Car buying tips/tricks/negoiating tactics.

junkxj said:
#1 Do not buy a new or 2 year old Chrysler vehicle. They loose their value at a shocking rate when that age.
We tend to hold onto vehicles for a while, My Subaru and truck both have 160,000 miles and my wife's Nissan Murono has 140,000 miles. cheaper to maintain/fix then buy new. So not really worried about them losing value

#2 Trying to get the best price from a dealer while not in person is a big waste of time.
I am finding this out after calling about 10 different dealerships. Nobody even wants to give me a price over the phone.

Just my .02

I sell cars for a living.......
Click to expand...
thanks for your input
 
UTfball68 said:
I’ll echo ‘know the price you’re willing to pay out the door’...but that also means understanding what that means for a monthly payment. Usually I assume 10-15% off list price is what the vehicle will sell for and establish that as ‘my price range’. If you’re looking for the new to 2 year old range, most of the new vehicles I’ve bought had rebates and were eligible for 0% financing. A new $30,000 vehicle with $2500 down with $3k rebate and 60 months at 0% is about $458/month...a 1 year old $24000 with $2500 down, no rebate and 60 months at 6% is about $415 (ignoring tax/title/reg). To me, the extra $43/month would be worth going new. So know what’s available to you and have a range for some wiggle room (that you know before walking in the door).

Beyond that, I generally just internet price shop, see what’s available with what I want, pick a day I’m ready to buy, go to the closest dealer that has what I want...tell them what I’m willing to pay, and I’m willing to move to the next closest dealer that has what I want and keep going until someone accepts. Usually doesn’t take more than two dealer visits, twice I’ve been called back 5 minutes after I walk out of the first dealership.
Click to expand...

We actually plan to buy the car outright. No trade in, no financing. Write them a check and leave. We have saved up enough money to do so. Not sure if that is good or bad in the long run though. I hear the dealerships are able to make more money on the financing portion then selling the car itself.
 
Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey. Ask @RenegadeT about his Chrysler minivan experience. They own a Sienna now.
 
Last edited:
drkelly said:
Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey. Ask @RenegadeT about his Chrysler minivan experience.
Click to expand...


I'll second the Sienna. We bought ours a couple years ago. It's a 2013 that we bought in 2015. It had 30,000 miles on it when we bought it. It is fully loaded (way more loaded than I ever would have looked for), but we love it.

When we looked for a new van we were between the Odyssey and the Sienna because of the ability to be 8 passenger since we occasionally carry that many if one of the kid's friends comes over, or the older girls are rising with us. The additional seat can be installed between the middle captain's chairs. The problem with the Odyssey was that you have to stow that jump seat outside of the van or loose in the back, where the Sienna mounts to the driver's side rear wall.

My wife calls it the "Swiss Army Van" since the seating is so configurable. We can put the jump seat in and fold the rear seats completely flat and get our family of 5 and an entire load of stuff from Costco in the back. With the rear seats folded down and the jump seat in place, it's about like having a short bed pickup truck with a camper shell in terms of space.

Rear A/C and power sliding doors were the only "must have's" when we looked, but we ended up with heated leather seats, power sunroof, traction control and a very nice stereo in the XLE package. Get's decent gas mileage for an 8 passenger van. 6 speed transmission and a healthy v6 has plenty of power.
 
1: only talk out the door price only
2: Be prepared to just get up and walk out
3: Only go to high volume dealers. The big dealers care more about how many cars they sell, then how much they make per car. The oem's give kick backs when they sell more
4: Go to your bank you can generally get an invoice price for most any car (FYI dealerships generally pay less than this price per car with kick backs) You want your out the door price under the invoice or listed internet price what ever is cheaper
5: you tell them every car is just "OK"
 
Just a few random thoughts not organized into proper form.

1- Id 2nd or 3rd the large SUV recommendation. My wife has drove a suburban for 5 years after camaros, 2 seat Mercedes and a Pontiac ...surprisingly after about 30 minutes she loved it. That said my sister has 5 kids tried the suburban route but likes a minivan much better. so I get it if that's what you are decided on.
2- My sister mentioned above is pharmacist and her husband is a great guy but not a car guy by any stretch...so I got enlisted to help on the minivan search. They now own 2 minivans and recently totaled a 3rd. (1 of the 3 a pacifica) Ill post up her thoughts on each separately.
3- specifically regarding the negotiations. Everyone's personality is different and your ability to implore a given technique will depend somewhat on your personality and the personality of the person you are working with. So what works for me may or may not work for you but I'll share none the less. I hate the waste of time of negotiating but I am tighter than a broke jew, so this is what I do. I find exactly what Im looking for through internet research. I drive 1 or 2 options by stopping in dealerships knowing Im not going to buy. Just to make sure I like the vehicle. Even if I love it I tell them I hate it and like the competitors vehicle I drove earlier today better and am going back to buy it. That usually keeps them from calling and hounding.
Now knowing the make, model and options I want I set out on the net to find a couple of those exact fits. When I have them I call and find the sales manager or general managers name and email address. Easiest way Ive found is to tell whomever answers the phone that you stopped by earlier to look at a vehicle and was blown away in a good way by how you were treated and wanted to send an email specifically recognizing and thanking the person who helped you. This is a lie but its a tool to get what you need. His email address. Or you can spoof it if you get his name and find someone else's email address. It usually follows the normal format. first.last@xyz or flast@xyz or FirstL@xyz etc.

Now I start the buy process. I send the exact same email to three or 4 dealers and I use 'rare candor'.
I say in these words. I know they hate having people waste their time. I hate wasting my time. I am a real buyer and have funds You dont have to worry about selling me a car and the deal falling apart in financing. I have the money in the bank or the load approved at my bank. As a show of good faith attached is my proof of funds. I want vehicle X and I write the VIN int he email. I will pay X. If you cant do that I understand and appreciate your time. I am not willing to consider another vehicle unless it is 100% identical, I'm not willing to discuss payments. I will buy this for that or keep driving what I am. If this is a deal that can work for both of us, let me know when is best for you to complete the paperwork. I am super busy as are you, I dont want games, I dont need to test drive, I will not buy an extended warranty or anything else from your F&I guy but I will move a unit allow you to make a small profit and do everything I say and expect the same from you.

Ive bought the last 3 vehicles this way. In all cases Ive been in and out of the dealership in under an hour. Ive had responses that I am an idiot, that thats too low, Ive had responses that just ignore me. Ive had Id love to but cant quite get there....Ive had 1 I'll do that. Ive had one email me back at the end of the next month and say I need the number Ill do the deal now etc.
 
I will never buy a new car again. Everything I own, less my truck, has a rebuilt title. Wife's 2015 Altima SV was bought in 2016 with 10,000 miles on it, had some front end damage which was repaired. Could not tell it was even wrecked. Bought it for less than half the price of a new one and still had the new car smell and feel to it. 45,000 miles later, still great car.
Here is an example of '16 Odyssey EX-L loaded, leather, heated seats, rear DVD, 3 row seating. 12,000 miles asking $21,200 probably buy for under $20
Robbins Repairables | Vehicle Detail | 31018985
 
ManglerYJ said:
I'll second the Sienna. We bought ours a couple years ago. It's a 2013 that we bought in 2015. It had 30,000 miles on it when we bought it. It is fully loaded (way more loaded than I ever would have looked for), but we love it.

When we looked for a new van we were between the Odyssey and the Sienna because of the ability to be 8 passenger since we occasionally carry that many if one of the kid's friends comes over, or the older girls are rising with us. The additional seat can be installed between the middle captain's chairs. The problem with the Odyssey was that you have to stow that jump seat outside of the van or loose in the back, where the Sienna mounts to the driver's side rear wall.

My wife calls it the "Swiss Army Van" since the seating is so configurable. We can put the jump seat in and fold the rear seats completely flat and get our family of 5 and an entire load of stuff from Costco in the back. With the rear seats folded down and the jump seat in place, it's about like having a short bed pickup truck with a camper shell in terms of space.

Rear A/C and power sliding doors were the only "must have's" when we looked, but we ended up with heated leather seats, power sunroof, traction control and a very nice stereo in the XLE package. Get's decent gas mileage for an 8 passenger van. 6 speed transmission and a healthy v6 has plenty of power.
Click to expand...
I hate our Sienna, but my reasons are picky, and would probably apply to any minivan.
1. The steering wheel is offset to the right by about 2 inches. If you are fat (me), muscular (me), or short (me) it puts an awkward stress and tension on your left shoulder that becomes very uncomfortable after about 2 minutes of left hand driving. Due to years of driving manuals, I generally only drive with my right hand. Plus I actually use my turn signals, so I need my left hand for that.
2. You cannot push the button to open the power sliding doors unless the vehicle is in park. Sounds sensible, until you are trying to drop your wife off in front of the grocery store and you push the button and cuss at it, then put it in park, then push the stupid button again. Repeat when she comes back out.
3. The vehicle cannot be locked/unlocked from the keyfob when it is parked and running. Since it is pushbutton start, you can take the fob with you, but you might as well give it to the kids to play with. So if the mother in law and kids are in the back, and you want to go in a store and leave them in the car, someone will have to climb in the front and lock the doors (cannot lock them with door open either). Also, when you return, the fob will not unlock, so they will have to climb up front and unlock again.
4. With all that safety, you'd think you would have to have the key in the vehicle to drive off, but you'd be wrong. Once it is running, hop in, drive away. No proximity key required.
5. Remote start requires you to cut the vehicle off, unlock it, and then restart the vehicle. Dumb.
6. Throttle calibration is bad. Slight throttle results in no acceleration. Slightly more throttle (1/4) results in almost the same acceleration as full throttle.
7. Torque converter does not hold on a hill and does not "push", so as soon as you let off the brakes on a hill, it starts rolling backwards. Most Toyotas I have driven are like this.

With that said, there are a lot of things I like about the Sienna.
1. 3rd row seats fold flat, even in the AWD model.
2. 3.5 v6 actually has great power. The transmission is not great, but it is generally good.
3. Tons of space. Even the 3rd row is ok for a normal sized adult.
4. Great headlights. My F250 has about a half acre of surface area for the headlights, and they are crap. The Sienna has these tiny little headlights, but they work great.
5. Uncrowded engine compartment. It's not roomy, but there's room to work on stuff at least.
6. The only All wheel drive minivan. That was a must for us. So it made it easy to narrow down the options.
 
jeepinmatt said:
I hate our Sienna, but my reasons are picky, and would probably apply to any minivan.
1. The steering wheel is offset to the right by about 2 inches. If you are fat (me), muscular (me), or short (me) it puts an awkward stress and tension on your left shoulder that becomes very uncomfortable after about 2 minutes of left hand driving. Due to years of driving manuals, I generally only drive with my right hand. Plus I actually use my turn signals, so I need my left hand for that.
2. You cannot push the button to open the power sliding doors unless the vehicle is in park. Sounds sensible, until you are trying to drop your wife off in front of the grocery store and you push the button and cuss at it, then put it in park, then push the stupid button again. Repeat when she comes back out.
3. The vehicle cannot be locked/unlocked from the keyfob when it is parked and running. Since it is pushbutton start, you can take the fob with you, but you might as well give it to the kids to play with. So if the mother in law and kids are in the back, and you want to go in a store and leave them in the car, someone will have to climb in the front and lock the doors (cannot lock them with door open either). Also, when you return, the fob will not unlock, so they will have to climb up front and unlock again.
4. With all that safety, you'd think you would have to have the key in the vehicle to drive off, but you'd be wrong. Once it is running, hop in, drive away. No proximity key required.
5. Remote start requires you to cut the vehicle off, unlock it, and then restart the vehicle. Dumb.
6. Throttle calibration is bad. Slight throttle results in no acceleration. Slightly more throttle (1/4) results in almost the same acceleration as full throttle.
7. Torque converter does not hold on a hill and does not "push", so as soon as you let off the brakes on a hill, it starts rolling backwards. Most Toyotas I have driven are like this.
Click to expand...

I guess the main problem is that yours is too new. Minus the sliding door deal and the hill hold, my 2004 doesn't have any of that crap! o_O
 
tjfreddy said:
We actually plan to buy the car outright. No trade in, no financing. Write them a check and leave. We have saved up enough money to do so. Not sure if that is good or bad in the long run though. I hear the dealerships are able to make more money on the financing portion then selling the car itself.
Click to expand...


I love to haggle. My aunt (whose husband taught me to haggle) asked me to go car shopping with her. She was gonna cut a check for the car, but when she got ready to sign they were still trying to charge her a finance fee. Said they still had to no matter how she paid. She ripped the paperwork up and threw it at the poor guy. Got a ticket for squalling the tires pulling out of the lot.

Other than whats been said, read the fine print.
 
tjfreddy said:
We actually rented a Yukon XL in Florida last year. I loved it. It is too big for my wife to drive comfortably though.
Click to expand...

The Pacifica is the same overall exterior dimensions as a Tahoe. The wheelbase is longer.

A suburban is about 10" longer. Same width.
 
We actually plan to buy the car outright. No trade in, no financing. Write them a check and leave. We have saved up enough money to do so. Not sure if that is good or bad in the long run though. I hear the dealerships are able to make more money on the financing portion then selling the car itself.

If you buy new, .......many of the incentives are only if you finance.Our company will put money down when we buy a vehicle, then make the first payment of say 90% of the selling price. Then make the payments to work out for 3-6 months and be paid off what ever they have for a minimum time frame to finance on the incentives.
 
shawn said:
The Pacifica is the same overall exterior dimensions as a Tahoe. The wheelbase is longer.

A suburban is about 10" longer. Same width.
Click to expand...
It is but...the Minivan reduces the front overhang/approach angle. Which does make it easier for hesitant driver to turn in to parking spots. Better visibility of your front extremity. That's my sisters excuse and driving both, I get it. I know how to drive and operate different types of equipment so I adapt to what Im in...for some I guess it aint that simple.
 
No fries said:
We actually plan to buy the car outright. No trade in, no financing. Write them a check and leave. We have saved up enough money to do so. Not sure if that is good or bad in the long run though. I hear the dealerships are able to make more money on the financing portion then selling the car itself.

If you buy new, .......many of the incentives are only if you finance.Our company will put money down when we buy a vehicle, then make the first payment of say 90% of the selling price. Then make the payments to work out for 3-6 months and be paid off what ever they have for a minimum time frame to finance on the incentives.
Click to expand...
yep we did the same thing at my work when we bought new work trucks payed regular payment for 6 months then cut a check
 
Ron said:
I know how to drive and operate different types of equipment so I adapt to what Im in...for some I guess it aint that simple.
Click to expand...

If you judge by how many minivans have caved in corners, it's not clear it makes that much of a difference. ;)

My point is that people think the Explorer, Sienna, etc, are smaller (likely because they historically were), but that's not the case anymore.
 
Honestly I've not read all responses but if you can get 0% financing why not. I like to keep my money available to use my self. Only use the money I have set aside on deals I can pick up and filp for a nice profit in a short term. But still pay off loan in say half full term.
 
justjeepin86 said:
I guess the main problem is that yours is too new. Minus the sliding door deal and the hill hold, my 2004 doesn't have any of that crap! o_O
Click to expand...



I don't have the push button start on my 2013. Sounds like most of the problem you have is with that. You can program the rear sliding doors to be able to open in drive - I just chose to keep mine in Park Only because knowing my kids, they would push the button while driving down I-85. I drop my kids of at school every day with mine, so I'm used to the routine. When I pull up, I keep my hand on the gear shift instead of on the door button.
 
sawdoff said:
Honestly I've not read all responses but if you can get 0% financing why not. I like to keep my money available to use my self. Only use the money I have set aside on deals I can pick up and filp for a nice profit in a short term. But still pay off loan in say half full term.
Click to expand...
But it's typically cash back OR 0% financing, so it's just a math problem to determine which works out better for your specific scenario. There is no such thing as zero percent financing. They either get it out of you via a higher interest rate or a higher purchase price. And if they only offer zero percent financing (no cash back), guess whats already worked in to the price...
 
Last new vehicle I bought I got for 30k with a sticker of 36k. 0% interest. Didn't pay that one off early. We still have it 10 years later.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top