I have been shopping for two weeks now for an SUV. I wanted to get a used, more recent year just to beat on for the winter and have been DESTROYED by these dealerships. DESTROYED.
I leave the house on an off day from work, have done my homework(know my numbers) and have my budget, but these A**holes wont budge and they start being disrespectful to me. I will say this, no one treats you as well as a high end dealership. NO one.

After haggling my *** off, I come home ready to slip into a coma.

I have tried early morning approach, end of month approach, friendly style, more quiet and asserstive techniques, the "leave for coffee and come back technique", the "Lets all have lunch and I will come back in an hour to talk some numbers again" technique, the write on paper and slide back and forth technique, the OTD COD technique...man I am dying over here.

Any techniques you guys use? Any help or stories would be appreciated right about now while I ice my forehead and sack, sip some icetea while the smoke comes out my ears...

 

If that's you on your sig, that might explain why your not getting anywhere
Now but seriously dealers will never lose they always want to gain, specially in this economy. I was very very lucky with the purchase of the S when it came out. Being that it was the 3rd S550 that arrived at the dealer. I was able to get it almost 7k off MSRP, but that was because I've bought all my cars with them

Good luck

 

 

Sh*t your right...need to comb my hair before I head out next time...

 

think we need more details to know how to attack the problem. what are you looking for?

I was able to get $8k off my E550C with a trade-in value only $2500 less than I paid for my old car 18mos ago. Win/win

 

one of the websites that i found very useful when i bought my car is www.carbuyingtips.com. not to promote their site nor i'm affiliated with them. i think it's the best site that i found. yes, knowing your numbers helps. but there's more to it. this site tells you step by step what the dealer (or the person helping you) will do next. so you have an idea on what they will be doing so you are ahead of the game.

make the long story short, got my car, fully loaded, under the msrp.

good luck

 

perhaps the price you are looking for is unrealistic if several dealers aren't even willing to consider it?

 

I have LOTS of expeirence buying cars from Porsche, Audi, VW, MB, BMW and Ford--all usually brand new, but it shouldn't matter.
I buy most of the cars for people in my family because I'm good at it and I actually enjoy the process.

Frankly, my best advice is to show dealerships other deals from other dealers (even if you make them up) and say hey can you beat this or not--because I'm ready to buy.

Do this a couple times at different dealerships for similar cars/trucks and chisle those fackers down little by little until you get what you want and then just say "aw no that other guy was throwing in this too____"

A lot of negotitating is how you present yourself and how you deal with people--I do this kind of thing every day (for the past 15 years) owning my own biz and I actually love making deals.

Saving a dollar is the same as earning a dollar, but usually takes less time!
I haven't met an ultra successful person who just pays whatever for anything. my .02

I personally approach each negotiation a little different depending on who I'm working with--and I have a pretty tough/no b.s. approach and that seems to work for me.

My wife can't stand when I buy cars or most things for that mattter--but she always enjoys the outcome!

Oh, I forgot to mention, don't ever be outright insulting, unless you know you will never deal with this person ever in your life, because these guys move around a lot from dealer to dealer across brands, etc.--so it's always better to "be nice, until it's time not to be nice"

 

What do you want and what price are you willing to pay? Unfortunately most of the preowned pricing has gone up over the last 6-8 months due to lack of inventory and higher demand. I am not going to try to sell you anything (because im not a sponsor) but I can try to help you out. Tactics as you have found, just don't work. I can tell that the "other" dealer approach usually works if you're in a highly competitive area, but even then some times it doesn't b/c dealer A may not have as much markup as dealer B (on used cars, new cars it is basically all the same). Good luck with your search and one extra tip would be to do some of this from the comfort of your own home via the net or telephone.

 

I always use two dealerships against each other deal.
Find two models that are close in price at different dealer ships and use one against the other. It works for me.

 

Some of the greatest advice yet. I love to deal to and I enjoy the back and forth until they start getting stupid with me and disrespecting my knowledge. Then when they don't throw in little things just to show their appreciation for your business (Floor mats, newer tires, etc.)

I was trying to buy a 2008 Nissan Xterra with 25K miles and I was offering them $17,600 and the guy would not sell the car unless I paid $17,750!! I was going out of my mind that they would not make the sell for $150 because I was asking for all season mats and new break pads.

I didn't think it was too much to ask. So I walked. I think I will just add on about 4 more and buy new. I baby my cars and keep them in pristine condition so I will keep this one for a long time.

Great info, thanks for the great insight...

 

As you can see from my sig I love buying cars. Ill give you my tips.


#1 and most important. Never I mean NEVER show desperation. Always walk in like you dont care about the car. Act like its the first time your seeing it. Walking into a MB dealer and saying, please point me to your C63's is already showing you have done at least a little home work and are there to buy that specific car. Ask about the cars they have for sale. Tell them you like fast cars or luxury cars ect..

#2 Never tell them what your looking to pay. This is a giant mistake. Ask them for their best deal. Tell them you want their bottom line. If your trading in make sure they tell you how much they will give your first before you tell them what you want. Never know, it might be more.

#3 Pin dealers against one another. I pick 3 of the best that I know has the car in stock I want. Haggle haggle haggle. "Dealer 1 will give me the car for X" then when dealer 2 says he will give you the car for Y beating X then bring Y to dealer 3 and tell them. When dealer 3 gives you Z price bring it back to dealer 1 and see if you can beat it. Contine this dance until you get your price.

#4 Know your price before you walk in the door. Know what your willing to pay. How much it will cost you per month. The current interest rates based on your credit score. The more you know the less they will try to screw you.

#5 Know what the car sells for. Dont insult the dealer by coming in 10K lower than it cost them to buy it themselves.

#6 Be willing to walk away. A dealer will smell it all over you if your not. They will prey on your weakness and you will never get the deal you want. If you know he is trying to sell you the car for 3K more than you know you can get it for walk away. Tell him you will find it somewhere else when he tries to tell you that you wont find it anywhere. Tell him your willing to go out of state if you have to.

#7 buy at the end of the month. The last week of the month. The last weekend!! These sales people want the sales numbers. Sometimes they will sale the car at cost because the sales numbers mean more than the money!!

#8 To ready to buy if your going to haggle. Sooner or later you will reach that sweet spot on the deal and it will take just a little bit more to make it. Tell them, Throw in X and ill buy right now. Or Take off 1K more and its a deal. Be ready to sign right there. Not... ok ill think about it after he comes back with what you want. Use this line as your last push for the best deal "Ill sign right now if..."


Most people hate buying cars. I love it!! love the dance. I spend at least 2-3 weeks lowballing these crooks sometimes. The last strike is always at the end of the month though. Thats when you get the edge.


Happy buying!!

 

Agree with Black-CLKs and Propains posts: Key is a few things:

1) Getting multiple dealerships involved...getting lowest quote, until you go to multiple dealerships that say "Man, not sure how XX is doing that, but I can't touch that"...then you know you are close.

2) Never show urgency to buy...be willing to walk out...be willing to NOT get the car you want

3) Shop at the end of the month...that is the time when dealers are trying to move cars...worked great on my ML350...31 Jan, and they wanted it GONE off their books THAT day...I gave an unrealistically low number, and after threatening (not harshly, but made it look real) to leave a few times, they hit my unrealstic number...amazing how it worked

4) Don't give up what you want to pay (either total or monthly) and don't offer the trade in...in fact, I wouldn't trade a car anymore (after about 2008), because you get RAPED on that. Sell through CARMAX or craigslist or something...but don't take a hit on your trade...they'll make it look like you are getting your new car below invoice because they screwed you on your trade

5) No your car, your facts, etc. Bring up holdback (even though most dealers will argue that is THEIR money for the car sitting around). Know what they paid...use TMV (Total Market Value) and print it out and take it with you...tell them you want to be BELOW what every other Joe paid...

6) Offer to service your car there for a year...or if that is already thrown in, offer to buy some accessories within a year. While I wouldn't put that in writing, it MAY help sway them if they are close.

Good luck...happy hunting.

 

EXCELLENT ADVICE and RIGHT ON.

I enjoy the game as well, the dance, the back and forth. I take out the days aggression on these dealerships. I love watching the sales guy get up, sit down, get up, sit down, the back and forth from the copy machine, the punching the numbers on the calculators, the paper cuts, rolling the car out ready as if I am gonna buy it right there blind. I can see the sweat on their brows as they anticipate me leaving and walking out. This sales guy was cursing with me the whole time I got there as if I was some hooligan ( F this and F that, S this, *** that, F F F F F F F ...). I thought, WHAT THE HELL?? What if I was really offended and left???!!! Stupid idiot.

But do you know the profits these guys make???!!! All the BULLSH*T they spit out about the numbers and so on???!!!! I mean when I bought my C63 I was stupid not to know the rebates they were offering and I asked them over and over again if there were any and they straight out lied to me and said NO. I still got a great deal but I gave THEM my hard earned money.

NO MERCY on them. IT'S WAR.

Thanks for the advice. I will surely take note.

 

Man, I felt like I was reading my own post when I read this. I agree with all of it. Persistence. And if you find that nobody will take the deal you want to make, you're asking for too much. They're desparate out there.

 

So true about the rebates. When I was hunting my C63 I called a dealer and said. Im interested in the C63 you have in stock. He sure, ohhhh what a car.. blah blah blah... Sells for 68080 I can give it to ya for 62K.

I let the phone go silent for about 2 seconds and said.. "You have it listed on your dealer website for 58K"

OHHH!! he says.. Well then 58K...

My reply "I would rather not own the car than buy it from you" and hung up.


These guys are out to make money. They will rob you blind if you dont know better.