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I went from having no ability to negotiate with a car dealer to now being pretty good after going through 5 cars and helping 2 friends buy cars in the last 4 years.
First, you can always negotiate the price... new or used, doesn't matter. They put that price knowing full well they can take a 5 to 10% hit.
The most important thing, if you are trading in a car, DONT let them know that. If they ask, just say "yeah, I'm not sure but I'm here to look at this car" and change the subject. Car salesmen are trained to use that as leverage... NEVER get your car appraised until after you have made the deal on the car you want to buy.
The thing I've learned is to give the sales person respect, but let them know you are in charge. If you show up with an attitude of "I dont need a car" or "if you don't give me exactly what I want, I'm leaving" you'll get no where fast. Rather, research other cars in the area what they are selling for, such as vehix.com, autotrader.com and cars.com. Print out at least 3 that are within 50 miles and bring them along to show as where you are getting your price from.
Another thing is never let anyone walk away with your keys or drivers license. This is their "key" to hold you there hostage. They will have to make a copy of your drivers license if you want to drive a car, but when you come back, make sure to get it back... DO NOT talk to the sales person until you have that back in your pocket.
Here are a few quick tips I've found to work as well...
1) tell the salesman you have a meeting/dinner revs/appt at a certain time and have to leave. give him an hour to sell you, then say you have to go and will call him tomorrow.
2) dont wear your wedding ring or tell them you are married or have kids. Ive heard of salesmen driving to peoples houses with the cars just to "show the wife and kids"
3) know your price. tell the salesperson right from the start your price or exactly what you are looking for and if he cant get you that model or price or options, then to call you when one comes in.
If the salesman wont move on the price, get them to through some options in, like oil changes, maintenance, tires, etc. If you are buying a car from a dealership, it costs them very little to offer you 10 free oil changes instead of knocking off $300 more on a car.
Lastly, get the salesmen to write down the price, tell him your going to talk to your bank to get the loan and have him write down the year, make model, trim, options and PRICE on a business card or on a paper and get his business card. Then take that to another dealership and say "I was over at Yankee Chevy and told me..."
The last one works the best IMO. My friend just bought a new Nissan and saved $1,250 by doing that alone off a new SUV.
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