There has been a lot of people buying new cars lately, and minimal discussion of how the process works. I feel I have a good grasp on how to get a good deal, but I'd like to hear how you all haggle and negotiate to get the best deal possible. Let's get some info out there as to the Do's and Dont's of haggling. I'll start us off with I imagine is common sense stuff.

Do--> always walk in to a dealership with a mindset that you will walk away. Urgency will balance the power in the dealer's favor.
Do--> If the dealer is hesitant to lower the actual cost, try to negotiate a more favorable total package. Ie, scheduled maintenance, car washes, oil changes, options (such as car alarms).
Do--> always ask for a full tank of gas and a wash when you buy a car. These are small tidbits, but money is money.
Do--> check the final contract to check for warranties and other nonsense a dealer may throw in. This has happened to me before, and I had to get them to reprint it.


Don't--> be sucked in mb monthly payments. Usually the low monthly payment they throw out will result from a calculation of the longest term possible, which results in more interest.
Don't--> sign without reading. Check that list of numbers to make sure its 100% correct.

 

I take either my bf or daddy wub.gif They do the negotiating

 

First of all, shopping during the last week of the month is your best bet no matter where you're shopping.

When I got the Accent for $2000 under MSRP my tactic was to play two dealers against each other. They each had cars I wanted, so I just got a quote at dealer 1, then called dealer 2 to tell them that dealer 1 had made me a better deal so i was going to take it. They counter offered and when I called dealer 1 back to let them know they also counter offered. That went back and forth a few times before finally dealer 1 gave in and said that there was no way dealer 2 would give me the car for what they quoted me because it was the dealer invoice price. I bought it from dealer 2 and saved $2k.

For a used car, it's a bit tougher in it's own way. I show up on a lot and pick a vehicle that I think I want for a given price and pick a couple more that I would like even better for the same price. When I talk to the dealer I tell him "I have EXACTLY $XXXX and I need to buy something today so I'm looking for something that I can leave the lot for that or less including tax, license, and everything." I then show him the vehicles I was looking at. Generally the one I want is the cheapest of the ones I've chosen to show an interest in, so that's where the negotiations head. He already knows my ceiling, and he has nowhere to go with it because I told him that's all I have. I usually have to remind him of that a couple times though. He'll decide whether to sell it to you for that, but if he says he can't do it he probably can't because he knows he's losing a sale. Using that tactic I got my Bronco for $1500 off the lot. It's sticker said $4999. IMO not too bad.

 

I usually pull the, "This is what I'm paying, out the door, for a XXX with these options. Are you selling it to me, or is XXX"? I did something similar with my Mustang. I told them to find me the car I wanted and they did. I then told them the price I would pay and they agreed (eventually). The negotiations centered around the financing. I told them, "Great. That's my car for $XXX. Now, get me 0% and we'll make a deal". They originally offered me 5.9% with nothing down for 60 months. After increasing my down payment to $5K, and them speaking on the phone to Ford Credit, I got my 0% for 72 months. I was there while they were on the phone. They told the guy that they had a firm deal and I was willing to put down $5K in cash but I was gonna walk if I didn't get 0%. The guy really wanted 1.9%, but the dealer actually worked for me and got it. They wanted the sale because it was a left-over '08 and Ford had a big "spiff" on the '08's.