How comfortable are you in directly negotiating with dealers?

[King Luis]

i have a set monthly price in my head. if they cannot get close to it or they are rude, i'm out the door. easy as that. i have no problem waiting a few years as my wife an i have been working from home the past year have have barely driven our second car. so waiting a couple years and going back and asking for a lower price is the other option for me. i don't need to put my family in this debt. but we will need a new car in the next couple years.

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[Judge Rufus]

I feel like there are too many unknowns and the early deal is not likely going to be the best deal. IMO

If you don't mind, what are these things you believe are unknown at this time, that would influence a pricing decision between you and your dealer?

 

[gofastguy]

Last time with my JL Wrangler, the local dealers had no interest in coming anywhere close to the volume deal from a few states away, and I suspect it will be the same with my Bronco. Buying out of state was so smooth and easy compared to the usual process that I will not hesitate to do it this time too!

 

[Lab00Rat]

Sat in a dealership on Saturday with my kiddo and was negotiating for a new car. Dealer came with the offer and I flat out said it was a bad deal to their face. No way to salvage the the sale after I was honest and straight forward. I DISPISE car dealers and their arrogance at the idea we "have" to buy from them, so we'd take whatever offer we are given.
I feel bad for my kiddo who really wanted the new car. The dealer knows that kiddo scored over 100 on their sales metrics, so my kiddo will be buying a car soon. However, it will not be from them - ever.

Sales people can really ruin the experience sometimes.

 

[AZHUND]

I actually really like the car buying process (which is part of the problem of me swapping out my vehicles too often as I actually look forward to it).

The only rule I follow is to never "fall in love" or think that you have to have a specific vehicle. They are just mass-produced (my price range is generally $30-50k depending on what it is - so not exactly hand crafted lambos in there) vehicles being cranked out of a factory that are in no way special or unique - if one dealer or 'deal' sucks, just go to another dealer.

 

[Lcubed]

you forgot the option of 'will delay
and buy directly from tesla et al instead of a dealer'

 

[JonD]

I hate the whole process. I usually do everything over the phone first. Get the agreed FINAL price and sign off on it. I hate the shit show at the dealership for pickup, especially financing. So I arrange to just pick up keys and car and that's usually 30 minutes at that point.

No offense to any dealers on this site, that's just what works for me.

 

[Velociraptor]

I hate negotiating. My daughter who is an attorney is a master at it. It would probably be worth it to fly her in just to do the deal Harder to negotiate on a new model in high demand for sure. In the end, the money gained or lost to me through negotiating does not make a bit of difference to my financial well being. I also never feel like I am winning or losing. I am just doing a transaction and whether I pay more or less, I feel a ton better off than the person I am dealing with, so even if the sales guy feels like he "got" me, I could care less. That said, I do a lot of research before buying a vehicle, so have an idea what invoice is, holdback, etc. I got a good price on the Subaru I purchased last year and the sales guy was really chill. Probably my best buying experience. I have no idea what to expect from my local Ford dealer. I made the reservation back in July and have not been contacted by them and have not visited them. I assume they will contact me for the order and we can talk some then but the final negotiation will be when the car arrives. Again, a new model and a custom order so who knows. I have no xplan or any discount like that.

 

[Gamecock]

I love buying cars and trucks, as it is fun to negotiate. It's like a game and you can negotiate a bunch of deals at once to get the best. This one is less fun as the allocation/reservation process has tied our hands, but it is what it is.

 

[thenewjs]

Im cool with negotiating, but I refused to be lied to. Especially when a lie can be exposed with simple google search.

 

[pan-y-cerveza]

One tip I do use is creating a burner email account. I setup something like [email protected] (I do not own this address) and then get group messages going to the internet teams at multiple dealerships. The nice thing is that the day I purchase the vehicle, I shut down the account and do not have to worry about endless junk mail from 20 plus dealers.

This is the best advice. It's how I bought my last vehicle. Spent a morning compiling a list of dealers in the provinces I was willing to travel to and then just sent a standard email. Went on from there. Whittled it down to a few and then played them off each other. Took me very little time and then I just logged out of that email.

I used the same email when talking to dealers before I reserved a Bronco too.

Saves having it all on your personal email. Dealers love sending you emails forever.... And ever... And ever. So many emails.

 

[Judge Rufus]

I assume they will contact me for the order and we can talk some then but the final negotiation will be when the car arrives.

When ordering a new vehicle direct from the factory, the final negotiation takes place when you place the order, not when it arrives. They aren't going to place the order with the factory, unless you have agreed on a price, fees, etc. If you include financing in your price negotiation, then that will take place upon arrival and settlement of the price you agreed upon at order.

 

[GetWild]

Sat in a dealership on Saturday with my kiddo and was negotiating for a new car. Dealer came with the offer and I flat out said it was a bad deal to their face. No way to salvage the the sale after I was honest and straight forward. I DISPISE car dealers and their arrogance at the idea we "have" to buy from them, so we'd take whatever offer we are given.
I feel bad for my kiddo who really wanted the new car. The dealer knows that kiddo scored over 100 on their sales metrics, so my kiddo will be buying a car soon. However, it will not be from them - ever.

Sales people can really ruin the experience sometimes.

what was it that made it a bad deal?

 

[Lab00Rat]

what was it that made it a bad deal?

They wanted 6% on a 72 month loan.

Money is cheap right now, and that rate is ridiculous.

Also, no way kiddo was going to get locked into a 72 month loan. 60 at the most, but it was 6% regardless of term.

 

[Vigor]

Serious question
I'm curious how some of you plan to "walk away from the dealership" if you had your car ordered and delivered there

Or are you saying you're doing the negotiating in December prior to ordering?

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