Recent dealership negotiation outcomes for new vehicles?

[kgtest]

Anyone recently barter a negotiation for a new car? In discussions with Toyota dealer about a GR86. I wasn't looking but after dropping a number out loud in front of the salesman and doing a dance, they countered about 10% off the MSRP but nowhere near the 20% I wanted to get off MSRP sticker.

Am I asking too much? Dealer is motivated to move it since 2025 models are now on order and being shipped. They would be having a harder time to sell a 2024 when 2025 is readily available which will be in weeks.


I figure strike while the iron is hot if I can get it for less than 30k.

How did your recent experience turn out?

 

[OldShooter]

I never deal unless I have two quotes in my hands. Trying to outmaneuver a seller when you don't know the market is doomed. Be willing to drive 100 or 200 miles to buy if necessary and make sure your local seller knows this. Compare total out the door prices, not MSRP discounts. There are many ways they can screw you with numbers below the discounted MSRP.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

I found below method worked great for our last two car purchases. It was way less stressful that sitting at the dealer negotiating in person. I used CarGurus to search for the car we were looking for. They have a great set of search filters. I usually look for dealers on Cargurus that uses actual pictures of cars on their lot so you know it is probably in stock rather than a dealer who uses stock photos. You see a lot of stock photos cause the vehicle may be in transit or they're lazy. When you select a vehicle on Cargurus you are interested in read all the details about it and then there is usually a link to the dealership website. Click on the link and then snoop around on the dealer website. Look for any deals they might be offering not showing on Cargurus. They usually have a get price button you can use to get an offer if interested or a contact us button to start a conversation. They will try and get you in contact with an Internet manager and I usually just provide an email address for contact so I don't have to talk to them. I then start negotiating via email. I found it much easier to negotiate and play hardball via email than in person. Remember, if you don't ask, you don't get. Don't pay for those pesky dealer add ons or at least negotiate the price on them or get them to throw them in. Shop several dealers via email at the same time and get their best out the door prices with a breakdown of the charges. You can use their offers against each other. Much easier to do from the comfort of your own home. When you decide on one get a final price offer in writing and make sure you tell them you will not accept any games. Tell them you ready to buy after a quick test drive of the vehicle. Be willing to walk away if they pull any BS when you are there.

Good luck with the car purchase.

 

[Koolau]

I found below method worked great for our last two car purchases. It was way less stressful that sitting at the dealer negotiating in person. I used CarGurus to search for the car we were looking for. They have a great set of search filters. I usually look for dealers on Cargurus that uses actual pictures of cars on their lot so you know it is probably in stock rather than a dealer who uses stock photos. You see a lot of stock photos cause the vehicle may be in transit or they're lazy. When you select a vehicle on Cargurus you are interested in read all the details about it and then there is usually a link to the dealership website. Click on the link and then snoop around on the dealer website. Look for any deals they might be offering not showing on Cargurus. They usually have a get price button you can use to get an offer if interested or a contact us button to start a conversation. They will try and get you in contact with an Internet manager and I usually just provide an email address for contact so I don't have to talk to them. I then start negotiating via email. I found it much easier to negotiate and play hardball via email than in person. Remember, if you don't ask, you don't get. Don't pay for those pesky dealer add ons or at least negotiate the price on them or get them to throw them in. Shop several dealers via email at the same time and get their best out the door prices with a breakdown of the charges. You can use their offers against each other. Much easier to do from the comfort of your own home. When you decide on one get a final price offer in writing and make sure you tell them you will not accept any games. Tell them you ready to buy after a quick test drive of the vehicle. Be willing to walk away if they pull any BS when you are there.

Good luck with the car purchase.

Very thorough! Most important thing you mentioned was "Be willing to walk away..."

 

[Texas Proud]

I do not think cars today have a 20% markup for them to give...

Go to one of the auto sites (KBB or Edmunds) and put in the car and options and get a dealer cost...

 

[Aerides]

Am I asking too much?

If they let you walk out the door without meeting your price, yes, probably. Typically dealers will do everything possible to get you to close that day.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I never deal unless I have two quotes in my hands. Trying to outmaneuver a seller when you don't know the market is doomed. Be willing to drive 100 or 200 miles to buy if necessary and make sure your local seller knows this. Compare total out the door prices, not MSRP discounts. There are many ways they can screw you with numbers below the discounted MSRP.

^^ THIS ^^

2HotinPHX has some good tips as well.

I haven't negotiated a deal on a vehicle for 6 years, prior to the last time in 2018 I had leased new pickups every 3 years since 1995, plus a couple of leases for DW vehicles, and one for my son so I have done over a dozen deals in the past 30 years.

You can search for Toyota dealers within a range of miles of your location on the internet. You can find similar vehicles to the one you are looking for at these dealers. Most dealer listings will have an MSRP window sticker you can download to your computer. This document will have a VIN# on it. Also pay attention to the internal dealer stock number on their website.

Now pick up your phone and call a couple of these dealers and ask about their stock number # of the vehicle you are interested in. Be sure to impress on the dealer that you are definitely committed to buying this make and model of vehicle in the next couple of days and are calling around to save time in order to get pricing. Tell them you've already got pricing on a similar vehicle and drop the VIN# of the vehicle you've already got a quote on from the original dealer you visited. Drop the dealer name as well. Let them know you're legit. They will try to get you to come in to the dealership but insist, no, you're not interested in coming into the dealership, you know what you want and it's only going to come down to price. You will come to the dealership to sign papers and pick up the vehicle.

Repeat at least one more time with other dealerships. Now you've got those two or three quotes OldShooter was talking about. Now you have some leverage.

Now you can go back to the original dealer and tell them you found another vehicle, VIN# at so-and-so dealership and they are at this price. Ask them to sharpen their pencil and find a bit more leeway in their price. You can repeat this process with the other dealers you called as well.

I've used this method successfully many times and a couple of times I never went into the dealer I ended up leasing the vehicle from until I consummated the deal. I would ask to talk to the new car manager, explain my situation and tell them I will be into the dealership within an hour to sign papers if I can get this deal on this vehicle (VIN#) otherwise I'm going to another dealer who has vehicle with this VIN# and do a deal with them.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Qs Laptop]

If they let you walk out the door without meeting your price, yes, probably. Typically dealers will do everything possible to get you to close that day.

Yeah...but there is a difference between doing everything possible to get you to close that day if that day is the 7th of the month or if it's the 30th of the month.

 

[Kings over Queens]

I'm fairly certain I got this link on this website, but have never used it. You'll need the VIN for the vehicle in question but apparently this will tell you dealer invoice price.

Black Book Weekly Values Lite

 

[Kings over Queens]

I like the negotiate over the phone or via email option. It's helpful when you have the identical or very similar car at two different dealers.

 

[Midpack]

If they let you walk out the door without meeting your price, yes, probably. Typically dealers will do everything possible to get you to close that day.

While I agree they want to close while you’re there, if they haven’t beat all other offers, you’ll never know if you have their best price unless you walk away. No matter what they may say, that price will be good tomorrow and then some.

If you go to one dealer and haggle with them only, the odds you have the best price are almost zero. You don’t have to go to every dealer, but at least 2-3.

I would never go to a dealer to buy a car without having another best offer in hand first. I always start with an internet sales quote (Edmunds, CarsDirect, Costco, etc.) which shortens the negotiations dramatically. And I’ve always been able to get a dealer to beat an offer in hand, if one doesn’t another will. And if they say we’ll match, I say “that wouldn’t be fair to the other dealer, so you need to come down $500 or X or I’m going back to the other dealer.”

 

[sdtech]

While not the primary reason I bought a Tesla last year, the way to buy it online and only show up at a showroom without any dealer hassles was great. I did test drive one before ordering and there was zero sales pressure.

 

[OldShooter]

If they let you walk out the door without meeting your price, yes, probably. Typically dealers will do everything possible to get you to close that day.

If they believe you are a serious buyer they will probably make a follow-up contact in a day or two. When I was shopping recently the follow-up call included a $1K price drop.

Very thorough! Most important thing you mentioned was "Be willing to walk away..."

If you're not willing to leave the table you're not negotiating. You're begging.

 

[DrRoy]

Am I asking too much?

I believe that their cost is above 80% of MSRP.

 

[aja8888]

Actual dealer cost is not something you will find on a public website. That's a guess, at best. Also, " NADA Black Book" (trade in values) books are not sold to the public. Those guides are put out monthly and are regional. Banks have access to them for financing purposes. The actual dealer cost number also may have manufacturer "dealer incentives" baked in based on monthly sales goals and other criteria. It's a well kept secret.

Monrony Stickers (MSRP) are a guide for the buyer to see what options are on the car and the "Suggested Retail" pricing.

 

[Koolau]

I believe that their cost is above 80% of MSRP.

I believe this would depend upon Manufacturer's rebates when cars stop selling. I've seen the dealer hold-backs rebated in full back in the day. That could add to a total of 20% especially on a loaded car. I doubt that is actually the case this year, but any dealer with 2024 cars left is gonna be dealing them out the door rather than pay the monthly interest. YMMV

 

[OldShooter]

The market doesn't care about anyone's cost, nor should you. The market will establish the price. You are the market.

There are also many games played with "dealer invoice" because it became an anchor point for consumers' negotiating. Holdbacks, incentives, etc. ... none of that matters to a buyer. Only the out-the-door price matters.

 

[Koolau]

The market doesn't care about anyone's cost, nor should you. The market will establish the price. You are the market.

There are also many games played with "dealer invoice" because it became an anchor point for consumers' negotiating. Holdbacks, incentives, etc. ... none of that matters to a buyer. Only the out-the-door price matters.

You're right. I'm just saying that it IS possible that a dealer COULD give a 20% discount. I wouldn't expect it now but it's happened and could happen again. And you're right that we ARE the market.

 

[Lorenzo]

If you're after the best-selling vehicle in its class, don't expect much negotiating room.

 

[Koolau]

If you're after the best-selling vehicle in its class, don't expect much negotiating room.

Very true. But sometimes you can be surprised. Imagine trying to get a discount on a new C-8 Corvette these days. Not likely. But when I bought my '69 Corvette, I got a 14% discount (taking delivery in early '70.) Nothing is written in stone though supply and demand is close to stone tablet reality.

 

[aja8888]

Very true. But sometimes you can be surprised. Imagine trying to get a discount on a new C-8 Corvette these days. Not likely. But when I bought my '69 Corvette, I got a 14% discount (taking delivery in early '70.) Nothing is written in stone though supply and demand is close to stone tablet reality.

The dealer near me has 1/2 dozen C8's sitting on the lot and is wanting to move them. I saw them just before XMAS when I went in for a prepaid oil change. I'll bet he is discounting off MSRP on those.

 

[Aerides]

While I agree they want to close while you’re there, if they haven’t beat all other offers, you’ll never know if you have their best price unless you walk away. No matter what they may say, that price will be good tomorrow and then some.

If you go to one dealer and haggle with them only, the odds you have the best price are almost zero. You don’t have to go to every dealer, but at least 2-3.

I would never go to a dealer to buy a car without having another best offer in hand first. I always start with an internet sales quote (Edmunds, CarsDirect, Costco, etc.) which shortens the negotiations dramatically. And I’ve always been able to get a dealer to beat an offer in hand, if one doesn’t another will. And if they say we’ll match, I say “that wouldn’t be fair to the other dealer, so you need to come down $500 or X or I’m going back to the other dealer.”

Well yeah I'm assuming the OP has done the standard pre-work, before walking into the dealer.

And in some parts of the country, there might not be a 2nd or 3rd dealer in a reasonable distance, depending on the make of car. It's one thing if you want a popular Toyota, but another entirely, say, if you want a Volvo.

Yes, for sure, the "best offer" is good tomorrow, and the day after, and it might come down a smidge, but not double the current discount.

(oh and yeah, do this on the last week of the month, not the first. I bought my last two cars on December 29th, and got deals I was happy with)

 

[imjustawarrior]

Lots of good advice. I'll throw in one more thing. I like to look at online forums where people post what they pay for a car. I find the lowest price that someone has paid and use that as my benchmark for negotiating. I also get quotes from every dealer that has inventory within range that I am willing to drive. I did this a year ago, and there was one dealership that was clearly better than everyone else. I got their best quote and got the local dealership to match it. It save me from having to drive 2 hours each way to get the car.

All this has to be balanced with your time and mental health. Squeezing out the last few hundred dollars can take a lot of effort.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I was glad that the local Subaru dealer pays their employees a salary so there’s no negotiation. Saturn used that approach also. When I emailed quotes about a car last week they lowered the price. I’m sure that’s because they had 30 2024 Impreza’s on the lot.

 

[OldShooter]

... And in some parts of the country, there might not be a 2nd or 3rd dealer in a reasonable distance, depending on the make of car. ...

Nope, no such thing. The task of the buyer is to convince the local selling dealer that the distance to the competition is "reasonable" whether he (the buyer) actually believes that or not. Same story on the competitive car, color, and options. Whether they actually are satisfactory is a secret that only the buyer knows. I once flew 700 miles to pick up and drive home a car I had bought.

I'd wager that virtually everyone in the country can find a competitive seller who is within a couple of hours flight and a few hundred bucks ticket cost. The selling dealer can arrange transport for the new car if the buyer does not want to drive it home. On the scale of what cars cost these days, the extra cost of an airplane ticket or two and a car transporter ride are not a big deal.