Am curious from those of you that recently went through the purchasing experience... What "freebies" can/will the dealer allow to sway the purchase toward them, instead of, lets say a G35. I'm wondering about things like 1. Free Service 2. Free loaner car 3. Discounted extended warranty 4. Dealer installed options at cost 5. Anything else I did not think about. What have you asked for and gotten?

 

When i dealt on my car i had them throw in the door trim, wing spoiler, half the a-spec body kit and a remote start for my 6 speed. It came out to almost 2 grand canadian in accesories.

 

My dealership is TIGHT! Wouldn't budge on price or extras; accept one. I got the side moulding for free and that was it. Although, the dealership I go to offers free loaner cars and if you have all of your service performed at the dealership they will extend the powertrain warranty to 70,000 miles (...which my car has only the 50,000 PT warranty; I think Acura increased it in 2006).

Not a lot..........very conservative around here...

 

My dealer dropped the price after some tlaking. Nothing new.

 

Remember, things become more fluid at the end of the month

 

I got free oil changes and tire rotations for 7 years.

 

Here are my rules for dealing with stealerships.... I am very passionate about this topic... and its all about power...

1) ALWAYS do your homework... i.e. consumer reports pricing/kbb for trade.

2) Always call multiple dealers, and tell them that you did.

3) Always buy at the end of the month (agree with leedog) esp. year esp. and closeouts. Oh and shop on a rainy Sunday (if its allowed in your state or the slowest day of the week).

4) Break the deal into three distinct separate parts. The buy, the trade, and the financing. The dealer will screw you on one to make up for the other. As for the financing, I don't think they really care - as long as they sell the car. The finance manager "called in a favor for me...." please.

5) Proceed through the negotiation and inform the sales person of your exact intentions in #4. I for one bring my laptop and put is on the salesman's desk. That's when they know you are serious - remember power. When they continually ask "Can we do this?" inform them only if the price or trade or financing is right - at the appropriate time.

6) When he gives you the first price / payment, be sure to laugh out loud. You will help shift power from him to you. Love it!

7) Don't sign anything until they have agreed to your price. They now try to play this BS game of "initialing" your offer - to increase commitment. Please.

8) ALWAYS be willing to walk out at any moment, at any time. I cannot stress this enough. Always deal with the sales manager directly at some point.

9) At the very end, that's when you ask for the freebies. They have spent so much time at this point, you can wear them down. It takes one to two hours. You might get something, or you might not. Depends. IMHO screw the freebies, it's about dollars. Why ask for free stuff that is marked up at 100% or more, when you can have cold hard dollars and buy it later???

This may sound like a lot of work, but I actually find it fun and satisfying. Here's why....

1) I paid close to MSRP on my 01 CL-S when it came out in March 2001 and realized later that I got hosed. Big time - but I 'had to have it'. Stupid young me.

2) I negotiated my GF's 04 Hyundai Santa Fe ( , but its what she wanted...) for her and from the time I walked in until we left... the price of the car dropped by over $7,000.00 (no typo) on a $23,000 car!!!!!!!!! Unbeliveable. Think about how many people say "OK" to the first offer the dealer gives them. Its at least 50% - and I am being generous. It's an eye-opener.

3) When I was at the dealer for my 05 TL at the end of Sept 05, I heard them give a guy an interest rate that was "great news" at 11.8%. Maybe he had bad credit for something, but please....

4) Realize that conflict and argument are not among most people's innate qualities and also realize that its about asymetrical information (cost/financing/etc). Once you have the same information, you can shift they balance in your favor. I am not a jerk, though it probably sounds like it!

Sorry for the long post, as I don't post often, but this is a hot topic for me... This is just my on how to negotiate - all techniques vary, but this is what works for me.

 

A dealership actually installed a remote start on a manual 6 speed??

 

Thanks to everyone that replied, especially Urbaita1; there was some very valuable info there. I bought (and studied) a book on car buying strategies, and know most of the tricks. Am ready whenever I make my buying decision.

A trick that got playe don me years ago (when i was young & naieve), was to "lose" the keys to my potential trade in after the used car manager had a look. Hhhmmm, that kinda kills the "walkaway" strategy. Ever wonder wht the Sales Manager sits in a area that is raised up a fet feet? It's all psychological. I would recommend EVERYONE read a similar book prior to even setting foot in a stealership.

Followup question... Does anybody actually pay the "dealer fee" ??? I balked at that during the transaction above, and was told "Oh that's Ok, everyone charges that". But, many years later, when I bought my 2004 F-150, I had a pleasant experience of getting it at invoice, no "dealer fee", AND I kept all consumer rebates ($2,000). Sooo, just be informed, and do you homework.

 

Car buying tips
Excellent site for info.

 

There has to be an easier way to buy a car... IMO, you can explore your own financing first, get a feel for what others are paying on forums such as this one, and don't trade if you don't have too... I admitt some car sales people are pirates, but if you know what you want, a few phone calls can make it a easy and pleasurable experience.

 

I was in no rush because no dealer was willing to meet my requirements untill a sales person call me on the second to the last day of the month wanting to know if I was still interested in the car and I said yes as long as you will do the deal on my terms. She called me back 5 minutes later and asked what time could I be there the next day. No freebees but I am getting the Music Link at cost and installed for 120 bucks. So waiting to the end of the month is good move.

 

Try www.autobytel.com which also has some great buying strategies. They will pre-negotiate a car for you in advance so you walk in already paying dealer invoice price. Of course, the dealership then tries to make it up in what they call the other 4 areas of the "quadrant" which are price, trade-in, financing, and options/extras. I took my car to carmax and obtained a written tradein offer on what they would pay me for it in advance, and then bought the options on the web at well less than half of what the dealership wanted.

Financing, not a whole lot you can do about that one, assuming you have good credit / etc, or can finance it yourself through something like a home equity loan (which the intereston by the way is tax-deductible, whereas car loans are not).

 

I like this... Ha!!!!