Buying a car at a dealership

[RicemanX 20]

Well, I'm looking to get a 2005-2007 Honda Accord, would like to get it at a dealership instead of a private seller.

Just wondering what I need to expect, and what I need to do to get a good deal.

 

And no, I don't blow dudes...

[TommyGavin 790]

dont pay sticker price

[Let Da Big Dog Eat 37]

My father owned a car dealership. What you can do really all depends on if you can pay cash or at least have great credit. Let me know and I can tell you what you can expect.

 

I will tell you this tho. Always let them know that you won't buy a car until you have found 2-3 that you are interested in and will buy from the place that gives you the best deal. Also, that you have already found one, the one you are looking at is #2 and if they don't give you a good starting offer, you are out the door.

 

Last, don't let them play the "I need to take this to my manager" game. You will waste hours while they play cribbage while letting you twiddle your thumbs. Tell the salesman, "If you have to take it to the Manager, take me with you or bring him here. That's the oldest game in the book and I don't have the time or inclination to play it." If they tell you that if you don't sign now, they are taking their best offer off the table, just say "fine, I want to buy a car. If you don't want to sell me one, I will find someone who does." The same deal will be there tomorrow no matter what they say.

 

When you actually decide, call them and tell them you will be in an hour before whatever their closing time is regardless of the day of the week (Sat is best). When you do show, tell them it's a done deal but you need an extra $300 to beat your "other deal." Trust me, it will happen.

 

Last, if you can hold off until after Xmas, the best time to buy a car is between Xmas and New Year's. The have to pay and inventory tax on 1-1.

 

GL

[birdbrain3X 0]

How about a 2003 with 43K on it for 14G? Mint condition. No B.S., I'm really trying to sell my wifes car. I have all maintenance records. Only owner, bought it new.

 

Also, watch buying used vehicles at the dealer, they really jack the prices up. Check out the kellybluebook value online 1st so you know ahead of time what you should be paying.

[RicemanX 20]

My father owned a car dealership. What you can do really all depends on if you can pay cash or at least have great credit. Let me know and I can tell you what you can expect.

 

I will tell you this tho. Always let them know that you won't buy a car until you have found 2-3 that you are interested in and will buy from the place that gives you the best deal. Also, that you have already found one, the one you are looking at is #2 and if they don't give you a good starting offer, you are out the door.

 

Last, don't let them play the "I need to take this to my manager" game. You will waste hours while they play cribbage while letting you twiddle your thumbs. Tell the salesman, "If you have to take it to the Manager, take me with you or bring him here. That's the oldest game in the book and I don't have the time or inclination to play it." If they tell you that if you don't sign now, they are taking their best offer off the table, just say "fine, I want to buy a car. If you don't want to sell me one, I will find someone who does." The same deal will be there tomorrow no matter what they say.

 

When you actually decide, call them and tell them you will be in an hour before whatever their closing time is regardless of the day of the week (Sat is best). When you do show, tell them it's a done deal but you need an extra $300 to beat your "other deal." Trust me, it will happen.

 

Last, if you can hold off until after Xmas, the best time to buy a car is between Xmas and New Year's. The have to pay and inventory tax on 1-1.

 

GL

 

Thanks for the advise! I have saved around $5000 for the down payment and I do have great credit for a car loan from the bank.

So I shouldn't go in telling them that I'm looking for 1 or 2 specific cars?

[lambert58 56]

Riceman you have to listen to me. Trust me on this one.

 

Go online and solicit quotes for the car you are looking for. There are several websites that you can find online by doing a google search that will allow you to send a quote request to the car dealers Internet sales manager. These guys are trying to get your business and will not d1ck around on the price. This way you do not have to deal with the floor sales guy who is trying to put more money in his pocket. Make sure you have financing options available. Capitalone has a blankcheck that is easy to use with very reasonable rates. Once you get several quotes from dealers (I usually get quotes from several cities within a 5 hour drive of where I live) call your local dealer and ask for the Internet sales manager. Tell him or her that you are looking at buying a car and have several quotes. Tell them that you would prefer to buy locally but have no problem traveling to the other location to get the car if the price is right. Tell them that you will not pay Destination fees and you want the total price for the car. Tell them that the price they give you will be the final price. Make sure they understand that and put it on the quote. Ask them to submit by email or fax a quote for the same car. The quote should be within $200 of the other quotes. This will be significantly lower than the MSRP and you won't have to mess with the pushy sales rep. Once you agree on the deal make sure that you take your folder with all of the quotes with you to the dealer so that they know you actually got the quotes. This will help keep the internet sales manager honest. Tell them that you have financing already worked out but if you want, see if they can do better. At least have options.

 

 

Do not buy a car based off of payments. When they ask you what type of payment are you looking for tell them that you are not buying a payment you are buying a car. Tell them that you already have a price and you want the cost of the car not the amount of payment. They can manuver the payments over a longer period of time so that you will pay a couple of thousand more for the car than needed. Tell them that you just want the total price of the car and the interest rate they are giving you. Then have them figure out what your payment will be.

 

I will try to link some sites that allows you to get quotes online.

 

ETA:This is a great website to read before buying a car.

 

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/

 

The websites to use for car quotes are included in the above link. Some of them are Cars.com, Carsdirect.com, invoicedealers.com. They will send the quote out to several dealers at one time. The interenet manager will call you asking you if this is actually what you want. Explain to them that you are getting several quotes and plan on buying within the week.

 

I actually had a sales rep screaming at me when I bought my 2nd to last car because the internet sales manager was out and he was doing the deal for me. He kept trying to get me to allow him to finance the deal or find a better car. I got up and started to walk out and he went nuts on me. His manager came over to ask what was going on and I explained that I had a quote and expected to receive the car that was quoted. The manager took care of the transaction and I left with my car.

 

good luck.

[RicemanX 20]

thanks lambert! very helpful!

[Sparkling Wiggles 0]

Some good advice in this thread. Don't go for payments. Go for total price. And tell them you're not buying on your first visit.

 

Kids out of college are the easiest hustles out there. I advise you go with your toughest as nails, doesn't like anything, friend. Or your dad. Always good to have a bad cop to temper the temptation for the emotional buy, which all car dealers bank on.

 

Otherwise, you'll easily fall into the pitfalls these guys are telling you to avoid when you see a car you like.

 

Also, deciding you want to buy from a dealer isn't the best decision, in my book. Why not give an owner a shot to sell you their car? They don't have to pay commission to anyone.

 

Also, if you deal with a finance manager and he tries to upsell you on crap after you've decided on a car, it's generally all a scam.

[BrahmaBulls 269]

Internet Sales Managers I dealt with last year were all a-holes. They would quote me these great prices and then when i finally demanded it in writing, it would always be on a lower end model than the one I asked about or some stupid ass scam game like that. Car salesmen should all drown a slow death.

[lambert58 56]

Internet Sales Managers I dealt with last year were all a-holes. They would quote me these great prices and then when i finally demanded it in writing, it would always be on a lower end model than the one I asked about or some stupid ass scam game like that. Car salesmen should all drown a slow death.

 

Really? I had the exact opposite experience. I told them what I wanted and had them fax or email me the quote. This way I did not have to talk to them and listen to any sales pitch. I made sure that they added their name to the quote and when I was ready to buy I called them and told them we had a deal and to get the car ready. I told them that I would only buy the car if it was exactly what I asked to be quoted.

 

I did not step foot on the premises to even look at the car until I was ready to sign the papers nor did I leave any type of deposit to hold the car. Remember the buyer has the power because he or she can always choose to not buy the car. I inspected the car and took it for a test drive before signing any papers. Once I was sure that it was the car I wanted I signed the papers. The whole process took around 20-25 minutes..

 

I bought a 2007 Toyota Camry LE from a local dealer after getting quotes from dealers in Dallas, St. Louis, and Kansas City. I had some add-ons like a spoiler requested and even though the local dealer did not have the exact car or color, the Internet Sales Manager found the car and had it shipped to Fort Smith at no cost. (the price of the car was already negotiated). I got the car that had a MSRP of $23,400 for $20,999. Every quote except one came back within $200.00 of each other. The one wild card was in Fayetteville, Arkansas. They came back with a price of $23,000. I emailed them back to tell them that I had 4 other quotes at $21,000 and would not be buying from them.