Anyone want to share basic nagotiating skills?

[chaze]

I have to buy a car and suck at negotiating. I'm tired of paying top dollar.

[PR_Glen]

being able to walk away is probably high up on the list i would say...

[tical]

Check out carmax, no haggling... great selection

[Jdoughs]

Indeed being able to walk away. Appear indifferent, you don't NEED to buy this car but he needs to sell it.

It's easy to flip the advantage off the start, as long as he wants to sell it more then you want to buy it.

[Harmon]

I can save you 15% on your car insurance...

"Woodchuckas, quit chuckin my wood!"

[VGeorgie]

Get a membership at Costco and go through them. The negotiated prices are as low or lower than what you could probably get yourself. They'll try to upsell you on various things, like a clearcoat finish, alarm, special mats or whatever. Say no, or agree to lump it all at one very low price (lowball, just to see what they'll do).

[chaze]

Originally Posted by tical

Check out carmax, no haggling... great selection

I'm in Costa Rica

[CurrentlySober]

Just steal the car, and if caught say it was for use on a tube

[INever]

When I bought my last car, there came a time when I told the people I was with to head back into the car we drove in with, and sit in the car.

After that happened, they knew I would walk and I got my price.

[PR_Phil]

Originally Posted by PR_Glen

being able to walk away is probably high up on the list i would say...

Being able to walk away is the top of the list, because without that, a good deal will always get worse, and without that an ultimatum is a joke.

Sellers both love and hate ultimatums, if they say no to one and you walk away, they know the only way to get the sale is to meet your terms, if they say no to one and you cave and say, "well how about this much then" they have you in the palm of their hands and will tack on extras left and right.

when I bought my wife's car I settled on a price, and they tacked on tax, licensing etc, and it ended up costing a couple thousand more than I agreed to.

When I bought my truck, I gave the salesman an ultimatum, he smirked and said not a chance I've already had better offers than that" so I left, I was still on the drive home when he called me and asked me to come back. He agreed to my price, then while writing it up he tried to add on licensing fees and a few other things, I stood up and he knew I meant business and before I took a single step he said he'd find a way to work those into my price.

Was the same when I bought my house, I put in an offer with a note that said I was not interested in a counter offer, when they countered, I put in another offer with a note that said I was offended that they did not listen to their potential buyer. My new offer was $2500 less, 3 days later I got a call from my agent saying they had accepted my lower offer.

both times, the only reason it worked was that I new going into it that there was a good chance I would walk away empty handed, and I have walked away empty handed many times. It doesn't work with something that you just have to have.

[O MARINA]

Originally Posted by VGeorgie

Get a membership at Costco and go through them. The negotiated prices are as low or lower than what you could probably get yourself. They'll try to upsell you on various things, like a clearcoat finish, alarm, special mats or whatever. Say no, or agree to lump it all at one very low price (lowball, just to see what they'll do).

A car with a Costco membership? Never heard that one before

[Frasier]

Originally Posted by chaze

I'm in Costa Rica

forget it, you are going to get fucked. the cost of getting those cars INTO CR makes the prices exorbitant - Transport, import taxes etc will eat your ass alive. I'm guessing you are also a 'foreigner' in CR, there is your other strike.

My biggest advise to getting a good deal buying a vehicle there is to take some lube with you - at least it wont hurt so much that way.

[ottopottomouse]

Originally Posted by pr_glen

being able to walk away is probably high up on the list i would say...

+1000000000

[JayDeeZee]

The age old secret negotiating line: "Awwww, c'mon!"

[96ukssob]

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.

[SweetT]

Rule #1 in car buying.....NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER DISCUSS PAYMENTS. Payments are furry....the price of the car is firm. Negotiate the price of the car and then if you decide to finance it with the dealer he can compete for that business, as well, but let him know that you plan to get it financed at your Credit Union (even if you dont have one). Trust me, he will try to get that financing business later, too, and you can negotiate that as well.

Good Luck!

--T

[chaze]

Honestly some awesome tips and it's true you get raped ansd cars in Costa Rica. Almost twice as much as any where else.

Focus on being able to say no or leave, Give a time frame for when you have to leave, don't wear a ring.

Also if you see a car in Craigslist for $4000 what do you think is a good counter offer if the car is legit, I mean worth 4k. Is $3k too much.

I'm trying to get a car listing for $3500 down to $2500 but they keep saying they are thinking about it... which i think means they waiting to see if they can get more.

[tiger]

Originally Posted by VGeorgie

Get a membership at Costco and go through them. The negotiated prices are as low or lower than what you could probably get yourself. They'll try to upsell you on various things, like a clearcoat finish, alarm, special mats or whatever. Say no, or agree to lump it all at one very low price (lowball, just to see what they'll do).

Bingo. Last I checked Costco prices were locked at $500 above cost.

[beerptrol]

I looked online for prices at different dealers and prices of similar cars from other companies. Printed them out and headed over to the dealer. I already had a set price I was willing to pay in my head and asked to see the dealer's invoice, not the one in the window.I made an offer, he countered and I said I'll think about it, and that I had other appointments with other dealers.I left and went to other lots and repeated this til Igot what I wanted at the price I wanted. We were at lunch and I got a call from one of them asking meto come back and bingo!

My gf on the other hand will walk in and go "OMG I love this car, and I want it no matter what"

[Sagi]

Originally Posted by JayDeeZee

The age old secret negotiating line: "Awwww, c'mon!"

Totally. That and the flinch. No matter what they say you have to flinch. Fall out of a chair if you need to.

[beerptrol]

sorry gave you the wrong advice, thought u wrote negotiating
but I see you wrote nagotiating skills?

I recomend in this case you tell her to shut her cock holster of a nagging mouth. If that doesn't work take two of these and do her sister in the morning

[Supz]

Originally Posted by tical

Check out carmax, no haggling... great selection

If you buy a car from carmax, you dont ever have to haggle to pay to much. There prices are very high. If you dont like haggling it is good, and they also have a huge selection, but prices are very high compared to market.

[DateDoc]

True Car will tell you what people have paid for the car you want in your area http://www.truecar.com

[LiveDose]

Tell them you want to pay below invoice and go from there.

[tabasco]

Don't ask them questions like "how much can you knock off the price" and "what's the best deal you can do on this". Salesmen love that shit. Best to go in there with a firm knowledge of just how much of a discount you can get and stick to it firmly and be prepared to walk away and go to another dealership. Towards the end when they get close to your amount you can seal the deal by saying "look if you can do it at this price I'll sign right now".

[Ron Bennett]

To reiterate what some have already said ... the best thing to do is research the price of the car you want to buy.

Check out various car forums, Consumer Reports (for those in the U.S. / Canada), ask car-savvy friends, etc regarding the price similar cars are actually selling for.

As for the invoice price - imho, it's more for show than anything. Sure, it may help in negotiations, but don't put much stock into the so-called invoice, which itself may not even be real, reflecting reality, because it won't account for bulk discounts, factory incentives, etc.

Also, the invoice shown may not be applicable to the specific vehicle you're seeking to buy ... cars that look practically the same may have been, and likely were, purchased at very different prices from the manufacture.

In short, research what other people actually are paying ... and then knock a bit more off that and use that as your starting number - it's easier to negotiate up than down.

As numerous others have mentioned, never negotiate payments nor financing verses cash ... stick to price ... but even that can change significantly.

Negotiate the "Drive Away Price" including delivery, tags, tax, etc... dealers hate it, because it takes money off the table, and also can be difficult for them to calculate. But many dealers will do it when pressed.

Of course, after agreeing to a price, expect the "sales manager" pushing the upsell ... undercoating, security stickers, etc. But that's often easier to manage - be friendly, but firm - just say no, over and over ... high-pressure sales people are trained to ignore the first few "nos" - so plan on saying "no" a lot.

Good luck with the purchase.

Ron

[chaze]

Thanks people, I think I have the car and hope I can get the price now.

[sinclair]

Originally Posted by SweetT

Rule #1 in car buying.....NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER DISCUSS PAYMENTS. Payments are furry....the price of the car is firm. Negotiate the price of the car and then if you decide to finance it with the dealer he can compete for that business, as well, but let him know that you plan to get it financed at your Credit Union (even if you dont have one). Trust me, he will try to get that financing business later, too, and you can negotiate that as well.

Good Luck!

--T

Agreed. I rolled in with financing in place on my own. Negotiated a buy price. Was done in 30 minutes. Then made the mistake of letting them try to beat out my financing package. Two hours later they gave up, I got the car at my price but wasted my time.

[epitome]

Go home without buying.

They will call you the next day and if you want is within reason, you will get it.

[Rochard]

Get your own financing, do your research before you go in, and never ever hand over your car keys to anyone. Be prepared to walk away too.

Last time I bought a car... What fun that was. I was in the dealership picking up a part, fell in love with a car.. Went home, did some research, printed up some info on similar cars in the area for sale, went back to the dealership. They had a qualified buyer who wanted the car bad enough so that he researched it, and they tried to fuck with me. So, I left. They called my cell before I got home. They told me "some guy from out of the area was driving in just to see this car and they were pretty sure he was going to buy it". Good for him. I told them if they met my price I would buy the car, otherwise I'd go down to another dealer.

They gave me everything I wanted and when we finally agreed on a price I told them I would be paying cash. Done.

[videobunch]

Edmunds.com this will give you dealer invoice and what incentives their are.

[Angry Jew Cat - Banned for Life]

"Anyone want to share basic nagotiating skills? "

NO....

Now convince me otherwise.

[Chosen]

Originally Posted by CurrentlySober

Just steal the car, and if caught say it was for use on a tube

[ShellyCrash]

Originally Posted by chaze

I'm trying to get a car listing for $3500 down to $2500 but they keep saying they are thinking about it... which i think means they waiting to see if they can get more.

Your best friend at this point is SILENCE.


If you see them repost it on Craigslist offer then $2200. Each time they repost it offer them less.

[martinsc]

Originally Posted by PR_Glen

being able to walk away is probably high up on the list i would say...

[Angry Jew Cat - Banned for Life]

Best thing you can do when negotiating a used car sale is taking a mechanic friend with you. I took my brother with me when i bought my last truck. He's a sleazy little jew bitch when it comes to wheeling and dealing cars. "Oh this oil looks a little brown, that means yadda yadda yadda, that can e expensive to fix." or "Oh, there's some rust showing here, i dunno. Bla bla bla". He wheels and deals on a lot of vehicles, knows what to say, and knows what to look for if you do indeed want to steer away from the purchase all together. You can almost see his eyes light up when he gets someone who knows nothing about mechanics. It's like he knows he's going to take them for a ride before it even starts. Find someone like this and take them with you.

[johnnyloadproductions]

Bring a bastard friend with you that's a dick. I had a friend that sucked at everything but was good at negotiating. What do I mean. Well go at the end of the month when the car salesmen are desperate to meet quota and if you buy it say that you want a all these ancillary things thrown in: oil change, maybe some expensive sunglasses at the counter, some other goodies.
You want to make the sale, meet my demands! Bring a strong willed friend with you if it helps.

[DateDoc]

I remember once, I was buying a car and the dealer was sticking firm to their prep charge saying it was required by the manufacturer. To that I said, "Great. They may require you to do it but they do not require me to pay for it!" They ended up waiving it.

[Robbie]

Originally Posted by chaze

I have to buy a car and suck at negotiating. I'm tired of paying top dollar.

I can help you on this one. I've bought more than a dozen new cars over the last few years...and I never go without my brother. He is a car salesman. When he walks into a dealership with me and starts talking...they say: "Oh you brought your car lawyer"

He saves me literally thousands and thousands of dollars by knowing all the ways the dealership makes money off of you on the backend.

So my advice to you...is to get yourself a "car lawyer". Any family or friends that are in that business? If not, then you would be well served to choose a car salesman from a company that you have no interest in buying from and pay the guy a hundred bucks to go with you to cut a car deal.

As an added bonus...guys in the car business always have the best drugs and know the best girls at the strip club. heh-heh

[Lester Burnham]

I negotiate deals for a living, and I think I'm pretty good at it. I love buying cars. When I bought my truck, the sales guy was in near tears. He was so desperate, he said, "I'll give you some free floor mats if you take this deal." I just laughed and walked out (he stopped me before I got into my car to leave and said, "Ok man...I'll do it...." My tips:

1) Generally, the guy (or company for that matter) writing the check holds most of the leverage. Don't fall into the "I got to have it!" mentality that plagues buyers (whether buying a car, or a company). I was negotiating a 7 figure deal earlier this week. The seller was just being annoying and asking us to make all these changes. told the seller, "If you want the money, accept our terms. We aren't making any more changes. If that doesn't work for you...see ya" His response (via email), "Please circulate the document." LOL. This principle applies more so in a non-competitive deal (i.e., no other buyerss to take what you want). Cars are a dime or dozen, so you hold all the cards.

2) The party that names the price first, loses. Always tell the seller to name the price first and go from there (or if you are the seller, say, "how much will you pay for it.") You may be surprised at what you hear.

3) Don't negotiate against yourself. This is like point #2. Don't start throwing out numbers or terms because the other party is silent.

4) Create a competitive environment in YOUR favor. Tell the dealer that you are talking to other car dealers (even if you aren't). Make him compete against his competitors (actual or imaginary).

5) Research. If you have to, print absurdly low prices for the car that you find on eBay, craigslist, etc.

6) If it is used and the dealer is known for reselling auction cars, find someone who has access the Manheim auction prices and see if you can find the car they are selling. I almost bough a Porsche 911 turbo (used), and I found how much the dealer paid for the car because they bought it at auction (exact color car with same miles-it had to be the car). I told the dealer, point blank, "I ain't paying much more than what you paid for it." Dealer wouldn't do it, so I left (and bought a Benz). The porsche was on the lot for a looooooooooong time (and I doubt he got what he wanted for it).

7) Look into financing before you go to the dealer (if you aren't paying cash). Car dealer financing is a racket.


Just my 2 cents...

[TheDoc]

Go find the same car, and buy it used from a person.. you'll save more than you ever would trying squeeze a deal out of a dealership. And you can take the difference saved, invest it, and make some money rather than dishing it all out.

[Sid70]

Originally Posted by chaze

I'm in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a land of negotiators. Otherwise you end up in Santa Ana and pay american price. Adapt or die.

[2012]

im at the pizza hut

im at the taco bell

[chaze]

Originally Posted by Sid70

Costa Rica is a land of negotiators. Otherwise you end up in Santa Ana and pay american price. Adapt or die.

ha that's where I live.

maybe I mentioned it, anyways got the car I wanted for the price I wanted. Just had to be patient and she little interest. Started low and worked my way up little by little.