Pimpbot

A few questions for those of you who have bought cars in the states.

If the list price at the car dealer says $20,000 dollars, how much could I expect to negotiate off the asking price? and would I be in a better position, the more money I had for a down payment. i.e. I could knock them down to $19,000 if I put $2000 down, but I could get $18,500 if I put $4000 down.

dunroving

I can't give you the answer, but I can point you in one direction - Consumer Reports. $26 a year subscription, and pays for itself many times over in money saved, and peace of mind with things I've bought on their (independent) advice.

They offer various services for car buyers, including information on how much the dealer paid, manufacturer's rebates, guidelines for what to offer, etc.

Also, Click and Clack (AKA Tom & Ray Magliozzi) have helpful advice, I believe - see http://cartalk.cars.com/

Pulaski

I think that they are all (well, all the US domestic manufacturers) selling cars on fairly standard terms - 0% (or very low rates) or a cash-back of several thousand dollars (I'd guess around $2,000 - $3,000 on a $20,000 car if you are a cash buyer (or have financed the purchase independently through a bank loan, or credit union loan etc.). Some dealers might even offer you a combination deal - some cash back and a low rate loan.

Now is certainly a good time to look as 2004 year models are arriving and from now on the 2003 year models become increasingly heavily discounted.

If you can wait into September, or even October you may find some even better bargains as by then any remaning 2003 year models will be tucked away in the corner of the dealers' lots and the dealers will probably all but give them away to anyone who is prepared to take them.

"Imported" models (Honda, Toyota, Nissan, VW, Audi, BMW, etc), even if built in the US, are not priced so competitively, and you won't get much of a cash back, or as low rate a loan.

dunroving

I've also read in several sources that buying towards the end of the month is a good idea. Apparently, the dealers/salesmen have monthly quotas and towards the end of the month they're more likely to let you get away with a cheeky deal (as long as they make SOME money).

katina

Check out www.edmunds.com. My husband (from the UK) just bought a car and used this site a lot before buying.

Stumpyguy

End of month, end of quarter, and end of year are best bets when buying from a dealer. Do some homework before stepping into the sales manager's office, there is something called the blue book that lists car values by year and condition (a lot of credit unions offer access to the blue book as a service to their customers). Once you haggle down to an agreed price be careful of the fees that a dealer will try to load onto the back end: IE, transportation fees, undercoat charges, and the worst of the lot are financing charges (which are all negotiable). The last time I bought a car from a dealer it was on the last day of the year, and I am happy with the outcome (the car lot owner also offered me a job selling cars if I ever wanted a career change... ).

If you are comfortable with the idea of a used car, consider going to a car broker. Just tell them what you want (make, model, and year), give them a price range, and they will go and get what you want for you. This has worked out really well for me, personally I would never go back to buying cars from a lot.

Pimpbot

Thanks for all the advice and info. Who knows, I may just win one in Vegas this weekend. I think I'd look good in a Dodge Viper

Stumpyguy

Ann Widdecombe would look good in a Dodge Viper, or is it under a Dodge Viper...

Trinity

For me personally, I HATE buying cars because I dont like to play all the silly little car dealer games. Thats why I've bought my last two from Saturn. Straightforward and to the point.

About the time I was buying my first one, I wanted to be up on all the games and tatics of beating them at their own game, so I got this book, "Buying a Car for Dummies." Yes, I know quite silly. But since I have loaned it to many others who were buying cars themselves and they said it was an awesome thing to have. It tells you exactly how to play games to get the best deal, what all the stupid codes on the sticker and the contract mean, and let you know how to avoid getting ripped off and get the best price for the car you want.

You can get it online for about $10, assuming you buy it used:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

Just a thought! Good luck in your search for a good car deal!

RaymanInPA

Go into any Ford Dealer and offer to buy a Ford Focus for half the list price. Its one piece-of-crap car, but its so cheap it don't matter.

Don't compare it to a Honda or Volvo.

Ford Focus is a Mexican built piece of garbage, but consider that because its turned out the Americans hate the Focus US sales of Focus are so bad that you can get it at basemet prices. Drive it around for three years then flog it off.

The fact that its a crappy build is made up for by the fact that it comes with a 3 year warranty.

Duncs

I am hunting for a used car and need to find a good buy for my wifes limited funds. does anyone know do they price the cars well over the actual price they want on the used lot? I see ads for the same kind of cars and the prices see to fluctuate widely from dealer to dealer. Generally if you then check the vehicle against Edmunds pricing(i hear better than the blue book as there is a dealer and customer version of the blue book) is this because dealer A has loads of idiot customers or because dealer A has added a few grand onto the actual price he wants in the hope of getting one idiot?

Anyones experince of the kind of discounts possible on used cars
would be useful.

regards,

Duncan

RaymanInPA

Duncs - if at all possible try and avoid buying a used car. For just a little bit extra you can get yourself a gutter price new one.

There is much treachery in the world of user car sales, avoid ebay for one. But in my experiance if you go into a used car dealership you should expect to pay no more than 60% to 70% of the used car price.

Whatever you do - avoid talking with the salesmen about your "afforable payment" thats a express-route to getting ripped off.

If you don't like the haggling I know in some states Saturn dealerships have a no-discount policy which they apply strictly. You pay a little extra with them, and its a limited range of vehicles - but at least you dont get ripped off (and I speak as someone who's been ripped off by used dealerships).

Pulaski

I'd agree with that, .... you only have to look at how most cars seem to be driven, round here at least. It seems that most drivers have to have their right foot buried in the carpet at all times!

Duncs

I dont think we can afford a new car really. We have a limited cash sum to buy something outright including sales tax and registration fees. I dont wish to have any payments of any kind as i doubt we could get decent credit rates. we would get screwed on interest as a bad credit risk (i have no record my UK one says 'Insolvent' in big letters by the way after my business collapsed!). The wife has loads of student debts from her many masters degrees and no job as yet so i dont think she would score to high either.

I dont mind haggling i used to negotiate for living i can cope with a used car salesman. i just need to get sense of what their real bottom line is. I see lots of car advertised on the net by dealers at prices that seem to be $1000's above what Edmunds.com or the Blue Book say is the real market value. As i understand it you should be looking for around 6% above the trade in value they paid which is a fair profit for a car dealer. But i had wondered due to the big differences in price advertised and what i consider as the real value. Obvioulsy they heavily over price and hope for the occasional sucker.

thanks for your advice though,

regards,

Duncan

BrigieDarling

Practice your 'walk away' face in the mirror and low ball every time...

This way you'll get a feel for the dealer and see how desperate they are. First look the car up in a NADA guide... calculate the options and see how close the sticker really is to the actual fair market price.

We buy and sell used cars and are always willing to haggle. Keep an eye on the car lots. If you see one there for over 3 weeks they'll be looking to make a deal anyway.

On a listed 20,000 I'd offer 17,000 (believe me they will probably be still be making aprox 5K on the other car they sold if the car you want car was traded in... )