How did you buy your last new car?

[photoguy]

1. Did some test drives and then decided on a model (honda element).
2. Arranged financing from credit union (now would probably pay cash)
3. Obtained consumer reports car report for that model (and dealer bottom line price)
4. Conducted queries via dealers' internet sales divisions
5. Took the price quoted ($13 above dealer bottom line) and went back to the sales associate who helped us with the test drive
6. Turned down dealer finance (was similar)
7. Paid off car loan early (2 years)

I was very surprised that the price they quoted us was so close to the dealer bottom line price. The element has since been discontinued but I suspect the dealer was having problems moving it.

 

[RunningBum]

Just ordered a car two weeks ago for my son's upcoming graduation present. One dealer has an invoice price deal for resorts at our residence and I verified with Edmunds.com that this was a few hundred under True Market Value pricing, and I also checked that they really did give us invoice.

For the previous car purchase (8 years ago), after test driving on a local lot and being told that they sold the model at sticker price, I found an online forum for that car where others shared their buying experience. Someone got a good deal from a dealer 3 hours away and I emailed them and asked if I could get the same deal, and they agreed. Then I called or emailed other dealers within 3 hours and a couple came close, but none could beat it.

And the time before that I used a car buying service through my credit union.

 

[FIREd]

I used USAA's auto buying service.

I did too.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I leased my last/current car. I find that I like to get a new car every 2 - 3 years so leasing works in that case. A lot of the retired folks in my development lease too. They like to replace their cars every 3 years, and usually things like maintenance and Gap insurance are included now.

For me though cars are one of those little extravagancies, I do not like driving a little piece of junk so I simply acept the cost. (sorry no offence for those who do, what I mean is a lot of folk reasonably think of a car as mere transportation, and in that case I would get the cheapest too). You loose which ever way you look at it unless you keep the thing for eons. So why not pay for just the part you use, and then give it back. You can always purchase it later if you fall in love. The average depreciation is 30% for the first 3 years. So you pay for it anyway. I like a new car so leasing works. The best deals currently are 2 year leases on 2012 cars now as the 2013s are just coming in. I usually pay the whole lease cost up front and have no payments. You normally get a discount for that too, at least I did last time.

There are also a lot of disadvantages to leasing, but most are insignificant and just boil down to dollars and cents.

The advantages to me are huge. Here are a few I consider:

1) If you have an accident during the lease, the value does not change when you give it back ssuming you get it repaired


2) Maintenance is usually included

3) You do not need to worry about extended or abnormal depreciation because of unforseen economic conditions as long as you stick to your mileage limits, I choose 12000 and that works for me.

4) Gap insurance is included in the lease at least it should be.

5) you can Change your car every 2 - 3 years

6) You do not have to sell it, just give it back.

7) Typically you get a lot more car for your leasing dollar if you play your cards right. My Choices this time was between a diesel Passat and a Diesel E350 Mercedes. The mercedes proved to be cheaper than the Passat because the dealer wanted to get rid of his last one. You do need to shop at lot harder for a good lease. Also you DO need good credit.

In the days of CARFAX and AccuCheck a prospective buyer knows the complete history of a car and typically will not pay for a used car that has been in an accident, no matter how small.

The older I get the more I think leasing works for the daily driver.

Just my 2c.

 

[W2R]

The last time I bought a new car, I knew that I wanted a Toyota Venza, if the test drive was satisfactory. I am also happy with my local Toyota dealer and wanted to buy it there, if possible. So, I went on a test drive at that dealership and it was superb, much better than I had expected.

The Venza that I test drove was exactly the configuration that I wanted, and I liked the color. I had done my research so I knew what Venzas were going for in my area. Like you, I wanted to pay in full, in cash. On the way out I made a lowball offer, take it or leave it, and it was accepted.

The whole process took just an hour or so, as I recall, and then I drove home in my new Venza. I have spent longer buying a dress.

 

[Bikerdude]

After using the net to search prices with Edmunds. KBB, NADA I used Truecar.com quotes from local dealers to narrow my focus. I bought from the dealer with the lowest Truecar bid.

 

[RunningBum]

I would lease a car just to avoid the selling/trading nightmare that always seems to eat me up, but I like to hold onto cars longer. I'm 8 years on my Pilot now, and I like it as well as anything out there right now, plus I don't have to worry about the little dings anymore. And I'm 13 years on my Miata, which I bought 2 years used in the first place.

Sorry, I guess that's getting off topic.

 

[FreeAtLast]

Internet first,then I went to the dealer. I knew what I wanted as I had rented the same model car for a weekend when my van was in the shop.

 

[eytonxav]

If you elect to forego one of the buying services and do it yourself, I would suggest negotiating at the end of the month, quarter, or year to get a good deal, as the dealerships or sales folks will likely be trying to hit their bogey (sales target).

 

[urn2bfree]

Last two cars did the Internet Sales manager Email thing--test drove the car at a local dealer- knew exactly what I wanted and was willing to wait for the right car--wrote this to the various Internet Sales guys in the area and told them I wanted their BEST drive off the lot price.

don't forget the sales tax will have to be tacked on- when you are comparing...make sure that is included or not in the price.

also the last one wasted my time after coming to get the car trying to sell me extended warranty--
Hey sales people--this technique does not work on me:
SALESGUY: You can have this warranty for only $2000.
ME: NO thanks.
SALESGUY: Well I think I can get it for you for $1000!
ME: NO- and now knowing that you can get if for me for $1000 but were not going to give it to me for $1000 if I had accepted the $2000 makes me want to trust and do business with you why?

 

[easysurfer]

It's always funny how when the dealers sell you the car, they say how reliable it is. But when the time turns to extended warranty, the sales pitch is you better get the warranty as cars are crappy and will break down on you.

 

[EvrClrx311]

Was planning to use a combination of PenFed and cash... but after picking out the car we found out Honda was offering 1.9% for 5 years and $1,000 off the final negotiated price. It was pretty much a no brainer to take them up on that.

 

[devans0]

I have a good regular mechanic that I have had for years. I ask him to let me know when he sees a reliable car/truck in my price range for sale from a regular customer. I get a history of the vehicle, and the mechanic gets to broker a deal that keeps two customers happy. I never get a lemon. YMMV

 

[rodi]

I was making a cash purchase and planned to sell my old car privately.
I was interested in the Toyota Highlander Hybrid - when it first came out. I'd waitlisted it at 3 different dealers months earlier. None of them called me when the car was released.
I started calling various dealers and found a dealer that had one onsite/available. I went there to test drive/negotiate. They started the negotiation at $5k ABOVE MSRP. I balked. I did the test drive anyway. When I came back they said that since my dad had purchased his Prius there - they'd give me a "family" discount... Only $3k above the MSRP.
I walked away.
My dad was still alive at the time, and retired. I gave him the task of finding one for me for no more than MSRP.
Since it was a new, popular, car - most of the dealers were putting surcharges above MSRP from San Diego to LA. We found 2 dealers that were willing to *start* negotiation at MSRP and work down. I paid almost full price - but I got the car the first weekend it was out.
7 years later - I still love it.
But dealers are annoying and a hassle.

We haven't bought anything since... Hubby drives a 17 year old truck. Both vehicles are reliable, maintained, and garaged. We hope to get a few more decades out of them.

 

[Bimmerbill]

I looked up the dealer cost online. I found the rebates. Then I emailed 4 or 5 dealers for their best price. Several made no mention of the $3K rebate, but one had the car at invoice minus rebate so I told them to have it ready. Went in and bought it.

 

[Texas Proud]

I bought my last one by going through the internet...

Then the dealers helped me out by raising the prices... I had a cash for clunkers trade in... I was surprised that one Toyota guy told me that since there was a lot of demand they 'had' to raise the price...

 

[pb4uski]

We used Consumer Reports' service of providing us with the dealer's cost of the vehicles and options, then went to a few local dealers and negotiated from there.....

+1

but a funny good thing happened in that the model I wanted was delivered while I was out of town on business and we agreed that I would pick it up that Saturday which happened to be the 1st of October. I was up early the morning I was to pick it up and noticed that overnight that the incentive had increased by $500. I printed out that web page and showed it to them at the dealership and got the added $500 off. Sweet.

Also as sweet was the cash back incentive for financing it with them. Made two monthly payments and then paid off the loan.

 

[LakeTravis]

I decide what car I want, and then shop local dealer inventory via the internet. When I find several that I may be interested in, I go to that dealer for a test drive.

If I'm still interested after the test drive, I'll make an offer. I'm not a big believer in "invoice price", so my starting offer is usually 20- 25% less than sticker.

If they don't want to deal, I leave. I always get called back after a day or two. The last vehicle I bought was a 2011 Kia Sportage, sticker was $25,750 and they sold it to me for $21,950 - about 15% off sticker.

 

[Katsmeow]

We just bought a new car a couple of weeks ago and -- for the first time in many years -- bought from the local car dealer after test driving.

My approach the past several cars has been to do a test drive and then to use a website like Edmunds or similar to submit to several dealers online.

I usually write the dealers and tell them to contact me by email only. If any call me I tell them to contact me in writing (if they call twice I refuse to deal with them). I tell each one what I want and collect what they say they can get. My perception is that they fall within 3 groups:

1. Mid-range. Fairly responsive, pricing starts a little high but willing to negotiate. Don't bother you too much and if they have what you want can work out OK.

2. Really good. Most of these respond quickly, give you a no-BS response and give a good price right off the bat. They may go down a little but the pricing is already good when they start. This is who I usually end up buying from. This is what I did on the car I bought last year (Ford Explorer). Totally painless process and a very good price. Usually this will be someone in the internet or fleet department. This was very fast and smooth.

3. Really bad. These are aggressive to a fault and want to charge outrageous prices. Often claim the car you want is unavailable. When I was buying my explorer the "bad" dealer wanted to charge us $5000 more than we ended up paying! And, even when I called them on various things they said that were untrue, etc. they still kept calling me, emailing me. Just awful.

The problem with buying from the guys at the car dealership is that it is hard to get them to be reasonable on price and they tend to waste your time.

This time we were buying an inexpensive car that DH would drive some but mostly for our daughter to use while learning to drive and after. We looked at several cars but decided on a Hyundai Veloster which is apparently a car in short supply. The usual email didn't work at all. The best of the group was just non-responsive and slow but wasn't insulting and didn't repeatedly call me. The quickest response from the dealer who wouldn't budge on $1000 over MSRP (the car is not highly discounted but I felt I could better than that). One dealer is still calling me despite my stating that I've bought elsewhere and to quit calling. None of the dealers could offer or obtain a car remotely close to what I wanted (in terms of options).

In the meantime we decided we might as well talk to the local dealer. We actually settled on a price fairly quickly. The car I wanted wasn't on their lot and it took 2 weeks to actually get a car. The worst was when the 2nd car they offered (first one fell through) arrived and the interior was the wrong color. We finally did agree to change our exterior color (from red to Vitamin C orange) and picked up the car last week. I still would prefer to do it by email in most cases, but I realize that maybe doesn't always work as well for a car that is in short supply.

 

[stevenst]

Original Poster Here: Wow, thank you all for your detailed responses! I have read through all of them and learned a lot from your experiences.

I plan to go through a broker to get my bids, make the purchase, and then sell the old car independently. I don't look forward to dealing with selling the old car, but I think it's best to keep the two deals separate. Thanks again.

Steve

 

[rbmrtn]

I sold my old clunker ( 15yrs/ 225K miles) to CARMAX. Their offer was reasonable based on blackbook prices. Could have sold it for few $$$ more on my own but wasn't worth the time/hassle.

 

[ERD50]

Questions for everyone.

Are you able to get the car w/o paying anything for the 'funny' dealer add-ons (pin-stripe, rust-proof, floor-mats, sealer, etc)?

Are you able to get the car w/o signing something that moves complaints to their 'third party' arbitrator?

-ERD50

 

[kumquat]

Bought a new 2012 in Dec. 11. DW had already decided what. The brother of a good friend (and a casual friend) happened to sell them. Did homework on Internet, calculated what I thought was a good price. Talked to DF'B, he knew me well enough to know what I wanted. His price worked according to Internet Homework. Shopped it a two other dealers with no takers. When I wrote the cheque, the nice lady said "salesman says don't bother with extra crap but I have to offer it, ok, no problem, sign here".

Same make and model as the 2002 it replaced. Old one was bottom of the line, few options. This one was top, all options. Price difference was $1K. I think I got screwed in 02.

Previously I bought a used truck. 1 year old, 8K miles. Mentioned it to a friend who deals heavy trucks. He said "I could buy it for $X, would sell it to you for $Y or to a member of the public for $Z". Offered $Y-10% and paid $Y-2% which worked out to MSRP-22%. Seemed ok.

 

[vttlarry]

Bought 2012 Santa Fe in July. Did my research, found an ad for exact options I wanted at a dealer 80 miles away, then took to local Hyundai dealer and asked if they could match the deal. They beat the offer by $750. Was going to pay with cash, but they offered me $250 to take 0% financing for 3 years. So the $27,000 sits in ING earning .8% interest. I simply transfer the amount needed for payment to my checking every month.

 

[pb4uski]

Questions for everyone.

Are you able to get the car w/o paying anything for the 'funny' dealer add-ons (pin-stripe, rust-proof, floor-mats, sealer, etc)?

Are you able to get the car w/o signing something that moves complaints to their 'third party' arbitrator?

-ERD50

Yes to the first. I just tell them that I don't want them and have never had a problem. Around here the dealers try to tack on a "documentation fee" or "doc fee" which is usually pre-printed on their contract form and is really for them doing the paperwork associated with the sale. I had one salesman try to con me that it was required by state law and told him he was full of sh*t. In each case I tell them that I refuse to pay for them doing their paperwork and they typically back down and just adjust the top line price downward to make up the difference.

Never tried on the second and I probably have signed something like that but it has never been a problem for me. I suppose you could refuse and walk out the door if it is a dealer thing, but if it is a manufacturer thing then I don't see that you have much leverage but it wouldn't hurt to try.