eg76

Ok, next on check list for things to buy in California is a couple of cars. Does anyone know how flexible prices are on new cars? I know that here in the UK there is usually a fair amount of wiggle room and I wondered if that was similar in the US?

Any tips on getting a good deal?

Rete

When I purchased my last new car in 2013, I was able to get it down nearly $3,000.

MidAtlantic

The ability to get discounts vary widely depending on such matters as brand, model, dealer.

Use these sites to get a feel of what you could actually pay:

truecar.com

kbb.com

edmunds.com

For one car I spent several frustrating hours at a Toyota dealer and vowed never to do it again. Just walk if they mess you around.

The second time I went to a different Toyota dealer, showed him the truecar figure and they met it straight away and I got a very substantial discount.

Guindalf

Yes, buying a car in the US is a sport!

There is usually a LOT of wiggle room in the price of a car and there are many online tools you can use before you set foot in a dealer's showroom for both new and used vehicles.

First, decide what you want. If you want to look, and test drive, multiple vehicles, it makes the research a little more, but worth it in the end. Do NOT try to test drive first as the heart may take over the negotiations from the head and you'll end up paying more.

Second, look at sites like Edmunds.com, cars.com, truecar.com and any others you can find to get an idea of what others are paying for that particular vehicle. Remember to take any extras into consideration (Brands like Honda are easier to compare as each trim level is the same). Send an email to several dealers and ask for an internet price. If you're prepared to drive a little to get the best price, don't be afraid to pit them against each other. Make sure you ask for an 'out-the-door' price and keep 'document fees' to a minimum (expect up to $400ish, but I've personally seen $799!) and say NO to 'protection packages'.

Third, remember that if it's an advertised deal, either the price is too high or you won't actually get that price when you get to the showroom. Bait and switch is all too common in the US.

Fourth, negotiate a cash price. If you're new to the country, you won't have the problem of a trade (part exchange), but you may need financing. Negotiate that separately or, better still, arrange financing elsewhere, but remember, there may be incentives to use the car company's credit (maybe an extra $1000 off, for example).

Finally, prepare yourself to walk away if you don't get the offer you want. It's not uncommon for a salesman to chase you with a better offer if you do this, even after telling you that the price he offered is his 'best' price.

Without knowing what cars you want, it's hard to give specific examples, but remember, invoice price is NOT what the dealer pays. Check on dealer incentives as well as customer offers and offer something that is probably $1000 less than you're prepared to pay and let them come down. One of my favorite things to say is 'Give me your best price. If you drop after that, I'll know you lied and will walk out of here' - and then do it if necessary. You'd be amazed at the apologies I've had and the offers to 'make it right'!

Remember also that extras can be as good as, or in some cases, better that a cash discount, but only if it is actually useful to you.

eg76

Thanks all. Always been a happy haggler. Should be fun.

petitefrancaise

Do you have the cash to go and buy a car? If you need financing/leasing then you are going to find it difficult/almost impossible without a US credit history. Those of us in this position bought/leased a car before we arrived using companies like international autosource or expatride.

Hotscot

Do you have a CostCo membership? They negotiate some decent, no haggle, deals with manufacturers.

I enjoy haggling. Go with cash or arranged financing, Friday afternoon, end of the month.

eg76

Have a Costco membership - not a bad idea. Still love a good haggle though!

eg76

Good to know. Will look into it....

civilservant

Aim for 20% off MSRP, before any incentives. I was able to get a $42k 2016 F150 XLT for $34k out the door (ie tag, tag and title included in that price)

Would have loved a Lariat, but budget didn't quite stretch that far...

MMcD

Good advice above. I agree with most of it
Add to the list: Holiday rebates...

I bought my last new car during the long Thanksgiving Weekend.
There were 2 separate holiday rebates being offered at the time (by the car manufacturer) ...each worth a separate $1000 ($2000 total)
One was for Thanksgiving, the other for the Christmas period, which began that weekend and, I think, extended into Jan.
Don't know whether all Manufacturers do this...but it's worth finding out and timing your purchase accordingly, if possible.

btw: As I was purchasing with all cash...I REALLY bargained, stuck to my guns and struck a great deal (the exact price I counter-offered)...because the Mfr. rebates have nothing to do with the dealer profit (well I guess they do if he doesn't disclose them and pockets YOUR rebate....so do your homework/find out about both rebates to customer and rebates to dealer before you start to bargain.

Find out the Dealer Invoice Price as well.( Truecar web site is your friend.) With luck - you should be able to purchase below his factory invoice price. And, as I mentioned above, if there are Manufacturer rebates being offered - even further below that.

I did.

ps: Pay no attention to the MSRP. It's a rubbish number. Meaningless - unless you're a dupe. And dealers try to snow, distract and confuse you when they talk about discounting from that figure.

eg76

Thanks all. Will bear that in mind. Should be fun.

One more quick question. What are your thoughts on Leasing as opposed to Buying? Are there better (or worse) deals to be had here?

Guindalf

Leasing has strong opinions both for and against and both sides have plenty to say about it. I've never leased a car but here are the pros and cons, collated from opinions I have seen here and on other forae...

Pros: Newer car for lesser payments; can drive a better class of car; easy to lease a new car at the end of the term; may be able to opt to buy the vehicle at the end of the term.

Cons: You never own the car; insurance will be higher; limited mileage, usually 10-12k/year, without incurring 20-25+ cents per mile overage; vehicle MUST be kept in pristine condition to avoid being charged at the end of the lease.

The biggest downside I see is that if your circumstances change, the lease may no longer suit you. For example, what happens if you reach the allocated mileage before the end of the term? You end up with potentially several months of payments and not wanting to drive because of overage charges.

However, if you meet the criteria and are pretty good with car care and are resigned to always having a payment, then leasing may well be your best option.

petitefrancaise

So we leased a car from IAS when we moved here and we've just handed it back (a month early).
my thoughts:
It was great to get the credit history going with this. We got a good deal (or at least one we were happy with) and it was easy to organise.

We paid for extra miles - normal lease was 12k miles and we had 15k per year. In the end we were about 2000 miles under our limit so it was a good thing to do. This was OH's commuter car and it only did 2 long journeys (about 4k total) in the 3 years so when Pulaski writes that your mileage will be higher here in the US, it appears he was correct and I'm glad we listened to him.

In terms of handing it back, we had lost the spare key so that had to be provided. The dealership did a pre-return exam for us and told us it was fine. There were a couple of light scratches but no door dings or dents. For various reasons we started another lease early (a brilliant deal on a mazda) and we handed the original lease car back a month early. The car was sold at auction immediately and it seems we don't have to pay the final payment. I'll know this for absolute certainty next week.

We had never leased a car before but this turned out to be a pleasant experience.

xathras

I echo this. However, i still find more wiggle room in this with up to 1k. People have to remember truecar.com etc make a profit