Getting a Fair Price on a Car
They always tell me that they are only making 600$ on the car. What do I have dumb@# stamped on my forehead?
I think that is what infuriates me most. They tell me such as that and expect me to believe them! I DON'T believe they only make $600 on a car! Shouldn't you get a couple thousand off the price? Isn't it negotiable?
Paula from GA
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RE: Getting a Fair Price on a Car
Read all the tips that you possibly can on www.edmunds.com before purchasing from a used car dealer. You WILL be in control if you follow what they say. They also have a used car appraiser that prices cars much more realistically than Kelly Blue Book.
Post By Kyle (Guest Post)
RE: Getting a Fair Price on a Car
There is a great book out about buying cars. I'm sorry I have forgotten the title, but you should be able to find something like it in the bookstore or library. Anyhow, one thing I remember is that you should buy toward the end of the month when they are more eager to make a quota and therefore give you more incentive to buy. My father also was very patient. He'd go in, find what he wanted, talk to them, and then just wait a week or two for them to call him with their new offer.
Post by Lynn
RE: Getting a Fair Price on a Car
Here's a series on ThriftyFun about buying cars. Read all of them, not just #1.
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf47166332.tip.html
I used to be frustrated, like you. Then I educated myself. When you are educated, you actually enjoy buying a car, because you are in control, and don't have to worry about the lies of the salesman.
Post by the Oracle
RE: Getting a Fair Price on a Car
I think it is better to buy directly from an owner than to buy from a dealer. Most used cars come without warranties either way, and I think it is nearly impossible to know all the work that has been done to a car. My husband fixes our cars and he keeps a record of it for himself, but if we traded them in at a dealer (which we won't, but that's another discussion), the dealer would have no record of any repairs. It is important to know the Kelly Blue Book value, as this is what many people use to price cars they are selling. Also, read the classified ads in the paper and the local classifieds that are sold separately from the paper for a few weeks to see what is available in your price range. This will help you start to get a feel for what is a good deal. And don't think of a good deal as "dollars off," think of a good deal as a bargain price. For example, if Cheerios are $1 off at K-Mart and regularly $3.49 there, but they're regularly $2.39 at WalMart, the $1 off doesn't mean anything. The same thing applies to any comparison shopping scenario. Try to compare from the bottom up, based on price, not from the top down, based on dollars off. Also, an individual owner won't make up all kinds of crazy fees to charge you.
Post by Allison
RE: Getting a Fair Price on a Car
What I did was to choose the car I wanted using Consumer Reports. Then I went to a dealer and found the color and package I wanted. I went home and faxed "I would like to buy a 2005 Honda Accord LX, Silver, for cash. Please fax me the best price you can give me on this car, ready to drive out of the showroom. I need this information by 5pm tomorrow. Fax to *******"
I got several bids, and chose the best one, which was a dealership about 20 minutes from my home. Not the closest, maybe 3 miles further, but the price difference made it worth the drive. Also, consumer reports says not to mention a trade in until the price of the car is determined, otherwise it gets too fuzzy. Also the financing can be fuzzy, so you might want to do that at your own bank. This is the only way you can know just what you paid.
I felt like you do, that they take advantage of women, so I put NO name on the fax, only a fax number.
Post By Estella (Guest Post)
RE: Getting a Fair Price on a Car
My husband and I used this website before we bought our last car. It was a great help. It kept us from being pulled into the game a lot of sales people play. We actually met a car salesman who followed their sample scenario exactly. My husband and I were not mad, we just laughed because we knew what he was up to, thanks to this website.
We found a very fair dealership which we ended up getting our car from.
Car buyer's school
http://beatthecarsalesman.com/school/
Post by wendiesioux
RE: Getting a Fair Price on a Car
I worked for Ford for quite a few years and well to be honest the salesman does not get that much of a kick back on any car, not even new cars at all. Yes you CAN negotiate a price on the car, if you walk in knowing blue book and what it would sell for Retail pricing via Blue Book you probably can. I am not denying that you can't. The fact that I could read the things done to a car, the repairs and such before they put it out on the lot, which by the way is public information, they have to show you this! Especially a major dealership. I had a heads up in my experience with buying from another dealership. I was able to knock off about 1700.00 on a Saturn by now my Ex Husband decided to go in and get all the warranties and other miscellaneous stuff that just brought the 1700.00 right back on it! so nothing was saved for us after all.
But yes the salesman don't get much at all. Remember these dealerships if the car is not brand spanking showroom new, and is a used car, they go to the auctions for these, and get them for like NOTHING! So, keep that in mind also.. it all does depend on the dealership as well.
I wish you much luck do your research before you go into the dealership you will have a better experience.
Post By Lynne (Guest Post)
RE: Getting a Fair Price on a Car
There are many web pages on line to help you get the best deal on a car.You should know there is the sticker price,the dealer price,what the dealer pays for the car and what is know as hold back.The hold back is a per centage the manufacturer gives back to the dealer when the car is sold.The hold back per centage is different for each manufacturer.GM for example gives a hold back of 3%.There are also dealer discounts that are given to the dealer by the manufacturer on all or some of the cars.Many times the dealer does not disclose these to the public.If you can't find anything on line go to the local Borders or Barnes and Noble.They will have this information in the transportation section.Some sites you could try are:Carfax.com,Edmunds.com,carbuying tips.com,2carpros.com,autotrader.com or just google "how to buy a new car."If you are trading there are rules that these sites will also explain.Good Luck.
Post by foxrun41
RE: Getting a Fair Price on a Car
What I usually do is go to www.kbb.com and look up the car that I want to get. They will give you 2 different prices like: person to person, or dealer. try it out and let me know if it helps.
Post by bowhunter
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