My New Car Buying Tips

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hudson
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

GmanJeff wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2020 5:04 pm I imagine the dealer I bought from preferred the certainty of an assured lower profit now over the potential to sell their allocation later to someone willing to pay more, but who may or may not actually ever materialize.
Or that dealer needed to make one more sale to reach his quota or a sales goal. You never know until you call and ask.
BanditKing
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by BanditKing »

Final update, unless something goes pear shaped when I pick it up.

Settled on a 2020 Highlander Hybrid Premium. Dealer ended up at about $5000 off MSRP before incentives, and then added another $1000 to their initial trade in offer. In fact, what they are paying for my trade isn't far below what I'd get in a private sale so honestly I'm happy there.

The vehicle I'm getting is scheduled to be built this week, with delivery in 6 to 8 days after that.

Here's the tally of the 11 Toyota dealerships I contacted:
  • Two never responded.
  • One responded, but as soon as I refused to drive two hours to "discuss pricing", they went dark
  • One contacted me five times with 5 different reps, all of them asking me to come in to discuss pricing or evaluate my trade. They never provided me an OTD price.
  • Two provided an OTD price that was very high (less than $1000 off MSRP), which unfortunately included my local dealer. Neither responded to requests for better pricing. Both also needed to order, not dealer trade, so delivery was 12 weeks.
  • One provided an "OTD" price that seemed really good, but upon followup realized it didn't include taxes or fees and refused to negotiate further. Delivery would have also been around 12 weeks.
  • Three provided competitive OTD pricing, but refused to negotiate further (including one that advertised on their quote "We'll beat any price!" - guess not).
  • One started with a mediocre offer (mentioned above - about $3000 under MSRP) and then countered on the next round with $5000 off as well as bumping the trade by $1k. This made them about $1.8k OTD (including trade) better than the next closest. They are two hours away, but I've purchased from this dealer in the past and that experience was very positive.
All in all, happy with the results for a fairly high-demand vehicle. I am somewhat surprised that really only one was willing to negotiate in any form. Will be doing 0.9%/60mos incentive financing.
hudson
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

BanditKing,

Did you primarily use email, phone, or other?
BanditKing
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by BanditKing »

Email or Web Contact form initially - there was no email address listed for most of them. Phone on some followups. The "winning" bid was 100% email until I got a call from the rep's boss just wanting to confirm I was ordering and reviewing the vehicle, timelines, and numbers.
hudson
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

BanditKing wrote: Mon Aug 10, 2020 3:23 pm Email or Web Contact form initially - there was no email address listed for most of them. Phone on some followups. The "winning" bid was 100% email until I got a call from the rep's boss just wanting to confirm I was ordering and reviewing the vehicle, timelines, and numbers.
Thanks BanditKing! You did a great job and likely got the best price available.

When I started requesting out the door (OTD) bids, I used faxes or emails. I later found that phone calls worked better for me. My goal was to establish that I was a serious buyer that was going to buy a vehicle in one or two days. Once a sales person thinks they've got a serious buyer, it may be more likely that they'll give out an OTD price. I last bought a new vehicle in 2018. I called about 8 Toyota dealers. Three would not play. Five gave me OTD prices. Three dealers gave lower bids on the 2d round.

James Bragg, a car buying/negotiation coach, says that he used to recommend faxes or emails, but now dealers respond better to phone calls.
Topic Author
denovo
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by denovo »

I am bumping this, curious if anyone has tried this strategy recently and what success they have.
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
BattyNatty
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2021 12:25 pm

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by BattyNatty »

Long time lurker, but was inspired to author my first post to thank denovo and others for having shared their wisdom on this strategy. I just finished buying my first new car ever and followed this strategy to a t and found it really successful. I also purposely started all my outreach the day after Presidents Day, due to advice from somewhere about being more likely to find a dealer wanting to reach a volume target (and thus more flexible on pricing for my purchase) right after a holiday weekend.
  • Contacted all 17 relevant dealerships in my greater urban area by finding a matching vehicle on each site and submitting the form on that page using nearly identical language to what denovo shared back in 2013 but adding in a requirement for included home delivery.
  • Received actual OTD prices back from 10 of those 17 (3 just never replied; 4 no longer had the right inventory for me). OTD bids ranged from $19,750 to $23,990.
  • Via email, let the dealer with the second-best price know they weren't the best bid and asked if they could "beat $19,500" to earn my business. They said the best they could do was 'match' $19,500. I found my wording--not actually saying what my top offer was at but giving a number I was okay with them matching--to be useful.
  • Via email, asked every other competing dealer if they could "beat $19,250". None would. One other came down to $19,600.
  • Said yes to the best price and arranged (free) home delivery for a couple days later. Started contacting dealers on Tuesday morning, agreed to a deal Thursday afternoon, and took delivery Saturday morning. Zero phone calls until arranging delivery timing.
Final cost really ended up being $19,450 since they let me put the first $2,500 on my (2% cash back) credit card. Rest of it handled with personal check. No way for me to know if some other method could have gotten me an even lower price, but the "dealer cost" for my trim according to the internet was $19,572 so pretty happy to have paid less than that including taxes/registration/etc.
Topic Author
denovo
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by denovo »

BattyNatty wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 12:11 pm Long time lurker, but was inspired to author my first post to thank denovo and others for having shared their wisdom on this strategy. I just finished buying my first new car ever and followed this strategy to a t and found it really successful. I also purposely started all my outreach the day after Presidents Day, due to advice from somewhere about being more likely to find a dealer wanting to reach a volume target (and thus more flexible on pricing for my purchase) right after a holiday weekend.
  • Contacted all 17 relevant dealerships in my greater urban area by finding a matching vehicle on each site and submitting the form on that page using nearly identical language to what denovo shared back in 2013 but adding in a requirement for included home delivery.
  • Received actual OTD prices back from 10 of those 17 (3 just never replied; 4 no longer had the right inventory for me). OTD bids ranged from $19,750 to $23,990.
  • Via email, let the dealer with the second-best price know they weren't the best bid and asked if they could "beat $19,500" to earn my business. They said the best they could do was 'match' $19,500. I found my wording--not actually saying what my top offer was at but giving a number I was okay with them matching--to be useful.
  • Via email, asked every other competing dealer if they could "beat $19,250". None would. One other came down to $19,600.
  • Said yes to the best price and arranged (free) home delivery for a couple days later. Started contacting dealers on Tuesday morning, agreed to a deal Thursday afternoon, and took delivery Saturday morning. Zero phone calls until arranging delivery timing.
Final cost really ended up being $19,450 since they let me put the first $2,500 on my (2% cash back) credit card. Rest of it handled with personal check. No way for me to know if some other method could have gotten me an even lower price, but the "dealer cost" for my trim according to the internet was $19,572 so pretty happy to have paid less than that including taxes/registration/etc.
Welcome to the forum. Congratulations. Apparently some dealers are starting off with the very low prices when making online bids, which is why yours went so quickly. Enjoy your new car. I hope this encourages others to continue to use this method.

Did the winning offer come from a high-volume, large dealer? Also, what was the sticker or MSRP price?
Last edited by denovo on Sun Feb 21, 2021 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
schmitz
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by schmitz »

General question after agreeing to an OTD price - is it smart or just generally a good idea to decline every option they try to sell you on at the end? I assume none are a great idea (most are probably highly profitable for the dealership) but can I ever regret just blindly saying no to everything at the end?
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Aslan18
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by Aslan18 »

BattyNatty wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 12:11 pm Long time lurker, but was inspired to author my first post to thank denovo and others for having shared their wisdom on this strategy. I just finished buying my first new car ever and followed this strategy to a t and found it really successful. I also purposely started all my outreach the day after Presidents Day, due to advice from somewhere about being more likely to find a dealer wanting to reach a volume target (and thus more flexible on pricing for my purchase) right after a holiday weekend.
  • Contacted all 17 relevant dealerships in my greater urban area by finding a matching vehicle on each site and submitting the form on that page using nearly identical language to what denovo shared back in 2013 but adding in a requirement for included home delivery.
  • Received actual OTD prices back from 10 of those 17 (3 just never replied; 4 no longer had the right inventory for me). OTD bids ranged from $19,750 to $23,990.
  • Via email, let the dealer with the second-best price know they weren't the best bid and asked if they could "beat $19,500" to earn my business. They said the best they could do was 'match' $19,500. I found my wording--not actually saying what my top offer was at but giving a number I was okay with them matching--to be useful.
  • Via email, asked every other competing dealer if they could "beat $19,250". None would. One other came down to $19,600.
  • Said yes to the best price and arranged (free) home delivery for a couple days later. Started contacting dealers on Tuesday morning, agreed to a deal Thursday afternoon, and took delivery Saturday morning. Zero phone calls until arranging delivery timing.
Final cost really ended up being $19,450 since they let me put the first $2,500 on my (2% cash back) credit card. Rest of it handled with personal check. No way for me to know if some other method could have gotten me an even lower price, but the "dealer cost" for my trim according to the internet was $19,572 so pretty happy to have paid less than that including taxes/registration/etc.
Nice job! Enjoy your new car!
Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
Topic Author
denovo
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by denovo »

schmitz wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 3:25 pm General question after agreeing to an OTD price - is it smart or just generally a good idea to decline every option they try to sell you on at the end? I assume none are a great idea (most are probably highly profitable for the dealership) but can I ever regret just blindly saying no to everything at the end?
Yes, reject them all. No to extended warranties, no to rust-proofing, no to paint protection.

Since you established yourself as a serious buyer all this stuff usually ends in 5 minutes and they don't hard-sell you.
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
hudson
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

BattyNatty wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 12:11 pm Long time lurker, but was inspired to author my first post to thank denovo and others for having shared their wisdom on this strategy. I just finished buying my first new car ever and followed this strategy to a t and found it really successful. I also purposely started all my outreach the day after Presidents Day, due to advice from somewhere about being more likely to find a dealer wanting to reach a volume target (and thus more flexible on pricing for my purchase) right after a holiday weekend.
  • Contacted all 17 relevant dealerships in my greater urban area by finding a matching vehicle on each site and submitting the form on that page using nearly identical language to what denovo shared back in 2013 but adding in a requirement for included home delivery.
  • Received actual OTD prices back from 10 of those 17 (3 just never replied; 4 no longer had the right inventory for me). OTD bids ranged from $19,750 to $23,990.
  • Via email, let the dealer with the second-best price know they weren't the best bid and asked if they could "beat $19,500" to earn my business. They said the best they could do was 'match' $19,500. I found my wording--not actually saying what my top offer was at but giving a number I was okay with them matching--to be useful.
  • Via email, asked every other competing dealer if they could "beat $19,250". None would. One other came down to $19,600.
  • Said yes to the best price and arranged (free) home delivery for a couple days later. Started contacting dealers on Tuesday morning, agreed to a deal Thursday afternoon, and took delivery Saturday morning. Zero phone calls until arranging delivery timing.
Final cost really ended up being $19,450 since they let me put the first $2,500 on my (2% cash back) credit card. Rest of it handled with personal check. No way for me to know if some other method could have gotten me an even lower price, but the "dealer cost" for my trim according to the internet was $19,572 so pretty happy to have paid less than that including taxes/registration/etc.
Wow! You had home delivery, so you didn't visit the dealer to pick it up! That means you didn't have to get beat up by the finance person.

You used "Out the Door" so you don't care about anything extra that's already on the car.

It sounds like your initial contact with the dealers was through their form on a webpage.

I would speculate that you got your vehicle for the best available price for Presidents' Day week.

What would you do differently if you had to buy a second vehicle next month?
BattyNatty
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by BattyNatty »

denovo wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 2:57 pm Did the winning offer come from a high-volume, large dealer? Also, what was the sticker or MSRP price?
Not sure on how high-volume the dealer is. Window sticker MSRP is $23,290. Final paid minus mandatory govt taxes/fees was $18,622, or exactly 20% off MSRP (ignoring the extra $50 off in credit card rewards).
denovo wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 4:31 pm
schmitz wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 3:25 pm General question after agreeing to an OTD price - is it smart or just generally a good idea to decline every option they try to sell you on at the end? I assume none are a great idea (most are probably highly profitable for the dealership) but can I ever regret just blindly saying no to everything at the end?
Yes, reject them all. No to extended warranties, no to rust-proofing, no to paint protection.

Since you established yourself as a serious buyer all this stuff usually ends in 5 minutes and they don't hard-sell you.
That was my experience. The very half-hearted sell for those extras came when they called to arrange a delivery time, and only took one "I'm not interested in any of that stuff" to move on.
hudson wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 8:01 pmWow! You had home delivery, so you didn't visit the dealer to pick it up! That means you didn't have to get beat up by the finance person.

You used "Out the Door" so you don't care about anything extra that's already on the car.

It sounds like your initial contact with the dealers was through their form on a webpage.

I would speculate that you got your vehicle for the best available price for Presidents' Day week.

What would you do differently if you had to buy a second vehicle next month?
Home delivery also meant I was not worried at all about them trying to bait-and-switch on me with pricing somehow at the end. Reverses the annoyance factor--no way are they going to do anything that could possibly cause me to say "no, you're not following our deal, I don't accept delivery, enjoy your 45-minute drive back to the dealership".

Only things I would do differently on a re-do would be to:
  • Create a new Gmail just for this process. I used my standard address and am still spending a few minutes every day trying to unsubscribe from all the automated emails from every other dealership whose form I filled out.
  • Request all forms I would be signing upon delivery via email ahead of time. Due to COVID this was an outdoor delivery/signing and we were all freezing while I took the time to actually read them before signing. Would have been less of an issue without a pandemic.
MarkBarb
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by MarkBarb »

If you are trying to buy a high demand car and can't find anyone nearby willing to sell without a hefty premium over MSRP, cast a wider net. If you are willing to take a trip, you can sometimes save thousands of dollars by buying from a dealer in another city where demand isn't as strong.
Topic Author
denovo
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by denovo »

BattyNatty wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:06 am
denovo wrote: Sun Feb 21, 2021 2:57 pm Did the winning offer come from a high-volume, large dealer? Also, what was the sticker or MSRP price?
Not sure on how high-volume the dealer is. Window sticker MSRP is $23,290. Final paid minus mandatory govt taxes/fees was $18,622, or exactly 20% off MSRP (ignoring the extra $50 off in credit card rewards).
:sharebeer
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hudson
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

Thanks BattyNatty!
Great job!

I've found that once I finalize a deal and have the winning bidder send me the "sales order" or whatever document they use, there are few if any surprises. At least with Toyota, after they've made an OTD deal, they want you to max them out on the factory survey. Because of that, they don't want to make you mad.
hudson
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

BattyNatty,

So your initial contact for most dealers was through a contact form on their web page?

I don't worry about giving them my regular contact information because I'm usually giving it directly to a salesperson and they may or may not load it into the dealer's system. After the sale, it's easy at least with gmail to just mark emails as spam or to block phone calls or texts. On my last purchase in 2018, I had very few follow calls or emails except from the winning dealer.
BattyNatty
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by BattyNatty »

hudson wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:29 am So your initial contact for most dealers was through a contact form on their web page?
I'd go to a vehicle listing on their website for what I wanted and submit my email address and comment through the "Get a Price" or "Ask a Question" form on that page, not just using the general contact page on their website. If phone number was a required field I entered an obviously fake one (111-111-1111 or whatever).
hudson
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

Thanks BattyNatty!
how fast was the response on the average?
squirm
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by squirm »

My experience is to make sure you can easily pay the car in cash. IMO paying a car in cash shouldn't consume more than 3% or so of your net worth. I know some people that get all caught up and convince themselves they need XYZ car, when in reality they don't. I
surfstar
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by surfstar »

Secret, best-ever buying tip:

Buy low, sell high.

Example:
DW bought a 2020 Prius Prime. After all tax credits, rebates, incentives, and TTL - net cost: $18,729

Owned it for 15 months and 15k miles - traded it in. Horrible idea, right? Short ownership kills you with depreciation.

Received $22k for the trade-in.

Bought the same vehicle, color and all, but a 2021 version. Will pocket $1650 +/- after tax credit next year.
Brings the net cost of the current one to $17,1xx
MSRP was $29.5k

*ahem* That is how it is done :mrgreen:
Tingting1013
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by Tingting1013 »

surfstar wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:01 pm Secret, best-ever buying tip:

Buy low, sell high.

Example:
DW bought a 2020 Prius Prime. After all tax credits, rebates, incentives, and TTL - net cost: $18,729

Owned it for 15 months and 15k miles - traded it in. Horrible idea, right? Short ownership kills you with depreciation.

Received $22k for the trade-in.

Bought the same vehicle, color and all, but a 2021 version. Will pocket $1650 +/- after tax credit next year.
Brings the net cost of the current one to $17,1xx
MSRP was $29.5k

*ahem* That is how it is done :mrgreen:
Not much of a secret around here:

viewtopic.php?t=322952
pb1996
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by pb1996 »

denovo wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:15 pm I've done this a couple of times, and wonder what you guys think. I think I have got the best deal using this process.

Follow-up here. viewtopic.php?f=11&t=124638&start=150#p3061421

First, before you negotiate you need to decide on a car, and when I mean decide, I mean make model, options and even the color and interior. You may have to flexible on color , but there's usually no difference on price for color. That means test-drive it and then leave the dealership without leaving your number, e-mail , or any contact info. The only way to get the very best deal is to deal with the internet sales department for two simple reasons. A. You can't shop around multiple dealers simultaneously when you are stuck in a showroom. B. They are always slow to respond to get "approval" from their manager for a price request because they are hoping you will get tired out and just give up. Negotiating via e-mail over a couple of days destroys their advantages.

The Negotiating Process
1. Search the dealer inventories online for the exact car you are looking for. They usually give you the VIN Number, and you can usually find the same car at 4-5 different dealerships within a 60 mile radius if you live in a decent sized metro area, if you are not asking for something really unique like a pink Aston Martin. Ask for price requests from those 5 departments through an online questionnaire. DO NOT PUT down a phone number, or if you have to, a fake one, only contact information you leave is an e-mail address, no residential or mailing address.

2. You'll get an initial contact from someone within 24 hours via e-mail once the phone line doesn't work which is the first thing they'll try. Make it clear that you will negotiate over e-mail only, are soliciting multiple dealers for the best price, and want the quotes to be the out-the-door-price which means after taxes and fees. They will need your zip code to calculate taxes so they give them that. Do not let them talk to you about financing or if you have a trade-in. Tell them you are negotiating on the price of the car only and that those things won't be discussed until you find the dealer with the best price. Do not let them lure you into a phone call or insist you come in and talk to them. Eventually, they will all let you contact them via e-mail if you insist.

3. After you get the initial prices, and insist this is an out the door price after taxes and fees, take the lowest offer and take it to Dealer #2. So this doesn't take too long, tell them you will only go with them if they beat the price of Dealer #1 by at least $300.00. Insist, no matching will be accepted. They key thing about negotiating is for you to create the rules and be firm about it. Don't sound desperate, give them at least 24 hours to respond, but usually they will respond within a few hours. If they beat the price from Dealer #1 (which on the first round they usually will, since everyone starts with a high-ball offer) take that offer to Dealer #3, and keep on rinsing till you get the price. In later stages, you may want to say they can beat the price by only going down $200.00. You know you have the best offer when other dealers back out of the deal and refuse to counter. Not always true, but usually the best deal will end up being from a high-volume dealer in your area that can take a low margin. Even though the manufacturer sells the cars to the dealers for the same price, manufacturers will give rebates to dealers who sell higher volumes.

4. When you have the best offer, keep in your hip pocket the closest offer which will probably be within $200.00 A few dishonest dealers may try to give you an excuse when you get there to buy a car that they can't do that offer anymore, or that the car is gone, but that should be rare since by now you have established yourself as a no nonsense customer. Be prepared to walk out if the offer is even $10 more than what was initially quoted, they will either back down or you go to the second dealer. This will only happen rarely.

5. FINANCING- If you are not paying cash for your car, your best pathaway is to finance through one of the national banks or credit unions, they will offer rates as good as the dealer and you are not tied to one specific dealership as the bank will give you a check you can give to any dealer. Dealers usually just take bank loans and add a markup so only focus on negotiating the price of the car with the dealer. The Finance Department of the car dealership is a pure profit center.

6.TRADE-IN , You will never get the best deal from the dealer. Either sell it private party or to a company like autodirect. This is just another profit center for the dealers.

7. Refuse all markup services like lo-jack, extended warranty, etc. These are all rip-offs that usually some people will cave into when they are tired after sitting in a showroom all day. None of them are good deals.

General Advice
*Be realistic on how much of a discount you can get below sticker price. Even with this strategy, there are certain factors out of your control. If a car is really popular, and selling like hotcakes this strategy will only bring the price down a little bit. Certain manufacturers have rebates on certain cars which will bring the price down. Your best deals usually come in Aug-October when they are bringing in the next year's model and the dealer wants to get rid of the prior year stock, especially if the design is being changed.
*Car negotiating isn't about making friends. There's a less of a chance of this happening since you are going to be dealing with people over e-mail until the end, but the dealer sees this as a pure business transaction and so should you. Dealers are pros about trying to make a fake personal connection, so you feel bad about negotiating, don't fall for it. When you walk in with the best deal, they are not going to greet you with roses since you bought the car for the bare minimum they would sell it.
Doing the email a bunch of dealers thing. 9 dealers out of 14 emailed have provided an out the door price. I subtracted $300 from the lowest initial offer, and every dealer I have sent it to says they need to see the specific printed dealers offer so that they can consider it and confirm they are talking about the same car. Should I do that? Or is there something else I should do?
hudson
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

pb1996 wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:40 am
every dealer I have sent it to says they need to see the specific printed dealers offer so that they can consider it and confirm they are talking about the same car. Should I do that? Or is there something else I should do?
I use the phone to contact dealers. I used to use faxes and emails, but I like the phone better because I like verbal communication. I think the phone helps establish that you are a serious buyer. I don't think that I've ever been asked for proof. I always communicate almost exactly what I want...sometimes an actual vehicle on that dealer's lot.
If I was asked for proof, I would respectfully and humbly decline. If they didn't give me an OTD quote, I would drop that dealer. If they were worried about the "same car", they could include a copy of the sticker or the VIN with the OTD quote.
UpperNwGuy
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by UpperNwGuy »

pb1996 wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:40 am Doing the email a bunch of dealers thing. 9 dealers out of 14 emailed have provided an out the door price. I subtracted $300 from the lowest initial offer, and every dealer I have sent it to says they need to see the specific printed dealers offer so that they can consider it and confirm they are talking about the same car. Should I do that? Or is there something else I should do?
Ha! They don't want to confirm that it is the same car. They want to see the real offer before you subtracted out the $300.
pb1996
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Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by pb1996 »

hudson wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:15 am
pb1996 wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:40 am
every dealer I have sent it to says they need to see the specific printed dealers offer so that they can consider it and confirm they are talking about the same car. Should I do that? Or is there something else I should do?
I use the phone to contact dealers. I used to use faxes and emails, but I like the phone better because I like verbal communication. I think the phone helps establish that you are a serious buyer. I don't think that I've ever been asked for proof. I always communicate almost exactly what I want...sometimes an actual vehicle on that dealer's lot.
If I was asked for proof, I would respectfully and humbly decline. If they didn't give me an OTD quote, I would drop that dealer. If they were worried about the "same car", they could include a copy of the sticker or the VIN with the OTD quote.
When you negotiate in a second round after getting your first round of prices, do you give them a specific price to beat? Or just say, "you aren't the lowest price, please give me a lower one"? (I've read all these threads countless times, and the various advice got jumbled in my head now that I"m doing the actual negotiating!)
hudson
Posts: 7098
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:15 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

pb1996 wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:36 am
hudson wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:15 am
pb1996 wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:40 am
every dealer I have sent it to says they need to see the specific printed dealers offer so that they can consider it and confirm they are talking about the same car. Should I do that? Or is there something else I should do?
I use the phone to contact dealers. I used to use faxes and emails, but I like the phone better because I like verbal communication. I think the phone helps establish that you are a serious buyer. I don't think that I've ever been asked for proof. I always communicate almost exactly what I want...sometimes an actual vehicle on that dealer's lot.
If I was asked for proof, I would respectfully and humbly decline. If they didn't give me an OTD quote, I would drop that dealer. If they were worried about the "same car", they could include a copy of the sticker or the VIN with the OTD quote.
When you negotiate in a second round after getting your first round of prices, do you give them a specific price to beat? Or just say, "you aren't the lowest price, please give me a lower one"? (I've read all these threads countless times, and the various advice got jumbled in my head now that I"m doing the actual negotiating!)
In the 2d round, I just say that I got this price...say $34,500. I guess that I'll buy from them; then I don't say another word. They know what to do. If they ask me what I'll pay for the vehicle, I politely decline. I let them name their price.
I don't go endless rounds....just 2-3 rounds. When I'm getting ready to make a decision, I'll call around and say, that I'm going to make a final decision in 4 hours at 5 PM. They know what to do.

I never explain what I'm doing....I just ask for and OTD price on a specific vehicle. I don't even say that I'm calling them back....except that I'll request the salesperson's name and contact info....and I'll ask for a backup in case they are not there. If they start talking about free oil changes or other benefits, I don't respond...but I don't hang up. I don't have much to say. They know what to do.

I do all of this by telephone; of course texts and emails are involved...depending on the preferred method of communication by the seller.
hoos09
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 9:56 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hoos09 »

Just bought a 2021 Highlander Hybrid using the patented denovo method :). The whole process took a week from start to finish.

Decided on the trim (XLE) plus roof rack cross bars ($350). I made a PDF spec sheet on Toyota's website and contacted six area dealers via their website forms. (I selected the dealerships based on a combo of DealerRater and general internet research.) I heard back same day from all of them and at that point provided my spec sheet and request for OTD prices. Two immediately offered OTD prices; Dealer 1 offered $39,600 and Dealer 2 offered $39,500 for specific cars on their lots. I was already confident that $39,500 was a very good OTD price based on my ToyotaNation and TrueCar research. The other dealers tried to get me to come into the dealership or talk on the phone. I eliminated one who would only give me a phone price. I took Dealer 2's $39,500 offer with VIN to the other four dealers and asked if they could get down to $39,400 for the same specs. Three of the four said that $39,500 was an excellent offer and that they could only go $1,000 to $1,500 more than the $39,500 and tried to sell me on why the extended warranty/premium audio/other pricey specs were worth the extra cost. I ignored these emails.

Here's where it gets messy. Dealer 1 says they can match the $39,500, which I feel is fair. We strike a deal and I head to the dealership only to find out that the car has captain's chairs in the second row despite my specific request for a bench seat (turns out the online pics for that specific vehicle were incorrect stock images). Dealer 1 does not have any vehicles on site that match my specs, and the closest thing they have is $1,600 more than what I've already been offered. I leave annoyed.

I then went back to Dealer 2 and asked if they could still do $39,500 OTD. For better or worse, after wasting my Saturday on Dealer 1, I was in no mood to spend more time trying to save an additional $100-$250. Dealer 2 confirmed the price. I went and picked up the car at Dealer 2 yesterday and paid in cash.

Price details:
MSRP: $45,276
Final Vehicle Price: $37,700
TTL: $1,800
OTD: $39,500
hoos09
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 9:56 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hoos09 »

hoos09 wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:23 am Just bought a 2021 Highlander Hybrid using the patented denovo method :). The whole process took a week from start to finish.

Decided on the trim (XLE) plus roof rack cross bars ($350). I made a PDF spec sheet on Toyota's website and contacted six area dealers via their website forms. (I selected the dealerships based on a combo of DealerRater and general internet research.) I heard back same day from all of them and at that point provided my spec sheet and request for OTD prices. Two immediately offered OTD prices; Dealer 1 offered $39,600 and Dealer 2 offered $39,500 for specific cars on their lots. I was already confident that $39,500 was a very good OTD price based on my ToyotaNation and TrueCar research. The other dealers tried to get me to come into the dealership or talk on the phone. I eliminated one who would only give me a phone price. I took Dealer 2's $39,500 offer with VIN to the other four dealers and asked if they could get down to $39,400 for the same specs. Three of the four said that $39,500 was an excellent offer and that they could only go $1,000 to $1,500 more than the $39,500 and tried to sell me on why the extended warranty/premium audio/other pricey specs were worth the extra cost. I ignored these emails.

Here's where it gets messy. Dealer 1 says they can match the $39,500, which I feel is fair. We strike a deal and I head to the dealership only to find out that the car has captain's chairs in the second row despite my specific request for a bench seat (turns out the online pics for that specific vehicle were incorrect stock images). Dealer 1 does not have any vehicles on site that match my specs, and the closest thing they have is $1,600 more than what I've already been offered. I leave annoyed.

I then went back to Dealer 2 and asked if they could still do $39,500 OTD. For better or worse, after wasting my Saturday on Dealer 1, I was in no mood to spend more time trying to save an additional $100-$250. Dealer 2 confirmed the price. I went and picked up the car at Dealer 2 yesterday and paid in cash.

Price details:
MSRP: $45,276
Final Vehicle Price: $37,700
TTL: $1,800
OTD: $39,500
I should also mention, the reason I initially went to Dealer 1 is that it is about 15 mins from my house, whereas Dealer 2 is more than an hour away with traffic. I never provided a phone number or talked to anyone on the phone until I had confirmed the price with Dealer 2, after the debacle with Dealer 1.
hudson
Posts: 7098
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:15 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

hoos09,
Thanks for the update!
What did you learn? What worked?
If you had to buy another vehicle tomorrow, what would you do differently?
Topic Author
denovo
Posts: 4808
Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:04 pm

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by denovo »

hoos09 wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:23 am Just bought a 2021 Highlander Hybrid using the patented denovo method :). The whole process took a week from start to finish.

Decided on the trim (XLE) plus roof rack cross bars ($350). I made a PDF spec sheet on Toyota's website and contacted six area dealers via their website forms. (I selected the dealerships based on a combo of DealerRater and general internet research.) I heard back same day from all of them and at that point provided my spec sheet and request for OTD prices. Two immediately offered OTD prices; Dealer 1 offered $39,600 and Dealer 2 offered $39,500 for specific cars on their lots. I was already confident that $39,500 was a very good OTD price based on my ToyotaNation and TrueCar research. The other dealers tried to get me to come into the dealership or talk on the phone. I eliminated one who would only give me a phone price. I took Dealer 2's $39,500 offer with VIN to the other four dealers and asked if they could get down to $39,400 for the same specs. Three of the four said that $39,500 was an excellent offer and that they could only go $1,000 to $1,500 more than the $39,500 and tried to sell me on why the extended warranty/premium audio/other pricey specs were worth the extra cost. I ignored these emails.

Here's where it gets messy. Dealer 1 says they can match the $39,500, which I feel is fair. We strike a deal and I head to the dealership only to find out that the car has captain's chairs in the second row despite my specific request for a bench seat (turns out the online pics for that specific vehicle were incorrect stock images). Dealer 1 does not have any vehicles on site that match my specs, and the closest thing they have is $1,600 more than what I've already been offered. I leave annoyed.

I then went back to Dealer 2 and asked if they could still do $39,500 OTD. For better or worse, after wasting my Saturday on Dealer 1, I was in no mood to spend more time trying to save an additional $100-$250. Dealer 2 confirmed the price. I went and picked up the car at Dealer 2 yesterday and paid in cash.

Price details:
MSRP: $45,276
Final Vehicle Price: $37,700
TTL: $1,800
OTD: $39,500

8k below sticker is phenomenal. You get the denovo seal of approval. Did you do any financing or trade-in through the dealer?
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
hoos09
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 9:56 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hoos09 »

hudson wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:31 am hoos09,
Thanks for the update!
What did you learn? What worked?
If you had to buy another vehicle tomorrow, what would you do differently?
This was my very first car purchase so I didn't know exactly what to expect, and I think having low expectations was helpful. I thought it was going to be much more painful than it was, small Dealer 1 fiasco notwithstanding. I was surprised at how quickly a bunch of dealers eliminated themselves either by saying they couldn't match the price or trying to upsell me. The most annoying thing about the process was getting emails from so many different people at each dealership. That made it hard to keep track of who was offering what, but this problem effectively solved itself because most of the people emailing me would never provide prices. Similar to recent previous advice on this topic, if I had to do something differently, I would have created a "burner" email specifically for this process. Other than that I'm pretty happy with the experience!
hoos09
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 9:56 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hoos09 »

denovo wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:06 pm


8k below sticker is phenomenal. You get the denovo seal of approval. Did you do any financing or trade-in through the dealer?
Wow, I'm honored! :sharebeer

No financing or trade-in. I paid fully in cash. The vehicle I replaced (2002 4Runner) is being donated to charity.
hudson
Posts: 7098
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:15 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

hoos09 wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:02 pm
hudson wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 11:31 am hoos09,
Thanks for the update!
What did you learn? What worked?
If you had to buy another vehicle tomorrow, what would you do differently?
This was my very first car purchase so I didn't know exactly what to expect, and I think having low expectations was helpful. I thought it was going to be much more painful than it was, small Dealer 1 fiasco notwithstanding. I was surprised at how quickly a bunch of dealers eliminated themselves either by saying they couldn't match the price or trying to upsell me. The most annoying thing about the process was getting emails from so many different people at each dealership. That made it hard to keep track of who was offering what, but this problem effectively solved itself because most of the people emailing me would never provide prices. Similar to recent previous advice on this topic, if I had to do something differently, I would have created a "burner" email specifically for this process. Other than that I'm pretty happy with the experience!
Thanks hoos09!
When I bought my last vehicle in 2018, I focused on getting one contact person at each dealership.
tj
Posts: 9317
Joined: Wed Dec 23, 2009 11:10 pm

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by tj »

hoos09 wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:04 pm
denovo wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:06 pm


8k below sticker is phenomenal. You get the denovo seal of approval. Did you do any financing or trade-in through the dealer?
Wow, I'm honored! :sharebeer

No financing or trade-in. I paid fully in cash. The vehicle I replaced (2002 4Runner) is being donated to charity.
I recommend checking Carvana and Vroom first and see they offer you something better. You're better off donating cash than non-cash generally.
hoos09
Posts: 13
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2021 9:56 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hoos09 »

tj wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 5:51 pm
I recommend checking Carvana and Vroom first and see they offer you something better. You're better off donating cash than non-cash generally.
Yeah I started this process but ended up deciding against it. The car runs very well for having 200k+ miles on it but it's been a street-parked city car for the past 10 years so the outside is incredibly beat-up (numerous scratches / dents, cracked brake light cover, etc.), so Carvana offered a really low price. And, the organization I donated it to is one that I have an established relationship with and I love their mission, and they will actually use the vehicle rather than auctioning it off. So overall it was more worthwhile to me to donate.
mr_brightside
Posts: 897
Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2020 3:23 pm

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by mr_brightside »

Tingting1013 wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:20 pm
surfstar wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:01 pm Secret, best-ever buying tip:

Buy low, sell high.

Example:
DW bought a 2020 Prius Prime. After all tax credits, rebates, incentives, and TTL - net cost: $18,729

Owned it for 15 months and 15k miles - traded it in. Horrible idea, right? Short ownership kills you with depreciation.

Received $22k for the trade-in.

Bought the same vehicle, color and all, but a 2021 version. Will pocket $1650 +/- after tax credit next year.
Brings the net cost of the current one to $17,1xx
MSRP was $29.5k

*ahem* That is how it is done :mrgreen:
Not much of a secret around here:

viewtopic.php?t=322952
enjoy your Prius :oops:

-----------------------------------
rajereza
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:20 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by rajereza »

Wanted to report another successful purchase. I was looking for a 2021 Toyota Corolla XSE with the Connectivity Package. Not many dealers in CA had this combo, but Dealer 1 had three of them sitting on their lot for over 240 days. Unsurprisingly, the market for people wanting to buy a Corolla at an MSRP close to $29k is extremely low, so Dealer 1 was willing to offer me something great. Otherwise, those cars would be sitting for another 240 days.

I used TrueCar to get initial quotes. After grinding the dozens of dealerships, it was clear that Dealer 1 had the best price in the state. No other dealer was willing to touch Dealer 1's initial quote of $23,499. Picked up the vehicle on Friday. Put $3k on a credit card and the remaining in personal check. No trade-in.

MSRP: $28,684
Price w/o fees: $23,499 ($5,185 off MSRP or 18% off MSRP)
Topic Author
denovo
Posts: 4808
Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:04 pm

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by denovo »

rajereza wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:01 pm Wanted to report another successful purchase. I was looking for a 2021 Toyota Corolla XSE with the Connectivity Package. Not many dealers in CA had this combo, but Dealer 1 had three of them sitting on their lot for over 240 days. Unsurprisingly, the market for people wanting to buy a Corolla at an MSRP close to $29k is extremely low, so Dealer 1 was willing to offer me something great. Otherwise, those cars would be sitting for another 240 days.

I used TrueCar to get initial quotes. After grinding the dozens of dealerships, it was clear that Dealer 1 had the best price in the state. No other dealer was willing to touch Dealer 1's initial quote of $23,499. Picked up the vehicle on Friday. Put $3k on a credit card and the remaining in personal check. No trade-in.

MSRP: $28,684
Price w/o fees: $23,499 ($5,185 off MSRP or 18% off MSRP)
What was your OTD price, they didnt put any junk fees in that just tax and dmv fees right
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
rajereza
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:20 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by rajereza »

denovo wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:36 pm
rajereza wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:01 pm Wanted to report another successful purchase. I was looking for a 2021 Toyota Corolla XSE with the Connectivity Package. Not many dealers in CA had this combo, but Dealer 1 had three of them sitting on their lot for over 240 days. Unsurprisingly, the market for people wanting to buy a Corolla at an MSRP close to $29k is extremely low, so Dealer 1 was willing to offer me something great. Otherwise, those cars would be sitting for another 240 days.

I used TrueCar to get initial quotes. After grinding the dozens of dealerships, it was clear that Dealer 1 had the best price in the state. No other dealer was willing to touch Dealer 1's initial quote of $23,499. Picked up the vehicle on Friday. Put $3k on a credit card and the remaining in personal check. No trade-in.

MSRP: $28,684
Price w/o fees: $23,499 ($5,185 off MSRP or 18% off MSRP)
What was your OTD price, they didnt put any junk fees in that just tax and dmv fees right
Can't remember OTD off the top of my head, but no junk was included. Just tax and registration. Kept it junk free!
Last edited by rajereza on Tue Apr 27, 2021 5:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Tingting1013
Posts: 1594
Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2020 5:44 pm

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by Tingting1013 »

rajereza wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 5:08 pm
denovo wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:36 pm
rajereza wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:01 pm Wanted to report another successful purchase. I was looking for a 2021 Toyota Corolla XSE with the Connectivity Package. Not many dealers in CA had this combo, but Dealer 1 had three of them sitting on their lot for over 240 days. Unsurprisingly, the market for people wanting to buy a Corolla at an MSRP close to $29k is extremely low, so Dealer 1 was willing to offer me something great. Otherwise, those cars would be sitting for another 240 days.

I used TrueCar to get initial quotes. After grinding the dozens of dealerships, it was clear that Dealer 1 had the best price in the state. No other dealer was willing to touch Dealer 1's initial quote of $23,499. Picked up the vehicle on Friday. Put $3k on a credit card and the remaining in personal check. No trade-in.

MSRP: $28,684
Price w/o fees: $23,499 ($5,185 off MSRP or 18% off MSRP)
What was your OTD price, they didnt put any junk fees in that just tax and dmv fees right
Can't remember OTD off the top of my head, but no junk was included. Just tax and registration. Kept it junk free!
You said you contacted every dealer in the state. How far away from your house was the one you ended up with?
rajereza
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:20 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by rajereza »

Tingting1013 wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 5:10 pm
rajereza wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 5:08 pm
denovo wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:36 pm
rajereza wrote: Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:01 pm Wanted to report another successful purchase. I was looking for a 2021 Toyota Corolla XSE with the Connectivity Package. Not many dealers in CA had this combo, but Dealer 1 had three of them sitting on their lot for over 240 days. Unsurprisingly, the market for people wanting to buy a Corolla at an MSRP close to $29k is extremely low, so Dealer 1 was willing to offer me something great. Otherwise, those cars would be sitting for another 240 days.

I used TrueCar to get initial quotes. After grinding the dozens of dealerships, it was clear that Dealer 1 had the best price in the state. No other dealer was willing to touch Dealer 1's initial quote of $23,499. Picked up the vehicle on Friday. Put $3k on a credit card and the remaining in personal check. No trade-in.

MSRP: $28,684
Price w/o fees: $23,499 ($5,185 off MSRP or 18% off MSRP)
What was your OTD price, they didnt put any junk fees in that just tax and dmv fees right
Can't remember OTD off the top of my head, but no junk was included. Just tax and registration. Kept it junk free!
You said you contacted every dealer in the state. How far away from your house was the one you ended up with?
Thankfully less than 20 minutes away. The Toyota Customer cash offer in Northern CA was $2,000, but was only $1,500 in Southern CA, which I thought was interesting.
AnnabEllie
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 6:37 pm

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by AnnabEllie »

Wanted to share another success story! I used the information in the Refinance megathread for 2 successful refis in the past year so was excited to see this car buying advice thread. Not interested in spending all day haggling in a dealership...

I decided on a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid XLE AWD - MSRP $45,523

My OTD price was $45369.26 ($40,671.06 + taxes/fees) with 0.9% Toyota financing. I live in SF Bay Area, tax is 9.75% ugh...

Pretty happy with 10.65% off MSRP though, it's a hot car right now, especially with Covid, chip shortage, etc.

I emailed 7 or 8 local dealerships that had the car in stock, 3 played ball with the OTD method, got a good price off the bat from one of them and another was able to beat it (and those 2 were closest to me, yay!), no one else could come close. Maybe could have haggled a little more back and forth if I wanted to drag it out another week of hardball, but I was satisfied with the price. The guy I worked with could tell I was serious and had everything set up for me when I came in to test drive and purchase - had to wait a little while for Finance (it was Sunday, only one guy working) but my salesman clearly tipped him off, he only very halfheartedly asked "No extra warranties or maintenance packages, right?"
Topic Author
denovo
Posts: 4808
Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:04 pm

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by denovo »

AnnabEllie wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:30 pm Wanted to share another success story! I used the information in the Refinance megathread for 2 successful refis in the past year so was excited to see this car buying advice thread. Not interested in spending all day haggling in a dealership...

I decided on a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid XLE AWD - MSRP $45,523

My OTD price was $45369.26 ($40,671.06 + taxes/fees) with 0.9% Toyota financing. I live in SF Bay Area, tax is 9.75% ugh...

Pretty happy with 10.65% off MSRP though, it's a hot car right now, especially with Covid, chip shortage, etc.

I emailed 7 or 8 local dealerships that had the car in stock, 3 played ball with the OTD method, got a good price off the bat from one of them and another was able to beat it (and those 2 were closest to me, yay!), no one else could come close. Maybe could have haggled a little more back and forth if I wanted to drag it out another week of hardball, but I was satisfied with the price. The guy I worked with could tell I was serious and had everything set up for me when I came in to test drive and purchase - had to wait a little while for Finance (it was Sunday, only one guy working) but my salesman clearly tipped him off, he only very halfheartedly asked "No extra warranties or maintenance packages, right?"
You get the denovo seal of approval
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
rich126
Posts: 4453
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:56 pm

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by rich126 »

AnnabEllie wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:30 pm Wanted to share another success story! I used the information in the Refinance megathread for 2 successful refis in the past year so was excited to see this car buying advice thread. Not interested in spending all day haggling in a dealership...

I decided on a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid XLE AWD - MSRP $45,523

My OTD price was $45369.26 ($40,671.06 + taxes/fees) with 0.9% Toyota financing. I live in SF Bay Area, tax is 9.75% ugh...

Pretty happy with 10.65% off MSRP though, it's a hot car right now, especially with Covid, chip shortage, etc.

I emailed 7 or 8 local dealerships that had the car in stock, 3 played ball with the OTD method, got a good price off the bat from one of them and another was able to beat it (and those 2 were closest to me, yay!), no one else could come close. Maybe could have haggled a little more back and forth if I wanted to drag it out another week of hardball, but I was satisfied with the price. The guy I worked with could tell I was serious and had everything set up for me when I came in to test drive and purchase - had to wait a little while for Finance (it was Sunday, only one guy working) but my salesman clearly tipped him off, he only very halfheartedly asked "No extra warranties or maintenance packages, right?"
Sounds good. I'm not much of a negotiator. My last purchase was somewhat hurried due to an accident where someone totaled my car (they plowed into it) in 2018. I don't how good of a deal I got but I did things online and made sure we were talking out the door price. I went in signed the papers and was out within 30 minutes and part of that time was waiting for the guy to finish washing it. No discussion of extended warranties, extra items, etc.

Except for doing some test drives, I plan to do the same thing for my GF when she gets a car later this year (we will likely be moving so the car buying has to wait).
----------------------------- | If you think something is important and it doesn't involve the health of someone, think again. Life goes too fast, enjoy it and be nice.
hudson
Posts: 7098
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:15 am

Re: My New Car Buying Tips

Post by hudson »

AnnaBellie and rich126,

Good job!
You shopped around using the OTD method....and you located a dealer that wanted to make a sale.
No extended warranty pressure!
You established that you were a serious buyer!
You likely got the best price available for that time and place.
cvsvm2007
Posts: 105
Joined: Thu May 02, 2019 3:26 pm

Any web sites / forums where people discuss purchase prices

Post by cvsvm2007 »

Folks,

I tried google search and could not find any forums or groups where people talk about what price that bought a car for. Have you folks come across any?

Thanks
cvsvm2007
devopscoder
Posts: 108
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:35 pm

Re: Any web sites / forums where people discuss purchase prices

Post by devopscoder »

cvsvm2007 wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 3:09 pm I tried google search and could not find any forums or groups where people talk about what price that bought a car for. Have you folks come across any?
Same here.

I’m looking to get Honda CRV, grand touring edition. I’m also ok with settling for the next level trim option which is EX-L. Dealers generally have about 6-10 touring models and 50-60 EX-L models. Does that mean it will be harder to get a great deal on the touring edition?
hudson
Posts: 7098
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:15 am

Re: Any web sites / forums where people discuss purchase prices

Post by hudson »

cvsvm2007 wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 3:09 pm Folks,

I tried google search and could not find any forums or groups where people talk about what price that bought a car for. Have you folks come across any?

Thanks
cvsvm2007
If you buy James Bragg's package, you get the prices that his customers have reported back to him. I've used his service 4 times since 2007.
I plan to use the service again because I learn valuable information each time. https://fightingchance.com/
Topic Author
denovo
Posts: 4808
Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:04 pm

Re: Any web sites / forums where people discuss purchase prices

Post by denovo »

cvsvm2007 wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 3:09 pm Folks,

I tried google search and could not find any forums or groups where people talk about what price that bought a car for. Have you folks come across any?

Thanks
cvsvm2007
I think that should not be the focus when you are buying a new car. (1) Dealer/manufacturer incentives vary by region (2) Generally people do not give you the exact data on the sticker price and options to give you a reliable apples to apples comparison. Have you tried using the method described in the opening post.
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
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