Haggling for car

[geojen]

Is it possible to get out of paying that ridiculous fee that car dealerships charge for getting the car in salable condition? This fee really ticks me off. Has anyone ever gotten out of paying for it?

Dh and I are thinking of buying a mini-van since now we have car seats to deal with. Our bargaining plan is this: Negotiate the total price of the car (do not let the sales person lure us away from this discussion with talk of "monthly payments.") 2) negotiate what he will give us for our trade-in. 3) negotiate the terms of the contract. This is where that annoying fee will come in. What do you think? We will need to finance this vehicle, but will have financing in hand before we head to the dealership.

[kilapapipa]

Look up the value of your trade in on NADA, dealers use this site. Get there best deal and give them your price since you are getting financing ahead of time and walk away if they don't take it. Give them at least a week to call you back. Even though you may want to, let them call you.

[terces]

Definitely going there prepared with information is the key. It's great you got your financing lined up. But like kila said know what your trade in is worth. I was proud of myself the last time I bought a car being prepared. When the sales guy told me what they would give me for my trade in I slapped down my paperwork on what it really was worth. They gave me what I asked for. It also helped letting them know that I didn't NEED this car... but they NEEDED the sale. I could walk away at any moment.

[boosami]

1) Find out what all the fees are by asking for them expanded out in a line-item report. Ask what each specific fee is for if you are not familiar with it.
2) Tell them you will not buy unless certain fees are taken off. Point out the specific amounts you wish to have removed.
3) Buy the car when they agree, and sign at the reduced price.
OR
3) Walk away!

All fees are negotiable. It just depends on how desperate they are to make that sale. Especially dispute the dealer prep and dealer markup fees. Those are just buffers to add back in any price you haggled away.

[jIM_Ohio]

Your better off negotiating down the price of the car.

1) Be willing to walk away is rule #1
2) If you don't like what is happening in the sales process remember rule #1.
3) Always have 4 dealers you will look at cars for. For example if you want to buy a Honda, here are the steps I would take:

1) go to a honda dealer about 40 miles away. It would help if it is a large dealer (large as measured by volume of sales- find out who the top dealers are before shopping).
Make sure you tell the honda dealer you are going to look at Toyota, Nissan or another car. This is important.

2) Take a test drive and get to the point where you talk price and usually the salesperson will ask "tell me what I can do to prevent you from going to "Toyota" or one of the manufactures mentioned above. You need to walk away from the table on good terms. See if they offer something as you walk out the door.

3) Go to the next dealer, tell them where you've been. Take a test drive and get to point where you talk about price. Know who owns the dealers... for example if Honda and Toyota share a driveway, I'll put money on those 2 dealers being owned by the same person. So you won't get Honda to undercut Toyota or vice versa- the same person is ultimately making the profit.

4) Take a day off, then go to another Honda dealer in another part of town- this SHOULD BE the dealer you want to buy from. Tell them you want a price quote on the same vehicle you test drove previously. Tell them every option and color you want. Make it clear you have taken vehicle for a test drive. In our case we bring car seats to this visit and see if the stroller fits in the back, or if pumpkin seats fit into back seat for example- this way they see we are serious.

When we did this the dealer asked specifically- what price do we need to beat? I told them 32k and got a quote for a Pilot EX-L which had a sticker of 38.9k down to 31.9k. We didn't like the sales manager so we walked away anyway, and he dropped another $500 from the price while we were putting kids in car.

**edit** when we left dealer #1, the sales manager told me "call me back if you get a price for under 32k"- that is how I knew what price to tell the second honda dealer.

[tripods68]

Go to edmunds.com to find out the invoice price with all the options you want. They have the greatest resource. Then use that as your price/guide to negotiate closer to the invoice price. One rule: Do not ever pay MSRP for any car.

One thing to do especially if you don't like to haggle prices with salesman. Go directly online and select 4 or 5 dealers. Write exactly your requirement (ie model/options/color). Let them response to your pricing requirement. PRint the pricing you got the cheapest and from there.

[arthurb999]

Go to edmunds and figure out what you should get for your trade-in and what you should pay for the car.
Get pre-approved by your bank for an auto loan.

Do not talk anything but price on the car... once that is agree to, then move to trade in... then terms (always having a backup plan). Do not buy any extra junk after the deal is done... tire insurance, etc.

[Scanner]

I also advise try to not to get obsessed with getting the greatest deal. One thing every car dealer will say is:

"Wow. . .you drive such a hard bargain. You ought to work for us." They are saying that to make you feel psychologically good about the price you get. It's like what Jay Leno once quipped when the Tonight Show covered a car dealership in Atlanta selling cars for a $1.00:

"Why do I get the feeling I am being screwed anyway?"

The strategy with cars is to just not buy them often. That way, if you overpaid $500 or so. . .you don't feel so bad as if you buy a new/used car every 2-3 years. You should get a new/used car every 7-10 years IMO, maybe longer if you are like the Car Talk listeners that call in.

[Scanner]

I love Car Talk from NPR.

What are the 5 stages of grief they talk about with losing a car - Shock, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Auto Loan? LOL.

[geojen]

This is great advice everyone. What are your opinions on buying a new versus used Honda or Toyota mini-van? We have only purchased 2 cars in the past, and they have both been used, but they have been GM models. With the higher resale of Honda and Toyota, are you better off going brand-new or still getting a used model?

[tripods68]

That really depends on many factors like; how much is your budget---what you can afford on the monthly basis, fuel cost included. What is the purpose car (primary or secondary)? Is it a commuter car, long or short? Do you want this car to last the longest time or just looking for a beater car 3-4 years? We own a 06 honda odyssey bought it brand new and love it. No problem so far. We also own a 95 altima. So far it's been great commuter for us (maintainance accordingly).

[disneysteve]

This is great advice everyone. What are your opinions on buying a new versus used Honda or Toyota mini-van? We have only purchased 2 cars in the past, and they have both been used, but they have been GM models. With the higher resale of Honda and Toyota, are you better off going brand-new or still getting a used model?

I think it also depends on the actual vehicle in question. If you can find a used Sienna or Odyssey with very low mileage but at a nice discount to original price, that would favor buying used.

We bought a 2000 Sienna new. Two years later, it was totalled in an accident. We found another 2000 Sienna used for just a little more than the insurance settlement check and it had about 8,000 miles less than the one we were replacing. That was over 6 years and 80,000 miles ago so I think we made a good choice with the used one.

[arthurb999]

Used... all day.

[disneysteve]

I do acknowledge, reluctantly, that there can be times when buying new is the better deal. Particularly toward the end of the model year, you can sometimes get a fantastic deal on a new car with rebate/cash back and 0% financing that can put the final cost very close to the cost of a 1 or 2 year old model of the same vehicle. At that point, buying a car with 20K or so miles may not make sense compared to a brand new car with full warranty.