a new car?
Did it work?
Was it worth the time and trouble?
I'm in the market for a little rice-burner commuter car.”

“are you getting a new-new car, or a new-used one? my friend used one of those internet quotes, and she got a lower price than she would have gotten had she just gone in and tried to haggle. i went with her, and it worked out fine.”

“oh yeah! lost my train of thought. i was wondering if it was used, because when my friend went to buy hers, they wouldn't let her see the CarFax thing on that car...they just kept telling her that they had looked at the CarFax, and nothing had happened to it. finally they let her see it though...but if it's used, you should check that out.

maybe everyone's aware of that, though. it was a new one on me! i'd never heard of CarFax.”

“I used a site called Autobytel.com to purchase my Jeep. If you have a dealer in your area that uses this service, I would recommend it. I paid $100 over what the dealer paid, and I didn't have to haggle. Plus, all of the dealers in this program were rated high in my area for the vehicles they were selling.”

“I use to be in the car business for 7 years. I can tell you the ins and outs of the business so that you can get the best deal. Email me SS.”

“I used Autobytel about 3yrs ago to but my wife's Xterra. Easiest car buying experience of my life. I went to look at a replacement jeep for my '95 when the salesman took off $4k from a lowend hyundai sticker. I kept my jeep (w 150,000mi) for the woods & plowing and bought the elantra for everything else. Love that Hyundai. (20k mi now)”

“Four years ago I bought my '99 Cherokee through Auto-buy-tel(sp?) for just a few hundred over invoice. I placed the order for the exact options I wanted and the Jeep was delivered to a participating dealership a few weeks later. All I had to do was go to the dealership and sign the papers. It was easier than going to Sears and buying a fridge!”

“get a HUMMER...they're great!!!”

“Binks, tell me it's not true.
You were in the car business?
And here I was thinking you were a stand up kinda guy. :(
Just kidding, I'm sure you are reformed now. ;)
Car salesmen give me a royal pain in the butt. Car shopping takes me a couple of months. I have to see and drive and get specs on everything. I'm as big a pain to the salesmen as they are to me.

Autobytel.com sounds worth checking out.

Thanks guys, for all your replys.”

“Carfax is worth the twenty bucks if you're buying used. If the dealer won't run a report for you take the VIN and do it online.”

“I've tried those internet buying services and have found that I could always do better on my own.

Tip 1: Go to the Kelley Blue Book web site (www.kbb.com). At this site you can get a report listing cost and MSRP for your vehicle and options. It is very accurate as I have verified it against delaer invoice.

Tip 2: Go to Car buying tips (www.carbuyingtips.com). This site lists every dealer scam known plus how to negotiate the best deal.

Tip 3: Always act like you don't care whether or not you end up buying the car. Think about it, the salesman has already invested time in you, after a couple of hours of dealing, they don't want you to leave.

Tip 4: If you've narrowed down your make, model, options etc. Go to the maunfacturer's website. Most have a vehicle finder feature that can search local dealer inventory. You may find your vehicle at several dealers. This is handy during negotiations because you can say, "here is what I am offering for the vehicle, if it is not acceptable, dealers ABC and XYZ have the same vehicles on their lots.

In Aug 02, I bought a 2002 Ford Ranger Edge fully loaded (AT, AC, CD, etc.) The dealer asking price was $24.5K, the MSRP was $21K and I paid $19.1K ($100 over invoice).”

“so, what kind of car are you buying me, Stoveypoo?”

“Sorry, Your Adorableness, but you aren't THAT adorable. ;)
I'm looking for a small Toyota commuter car.
Something with high gas mileage.”

“Test drive a hyundai first. Can't hurt. Think you'll be impressed. They drive NICE. 100,000 warrenty & for $20 a month they cover EVERYTHING incl lockouts, flat tires & out of gas. These cars are selling themselves & prices will go up drastically.”

“Ok, if buying new, here is what you do. Grab the sat or sunday paper and look at all the lost leaders in there for the make that you want.

Call all of those dealers and give them all the exact same car to compare. Make sure they tell you what the MSRP is!! If they give you a different MSRP then they have either added something to the car or they are talking about a different car.

After you make sure that all the dealers are quoting the same car then you get their best price.

BE HARDNOSED AS HELL WHEN DOING THIS. They will try to jack you around everyway they can before they actually give you a price over the phone. Don't fall for it.

Customer Says "If you want me to come down there and buy it then you're going to give me a price. I'm not going to waste my time driving down there for nothing"

Salesman: "Would you buy a pair of shoes without trying them on. How do you know if you will like it?"

customer: "Say, I know what I want. It's like buying a TV. I look in the paper for what I want. I call around to see who has the best price and I go get it. Very simple. Now if you want my business then go get me your best price or I'll go to ABC dealership and buy it!

salesman: What price would it take to earn your business TODAY?

NOTE: NEVER EVER ANSWER THAT QUESTION!!!NO MATTER WHAT!!! IF YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION YOU JUST LOST AND GAVE THEM PLENTY OF AMMO!

Just say" If you want my business then you go get me a price and if I like it then I'll buy it.

NOTE:So here is what happens now. He'll call you back and give you some crazy rediculous price. When he says it...no matter what the number is(even if it is a good deal)...just laugh at it and say "well thanks for your time, we're just tooo far apart"

SALESMAN:he'll either say somethng like "Well, what figure did you have in mind?" or something similar.

customer: say "nevermind, abc toyota has alot cheaper than that. thanks for trying. If you can get any cheaper than call me"

AS FAR AS AUTOBYTEL AND SIMILAR SERVICES: These are not the best deals out there!!!! You can get a much better deal by not using them!! If a customer was coming in off of a autobytel lead then the dealership still made 1200 to 2000 on the car. Don't fall for the "Here is my invoice and cost on the car" That is straight CRAP!!! I could tell you 20 other things that would shave quite a bit more off the price but figured this was long enough.

If anyone else wants to know more. Just post and I'll put some more tip on there.”

“Pretty interesting stuff there Bink. I got ripped on my Jeep a few years ago. I love it to death and will never get rid of it, it's exactly what I wanted, but I paid too much. I went in talking about the price, and let the salesman trick me into the monthly payment game ("We'll worry about price in a minute, let's see what kind of payment you want to make first). Next thing I knew, I had bought the Jeep at full price, having forgot to ever get back to the sticker. It was my first car buying experience, but I learned a whole lot the hard way. In fact I get a lesson every month until this coming Nov.”

“I understand. There is so much more that you wouldn't believe.”

“I drive my wife's Hyundai Accent to and from work everyday and love it. It's the GT model, so it does not get the best gas mileage. Try one of the other model's. I have had only minor problems with the car, which the dealership took care of, free of charge (driver's side window stuck and when having emissions tested, info could not be read by the computer)

The car has 103,000 miles and it is still running strong.”

“Another good idea is to bring a calculator with you so that you can figure out the monthly payment. When I was buying my Explorer, the dealer and I agreed upon the sales price, my down payment, etc. and then the dealer came back and told me that the monthly payment would be $325. I asked them at what interest rate and I calculated the payment to be $250. So, I threatened to walk out and then the dealer said that the computer made a mistake and automatically added in the extended warranty, paint protection, rust proofing and fabric protection. Remember, don't let your guard down once you have agreed upon the price because they still have many other gimics to steal your money!!!”

“Buying a car sucks! Dealers should be rigged with an electric shock collar and anytime they piss you off, ZAP!”

“I onces spent 6 hours with a car dealer. I was taking so much of his time, the manager told the salesman to give me what I want. I got it for about 1500 below blue book. I was pretty happy. Haggle haggle haggle.

I am looking at that Honda Element. Does anyone own one of those?”

“I bought my Jeep from Carmax and will go back there again to purchase another one. There is no haggling with the salesman on price. (Salesman get paid a set price on any car he sells, no commission) I actually got the Jeep
$ 1000.00 under the price listed because they had it on the internet at a different price and they honored that price.

I also like the way they give you an estimate on your car. You deal with a someone else and he doesn't know if your there to buy a car or sell yours outright.”

“I second going to www.carbuyingtips.com, it's a great resource.”

“No 5-6 year car loans for me. Thank you very much.
I write a check for the full amount, and yes, it will not bounce.”

“"No 5-6 year car loans for me. Thank you very much.
I write a check for the full amount, and yes, it will not bounce."
StoveStomper
01:02:08 PM
04/30/03

that is what happens when you get a divorce...you have money!!!”

“Hey SS, with all the 0% APR deals around, why not keep the cash in the bank and pay the car off monthly? In case of emergency, you've got money in the bank and if you get tired of paying monthly, you have the option to pay the car off.”

“BigPoppa, Sass and I almost bought an element. We had the loan approved and a vehicle picked, just had to sign. Even had a good price (though it took multiple calls to 6 dealers to get them to go cheap) but $22,410 was still too much. Plus I thought it was unimpressive, the consloe design was all style no substance. Okay ride okay power. We ended up with another Cherokee (2000). Cost us about $9000 less.”

“I don't like car dealers!
I want to buy a new Toyota Corolla, paying cash, no loan, no trade in.
Base model, just auto, a/c, and cruise options.

Cheapest quote so far, $14,900.

Man, I hate the process.

..and yes, I started this thread two years ago and I still haven't made a deal! ;-)
BS BS BS
last edited: 3/03/05 3:02:44 PM”

“strip for them.

might work, ya never know till you try

:)~”

“hmmmm....why buy new? buy one that is 1-2 yrs old. You will get a better deal”

“Do you belong to Costco?
I haven't tried it but they claim to send you a "Members only no-hassle price quote" from a local participating dealer. Since you know what you want you are supposed to be able to get a price without setting foot in a dealership.”

“Good idea pepsi.
I'm a Sam's Club member, maybe they have the same deal.”

“Do you have a Car Max near you? A good friend just bought a car from them and it has been great for him. It was an older car, I believe a 99, but it had low miles and so far, after 2 months, everything is fine.

This is a search in my area for a Corolla. That price does not seem so bad.

http://www.carmax.com/dyn/searchengine/searchresults.asp?NewUsed=1&SearchType=0&CityMarket=4&CityMarketLabel=Chicago&Location=7180&LocationLabel=Merrillville&HasCookie=true&PageType=1&Make=TO&MakeLabel=Toyota&Model=CORO&ModelLabel=Corolla&Price=5&PriceLabel=Any+Price”

“sheesh Stovey! I wanted a new buggy, checked them out in parking lots for a few days, did a comparison online, made my choice, decided on my price, called the dealership and said
"you got one in black?"
"how much?"
"get it ready, I'm on my way"

LOL...

oh yeah, and I yakked about it on TT for awhile...”

“Go to any credit union or on-line site that will tell you what the wholesale price of the vehicle you want costs. Be sure to add all the options etc. Be informed of any rebates or end of year discounts the dealer gets for selling say 2005 cars as the 2006 cars are coming out. This is usually around 5 percent. With this data you calculate what the dealer paid for the car. He has to make some profit but $200 to $400 is plenty. Let the suckers pay him more. Make him an offer and low ball him. Once you know that the worst thing he can tell you is "NO" and he lets you walk out the door you have the game figured out. If you make an offer on cars of the same make, model, and options cars at different dealers and they all turn you down then your offer is too low. Bump that offer in small increments until someone bites. Always deal with car salemen from a position of strength. They won't like it but they will sell you a car if they are hungry.

Now these rules don't apply if you're trying to buy the hottest thing on the market.”

“Sorry, I broke the thread”

“I always figure I got a fair deal if I can
get 11 or 12% off of the sticker price
(without any add ons.)

What is the sticker price?
last edited: 3/03/05 3:40:57 PM”

“ebay”

“Dealers tend to be reluctant these days to offer fat discounts for buying a car out. They're more inclined to offer incentives toward a house loan or lease, because they make far more money on the interest than they do on the actual sale of the car.

Good luck with that though...”

“Not quite two years since I started this thread, and I now have a brand new Indigo Ink Pearl 2005 Toyota Corolla sitting in my driveway. I wish I could get it into my garage. ;-)
Got a good deal and paid cash.
Now all I got to do is call the insurance in tomorrow and buy a tag, start looking at a rack for my yak.”

“Congrats Stove! I got a 2005 Corolloa myself a couple of months ago - great car - the second one I've owned in fact.”

“Thanks Roam! I think I'm going to like it.”

“congrats on the corolla, can you put your kayak on top or do you still have a truck? i love my celica, the gas mileage is great. i think i look good in it also.”

“Still have my truck for towing my toys. ;-)”

“hey stove did you get any of that nasty weather the other night? we had some really high winds, never lost power but our house was shaking!”

“Where's the photos?”

“Had a Corolla wagon for 12 years. Great car. Finally had to get something else cuz the suspension was shot after 157,000 miles. Would have bought another one, but wanted a wagon and Toyota stopped making wagons years ago.”

“Anyone own a toyota prius ?”

“No, but I would wait for the plug in batteries, that's where you'll help unless you do a lot of city driving.”

“They be FUGLY!”