Car Negotiation
05-19-2012, 04:41 PM
#1
Car Negotiation
I searched the whole forum and doesn't seem like there's a topic like this
One thing I sort of learned during my hunt for my S2000 was price negotiation
Would love to share my way of negotiating prices on any used vehicle (might or might not apply to new vehicle since prices on new vehicle is not as flexible)
Would also love to know others' price negotiation strategies
So here's mine
I never negotiate the price online or through phone. Even if I do, I'm usually not serious about the price we end up settling.
What I do is, I'll just bring a certified cheque (a couple thousand dollars) to the dealer and do a power play (I prepared 6 $2500 certified cheque for 6 different car dealerships when I was on my S2000 hunt)
Show whoever is serving you the certified cheque ahead of time (DON'T hand the cheque to them)
Demand a car history report and test drive
During the initial inspection and test drive, find as many "flaws" as possible during the test drive and inspection. The more "flaws" you can find, the better you can lower the price and support the price with these "flaws".
These "flaws" can be as stupid as worn out car seats, random interior scratches, little dings and dangs, rolled fenders, scratches on the rims, cheap tires, worn out tires etc. etc. You get the point. You can even pinpoint some nice upgrades as "flaws", eg. if the car has aftermarket suspension, or intake or whatever, just complain about the car isn't stock even if those are good upgrades. Just tell them you're looking for a stock vehicle.
After the test drive, sit down with the guy who's serving you and negotiate the price of the vehicle.
The listed price is merely a show. DON'T LIMIT YOUR NEGOTIATION PRICE TO JUST $1000 TO $2000 JUST BECAUSE OF THE LISTED PRICE!
My friend works at a used car dealership and he tells me sometimes his company list cars $8000 more than what they got them for.
It's not too hard to believe this is actually true
I can imagine a car dealer offering $15000 or lower to buy my current S2000 and list it back up over $20000 (I have an 06 S2000 with 50000 miles)
Say for example (true story that happened in Ohio when I was on my S2000 hunt):
- Listed price doesn't matter, the real value depends on the car, don't limit your negotiation due to the listed price
- For a small car dealership (usually they park their cars so tight that you don't even know how they can get a car out), they want to move inventory as fast as possible even if it means earning just a thousand to two thousand dollars. You have a better chance of bargaining the right price with these car dealerships
- Just go for the "ridiculous" low price. Never negotiate down from the listed price. You don't really have to care much about what the manager returns, just slowly negotiate up from your ridiculous low price. Keep negotiate the price up. If the dealer stands firm on the price, which is over the price you think the car is worth in your mind, stand up and leave. They'll call you back. If they don't it means the price you have in mind was too ridiculous for them to start off with. Or other retards decide to negotiate down from the listed price.
- Don't settle down a price online/phone, you're just making negotiating harder at the car dealership
- Don't let them sweet talk you into any deal.. eg. "So we're doing a promotion, all our cars have 15% off if you buy it within this period, so hence this is the new car price" They're just trying to persuade you it's a good deal, and a possible good comeback when you try to negotiate eg."We can't go lower on the price, we are alreadying offering 15% off"
That's it for now
Thanks for reading and I'm sorry for the long post!
One thing I sort of learned during my hunt for my S2000 was price negotiation
Would love to share my way of negotiating prices on any used vehicle (might or might not apply to new vehicle since prices on new vehicle is not as flexible)
Would also love to know others' price negotiation strategies
So here's mine
I never negotiate the price online or through phone. Even if I do, I'm usually not serious about the price we end up settling.
What I do is, I'll just bring a certified cheque (a couple thousand dollars) to the dealer and do a power play (I prepared 6 $2500 certified cheque for 6 different car dealerships when I was on my S2000 hunt)
Show whoever is serving you the certified cheque ahead of time (DON'T hand the cheque to them)
Demand a car history report and test drive
During the initial inspection and test drive, find as many "flaws" as possible during the test drive and inspection. The more "flaws" you can find, the better you can lower the price and support the price with these "flaws".
These "flaws" can be as stupid as worn out car seats, random interior scratches, little dings and dangs, rolled fenders, scratches on the rims, cheap tires, worn out tires etc. etc. You get the point. You can even pinpoint some nice upgrades as "flaws", eg. if the car has aftermarket suspension, or intake or whatever, just complain about the car isn't stock even if those are good upgrades. Just tell them you're looking for a stock vehicle.
After the test drive, sit down with the guy who's serving you and negotiate the price of the vehicle.
The listed price is merely a show. DON'T LIMIT YOUR NEGOTIATION PRICE TO JUST $1000 TO $2000 JUST BECAUSE OF THE LISTED PRICE!
My friend works at a used car dealership and he tells me sometimes his company list cars $8000 more than what they got them for.
It's not too hard to believe this is actually true
I can imagine a car dealer offering $15000 or lower to buy my current S2000 and list it back up over $20000 (I have an 06 S2000 with 50000 miles)
Say for example (true story that happened in Ohio when I was on my S2000 hunt):
The listed price was $22000 for a silver 06 S2000 with 40000 miles
Tested the vehicle, and inspected it.
There was an aftermarket intake(K&N) and rolled fenders
In my opinion, the car worth maybe around $19000
Me: Your car has this (problem) and that (problem), I'm just going to offer $17000
Dude: We're thousands off, I don't think that's possible
Me: (Showing my $2500 cheque again) I'm dead serious. If we can work things out this belongs to you, and tomorrow, I'll take the car, you take the rest of the cash.
Dude went out of the office and a minute later returned with another guy
The guy introduced himself as the manager
Manager: So he told me you're offering $17000. We have many people that were looking at this vehicle for the past few weeks.
Me: Oh sure, then maybe they can buy it off from you then
There's this saying "When a deal isn't going the way you want, stand up and leave"
The moment I stood up:
Manager: $20000 is the cheapest I can do, I'm sure a lot of people would buy this vehicle for that price
Me: Maybe retards would, I know a car dealer that's cheaper
Manager: For this car? No way? I'm sure they will be out of business soon. But I mean, if they're selling it for that cheap, go buy it from them then.
Me: I don't know if they'll be out of business, but I'm sure you'll be out of business soon if you can't even sell your cars out. At the very least people like me are buying from them.
I left, but the next day they called and said they took into consideration and decided to sell the vehicle to me for $18000
Too bad I was already in another state or else I would have headed back.
It's not really a miracle that something like this happened since it happens all the time to a friend of mine who uses the same strategy when purchasing a used vehicle
When it comes to negotiating prices, there are a couple things you should know about:Tested the vehicle, and inspected it.
There was an aftermarket intake(K&N) and rolled fenders
In my opinion, the car worth maybe around $19000
Me: Your car has this (problem) and that (problem), I'm just going to offer $17000
Dude: We're thousands off, I don't think that's possible
Me: (Showing my $2500 cheque again) I'm dead serious. If we can work things out this belongs to you, and tomorrow, I'll take the car, you take the rest of the cash.
Dude went out of the office and a minute later returned with another guy
The guy introduced himself as the manager
Manager: So he told me you're offering $17000. We have many people that were looking at this vehicle for the past few weeks.
Me: Oh sure, then maybe they can buy it off from you then
There's this saying "When a deal isn't going the way you want, stand up and leave"
The moment I stood up:
Manager: $20000 is the cheapest I can do, I'm sure a lot of people would buy this vehicle for that price
Me: Maybe retards would, I know a car dealer that's cheaper
Manager: For this car? No way? I'm sure they will be out of business soon. But I mean, if they're selling it for that cheap, go buy it from them then.
Me: I don't know if they'll be out of business, but I'm sure you'll be out of business soon if you can't even sell your cars out. At the very least people like me are buying from them.
I left, but the next day they called and said they took into consideration and decided to sell the vehicle to me for $18000
Too bad I was already in another state or else I would have headed back.
It's not really a miracle that something like this happened since it happens all the time to a friend of mine who uses the same strategy when purchasing a used vehicle
- Listed price doesn't matter, the real value depends on the car, don't limit your negotiation due to the listed price
- For a small car dealership (usually they park their cars so tight that you don't even know how they can get a car out), they want to move inventory as fast as possible even if it means earning just a thousand to two thousand dollars. You have a better chance of bargaining the right price with these car dealerships
- Just go for the "ridiculous" low price. Never negotiate down from the listed price. You don't really have to care much about what the manager returns, just slowly negotiate up from your ridiculous low price. Keep negotiate the price up. If the dealer stands firm on the price, which is over the price you think the car is worth in your mind, stand up and leave. They'll call you back. If they don't it means the price you have in mind was too ridiculous for them to start off with. Or other retards decide to negotiate down from the listed price.
- Don't settle down a price online/phone, you're just making negotiating harder at the car dealership
- Don't let them sweet talk you into any deal.. eg. "So we're doing a promotion, all our cars have 15% off if you buy it within this period, so hence this is the new car price" They're just trying to persuade you it's a good deal, and a possible good comeback when you try to negotiate eg."We can't go lower on the price, we are alreadying offering 15% off"
That's it for now
Thanks for reading and I'm sorry for the long post!
05-19-2012, 05:49 PM
#3
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i actually bought my S from my best friend who had the car for 5 days...i didnt like the way he drove it so i asked him what hed take for it...got it for 5 grand under book...negotiation complete...and technically i was the second owner since he didnt even have a chance to register it...man im such a good friend
05-20-2012, 05:21 AM
#7
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Good post, a lot of good tips.
I hate lowballs though, I just won't work with you if I list my S2000 at $13 and I get a $9K offer.
buying a clean/stock car from a private party is where you may have a hard time using these tips... the flaws and markup just isn't there.
but negotiating is definitely a skill that not everyone has.
I hate lowballs though, I just won't work with you if I list my S2000 at $13 and I get a $9K offer.
buying a clean/stock car from a private party is where you may have a hard time using these tips... the flaws and markup just isn't there.
but negotiating is definitely a skill that not everyone has.
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05-20-2012, 09:58 AM
#8
Good post, a lot of good tips.
I hate lowballs though, I just won't work with you if I list my S2000 at $13 and I get a $9K offer.
buying a clean/stock car from a private party is where you may have a hard time using these tips... the flaws and markup just isn't there.
but negotiating is definitely a skill that not everyone has.
I hate lowballs though, I just won't work with you if I list my S2000 at $13 and I get a $9K offer.
buying a clean/stock car from a private party is where you may have a hard time using these tips... the flaws and markup just isn't there.
but negotiating is definitely a skill that not everyone has.
I've never gotten any used vehicles from private parties before, but I can imagine the pointers I listed would less likely to work for private parties
Negotiating definitely comes with practice
I hope my little post can help out anyone that is about to buy a used vehicle
05-20-2012, 03:56 PM
#9
I wouldn't try to buy a car like this from a dealer. Stick to private sellers, don't be a jerk and don't waste a seller's time. Figure out what you think the car is worth and stick to it. Repeat until you find a seller that wants to work with you.
05-20-2012, 05:34 PM
#10
Registered User
I never have the balls to play hard ball like that. Ether way, I got the dealership to take off 3k from the asking price when I bought my s2000. They even replaced all the tires with new tires, all fluids changed, and half off on replacing the top itself and they will put it on. (I screwed up on not noticing how bad the top was when I bought it.)