Haggling

[rage557]

Any tips, tricks, or advice on haggling for a used car?? I'll be payin cash if that makes a difference. Thanks

[FazdaBoy4ever]

its dependant on where you plan on haggling, if you plan on doing it a a stealership

1)be confident and know what your willing to pay, they will generally try to upsell you and ultimately that may just get you into a more expensive car for less... i went into a dodge dealership telling them i was looking to spend 10-12k on a truck... ultimately when i left they said "final offer, will you take it for 10k right now" the sticker price was 19k for an 03 dakota quad cab... i really didnt want it but thats just an example of what they will do to make a sale.

2)know what the car is worth, arm yourself with a kbb printout, along with printouts of multiple other cars as similar to the one your looking at as possible.


3) be confident (yes i know i said it again), if they smell a hint of weakness they will attack and suddenly they wont hardly be able to budge on the price.

another example of this is, my buddy just bought an 02 saab they sticker was 17k and they drove away for just over 10 when all was said and done... ESPECIALLY the used car lots, they paid pennys on the dollar for the car and make sure you let them know that with your attitude.

if its a private party be friendly, be firm, dont be unfair. again arm yourself with kbb and other for sale adds from a car as close to the one your looking at as possible (condition, options and milage)... go in saying that you can pay so much, whatever price you decide on and dont budge, if their are big issues with the car such as it needs tires, the allignment is off, a cracked windshield... let them know that the cost of repairs to get it safe again is what is limiting your offer... and ultimately your not the one that needs the money so its a take it or leave it for them, and when they dont sell come back and reoffer in 2 weeks.

[FazdaBoy4ever]

plus people like cash, they LOVE cash so you flash as much green as you want to spend on the car its alot more likely to attract them compaired to saying "let me see what my bank will give me" i know the last car my cousin bought they knocked like 350 bucks off because they paid cash and its just what he had.

[rage557]

well the car I'm looking at stickcker is $11k 01 subaru impreza 2.5rs. What would be a good starting offer for that car?

[jamaican]

they love cash... like when i was trying to negotiate on buying my pro i was just about to flash out the cash but blackpro kinda turned his head and said no... lol

if i were you i'd offer $9k cash... but that's just me

[91ProtegeLX]

walk in...be like...ill give you 9k, or whatever u wanna spend...if they say no...walk out.

[FazdaBoy4ever]

another thing you can get them on is the trade in value of your car... the story in my first post about my buddys saab, they really got down to about 11.5 then they gave him 2k for his beater geo metro. if you have a car to trade in, use that to get the price to where you want like such...

if you car is not worth a penny over 500 bucks go in and when working on a price ask what they will give you for your trade in, they will of course start low "300.00" then say ill take it if you can give me 2k... just be familiar with the going price of the car and know if your fighting a battle you wont win asking to pay way less than the car is worth... they will fight to do what they can to make a sale and if that means cutting you a deal so be it... the great thing about commission, while they are pricks, if you understand the system you can work their pushing to make a sale to your advantage.

and for me at the dodge dealership (the other story i mentioned in my first post) i just happened to catch a new guy and he had not made one sale yet... he didnt offer the 10k but another co worker offered it to me to help him get his first sale.

[FazdaBoy4ever]

and again be confident. what 91protegeLX said wont work if they say "how about 10.2" and you say "well..." no, thats not going to work they cannot even catch the sent of you being willing to pay more... it needs to be "ive got 9k for this car period" and "if you cannot do 9k ill go down the road" then be cool with them saying "i would LOVE to do my buisness with you but ive got 9k it can be yours or theirs down the road" also with the confidence thing, if you say "ill see if i can get something for 9k down the road" then they will play the yeah right role, it needs to be i am going to go down the road and buy a car for 9k an sure thing.

call them out if they have too... this would be with my second rule, know what the car is worth, when they say my baseline price is 10.8, then you need to say its too bad i can go all over this town and get it for 9550.

[teknotexan]

Ok, obviously no one has even touched upon how to PROPERLY buy a car.

1st = There are numbers you will NEVER see.
Hold Back (pack) = the minimum amount of profit a dealer will take
Smog & Safety = the cost of reconditioning the car for front line sales
Retail Value = a sucker's price. that's full pop, a pounder for a saleperson
Trade In Value = Price a dealership probably paid, but didn't, for a car.
Wholesale Value = the actual price a dealer will pay, usually the trade in or auction purchase.

2nd = KBB.com, Edmounds.com, etc. are websites designed to cater for THE DEALER!! These companies have worked with carmakers and auto dealer associations to formulate a perfect medium where a customer thinks they get a grat deal and the dealer still makes profit. Dealers laugh at ALL customers who have KBB printouts, since you, the customer, hasn;t as clue as to the ACTUAL value of the car. Dealers strictly by wholesale auction reports, i.e. Manheim, Carpower. These numbers reflect the actual value of the car at the auction in your region. So, convertibles are less expensive in, say Illinious or Seattle, as opposed to Florida and California. Also, cars are SEASONS! Besides sedans and economy class, everything else has a set time where they are more expensive to get at the auction.

3rd = Big deal that someone got a great price, the dealer will NOT sell at a loss. Most customers LAYDOWN in finance, where the real money is made. There are two more car terms you need to know: FRONT and BACK GROSS. When you buy a car for retail, full pop, the front is loaded. If you haggle, they load the back end. FRONT is the added gross profit that dealers put in addition to wholesale, pack, s&s, and other fees. BACK is the finance charges (APR), extended warranty, alarm, sealant, and all that other junk they sell people in finance. And usually they sell it at retail, since most people think the haggling is over by the time they enter the finance dept.

You wanna see a good deal: I bought my wife a black 2000 Focus ZTS with 64k, new tires, perfect paint, ALL options avail., new VCG, new thermostat, old woman was the previous owner, and everything else perfect. I talked to the salesman that traded it, the tech that safetied it, got the service manager's opinion, the FORD service writer's opinion, the sales manager's hard numbers, and the green light from the bank. All said and done, we paid $2000 below wholesale, got a 2 year extended warranty, with 580 credit score = $250 a month for 3 years!

Take it from me, I sold cars and pounded the **** out of customers who thought they haggled me good.

[teknotexan]

they love cash... like when i was trying to negotiate on buying my pro i was just about to flash out the cash but blackpro kinda turned his head and said no... lol

if i were you i'd offer $9k cash... but that's just me

This is a TOTAL LIE!!!
Dealer's HATE cash, the LOVE financing!!
Cahs deals don't motivate a single person at the sale tower!!!
Who gives a **** if a customer is offering a low ball cash number, when you can sell the same car to a low ball finance customer for the same price and double the gross!!

[teknotexan]

3) be confident (yes i know i said it again), if they smell a hint of weakness they will attack and suddenly they wont hardly be able to budge on the price.

if its a private party be friendly, be firm, dont be unfair. again arm yourself with kbb and other for sale adds from a car as close to the one your looking at as possible (condition, options and milage)... go in saying that you can pay so much, whatever price you decide on and dont budge, if their are big issues with the car such as it needs tires, the allignment is off, a cracked windshield... let them know that the cost of repairs to get it safe again is what is limiting your offer... and ultimately your not the one that needs the money so its a take it or leave it for them, and when they dont sell come back and reoffer in 2 weeks.

The only piece of relevant information on this thread, save for the KBB part!!

[teknotexan]

walk in...be like...ill give you 9k, or whatever u wanna spend...if they say no...walk out.

OK, DO NOT WALK OFF!!

This is actually sound advise. let me elaborate: The Chinese do it very well. The customer enters a store, sees a product, offers the patron a ridiculous price, and the patron gets mad, shoos the customer away. Customer wins. Teh act of low balling is to test the patron, so judge their character as well as their business prowess. Any patron that is a rookie will get flustered by a low ball offer and take it as an insult. The patron has to earn the repsect of the customer in order to sell the product.
So, if you low ball to a green pea and he gets mad and sends you packing, you lose. If you low ball a shark, they will cordially laugh, and act as if you said nothing at all. But the key is to low ball and STAY, otherwise you're a waste of time, i.e. a stroker. Serious customers low balled me plenty of times, played mind games, lied, and even insulted me get m to give in. I sometimes fell victim, but I learned to just be made of rubber. It all bouced off me. Oh, and ALL buyers are liars!!

[teknotexan]

..."i would LOVE to do my buisness with you but ive got 9k it can be yours or theirs down the road" also with the confidence thing, if you say "ill see if i can get something for 9k down the road" then they will play the yeah right role, it needs to be i am going to go down the road and buy a car for 9k an sure thing.

This is a cliche of a trick. Everybody does it, so do yourself a favor and don't waste your time with bull**** lies. Car salesmen sale cars EVERYDAY. Customers buy cars once every 3-5 YEARS!! So pulling this one is not as effective as previously stated.
Now there are dirty, dirty tricks a customer can do while negotiating and I experienced a bunch, but for the sake of sound business practice and the fact that all my advise on this thread will most likely fall on deaf ears adn blind eyes, I will not disclose such things.

[purewhitemp5]

Never tell a salesman how much money your working with as soon as you do he's got you trapped.