weegegirl 2 #1 April 13, 2006 Meet me... world's biggest push-over. I'm in the process of buying a car. Looking at a 2003 Z4 tonight. Currently the price is listed at $200 more than Kelley Blue Book Retail Value for Excellent. It has about 35,000 miles on it. Can anyone offer any advice on how to approach the deal? What some good points to knock price down? I am ready to put a very solid down payment on it of more than 33% the total asking price. I'm just worried I will test drive it and exclaim "I love this freakin car!" or something and be totally busted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stumpy 284 #2 April 13, 2006 QuoteI'm just worried I will test drive it and exclaim "I love this freakin car!" or something and be totally busted 1st hint - don't do this!! Step out and maybe start with ".... Its ok but no-way its worth the asking price.... " Try and be cool! Set a limit on what you think its worth and if they aren't meeting that, walk away! there will be other cars...Never try to eat more than you can lift Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weegegirl 2 #3 April 13, 2006 yeah, all while keeping a face?! that's it... i need an agent. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisamariewillbe 1 #4 April 13, 2006 Id get the black book value and meet that one half way between the blue book... black book is what they would get (max) if they took it to a dealer... also, almost no car is in "excellant" condition or mint unless it is a "show car" if you mess up and say "I love this car" back it up with "but not at this price, its just not in the range to make this deal workable... lets sit down and see if we can come to an agreement"Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weegegirl 2 #5 April 13, 2006 hmmm... see, i've never even heard of "black book" in relation to cars before. thanks! i'll have to look that up. but it's also coming from a dealership. granted it's a toyota dealership selling a bmw, but hey. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmcd308 0 #6 April 13, 2006 I think blue book excellent is actually what a dealer could get for it, not what the owner could get at a dealer. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisamariewillbe 1 #7 April 13, 2006 Used cars are what make the dealership money. I sell dodges but the new ones I MIGHT make 100 bucks off of... the used, well lets just say it can make buying gear feasible. Also compare it to buying a new car. I noticed at our dealership that the newer used are not much less then the 2006 models after rebatesSudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #8 April 13, 2006 QuoteMeet me... world's biggest push-over. I'm in the process of buying a car. Looking at a 2003 Z4 tonight. Currently the price is listed at $200 more than Kelley Blue Book Retail Value for Excellent. It has about 35,000 miles on it. Are you buying it retail? If not, the retail price isn't the correct column, as that includes detailing, dealer's costs, and dealer's profit margin. That said, the trade-in column isn't really fair in most cases either. Assuming it's what you want, and in great condition, I'd start half-way between trade-in and average retail, and show them how you arrived at your number. If they talk you up a little bit (not a lot), so be it. The Z4 is a fun little car! Edit to add: What is this talk about "down payment"? That suggests you are looking at a retail place, not a private seller. In either case, finance through your bank! Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisamariewillbe 1 #9 April 13, 2006 Black book or auction is what dealers look at when taking a trade. Then they sell it according to things like blue book, time of month, area, curb appeal and so on ...Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos340 1 #10 April 13, 2006 1. forget KBB. They are a Dealers Tool. Use www.edmunds.com and get the TMV (True Market Value) of the car. 2. Under NO circumstance at all EVER discuss monthly payment with the sales person. This is how they distract you from what you are actually paying of the car. 3. Do not negotiate at the dealership. Fax or Email them a COMPLETE offer. Include what you are willing to Pay for the Car Plus Tax and Doc fee. Negotiate strictly off how much you have to write the total check for to own the vehicle. (It doesnt matter that you will be financing it..) 4. DO NOT pay a HUGE Doc Fee or ANY advertising or other fees. The most you should pay for a Doc fee is about $200. 5. If you have Credit Union.. Go to them BEFORE you go to the dealer for pre Approval. Dealers make alot of money off "Selling" you Loan to lenders. and will "Load the deal on the Back End" by putting hidden cost into your loan. Another great site for financing is https://www.capitaloneautofinance.com . Take a few seconds to apply and 15 minutes later you will be approved or denied. They over night you a Blank Check (Good for up to your Approval value). Now all you have to do is Fax in your Offer to the dealer.. If they accept.. go pick up your car. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weegegirl 2 #11 April 13, 2006 Wow.... I have a great idea. Since my brain does not wrap itself around this stuff all that well... how about I just buy you an airline ticket, hand you some money, and let you go buy me a car!?!?!?!?! No, seriously... thank you! That is a lot of good info! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites lisamariewillbe 1 #12 April 13, 2006 Quote3. Do not negotiate at the dealership. 1 Where I work is the highest volume dealership in Austin texas, they do not negotiate over the phone, or fax or email, unless you are getting something like a viper and its already been proven that you are qualified to purchase the vehicle. 2. KBB is not a dealer tool, BB is... Market Value is like MSRP... no one should pay MSRP QuoteIt doesnt matter that you will be financing it..) No use in lying... just tell the dealer that you have arranged financing through such and such... they should do a "four square" which will have 4 boxes where they show price of car, trade in value, down payment and then monthly payment... they will try to get your attention away from the cost of the car and get you to focus on down payment and monthly payment. Bring them back to the price of the car and trade value, tell them you are not concerned with the payments ... QuoteDealers make alot of money off "Selling" you Loan to lenders. and will "Load the deal on the Back End" by putting hidden cost into your loan. but that is like working with someone like progressive... or lending tree, it is the same thing. The back end includes many factors you are not taken into consideration.Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites wildcard451 0 #13 April 13, 2006 Quoteyeah, all while keeping a face?! that's it... i need an agent. And you call yourself a poker player? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites nathaniel 0 #14 April 13, 2006 Find a guy to go with you and do the good cop bad cop thing. Tell them you're engaged, and that the car is for you. You get to be the good cop, your friend is the bad cop. Don't be afraid to walk away if it's not a good deal...My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Thanatos340 1 #15 April 13, 2006 I grew up around dealerships.. My mother has owned several. She currenly has High end Used only dealership here in Atlanta. I know the car business inside and out. I have been around it for 37 years. What I mean KBB is a Dealer tool is.. if you goto KBB.com and look up a car.. they will not show you Trade in and average retail side by side. The reason is the prices are heavily skewed in favor of the dealer on both sides . Edmunds is a MUCH more objective site for values. Quotedo a "four square" which will have 4 boxes where they show price of car, trade in value, down payment and then monthly payment... Tell the sales person if they EVEN mention monthly payment to you, you will go elsewhere. It is not relevant to what you are paying for the car. Monthly payment and down payment is between the Buyer and the Financer. and has NOTHING to do with negotiating the price of the vehicle. The financing site I suggested is NOT like Lending Tree or anything else. It is Capitol One Automotive. The largest Auto Lender in the world. Great rates and since you are dealing with them direct, they do not have to pay the dealer a Commission on the loan and you get a better rate. If the dealer insists that you be onsite to negotiate.. Do NOT deal with them. If they cat accept an offer over the phone without playing games then this is NOT a dealer you should be buying from. Edit: Quoteunless you are getting something like a viper and its already been proven that you are qualified to purchase the vehicle. Which is EXACTLY why I told her to get preapproved before starting the negotiating process. Buy your car from a Car dealer.. Buy your Loan from a Lender. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Thanatos340 1 #16 April 13, 2006 Weege.. Pm me the exact info on the car you want, The dealer Name and saleman number. I can probably negotiate the deal from here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mmytacism 0 #17 April 13, 2006 Approach it as though you're negotiating scholarship money with a group of colleges you have to choose from. You get offers from a bunch of different institutions, but you don't just choose the place with the best offer--you tell all the other colleges about the highest offer, and they'll (often) compete by raising the amount of your scholarship. Don't just stick to that one dealership. Visit others in the area with similar deals. Even if you want to buy from the first dealership, express genuine interest at the other locations and get the salesman to invest in you as a customer. That means, don't mention your other offers right away--wait until the salesman has already spent a lot of time with you and *expects* you to be a buyer. Car dealers don't get paid a very high hourly rate--they make most of their money off of sales. So if the salesman has just spent an hour of his workday giving you special attention, it'd be a waste of his time to let you go. Tell him about your better offers, and he'll try to compete by improving his offer. Then, take the offers from these other dealerships and go back to the first dealership. Tell the dealer that you think you have to go with the best offer, so unless the dealership gives you another discount, you're going to take your business elsewhere. That first dealership has probably invested a lot of time in you. Chances are, you'll be offered a better incentive to keep your business there. It's a time-consuming process, but it's worth it if you want to save money. I negotiated this way for the car I bought three years ago, and after three weeks of all the hassle, I got the car for a few thousand less than invoice price. Plus free inspections and two years of free oil changes. So...good luck!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites weegegirl 2 #18 April 13, 2006 QuoteWeege.. Pm me the exact info on the car you want, The dealer Name and saleman number. I can probably negotiate the deal from here. You're such a sweetie. Thanks. I think I'm just going to go "check it out" tonight and see what I think. I won't try to talk to the talk. I think I will have to drag one of my guy friends along for that. But this thread has directed me to a lot of good info. I used Edmonds to get some numbers on the Honda I am going to trade in and the Z4. At least I don't feel as blind. Thanks everyone! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Thanatos340 1 #19 April 13, 2006 Too many games. Fuck games. Find the car you want.. Have it checked out, Get your financing preapproved, Look up the value of the Car.. Make an offer. If they Balk or start playing games, Go elsewhere. DO NOT EVER PLAY DEALER GAMES!! Repeat as needed till you get the car you want at a fair price. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites MakeItHappen 15 #20 April 13, 2006 Quote Meet me... world's biggest push-over. I'm in the process of buying a car. Looking at a 2003 Z4 tonight. Currently the price is listed at $200 more than Kelley Blue Book Retail Value for Excellent. It has about 35,000 miles on it. Can anyone offer any advice on how to approach the deal? What some good points to knock price down? I am ready to put a very solid down payment on it of more than 33% the total asking price. I'm just worried I will test drive it and exclaim "I love this freakin car!" or something and be totally busted. There are some white papers for sellers and buyers on the auto sites. Autotrader.com, cars.com etc Also know what the trade in and third party values are for your car. That is the profit margin for the seller. That's the deal-making money. Always assume the asking price is more than what the seller will let it go for. I had to buy a replacement truck this year because of some yahoo driving on the wrong side of the road. I was set on getting another Nissan Frontier, so that's all I looked at. Dealers do NOT all give you the same price, even tho' their invoices are the same. So don't believe them when they say 'we all pay the same price'. They don't. They get rebates based on volume per year. There was a $700 difference between the highest and lowest 06 Frontier from about 6 Nissan dealers out here. I was told on a Thursday that my truck was totaled and had until Tuesday to get a new vehicle. They would take the rental away then. After internet searches, test drives etc I went to AutoTrader.com again on Sunday night. I found a nearly identical truck to mine. It was two years younger, fewer miles, but from a private party. I made an offer $1000 lower than his asking price. We settled at $500 lower. I made out +$1000 from the insurance money and have a newer truck with fewer miles. If you buy from a private party, you should know how to inspect the vehicle. Open the hood, check oil, air filter, oil leaks, tranny leaks etc. Pull spark plugs to inspect them and know what a fouled plug looks like. Always ask for the out the door price. One used truck I bought from a dealer, I told them I had x many dollars (after I let them know this is the truck for me). I want the out the door price to be that. They complied. They changed the selling price, trade-in etc to account for licenses, taxes, fees etc. I've bought my last 3 trucks with cash. They always try to upscale you into some really low monthly payment. Don't go for it, because living without a car payment is heaven. Besides that hides what you really pay for the vehicle. Dealers will always keep you waiting in their booth and try and talk you into buying right then and there. Don't do that. Always go home and 'think about it'. I told every dealer that I was a motivated buyer. I had to get another truck by Tuesday. Give me your best offer. If it's good, I'll be back on Monday and write you a check. The following week after my purchase most of the dealers called me back to see if I bought anything. I told them I found a nearly identical replacement truck vs buying a new one, so I bought it. Most of the dealers I dealt with via email or phone. I did not have to go to each dealer, except to check out the used trucks. I had told every dealer that I would rather get a replacement truck to reset me to where I was before Mr. Yahoo entered my life, but I could tap my reserves to buy a new truck. The late model Frontiers were selling for more than the new ones??? .. Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites lawrocket 3 #21 April 13, 2006 I've gotten great deals on cars whenever I've gone looking. I've had friends bring me along on four occasions to help them. I always come armed with one simple tool - a calculator. Calculators bring good things. Calculators bring awareness. Calculators let you figure out what you are REALLY payng for a car. so let's say you come up with $8k as a down payment, leaving a finance amount of $27k (just tossing numbers out). They give you a nice number for the monthly payment - $500 per month for 72 months. Dang, you can handle $500 per month, right? For a Z4? WOW! But calculating that out, you've paid $36k for that $27k note. This is not too bad, but it's not great. What if they give you a payment of $475 over 84 months (7 years)? Well, that looks great, too, until you calculate out that you'll be paying $13k in interest over the loan, meaning you will have paid $48k for that car. That doesn't look so hot, even though the numbers look better. Let them know you think you are getting screwed. But nly do this if you have the credit to make that statement. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites wmw999 2,439 #22 April 13, 2006 QuoteFind a guy to go with you and do the good cop bad cop thingIt doesn't have to be a guy, but if you bring someone with you, even if they're no better than you, they're not invested in getting the car. Bring someone with you that you can talk to. That way you have a reason to say "I'd like to talk to my friend for a couple of minutes" without feeling like you're being rude. And then your friend can talk sense into you if your feeling is that you're not doing the right thing. It's much easier to walk out that way. I'm the worst in the world when it comes to that sort of haggling, and I really wish I'd taken someone with me. I didn't get rooked, but I didn't like my salesman, and gave him the deal anyway. What a dumbass. Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites LisaM 0 #23 April 13, 2006 I did my loan for my RX8 through Capital One.... great experience! ~ Lisa ~ Do you Rigminder? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites nathaniel 0 #24 April 13, 2006 Quote *** Find a guy to go with you and do the good cop bad cop thing. Tell them you're engaged, It doesn't have to be a guy Not in Massachusetts maybe... My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ccowden 0 #25 April 13, 2006 In the immortal words of Mr. Pink: "Fuck all that shit!" I have been in the used car business for over 12 years and let me just say, it doesn't have to be this difficult. Find the car you want, check kbb.com and make sure the asking price is not way out of whack from what "Suggested Retail" is. It will most likely be well under that. Get a purchase order/buyers agreement from them with all the vehicle info and price on it so you CAN SEE the bottom line you are paying. You don't have to leave a deposit, you don't have to sign it. Take the purchase order home, do your checking, take it to your bank. If the price is cool and you are happy with the deal and the car... BUY THE DAMN THING! Don't go in there acting like "Mr. Bigshot Buyer" who knows it all and "knows" all the dealer games. It pisses us off just as much as it pisses you off to get a pushy salesperson. Let the salesperson help you buy the car. DO NOT make it a "me vs. them" game. Buying a car can be an enjoyable process. Don't make it more difficult than it needs to be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. 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lisamariewillbe 1 #12 April 13, 2006 Quote3. Do not negotiate at the dealership. 1 Where I work is the highest volume dealership in Austin texas, they do not negotiate over the phone, or fax or email, unless you are getting something like a viper and its already been proven that you are qualified to purchase the vehicle. 2. KBB is not a dealer tool, BB is... Market Value is like MSRP... no one should pay MSRP QuoteIt doesnt matter that you will be financing it..) No use in lying... just tell the dealer that you have arranged financing through such and such... they should do a "four square" which will have 4 boxes where they show price of car, trade in value, down payment and then monthly payment... they will try to get your attention away from the cost of the car and get you to focus on down payment and monthly payment. Bring them back to the price of the car and trade value, tell them you are not concerned with the payments ... QuoteDealers make alot of money off "Selling" you Loan to lenders. and will "Load the deal on the Back End" by putting hidden cost into your loan. but that is like working with someone like progressive... or lending tree, it is the same thing. The back end includes many factors you are not taken into consideration.Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildcard451 0 #13 April 13, 2006 Quoteyeah, all while keeping a face?! that's it... i need an agent. And you call yourself a poker player? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nathaniel 0 #14 April 13, 2006 Find a guy to go with you and do the good cop bad cop thing. Tell them you're engaged, and that the car is for you. You get to be the good cop, your friend is the bad cop. Don't be afraid to walk away if it's not a good deal...My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos340 1 #15 April 13, 2006 I grew up around dealerships.. My mother has owned several. She currenly has High end Used only dealership here in Atlanta. I know the car business inside and out. I have been around it for 37 years. What I mean KBB is a Dealer tool is.. if you goto KBB.com and look up a car.. they will not show you Trade in and average retail side by side. The reason is the prices are heavily skewed in favor of the dealer on both sides . Edmunds is a MUCH more objective site for values. Quotedo a "four square" which will have 4 boxes where they show price of car, trade in value, down payment and then monthly payment... Tell the sales person if they EVEN mention monthly payment to you, you will go elsewhere. It is not relevant to what you are paying for the car. Monthly payment and down payment is between the Buyer and the Financer. and has NOTHING to do with negotiating the price of the vehicle. The financing site I suggested is NOT like Lending Tree or anything else. It is Capitol One Automotive. The largest Auto Lender in the world. Great rates and since you are dealing with them direct, they do not have to pay the dealer a Commission on the loan and you get a better rate. If the dealer insists that you be onsite to negotiate.. Do NOT deal with them. If they cat accept an offer over the phone without playing games then this is NOT a dealer you should be buying from. Edit: Quoteunless you are getting something like a viper and its already been proven that you are qualified to purchase the vehicle. Which is EXACTLY why I told her to get preapproved before starting the negotiating process. Buy your car from a Car dealer.. Buy your Loan from a Lender. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos340 1 #16 April 13, 2006 Weege.. Pm me the exact info on the car you want, The dealer Name and saleman number. I can probably negotiate the deal from here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mmytacism 0 #17 April 13, 2006 Approach it as though you're negotiating scholarship money with a group of colleges you have to choose from. You get offers from a bunch of different institutions, but you don't just choose the place with the best offer--you tell all the other colleges about the highest offer, and they'll (often) compete by raising the amount of your scholarship. Don't just stick to that one dealership. Visit others in the area with similar deals. Even if you want to buy from the first dealership, express genuine interest at the other locations and get the salesman to invest in you as a customer. That means, don't mention your other offers right away--wait until the salesman has already spent a lot of time with you and *expects* you to be a buyer. Car dealers don't get paid a very high hourly rate--they make most of their money off of sales. So if the salesman has just spent an hour of his workday giving you special attention, it'd be a waste of his time to let you go. Tell him about your better offers, and he'll try to compete by improving his offer. Then, take the offers from these other dealerships and go back to the first dealership. Tell the dealer that you think you have to go with the best offer, so unless the dealership gives you another discount, you're going to take your business elsewhere. That first dealership has probably invested a lot of time in you. Chances are, you'll be offered a better incentive to keep your business there. It's a time-consuming process, but it's worth it if you want to save money. I negotiated this way for the car I bought three years ago, and after three weeks of all the hassle, I got the car for a few thousand less than invoice price. Plus free inspections and two years of free oil changes. So...good luck!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weegegirl 2 #18 April 13, 2006 QuoteWeege.. Pm me the exact info on the car you want, The dealer Name and saleman number. I can probably negotiate the deal from here. You're such a sweetie. Thanks. I think I'm just going to go "check it out" tonight and see what I think. I won't try to talk to the talk. I think I will have to drag one of my guy friends along for that. But this thread has directed me to a lot of good info. I used Edmonds to get some numbers on the Honda I am going to trade in and the Z4. At least I don't feel as blind. Thanks everyone! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos340 1 #19 April 13, 2006 Too many games. Fuck games. Find the car you want.. Have it checked out, Get your financing preapproved, Look up the value of the Car.. Make an offer. If they Balk or start playing games, Go elsewhere. DO NOT EVER PLAY DEALER GAMES!! Repeat as needed till you get the car you want at a fair price. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MakeItHappen 15 #20 April 13, 2006 Quote Meet me... world's biggest push-over. I'm in the process of buying a car. Looking at a 2003 Z4 tonight. Currently the price is listed at $200 more than Kelley Blue Book Retail Value for Excellent. It has about 35,000 miles on it. Can anyone offer any advice on how to approach the deal? What some good points to knock price down? I am ready to put a very solid down payment on it of more than 33% the total asking price. I'm just worried I will test drive it and exclaim "I love this freakin car!" or something and be totally busted. There are some white papers for sellers and buyers on the auto sites. Autotrader.com, cars.com etc Also know what the trade in and third party values are for your car. That is the profit margin for the seller. That's the deal-making money. Always assume the asking price is more than what the seller will let it go for. I had to buy a replacement truck this year because of some yahoo driving on the wrong side of the road. I was set on getting another Nissan Frontier, so that's all I looked at. Dealers do NOT all give you the same price, even tho' their invoices are the same. So don't believe them when they say 'we all pay the same price'. They don't. They get rebates based on volume per year. There was a $700 difference between the highest and lowest 06 Frontier from about 6 Nissan dealers out here. I was told on a Thursday that my truck was totaled and had until Tuesday to get a new vehicle. They would take the rental away then. After internet searches, test drives etc I went to AutoTrader.com again on Sunday night. I found a nearly identical truck to mine. It was two years younger, fewer miles, but from a private party. I made an offer $1000 lower than his asking price. We settled at $500 lower. I made out +$1000 from the insurance money and have a newer truck with fewer miles. If you buy from a private party, you should know how to inspect the vehicle. Open the hood, check oil, air filter, oil leaks, tranny leaks etc. Pull spark plugs to inspect them and know what a fouled plug looks like. Always ask for the out the door price. One used truck I bought from a dealer, I told them I had x many dollars (after I let them know this is the truck for me). I want the out the door price to be that. They complied. They changed the selling price, trade-in etc to account for licenses, taxes, fees etc. I've bought my last 3 trucks with cash. They always try to upscale you into some really low monthly payment. Don't go for it, because living without a car payment is heaven. Besides that hides what you really pay for the vehicle. Dealers will always keep you waiting in their booth and try and talk you into buying right then and there. Don't do that. Always go home and 'think about it'. I told every dealer that I was a motivated buyer. I had to get another truck by Tuesday. Give me your best offer. If it's good, I'll be back on Monday and write you a check. The following week after my purchase most of the dealers called me back to see if I bought anything. I told them I found a nearly identical replacement truck vs buying a new one, so I bought it. Most of the dealers I dealt with via email or phone. I did not have to go to each dealer, except to check out the used trucks. I had told every dealer that I would rather get a replacement truck to reset me to where I was before Mr. Yahoo entered my life, but I could tap my reserves to buy a new truck. The late model Frontiers were selling for more than the new ones??? .. Make It Happen Parachute History DiveMaker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #21 April 13, 2006 I've gotten great deals on cars whenever I've gone looking. I've had friends bring me along on four occasions to help them. I always come armed with one simple tool - a calculator. Calculators bring good things. Calculators bring awareness. Calculators let you figure out what you are REALLY payng for a car. so let's say you come up with $8k as a down payment, leaving a finance amount of $27k (just tossing numbers out). They give you a nice number for the monthly payment - $500 per month for 72 months. Dang, you can handle $500 per month, right? For a Z4? WOW! But calculating that out, you've paid $36k for that $27k note. This is not too bad, but it's not great. What if they give you a payment of $475 over 84 months (7 years)? Well, that looks great, too, until you calculate out that you'll be paying $13k in interest over the loan, meaning you will have paid $48k for that car. That doesn't look so hot, even though the numbers look better. Let them know you think you are getting screwed. But nly do this if you have the credit to make that statement. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,439 #22 April 13, 2006 QuoteFind a guy to go with you and do the good cop bad cop thingIt doesn't have to be a guy, but if you bring someone with you, even if they're no better than you, they're not invested in getting the car. Bring someone with you that you can talk to. That way you have a reason to say "I'd like to talk to my friend for a couple of minutes" without feeling like you're being rude. And then your friend can talk sense into you if your feeling is that you're not doing the right thing. It's much easier to walk out that way. I'm the worst in the world when it comes to that sort of haggling, and I really wish I'd taken someone with me. I didn't get rooked, but I didn't like my salesman, and gave him the deal anyway. What a dumbass. Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LisaM 0 #23 April 13, 2006 I did my loan for my RX8 through Capital One.... great experience! ~ Lisa ~ Do you Rigminder? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nathaniel 0 #24 April 13, 2006 Quote *** Find a guy to go with you and do the good cop bad cop thing. Tell them you're engaged, It doesn't have to be a guy Not in Massachusetts maybe... My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ccowden 0 #25 April 13, 2006 In the immortal words of Mr. Pink: "Fuck all that shit!" I have been in the used car business for over 12 years and let me just say, it doesn't have to be this difficult. Find the car you want, check kbb.com and make sure the asking price is not way out of whack from what "Suggested Retail" is. It will most likely be well under that. Get a purchase order/buyers agreement from them with all the vehicle info and price on it so you CAN SEE the bottom line you are paying. You don't have to leave a deposit, you don't have to sign it. Take the purchase order home, do your checking, take it to your bank. If the price is cool and you are happy with the deal and the car... BUY THE DAMN THING! Don't go in there acting like "Mr. Bigshot Buyer" who knows it all and "knows" all the dealer games. It pisses us off just as much as it pisses you off to get a pushy salesperson. Let the salesperson help you buy the car. DO NOT make it a "me vs. them" game. Buying a car can be an enjoyable process. Don't make it more difficult than it needs to be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
