Originally Posted By: cashmoney
If you want to pay lowest price for a new car, especially for a car like Honda that has few variations you need to use email and phone to buy the car. Call 3 local dealers and ask them to give you their best drive out price on the new car. Specify the exact model and trim level you want. Ask them to provide written drive out quote via email within 24 hours and you will decide based on lowest price. Price should be quoted as total cost plus tax, tag and title. Accept no other type of quote as they are attempting to obfuscate and rip you off. Once you have the three quotes you can call each dealer and play one off the other and give them your counter offer and see who accepts it. Waiting until a day or two before the end of the month will also help as they want to make monthly quota.
Going into dealer and haggling is the worst and most expensive way to buy a car. The longer you sit and commit your time and attention at the dealership the worst your deal will get.
This is good advice. Although I'd say don't call, just deal over the internet with the internet sales manager or whoever the internet person is for the particular dealer (smaller dealers might not have a dedicated person just for internet business). Often the first price over the internet will be their best price, period.
Another piece of advice that makes it much easier to compare apples to apples - ask for the lowest price they can offer BEFORE incentives or TTL. Incentives and TTL will be the same regardless of dealer (actually tax will be less if the purchase price is less). What matters is how much dealers are willing to take off of sticker price prior to rebates. Also consider how much a dealer's "doc fee" is, some are less than $100 and some are near $1000.
If you contact them over the internet with exactly what you want, and they reply or call and tell you to come in, tell them to forget it. They are trying to play games with you and get you to spend hours at the dealership and pay more money. They figure once you are there you won't leave without a car.
I also agree that waiting until near the end of the month at worst doesn't hurt and at best can save several hundred dollars or more. The last two vehicles we bought were the last day of the money and we made out better because of it. The only time I wouldn't buy at the end of the month is for something like a 4th of July sale where the manufacturer has greater than normal incentives.
If you want to pay lowest price for a new car, especially for a car like Honda that has few variations you need to use email and phone to buy the car. Call 3 local dealers and ask them to give you their best drive out price on the new car. Specify the exact model and trim level you want. Ask them to provide written drive out quote via email within 24 hours and you will decide based on lowest price. Price should be quoted as total cost plus tax, tag and title. Accept no other type of quote as they are attempting to obfuscate and rip you off. Once you have the three quotes you can call each dealer and play one off the other and give them your counter offer and see who accepts it. Waiting until a day or two before the end of the month will also help as they want to make monthly quota.
Going into dealer and haggling is the worst and most expensive way to buy a car. The longer you sit and commit your time and attention at the dealership the worst your deal will get.
This is good advice. Although I'd say don't call, just deal over the internet with the internet sales manager or whoever the internet person is for the particular dealer (smaller dealers might not have a dedicated person just for internet business). Often the first price over the internet will be their best price, period.
Another piece of advice that makes it much easier to compare apples to apples - ask for the lowest price they can offer BEFORE incentives or TTL. Incentives and TTL will be the same regardless of dealer (actually tax will be less if the purchase price is less). What matters is how much dealers are willing to take off of sticker price prior to rebates. Also consider how much a dealer's "doc fee" is, some are less than $100 and some are near $1000.
If you contact them over the internet with exactly what you want, and they reply or call and tell you to come in, tell them to forget it. They are trying to play games with you and get you to spend hours at the dealership and pay more money. They figure once you are there you won't leave without a car.
I also agree that waiting until near the end of the month at worst doesn't hurt and at best can save several hundred dollars or more. The last two vehicles we bought were the last day of the money and we made out better because of it. The only time I wouldn't buy at the end of the month is for something like a 4th of July sale where the manufacturer has greater than normal incentives.
