For negotiation purposes, you should at least get a Carvana quote on your trade-in before you go to the dealership. I bought a new car and wanted to trade in my car. They completely low-balled me on their offer. However, they were willing to meet the Carvana offer no questions asked. Still not a great price, and I regret giving it away since used cars were in demand but I didn't want the hassle. They sold it in less than 24 hours.

Another trick since you live in ths area presumably, and are buying a Chevy. The larger dealers, like Koons, have locations in MD and VA. The dealer processing fee (also called a Doc fee) is $800 in VA and $500 in MD. If you buy from the VA dealer, ask them to drop the price by $300 to cover that difference, or you'll just drive to their MD dealer and buy the same vehicle from there (the salesperson in MD will happily have that inventory transferred over to make the sale).

Anonymous wrote:Come with your own financing.

Wrong. Dealers get a kickback on originating financing. Notice when you ask price, they'll always ask if you plan to finance it. That gives them more leeway on price since they know the kickback is coming.

Then pay off the loan in full a month later. They may call and get mad about it (they lose their kickback) but it's fully allowed in nearly all car loans. Car loans now have a clear table listing interests costs and pre-payment penalties (if any.. there shouldn't be) thanks to the CFPB rules.

On the fees and BS the key thing is to negotiate an out the door price. You can even insist on a full tank of gas.

There’s a great website about holding a reverse auction: email fifteen dealers with an offer to buy OTD cash for $34,600. Say you recognize that this is a low price but hope someone will bite. If not you will email again in three days with an offer $250 more.

That way you don’t have to visit any dealers or negotiate anything. Once Someone agrees to the OTD price, call them to double check the VIIN and say you will bring a bank check for exactly the agree upon amount.

This worked really well for us in 2019. But if you are going after a scarce model you might have to go even above MSRP

OP I trade the old car in because I’m not willing to spend hours and hours trying to squeeze more out of it. But what you should do is get a Carmax offer, because they’ll probably match that or if they won’t, Carmax is easy.

Figure out the exact trims and colors and such you’ll accept, draw a circle you’re willing to drive, and call all the dealers in the circle. Just be transparent and go to the one who gives you the best price. They all know we’re doing this anyway and you’re not a plum for them because you’re paying cash. That way, hopefully, you end up only having to drive to one dealer and paying a reasonable price.

If you have USAA or another option for car buying service, use it. A million years ago (ok, 2010), after doing all the research, I was ready to pay up to $31k for the Honda Odyssey I wanted. Contacted USAA just to see, and they had it out the door for me for $28,000. DONE. Just walked into the Honda dealer and showed them my paper, asked how mimuch they would allow to go on the cc (wanted points), wrote a check for the rest, and paid off the cc the next month.

My understanding is Costco has a simar program, but it might only be some makes/models.

Go to Carmax and get a quote for what they will give you for trading in your car.
the used car market is hot and dealers want your car.
make sure you know what it is worth before you walk into the dealership if you want the "ease" of trading in a car.

Do you care about price - or just don't want to be taken advantage of?
If you are about price, look for a 3 year old used with low miles (less than 30K)
Be ready to jump when you see it come on the market if it matches what you want / are flexible about.

Anonymous wrote:You can get one for $50k if you buy from a dealership in Florida

Link??

You can get one for $50k if you buy from a dealership in Florida

Never mind the price. They will get you with all the made up taxes, fees, warranties, tire guards they refuse to take off that were never put on.

PP here. I think you and I are on the same team. Good points about the trade in too.

I just think there is a balance with the time spent. I used to enjoy the “game” of negotiating but the more I did it, the more I realized how valuable my time is. I’d rather limit my time spent and just cut to the end. My guess is that OPs time is valuable too. Kids plus sports plus practices equal limited time. We each have our methods but I prefer the limit my time/determine my OTD and hold fast.

Do not trade your car to the dealer as part of the deal!!!!. It is one of the first and easiest ways dealers will rip you off. Would you give thousands of dollars to a stranger? As you are doing this transaction, keep in mind that they are not just selling you a car, they are trying to take as much of your money away from you as they can. It's very easy to get nonchalant about giving away a few thousand just to get the deal over with. You will get much more money selling your car to Carvana or one of those places. Do not willingly give away thousands of dollars to the car dealer. When I purchased my last 3 cars, I would always ask how much for my old car and would get quotes of $200 or so. These were older cars but with low mileage and in great shape. I got $2,500 for an ancient Honda Odyssey. These places are often awful for purchasing cars but great if you are selling.

Go visit several dealers and decide the options you want. Work on the price you want and go a little lower. Do this independently with on line tools.

Go visit several dealers, test drive and start talking price. Walk out of every one of those places. Call dealers further away. I often got amazing deals at dealers out of state or further away in low cost of living areas. This is how you negotiate. You will be collecting quotes from numerous places. Any sign of deception or rudeness - walk away. I would always let the dealer know I was headed out of town where I knew there were better deals so I was just checking their price. I found better deals in Pa and NC. Once you know what you want, purchasing out of state is a breeze. The dealer will deliver the car to you.

Make sure you are negotiating for the car with the options you want. This is a trick slimy dealerships pull. After you've visited, they will call with a great price and don't tell you until you come in to sign for that great deal that they are selling you a lesser model or a car without the options you want.

Do not be a people pleaser during this. You're objective is to not give away money to a stranger but to get the best deal you can. You are not there to get anyone to like you.

Unlike Mr. Split Infinitive above, you do negotiate unless you want to gift thousands of dollars to a stranger while you're trying to buy a car.

I've never found UBS or Costco car buying plans to be great prices. I always beat their prices by significant amounts.

The trick is to not negotiate.

You need to find the “out the door” OTD price of the new car you want. This is the amount you “would write a check for” and drive off the lot. This isn’t easy. Check Edmund’s for ballpark price, check no haggle dealerships for their online price (this is a good ceiling) and maybe check Costcos car buying service. Once you know the exact OTD price you want to pay, use that and contact dealers. Say that’s the price you’ll pay and hold firm.

You say you’re looking for 2024 model. Just know that is likely old now as 2025 models are out. You might find good prices on 2024 models but your supply might be low plus the car has already depreciated one year.

Come with your own financing.

No hate at all.
I drove a Denali, one sister drove a Suburban the other an Expedition ..
All So we could shuffle all our kids (6 between the two of us) safely along with kids friends.


Nice ride!

Purchasing a new vehicle by end of 2024. Probably will get a suburban (please no hate- I have three kids who all do sports and we carpool to practices with several other families all the time so really need the cargo space). Looking to get a 2024 model and pricing for what I’m looking at ranges from $60K to $75K (not including taxes and fees). I’ve heard this is the best time of year to get a great deal but I’m wondering how great that deal could be. Theoretically, what do you imagine would be the best price I could get? We will be trading in our current car as well and paying cash, no financing. Thanks for any help for this car buying newbie.