Ok. What the hell. Everyone posts on this board about how a car cost $X, but they got it for $3,000 less than $X from haggling. What the hell. All the car salesmen I've ever dealt with have an *** that is tighter than national security. Maybe I just don't say the right things. I don't know.

Let's hear some tips for buying used/new cars.

 

Best rule:

If things don't get anywhere start to walk out... either they will counter you with a better offer or they won't budge. If they don't just go to another dealer. Most sales people will sell the car after a long haggle... time is money to them.

 

yep, i pack a lunch and bring a change of clothes when i go to buy a car. that lets them know right off the bat i'm going to be there till i get it for what i want.

 

The best way is to go through priceline.com
Select every dealer within a few hundred miles.
Start low, if noone bites, raise your offer a little.


[Modified by jond, 11:30 AM 7/27/2001]

 

I went to edmunds found out what the car actually cost (I gave an offer slightly higher) - then I went to the dealer and told them I am serious about buying a car but I do not wish to pay dealership assistance fee, floor assistance fee, no holding costs (because i did not order the car - I'm doing them a favor, cause it is just sitting on their lot), then I got a price, and then I told them I know there is a dealer incentive included in that price - Take IT OUT!!! then I found the same car at a dealership (much farther away) ask them to beat the price (through emails) - they did, then I went back to the original place told them of the dealership that could beat their price, and the salesman said he couldn't beat it, but I said since i live in the area - you'll be getting all my maintainence and service - so he beat it - I paid 21700 for a 2000 GSR(37 miles) loaded with about 2500-3000 in options - BTW I am an accountant and I work with an Ex-Controller of a Honda Dealership - he filled me in as to what to do - Hope this helps, it probably won't be as helpful if you're getting an ITR compare to GSR though, its worth a try - best of luck

 

Oh, one thing that I personally do... (in my 3 experiences of buying new Honda/Acura in the past 5 years). If you get a great price from a dealer that you worked with for a few weeks, then don't go to another dealer for an extra $50-$100 discount. As much as I don't like sales people, if someone works with me and decides to treat me like a customer, then I won't back stab him by going to another dealer for $50. But, that's just me... $50 financed over 60 month is ~$1.00. Just not worth backstabbing someone.

 

I have found that doing your research online at a site like Edmunds is key. Realize, also that the dealer HAS to make some money and availability versus supply will also dictate price. Once you figure out what you want to pay or offer, call up your local dealer and talk to someone. Make the offer. I doubt they will accept right away. Leave him your number and ask him to think about it and get back with you. Then, call some other dealers within reasonable driving time and do your shopping like that. Eventually, you will find someone wanting to play ball. I have bought or leased my last 4 vehicles that way. Sure beats the hell out of going in and spending the whole day at the dealership.

 

I think one of the most important keys to haggling is being completely willing to leave without whatever you're going after. Not just putting up the front, but being internally fine with coming away empty handed. If they sense you really want it, they're going to nail you. I find that wearing a miniskirt also tends to throw off their concentration, cuz i have pretty long legs, and i'm a guy.

 

Like others here are saying, do NOT be afraid to walk out! Remember that as the buyer, you are the "king" in the dealership. If they do not treat you that way, LEAVE!

Toss a reasonable offer out there. If they dont like it or do not want to budge, WALK. Of course, make sure to act professional and really let them know that you are ready to buy and the only thing that is holding YOU back from buying the car is the fact that THEY wont sell it to you.

 

When I first ordered my car it was supposed to be for MSRP, when it cam they tried to charge me $27,000. I called another dealer across town, told them my situation and they said they'd do it for MSRP and throw in the mats and bra. As soon as I went to pick up my deposit from the original dealer, they matched.

Just don't be afraid to walk away. Like someone else pointed out, the last thing they want is to spend a lot of time working a sell only to have you walk out over a few hundred dollars.

 

Check out the new car buying guide on Edmunds. There is some excellent advice there.

Additionally, go to the book store and buy a book called "Don't Get Taken Every Time". This book is a MUST for anyone buying or leasing a car. It is written by a former car salesman. He worked in the "bad old days", when car dealers were nothing more than scam artists. Throwing your car keys on the roof as a method to get you to stay and keep dealing with them wasn't uncommon. Now they are heavily regulated by the government, and fraud isn't nearly as bad as it used to be, but the guy updates the book often with new ways that they get you confused and get you to pay more than you should. My father is excellent at haggling for cars, and he always buys a new copy of this book and reads it front to back before going into a car negotiation.

Good luck. Definitely buy the book, it can save you a LOT of money.

 

I bought my R over the phone.It took two weeks to "haggle" with them over price, but in the end I got it for $500 over invoice. It is a lot easier to be stearn with them over the phone. I hate buying cars at the showroom cause they always park the car where you can see it which makes it harder to walk away.

 

When you are ready to do the deal, as you sit down, show them your watch and say "You have 30 minutes, then I go somewhere else to buy the car."

Be reasonable, they are in the business of making money, not selling cars, so don't expect them to drop the price to some rediculous number.

Know what the DEALER COST of the car is, NOT the STICKER/MSRP cost, and haggle to that. $500 over invoice is not bad at all.

Don't be afraid to walk away. If they really want to sell you the car, they will call you.

do it at more than one dealership, to see which ones seem more receptive to your offer.


[Modified by FBP_1171, 12:34 PM 7/27/2001]

 

Buy a CAR up in Canada. You can get away with about $28K for a GS-R and about $32-$35K for an R taxes in.

That's only $21-23K USD for an ITR out the DOOR!

 

Well, what about buying a used car, when there is no invoice price?

 

the best site on the web is http://www.carbuyingtips.com after you read through that it's pretty hard to get scammed or pay a few hundred over invoice. Also check out http://www.fightingchance.com on this site you pay like 25 bucks for a full report on your car of choice, the report gives you the invoice price and any secret factory to dealer rebates that dealers won't tell you about. I used this last time i helped my mom buy a car and she paid invoice minus a $500. factory to dealer rebate that all the dealers failed to mention unless i brought it up.

Even if a dealer sells you a car for invoice he still makes a small percentage (usually 3-5%) called holdback. So don't be afraid to ask for invoice. You can find a lot more details on the car buying tips site, or you can just skip that site and use the fightingchance.com site which has it's own fax-attack strategy. I just bought the info packet from fightingchance and called around because i was too lazy to fax.

Another strategy i found to work well is just calling around and telling dealerships that you want to buy the car today and your willing to pay x amount of dollars. If they can verify this price you'll come down and buy the car immediately. I always double and triple check that there will be no hidden charges or haggling when i reach the dealership, and specifically say if there is i will leave and never buy a car from them. This worked when i bought an integra a few years back. I paid a couple hundred over invoice for it.

good luck, and don't even bother going to the dealership unless you have a price locked down.

 

i dunno if anyone mentioned this but i think a good time to go would be during the summer clearances when they are trying to get rid of inventory and make way for next years models. they 'might' be more lenient with prices and you could probably haggle your way to the price you want.

when i bought my 2000 gsr back in august of last year, i used www.carsdirect.com as leverage. the carsdirect price for the gsr was $19,500 so when i went to the dealership (on a sunday too!), the first thing i told the salesman when he greeted me was, "carsdirect will sell me the car for 19,500; if you can't match it, lets not waste our time." he went inside for like 20 minutes to 'talk' to his manager and then came out with the keys and told me, 'lets go test drive your new car!'

honestly, i didn't think he would sell at the price and he totally caught me off guard when he came back with the keys ... i probably could have gotten the price lower hehe. but still, $19,500 is a pretty good price for a car with 6 miles and the plastic still on it ... and it was $3,000 off sticker price too before any kind of tension-filled haggling started.

next time i buy a car, i'm doing the same thing

 

Yeah, you can always use the internet............sales people always get pissed at that line.