Posted on 05/06/2021 6:05:29 PM PDT by NewJerseyJoe
Hello FReepers. Looking for any advice on negotiating the best price for a new car. (I'm getting a 2021 Honda CRV-EX, no options). I've put together an email (see following) that I will send to the local Honda dealers. Asking for any suggestions or wording to make it the most effective. Thanks in advance.
And on those "deals" the dealer will usually stick you with the highest possible list price for the car.
You could get a much lower list price, saving a few thousand dollars, by taking the crappier interest rate offered in their "standard" finance arrangement, then immediately refinancing through your credit union. At least that was a tactic that used to work.
The environment may have changed of course. It's been a while since I bought a new car. I am not trying to buy one now.
My ‘76 Maverick had a 250 I6 that threw a rod while idling at a stoplight. Yanked it out and put a 302 in. My Maverick went from being a steaming pile of poop with the I6 to a respectable daily driver with the V8. Finally, it could get out of its own way.
Since my previous vehicle was a 1963 Volvo 544, it was a step up.
You are exactly right. Sometimes the best finance option is to disregard that 0.0 financing and finance for a little higher interest-rate but at a lower sales price.
And as others on this thread have said, never let the finance manager know how much you’re willing to pay monthly. And never finance for more than 60 months.
One dealer paid the company to have me sit with his finance manager on-site to teach him how to use the software. The finance manager was well into his 70's, had zero desire to learn how to do a deal on the computer and (surprisingly) knew even less on how to sell a car.
So I sat with this gentleman all day, over 10 hours straight trying to teach him how to use the system. This was at a well established Buick dealer in Oak Park, IL back around 1989. My memory's a little foggy on exactly how many cars I sold that day trying to teach this nice old man how to use the system but it was at least 20 which as it turned out was a really good day at that dealership.
The owner of the Buick Dealership stopped me as I was leaving for home around 10pm that night and asked if I wanted a job as a Finance Manager at his dealership. Turned out he made more money per car that day than he had in a very long time.
Honestly, I felt dirty knowing some of the people who purchased cars that day really couldn't afford them or were going to really struggle paying for them over the life of the loan. Their choice, not mine I suppose but still .. didn't like it.
I haven't financed a vehicle since.
Cut the email down to 1 or two sentences.
OMG, I don't know which is worse: your '63 Volvo 544 or the 1973 Ford Pinto Wagon with the "woodsides"on it with the 2300 I4 from a 1972 Mercury Capri in it.
We drove some real crap-boxes, you and I!! LOL!!
some people will find a vehicle with a
CV transmission to be very annoying
I certainly did
Did anyone answer the actual question you asked?
Yeah. I sometimes feel sorry for the new and used car salesman out on the lot. They are under tremendous pressure from their sales managers. It’s no wonder the turnover rate in dealerships can be 80% per year.
But it’s the finance officers that I detest the most. They will lie, cheat, berate, manipulate, browbeat and use every dirty trick in the book just to make an extra few bucks.
You don’t have to finance a vehicle. But you do have to go through F and I.
Is financing preferred if you want to be able to 1), have a dashcam installed at the dealership so it’s on the invoice, and 2), be able to sell and walk away if you know you won’t be able to afford it after a while? Like for example, another poorly-made bio-weapon gets released and you get laid off?
The Volvo was dual carb and made it to 350K miles. 😀
Know every detail of what you’re looking for - trim package, color, engine, tires etc etc... whatever. Then put that information in a letter and send it to every appropriate dealer within a hundred miles stating YOU WILL BUY THE CAR from the person who offers the best price...
Then wait...
“Hello FReepers.” Hello.
A car dealer friend in Los Angeles told me that people call him, tell him what they want and accept or reject what he says. Takes five minutes.
Sharp customers learn what they want by researching Ebay and other sites and then call all the dealers in a 100 mile radius in order get what they want.
Hyundai’s are excellent cars for many reasons.
I suggest you get a two year old car under 50K miles.
a MUCH better option would be to buy a Honda Certified Pre-owned vehicle that was purchased by a dealer at auction of single-leasee, off-leased Hondas ... they typically have only 30,000 miles and are three years old ... Dealers have to put a ton of money into them to bring them up to Honda Certified standard: minimally new tires, brake pads & rotors, fluids, battery, sometimes new glass ...
Honda Certified Pre-owned will have a five-year power-train warranty and a one year warranty on everything else ... you can also ask to see the paperwork to see the checklist of everything the dealer had to do to bring the car up to spec ...
look for one that has a Car Fax that shows the car has been sitting on the dealer’s lot for a while and who is probably desperate to quit tying his money up while it’s sitting on his lot ...
you’re likely to buy such a car for about half the price of a brand-new, identical model ..
flr
I suggest you get a two year old car under 50K miles.
————————————————
Good luck with finding one. Right now is a terrible time to buy a car. New cars are simply not available because of a lack of computer chips.
That problem has pushed the used car market into a panic. Dealers are asking over MSRP. On used cars.
Brand-new Hyundai Kona, Veloster models recalled for fire risk, new engines needed
Not to mention, “ you are what you drive”, and a puny, weak Honda is a typical lefty vehicle with “ Obama Biden 2008 sticker STILL ON BUMPER! They’re the ones traveling too slow in the passing lane as a save-the- planet message.
Same here. What many car buyers don't realize is that the finance person, usually the last person you deal with in the car buying process, is the highest compensated salesperson in the entire dealership. This is because people tend to let their guard down once the sales rep turns them over to the finance guy (or gal). They think the negotiating part is over and that all they are doing now is working out their financing.
It is the financial guys whose job it is to add margin to the deal. They are the ones who will not take no for an answer and will attempt to shame you and make you look stupid if you decline their extended warranty options, their gap insurance coverage, and their roadside assistance packages and so on. As you are saying no, you will get the exasperated sighs, the shaking of the head and the condescending "You-seem-like-an-intelligent-guy-can-you-explain-to-me-why-you-wouldn't-want-this" comments.
It's almost as painful as going through those time share presentations, only you don't get a free gift at the end. You just have to maintain your discipline and your composure and say "no thank you", "no thank you", "no thank you" over and over again until they finally give up let you out the door. You don't need to explain yourself to them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.