Car buying question please

[martyi]

Should one be able to negotiate a better deal by ordering a new car to his or her specifications? This is to be sure the color and interior and all the right options are just like you want them. Or, buy one that will do off the lot?

The reason I ask is that someone said it is always better to buy off the lot and another person said just the opposite. I asked why and he said the dealer pays the same for the car but the cash back is better because it does not tie up inventory and space. Accordingly, you should get the ordered car at a little better price. Does anyone know?

 

[bretfraz]

Dealers finance the cars on their lots via a loan called "floor plan". The longer a car sits in thier inventory, the more floor plan they have to pay. Additionally, dealers may receive short-term volume incentives from their mfr as well as marketing/advertising spiffs to move certain cars.

Like most retail businesses, the dealers goal is to turn inventory as quickly as possible. So the pressure is on to sell cars on the lot today, and that's usually where the best prices are negotiated.

But, if you're ordering a hot-selling car where few discounts are offered, and you negotiate a great price on your vehicle, that will put you ahead of the game.

So I guess it depends on what car you're ordering and how much of a real discount you think you can get versus taking one off the lot. The car business is very dynamic so the answer to this may change over time.

 

[GarrettSocling]

I believe off the lot. The longer a car is sitting on a lot, the more the manufacturer reimburses the dealership for the time/space, and the more likely the dealership will want to move it and put something newer and more likely to move in its place. I think...

 

[Fatboymoe]

Most dealerships can and will do dealer trades to get the car you want. They can do a search and find just about any combination of options you want from other dealers. You can also sometimes do a search of dealer inventories to find the car you want.

 

[spiderbypass]

What type of car are you looking for?

 

[martyi]

The car is for my grandmother. She is looking at several but I think her favorite is the Mercury Milan.

 

[CBDFrontier06]

There are often manufacturer rebates ($1000, $1500, etc) that if you read the fine print, they're redeemable only when you take delivery from dealer stock. If you have certain color / option combos in mind, build your vehicle on Mercuryvehicles.com, search dealer inventory and go visit the dealer. I prefer to just go look, rather than building as most often the colors look WAY different online than they do in person. I THOUGHT I wanted a Nissan Frontier in Red Brawn until I saw one in person...I ended up with silver. Happy hunting!

 

[BlueWorld]

This depends entirely on the Make/Model and dealer and I don't think there is a correct general answer.

If there aren't substantial dealer stock rebates you should get a better deal on an ordered car because the dealer has NOT had to pay any loan interest. A car sitting on the lot for three months has spent interest money in it that needs to be recovered.

That being said, most high volume dealers won't pay much attention to you because they want to move the inventory, and the sales guy you're talking to today probably won't even be there when your order arrives from the factory.

 

[CharBaby]

Lately I've been buying my NEW vehicles online. What I do is: Get on a web site that has an icon for a "GET A FREE DEALER QUOTE" (cars.com is a good start),and click on that. Do a web search and you'll fine many hits. Your ZIP CODE, email address and a phone number is required. This will tell you wheather or not there are dealers in your area that have sales people dedicated to online purchacers like us. If not, it will state that there are "No Dealers In Your Area". So then try another zip code! Maybe from a city near by. For example: I live in Rochester but I've been getting my cars from Buffalo, 80 miles away. There are no dealers in my area for the particular vehicles that I have been requesting, so I've had to dig up another zip code. I have put in a request online and have gotten phone calls and emails from dealers anywhere from 2 hours to by the end of the day. I've done this for my father-in-law as well and have had much success with Chevrolet in my area. We have received great discounts and all applicable rebates when working online and also very happy with the dealership sales people that have contacted us. The sales people must know that if your shopping online, then you must be also be doing your homework online. My strongest advice is to do your homework and find out what interest rates are and if you can even get the loan. And then find out what the invoice is and also what rebates are being applied and what the dealer hold back is. The "Dealer Hold Back" is also known a "kick back", and this is the amount of dollars that the dealership receives from the MFG just for selling the vehicle. It's a percentage(2%-3%) based on either "Invoice" or MSRP. I've been getting new cars lately for below invoice AND! with applicable rebetes if any. I received a phone call recently from a sales person that said to me: "You just tell me what you gotta have". Also remember that a new car loan is at a lesser percentage than a used car loan, so you could get a new car with payments equal to or less than you could have on a used car. This also depends on cash and trade in, bla bla bla. Let the sales person do a dealership swap for the exact vehicle that your looking for. I don't like ordering from the factory(American vehicles only). Can't order imports from the factory unless it a BENZ, ROLLS, JAG or something like that. When dealers do a swap/trade, it doesn't cost you more even if the sales person tells you that. Though there is an advertising fee that you will have to pay because the dealership has to pay it and you can't get away from it. Usually it in the bottom line price of the vehicle where the sales person can't bargan any further. They have to stop somewhere! Invoice or below and your doing fine.

 

[martyi]

Thanks to all. Charbaby, I sent you a private email - I'm from Geneva!!

 

[CharBaby]

Sorry marty, I seem to have lost your private message. Can you send it again please. Also list the current miles on the odometer and the general condition of grandmothers car along with your Zip.

 

[wiswind]

The Tip about being aware of interest rates for car loans is a good one.
Know the going interest rate for the amount / length of loan, and what the monthly payments will be.

This way, if the dealer tries to stick you with a higher rate, or......much more common, sneaks in "credit life / illness / layoff" insurance and other loan insurance, you will know right away when they quote you a payment that is $20-$30 more per month than what you calculated.
I have yet to buy a vehicle, new or used, and have a dealership loan person NOT write the extra insurance in....without telling me.
They are usually put off when you tell them that you do not want it.

I believe that most people don't even know that they have this extra insurance, so in addition to paying an extra amount each month for something that they don't know that they have.....in the event that they have an event that would qualify them to collect, they don't, because they don't know that they have the insurance.

Be aware that the sales pitch is not over once you have signed the papers with the sales person.
Don't let your guard down yet.....
The loan officer (be it at the dealership or at the bank) is also working on commission, and it is in their best interest to sell you more stuff.

Also, it seems that the language that sales people speak is "how much per month"....and people walk away with a 5 year loan on a 3 year old used car.
If you plan on keeping the car for only a few years....you have a loan repayment that is greater than the value of the vehicle facing you.
If you plan on keeping the vehicle.....you hope to not be making big payments when you are facing repair bills.....
60K mile service can include some expensive "routine" repairs, like timing belts, etc.

[ August 18, 2006, 08:17 PM: Message edited by: wiswind ]

 

[dwendt44]

Here's another shopping site that has gotten rave reviews.


http://www.edmunds.com/

 

[mikemc]

A dealer does not have to sell you a car you want to order. They DO need to sell the vehicle already on the lot. Also, some new car rebates only apply to dealer stock.

 

[ChromiumSteel]

Get her a Scion with "Pure Pricing". You'll know what your paying right upfront.

 

[CharBaby]

I beleive that martyi's grandmother wants a car that she can get in and out of more easily than what the Scion is offering. Plus she probably wants to stay with FORD.