Consumer guide new car pricing report

[radiometer]

I recently used Edmonds.com and submitted requests for quotes on several cars and models. With them you have the information you need. Some dealers would not quote me a price. Several offered me something below invoice.

On the car I bought I paid less than what was listed as what most people were paying for it.

I don't necessarily think you need to do it the way I did. There are several other good options posted.

 

[Pablo]

Yes I say the $12 is worth it. It's from consumer reports. As much as I dislike their nasty political bias (

), they give you the real price the dealer pays and list all the details. Anyone can find out the so called "invoice price", but it's the discount/kickbacks the dealer pays that is the secret.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars.htm

The best and quickest and most eco friendly way is to email the 5 closest dealers and tell them to give you their best price on a car OR what I do: figure out the best price you can and low ball them. As usual - find the club web for the car you want and see what others pay - amazing.

 

[Cutehumor]

I'm planning on buying a new vehicle within the next month. I heard about how this $12 report can tell you what the dealer paid for the car and it says invoices aren't the true "invoices". anyone use these reports? did they help you get a good deal? thanks

 

[mikemc]

I have always used kbb to get both an invoice price for a new vehicle and a fair trade-in value for my vehicle, then I know how much difference I am willing to pay and I trade on cash difference, not monthly payment.

 

[Steve S]

look up Kelly blue book on the web. To be totally honest don't pay any more than the dealer cost .There's no shortage of cars and the dealer still makes money on the deal. I bought my 92 4x4 x cab , my wifes 2002 Ford diesel Super Duty x cab and my 2006 Tacoma 4x4 x cab at dealer invoice cost plus tax and dmv paper work fees.


duper

 

[Cutehumor]

Thanks for the options! I never bought a new car before but I've been with my dad who bought nothing but new cars when I was growing up. It's an experience I have been dreading. I'm inexperienced at car negotiations so anything is helpful to me. There's no rush to buy, I can wait up to 6 weeks if I need to. Maybe that's enough time to wear down the dealer

However, my wife wants to test drive the car before I start emailing them to make sure that the Pontiac G6 is the car she wants. if I do the e mail method, do I talk to their "internet salesperson" or the fleet manager? I heard of others on internet forums emailing one or the other.

 

[Pablo]

By all means test drive the car multiple times before you do the email thing. In fact, only start emailing when you are serious - because it is serious negotiation. But you can walk/delete any time you like. Don't feel rushed, though.

Most dealers have an "internet dude/dudette" - but just email the address given on their website. We are talking car sales people, titles aren't important (

).....

For example, Honda Odyssey has a huge (bitog like) thread on what people paid for 2006 models. VERY informative for Ody buyers. Yeah it's a bit painful to see people obtained a better deal than I but since I did my homework, it's usually not that much better!

And sadly humorous when someone pays MSRP or above

 

[Ramblin Fever]

I learned the hard way of paying $23k for a 1997 Rodeo in March of 1998, when other people paid $17-19k.

Not much different, but enough to make one realize that they could've bargained better.

This is not to say that it hasn't been worth every dime, but it did open my eyes to understanding the salesman game.

 

[Gary Allan]

On dealing with salemen ..as soon as I hear anything confusing or outside the scope of my concept of the deal I walk. I tell them upfront that if I catch a whiff of playing a shell game ..I'm gone. If they get anything ..it's out in the open ..or they are better tricksters then I can detect.

I don't begrudge them making a living ..but I really hate to be conned.


I went to the Verizon store since I was due for a credit equipment upgrade. I said to the guy "Now I need you to configure this deal so that in 6 weeks I don't have the urge to come back here and grab you by the tie and slam you into the wall over there". The guy was visibly moved by this approach and recommended that I wait another 3 weeks and he can offer me a better deal then he could at that date. I only asked him to assure that I wouldn't want to do that. He knew what I meant ...don't jerk me around.

 

[oily boyd]

I'll second Edmunds.com (this is the correct spelling).

In July 2005, I sent a Request for Quote to a local dealer via Edmunds and got a 2005 Camry LE for almost $3000 under sticker plus special financing [36 mos @ 1.9%].

I knew the price before I walked in to the dealer and we made the deal in less than an hour (including a test drive to make sure the car had no problems).

For me, hours spent haggling for that last $300-400 probably takes a few months off my life due to extended time at high blood pressure and adrenaline.

If extended warranties aren't your thing - be prepared. The finance "manager" will use some creative tactics and make you sign a paper saying that they offered and you declined (I wonder how many people "crack" when confronted with that?).

Take Care, Good Luck and please update us on what happens!

 

[Schmoe]

SPEND THE 12 BUCKS, MONEY WELL WORTH IT AND WILL SAVE YOU SOME MONEY. I used it on our 06 Accord. Nothing irks a dealer more than a well armed consumer. Get the report, take it with you and let them KNOW THAT YOU HAVE THAT. They will not try and fool you as an unarmed customer. Just tell them...look, I know what you paid for the car and I know what your holdback is. This is what I want and I know you have to make some money as well. You don't have to waste your time or spend countless hours on me trying to convince me. I'm willing to offer you (put your price here) over your price. If you don't agree with that, thank you for your time and I will find someone who will.
Just be aware of the dealer options. They'll act dumb about it because those prices don't come out with the report. Getting the report is fast. They will either email it to you or fax it within 5 minutes.

 

[Captain Howdy]

Your wife and you should test drive several similar models to the G-6 before you decide. You'll probably end up with something other than the G-6. Besides test driving is half the fun of buying a new car.

 

[SSDude]

Edmunds usually includes the dealer holdbacks. That gives you a better indicator of what the dealer really pays for the car. Dealer pay well below invoice.

 

[steveh]

carsdirect.com is a good site for new car prices.

 

[jmacmaster]

One nice thing about edmunds.com, at least the last time I used it, in March of 2003, is that you plug in your zip code and go through their process and they tell you what the average actual new vehicle sales price is in your area for a given vehicle with a given package or set of options. This is particularly valuable if you live in an area where the buyers of new vehicles are generally pretty discriminating and do their homework before buying and don't let the salesman screw them. I did this in buying an new 03 Ford Ranger and let the salesman at the first dealer I went to know it, and we never negotiated. He offered me a price right off the bat that I couldn't refuse and I accepted it. We made the deal in less than 5 minutes. I loved it.

 

[steveh]

Some dealers will show you the invoice if you ask. Look at the invoice for the letters HB it is the dollar amount of the hold back money. Subtract that amount from the invoice price and that is the dealer cost. Also subtract the rebate from the dealer cost. It comes from the automaker and has nothing to do with the invoice price. Also remember that the dealer makes most of its money selling over priced add ons like rustprofing,paint and fabric protection,extended warrantys,life,disability and gap insurance on your loan. So they have alot more ways to rip people off.

 

[PandaBear]

Usually how I did it was to find newspaper ads with huge sales and limited inventory, then go to a similar dealer (or the same dealer) and demand the exact same config/cars. Either that or nothing.

It depends on how popular is the car, some cars like Acura TL and Mazda3 will not go much lower than MSRP and if you demand invoice, the sales will kick you out of the stealership. It is all about demand and supply.

 

[michaelc80]

As you can see, it's clear that you need to do some homework up front. When I bought my Subaru last spring I came in armed with a lot of knowledge (including pricing from other dealers) and was given an excellent price right from the start. I have no complaints and have yet to see anyone purchase a similar model (on the Subaru forums) for much less.

 

[thooks]

Cutehumor,

If you are looking towards Honda,

Stay away from the Honda dealer in Mufreesboro.

I'd drive to Montgomery, AL if I had to choose between Reddel (sp) and McConnell Honda in Montgomery.