WWTBAM Bored

In the midst of trying to line up all our ducks regarding the buying of our new house here in Iowa, we were out looking at a replacement car for Lady G's totaled truck. We found a vehicle we liked and went to play the negotiation game. Before we went down there, however, I did a little research on Kelley Blue Book for some numbers on this particular vehicle. Based on the info I plugged I came up with $13,950 as the price you could expect to pay for a similar vehicle from a private sale, $15,750 as the price you would expect to pay from a dealer and $12,500 as the trade in price. The vehicle we liked was priced at $15,400. So, I offered $13,500. The salesman went "into the back" to talk to the sales manager and came back with a price of $14,800. I told him that I felt my offer was a fair one considering the numbers I found. He told me that the manager told him that they paid $14,100 for the vehicle as a trade-in and was pretty firm on their price. I doubt that they paid this price for it but came up on my offer a few hundred to try to seal the deal. But, the sales guy told me that the manager would not move from their offer. So, we walked out. How right do you think I was in my estimations?

Unless they paid off a note on the trade in, the totally irrelevant number they wrote down on the sales contract has nothing to do with how much they actually have invested in the vehicle.

That they let you walk out and get in your car and drive away says something.

Dealers will often pay too high on a trade-in instead of discounting the purchase price.

That they let you walk out, however, proves they're firm on the price. I got a great deal on the Bronco I bought in Schaumburg, Illinois when I started to walk out of the dealership.

If they have your phone number, they might call you back in a few days when business is slow.

They have quotas to meet by the end of the month. If you really want it and can wait a few days the end of the month is nigh.

I bought my husbands car for him last year. I had been told for over a week during a couple different conversations, after I test drove it, that the dealership would not and could not move off the price. I would wait a couple of days and call to ask if it was still on the lot. I delayed by saying my hubby wanted to test drive it. After three or four calls I got a call from the salesman letting me know the sales manager wanted to talk to me. His first question was, what price makes sense to you? I told him. He said he couldn't do it. I said thanks and hung up. About three hours later they called back. "How about if we eat the sales tax and only increase your offer by 300?" It worked for me. I told him if my husband liked the way the car drove it was a deal. So, I got my number plus $300 with no sales tax. I think the whole process took 2 weeks. I also had a another car that I was offering on as well so I had a really good and specific story to make them move off their price.

Hang in there. Don't let no bother you. Keep the conversation open. Those numbers are more fluid than they would like you to believe. They may say they "paid" a certain price for the car....I think all it means is they gave someone else a discount on a car with a trade in that would help them meet x margin by selling the trade in for a price slightly below the dollar amount they put on the windshield.

Almost certainly the dealer paid under wholesale for the car. Also a given that they could probablyu show you some paperwork where they 'paid' 14k for it too, as that number is generated when the former owner traded it in on his new vehicle. All those numbers really mean nothing.

If a dealership is listing a car for around $15K, then they have right around $12K in it. That's the real bottom line. You did the right thing to walk. Cars are not exactly selling like hotcakes right now (same with houses). It's a buyers market, use that power.

We have long since stopped playing the car game. We do our research on the internet and look through Motor Trend or other new car "special" magazines, find the car through online inventories, and then call the dealer to make the final deal. Of course, test driving comes first, and we are up front with dealers when we are starting the quest, and we also tell the dealers we will call them when we are ready. Our family has bought our last 6 vehicles that way - 5 new, where we offered $100 over invoice - and were accepted every time (except in one daughter's case, where the car was a previous year's model that had been sitting in the showroom forever - we got that one for less than invoice and they were delighted we took it!). When our SIL wanted a slightly used vehicle (PT Cruiser), we found it, got the KBB and Edmunds prices, and offered $200 over those prices over the phone. The deal was readily accepted. We paid cash each time, except for my car which had a 6 month no interest financing deal...so I paid 5 months out and paid it off in month 6.

In today's market, where people are not buying, you can make excellent deals!