When you are negotiating dealers over email, how do you know when you've found the bottom?

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09/06/2019 13:05

Subject: When you are negotiating dealers over email, how do you know when you've found the bottom?

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Anonymous

I picked the exact features I wanted in the specific trim level then emailed anyone within 100 miles that had that car to get their out the door on a specific car with Virginia taxes and tags. Some pushed back a bit but would eventually send me the email. Once I had multiple out the doors, I could compare and send the lower ones to dealers closer by and say X can sell it to me for Y but I'd rather shop with you - can you beat that? After a few back and forths, I had what I felt was a solid deal and went in and negotiated the trade in and purchased.

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09/06/2019 13:14

Subject: When you are negotiating dealers over email, how do you know when you've found the bottom?

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Anonymous

Don't forget to specify a full tank of gas on the out the door price

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09/06/2019 13:16

Subject: When you are negotiating dealers over email, how do you know when you've found the bottom?

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Anonymous

Be aware that when you go in person, they might not honor the e-mail price, and try to "explain" stuff to you.

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09/06/2019 14:09

Subject: When you are negotiating dealers over email, how do you know when you've found the bottom?

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Anonymous

Other than a couple of speciality cars there are multiple stores for every brand here. Provide a vin and say you want an out the door price. I've only had a couple of dealers ever balk and providing a written quote. And those are dealers you wouldn't want to do business with anyway.

Some of this depends on what car you're buying. A stock RAV4 you'll be able to find a commoditized price online. Something unique might be more difficult.

New car margins aren't very high anymore, and really there aren't any more dealer financing promotions either. Best bet is hitting the 2018 models in October or November. It's been a pretty brutal year for the industry but that doesn't mean you'll be saving much over what truecar says people are paying.

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09/06/2019 14:11

Subject: When you are negotiating dealers over email, how do you know when you've found the bottom?

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Anonymous

1409 here...I always give the last look to the local dealer where I test drive the car. They almost always slightly beat a price. And, remember dealer installed options have huge markups so if you want a cargo cover or upgraded mats have those thrown in...that's a good way to get some more savings.

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09/07/2019 17:19

Subject: When you are negotiating dealers over email, how do you know when you've found the bottom?

quote

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:Here's what I got last time I did this:

- a handful of unimpressive quotes that matched whatever they had on their website as their best price.
- a bunch of emails telling me to come in to the dealership or call them.
- a bunch of emails that said, "bring us your best offer and we'll beat it!"

Just bought a 2020 Toyota Corolla, and tried to use this method. Mixed results and mostly got the above.

I got two dealers to sort of agree to a price, but they were intentionally vague about the exact terms of the price. Specifically, I didn't want to finance but their quote was contingent on financing. I was about to close the deal with one of them, and he sent an annoying email to me so at that moment I tried Costco Auto's service. Costco came through with a price of $74 more than the quote I got over email from one dealer who was being annoying. They also give you a coupon for 50% off service/parts/accessories up to $200 in value if you use their service. So if you maximize that coupon,

The Costco experience was incredibe. They have a designated dealership that absolutely honors the price that is quoted, and they don't play games. Makes the transaction simple.

Now, did I get the lowest possible price? not sure. But I spent a month negotiating over email and got the price to x, and in an hour's worth of work I got x + $74 from Costco.

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09/07/2019 17:22

Subject: When you are negotiating dealers over email, how do you know when you've found the bottom?

quote

Anonymous

Facebook group and an online forum for the car I want. People post the best deal off MSPR or invoice so I kept negotiating till I got the absolutely lowest. I email a lot of dealers in MD/VA/WV/PA and NJ and just hard core negotiate. I will not negotiate in person and only want a custom order in less they give me an amazing deal.

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09/10/2019 04:43

Subject: When you are negotiating dealers over email, how do you know when you've found the bottom?

quote

Anonymous

Search for a message board for the car you want. There will be a “prices paid” thread of people all around the nation reporting what they just paid. Then, email about 5 local dealers for the car you want - try to make all exactly what you want and apples to apples. Then negotiate from there.

You’ll know when you hit bottom when dealerships start to bow out.

Also - Maryland dealerships typically charge a doc fee of $300 vs $900 for Virginia dealerships. That $600 difference is probably going to make the Maryland dealerships cheaper on “out the door” price. IE we had the same car cheaper in Virginia by $300 but the doc fee in MD was $600 cheaper, so MD was cheaper $300 overall. VA dealer couldn’t match.