all cash car purchase - what is realistic discount from MSRP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're planning to pay cash for a car with MSRP of $38000. What would you offer in cash at that price?

Forget the MSRP. Find out what the INVOICE price of the car is (what the dealer paid for it), and try to get your final, walk out the door price as close to that as possible. Don't tell them up front if you have a trade-in or not, they will use that to mess with the price of the car. Don't tell them if you are going to finance or not, they'll use that too. Just negotiate the car, period.

I would also highly recommend doing all the negotiating via email. It completely evens the playing field. Last year, I paid 4% under invoice (not MSRP) for my car by doing some research on TrueCar, Edmunds, and a make/model specific forum and then leisurely negotiating with several dealers via email on a Saturday afternoon. I had checked their inventory online so I knew they had what I was looking for on the lot. If my 7-months pregnant fat ass had waddled into a showroom, there's no way I would have gotten the price I did. It was so awesome to not have to spend hours upon hours in a showroom getting dicked around by some salesman repeatedly going to check with his manager. When I picked the car up a few days later, I think I spent an hour total in the showroom before I drove away. We did finance, but had already secured it through our credit union.

Granted, I was also buying an SUV in May (downseason), and because I had done research on the make/model specific forum I knew the dealers had overestimated demand and had a glut of cars on the lots that they needed to get rid of before the 2016 models arrived.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're planning to pay cash for a car with MSRP of $38000. What would you offer in cash at that price?

Forget the MSRP. Find out what the INVOICE price of the car is (what the dealer paid for it), and try to get your final, walk out the door price as close to that as possible. Don't tell them up front if you have a trade-in or not, they will use that to mess with the price of the car. Don't tell them if you are going to finance or not, they'll use that too. Just negotiate the car, period.

I would also highly recommend doing all the negotiating via email. It completely evens the playing field. Last year, I paid 4% under invoice (not MSRP) for my car by doing some research on TrueCar, Edmunds, and a make/model specific forum and then leisurely negotiating with several dealers via email on a Saturday afternoon. I had checked their inventory online so I knew they had what I was looking for on the lot. If my 7-months pregnant fat ass had waddled into a showroom, there's no way I would have gotten the price I did. It was so awesome to not have to spend hours upon hours in a showroom getting dicked around by some salesman repeatedly going to check with his manager. When I picked the car up a few days later, I think I spent an hour total in the showroom before I drove away. We did finance, but had already secured it through our credit union.

Granted, I was also buying an SUV in May (downseason), and because I had done research on the make/model specific forum I knew the dealers had overestimated demand and had a glut of cars on the lots that they needed to get rid of before the 2016 models arrived.

Good luck!

I wish I could borrow you for the day! This is great advice, thanks. We're thinking of selling our old car at carmax so we don't even have to deal w the trade-in nonsense at the dealer. Is this a terrible idea?. Carmax gave us a pretty good offer (we think).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get to the number first, then say you'll write the check. Be vague on financing / trade in until you get to the final number.

Plus one. Cash is a liability. Hide it until the number is final.

[Anonymous]

Negotiating off of MSRP/sticker is a fool's play. Negotiator should center around invoice (what the dealer pays). The dealer doesn't finance your car so they get paid cash either way - either with your cash or by the bank providing your financing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Negotiating off of MSRP/sticker is a fool's play. Negotiator should center around invoice (what the dealer pays). The dealer doesn't finance your car so they get paid cash either way - either with your cash or by the bank providing your financing.

How does the dealer make any money if they take less than they pay?

[Anonymous]

They get rebates from the manufacturer. You need to listen to the podcast by this American life "99 cars". It's an all time top 10 most popular episode.

[Anonymous]

This thread has been truly enlightening. Thank you for all the advice.

[Anonymous]

How do you find out the invoice price?