Thread: How to bargain with car dealers

Are you trading anything in?

no I'm going to sell the wifes car privately. I heard it is better not to have a trade in.

Mate,

Just went through this the other day, took car for a drive...came back a week later, took for another test drive. Now I had already done my research on the vehicle, they had a price of $39999.00 on it. Before I went into negotiations, I got the red book price plus did a search on 7 similiar vehicles across the country in terms of year model and km's. Averaged out the price and km's per vehicle...example is below:

Average Starting Sale Price: $34877.00 inc GST…Average KM’s: 89363 kms

Assume average of $3000 knocked off the price, average price is now $31877.00 add Stamp Duty at 3.5% ( I think that’s correct) and End Sale Price is $32922.00 inc GST.

Based on current offer of $35000.00 inc GST, take the warranty ( $1095) off and we have a End Sale Price of $33905.00 inc GST.

From there negotiated on the price and got them down to $32000 + SD and warranty. At the end they met me at my price, they told me I was $150 away from having the car...I came back and said they were $150 away from a sale....what did they want to do. They accepted.

Also near the end of month is a good time to buy as sales people are gunning for commission and the dealer is wanting sales in the door. Simple rule of thumb is have your preferred price you want to pay and what you will go to.....and don't budge...there will always be another vehicle. Plus as above, do your research so you know what is an acceptable buying price. Good luck,

Regards

Stevo

There will be enough fat built into the dealer's price to load a trade-in. Say trade has a wholesale value of $12000 then on a $35000 dealer price car there should be at least $5-7000 of fat in it to offer $17000 or more for the trade.

brian is right to a point there, you'll see the majority of used car yards dont put the prices on the window sheets, simply so they can turn a car that they would sell outright for $30k into a $37k car just to cover the price of the $7k they'd otherwise have to offer you for your old car (for example), the rest of the time, some of the profit margin on the used car can be used to increase the trade in price offer on your old car to entice you to go ahead with the deal

There lies the problem in the question itself "how to bargain with a car dealer", I dont. I dont ever buy trading a car, sell it privately even at a reduced price. Work out a price you are prepared to pay for a car and dont move off that price. Dont buy with you heart.
I test a car and if I think its the one I am going to buy, I ask one question which is "You have one chance at this, What is your BEST price. If its not what I am prepared to pay I am walking away". Walked away from a lot of cars with the saleman chasing me out the yard wanting to have a second chance, they dont get it. I have purchased quite a few cars over time and only ever paid my price.
So thge short answer is I dontr hagle
cheers
blaze

Another thing to do is ask them when theu got the car if it is not on the sticker (look for "date notice affixed to vehicle") as most large dealers have the cars on lease plan and the longer it sits there they more interest it costs them so the more likely they will be willing to do a deal on it. Big yards need quick turnover so if a car has been there for 3,4,5 months they will need to shift it.

To give you an idea, bought a BA Fairmont from a Holden dealer a few months back (another trick) that had been there for 4 months, sticker price was $18000, I paid $11000.

Most floor plan financiers used to require the dealer pay for the vehicle at 90 days. Hence the old used car salesman's slang of "ninety day grey" for grey cars which were almost universally recognised as the most unpopular colour, and "resale red', the opposite. One yard I used to wholesale to would send all cars approaching ninety days to auction in the week preceding their nintieth day in stock, even if a salesman had a good prospect on a car. The rule was "to auction unless there is a finance approved deal". Most yards will negotiate on an old stocker. One should contemplate why it is such, though.

Another ruse is to buy approaching the end of the month. Many dealer staff will do better deals getting near month's end. There is usually a salesman who is in financial trouble and needs the commission, or is being threatened with the sack if his figures don't improve, or a sales manager in the same boat whose need to make sales overcomes his better judgement and will authorise a higher trade-in.