Strategy for purchasing new car at the end of the year.... replacing 12 year old car

[Anonymous]

This is a good script. If you are purchasing a fairly commodity vehicle (CRV, RAV4, pretty much any Japanese car) this is the way to go.

If you're purchasing something that has more options, or is a little more rare, then finding a specific VIN from a dealer far far away might be easier.

Also, the key is out the door price, listed as a quote. Dealers have specific quote forms they will send. Also, note that not every dealer has figured out this whole internet thing, and some won't respond...just deal with it and move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s a good letter, similar to what I used.

I’d change a few things
1- I wouldn’t send 2 weeks out. 3-4 days before the end of the month.

2- instead of saying you are in the market say you will definitely be buying this car in the next 3 days, on or before Dec 31.

3- don’t be so nice asking if for they can itemize. Tell them to itemize.

4- I would never fax or email proof of a price from another dealership. Because the dealership requesting that is saying you are lying and I won’t reward that company or give them my business.

Another thing i thought of to mention is that you will be able to negotiate more if you are choosing a more commonly available trim line and color. Something to be aware of.

I’m 17:01 by the way.

NP. +1 to all of this.

One more tip: If they ask to call you, reply and say you're only available via email (I did this when I used the email negotiation tactic a few years ago). Don't answer calls from numbers you don't know, since it may be the dealership. The key to this strategy is keeping all the conversation about the car in an email.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Can you recommend an online script that is similar to the one that worked for you?

Thanks!

Here's the script I used - I talked about it a little more on this thread: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/573459.page#9296256

Here's an article that outlines what you should include: https://www.moneyunder30.com/get-the-best-deal-on-a-new-car

Subject: Quote Needed - 2016 CR-V Touring

We're in the market to purchase a new 2016 CR-V in the next 2 weeks. We've already test-driven and are contacting local dealerships to find the best place to buy.

Below are the specs for the car we are going to purchase. We are not interested in any different trim lines. Could you please let us know if you have this CR-V available and the best out-the-door price you can offer on it? If your offer is the most competitive, we can finalize details and we'll come in to sign paperwork and close the sale.

2016 Honda CR-V
Touring Trim Line
Front-Wheel Drive (not interested in AWD)
Modern Steel Metallic

Please be sure the quote includes any additional fees, licensing, delivery charges, etc. - if it is easy to itemize so we can ensure we're comparing apples-to-apples, that would be great. Otherwise, just let us know it is fully inclusive. If there are any additional benefits your dealership offers (included accessories, service plans, etc), please let about those as well.

Please let us know if you have any questions. We hope to work with you soon!

Thank you,

(Husband & Wife Name)
(Phone)

This is perfect! And you would be surprised at the local dealerships that would not or could not provide us this information easily. Made it easy to cut them out.

This is also the car we bought!

We didn't depend on selling the car to buy the new one. We checked with carmax before going to purchase, and they gave us more than double what the dealer would give us. It was an easy transaction, would totally do again with carmax.

[Anonymous]

Someone suggested creating a throwaway email account for this. Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Negotiate through email - it’s awesome and very empowering. Get the price in writing before you walk in the dealership and do not pay a penny more. I negotiated our car purchase this way and got it way below invoice (below “truecar” pricing also).

This is what we do.

Same here. Negotiated with three different dealers and went with the one that gave me the lowest price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone suggested creating a throwaway email account for this. Why?

Because the dealers will continue to contact you after you've closed the deal. If you don't mind adding to all your spam then use your regular email. I used a throwaway email for the negotiation but the dealer I bought from got my real email when things were finalized so I get their emails with service reminders, coupons, etc.

[Anonymous]

I second the email approach. But, my dad is the best at negotiating new car prices and his approach is a bit different. Here are some things he does:

1. Call ahead and ask about any deals they are offering on the vehicle he is interested in. (He usually knows almost exactly what he wants aside from color and some options). And, he tell the sales person he's just looking around and not sure he wants to buy right then (which is often true).
2. He says he won't pay for any options he doesn't want. Often the cars dealers have on the lots have extra options that he doesn't care about (or says he doesn't care about). So when he says he's willing to walk away because he doesn't want those options, they usually remove the cost of those options from the price of the vehicle.
3. He repeats "That is more than I want to pay" as many times as needed to get his price.

I think his key to success is that he doesn't appear anxious to buy. I don't know how he determines what price he wants to pay. I don't think he is doing a lot of research ahead of time. Perhaps he's just going after a certain level below invoice.

[Anonymous]

My H bought a new car last year. He wanted something very specific so there was very little negotiation on the purchase. However, a couple of days before he went to the dealership, he took his old car to Carmax to get a trade-in estimate that is good for about a week. When he bought his new car, the dealership offered him $1000 less for the trade-in...my H showed them the Carmax estimate and they immediately matched it.

[Anonymous]

Update: We sent the email in early December. We decided to hold off on the purchase - as the trusted mechanic said it still has a great engine.

So back in early December we got some pricing. Good to know for the future. BUT ...... this week we got a few more responses - are you still interested? And took another 6K off of the "Best" price they had.

What I learned - if you have any flexibility in color, features etc - wait until the end of the month / quarter / year as they are trying to hit sales quotas.

(We are still waiting to buy - but the 6K did make it a conversation)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^^ I did the same when purchasing my Subaru Outback. I knew which model outback I wanted and which options. I was flexible on 3 colors.

I emailed the local Subaru dealers and asked for the out the door price (sales price, taxes, registration, etc). It came down to Farrish and Stohlman - both were within $500 and Stohlman had the color combo I wanted.

I had my own financing so I showed up, test drive the car again and presented the email offer. All I had to do was write the check and wait on dealer to process the paperwork. Super easy and very non-confrontational. I'm a single mom and this helped minimize, for me, the hassle of negotiating on the spot.

I service my car at another Subaru dealer and they were impressed with my final OTD price.

I did something similar. Signed up for email alerts on internet sales. Was notified by several Subaru dealers when that model was on sale. I already had a trade in price from carMax (which the Subaru dealer beat, by the way, OP). I also signed up for some service that showed lowest prices in the region and I printed that off and took it in. Had my own financing. The time spent in the dealer was the shortest I’ve ever done. And the price was slightly under the average in the region. Did I get the best price? I don’t know. But I got a good one.

[Anonymous]

Wow, this is a great thread! Thank you, everyone, for all the tips and hints!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Waiting for someone to chime in and recommend an overpriced used car from Carmax (because it removes the dirty step of negotiating a better price)

I get your point, but I have had friends buy from Carmax because the dealers were out of stock on the car they wanted, and the wait would be weeks (or more). Sometimes people are willing to pay for the availability of their car. I have not used them, but I have not heard anything horrible.

[Anonymous]

Websites found to see what other people paid. For example, there is a forum dedicated to subarus, Hondas, etc. It's easy to check and see what people are paying for particular models and trims