No haggle pricing vs. Negotiating

[proveitwithdata]

A number of years ago friends were interested in buying a new car. They aren't car people. They knew I had been researching Honda Accords and assumed that if I thought they were good cars, they would be good cars. They didn't even care what colour it was. They asked how much they should pay. I told them what I thought would be a good price.

They went to the dealership, pulled a salesman aside and said they wanted to buy a car. "We'll pay you xx for a new Honda Accord". He said "Come into my office and let's talk". "We can't sell one for that price, not even close". My friends smiled and restated what they were willing to pay. There were many trips to talk to the sales manager (probably about golf or their kids birthday parties - who knows). My friends just smiled and restated their original offer. After about an hour of this back and forth they got the car for exactly that original offer.

Afterwards they said it had been the best buying experience of their lives. They knew exactly what would be a good price and wouldn't budge. The only question for the dealer was "do you want to sell a car?"

So how to know what's a good price? In the US, Consumer Reports can tell you what a particular model sells for (not just the MSRP, but what they actually sell for). There might be a small charge for that information. That information is of no value in Canada because our prices are different (higher) so I haven't looked into that service.

so much information these days is available for free. Model specific forums sometimes have group threads of price paids for free.

You can take that info and basically ask all the dealers nearby, and you should be able to get what you want.

Even for tesla there are discounts that most normies will not get because they are not in the know.

 

[The Critic]

I don't have an issue with the dealership and salesperson making money. This is probably a departure from how I used to approach this matter, but I ultimately like to benchmark what an acceptable number should be.

During the process, I will probably find one salesperson who I prefer working with (over the others). Having a no-haggle business model eliminates the ability for me to give that salesperson an opportunity to compete.

 

[proveitwithdata]

A question i have for folks who like the no haggle price model, has a dealership ever balked at an msrp deal during normal inventory times? Just walking into, offer to pay sticker price and tax and walk out with a new car?

 

[supton]

A question i have for folks who like the no haggle price model, has a dealership ever balked at an msrp deal during normal inventory times? Just walking into, offer to pay sticker price and tax and walk out with a new car?

Bought at sticker in 2000, 2004, 2011, 2013 (albeit used), 2021. I think on all the typical doc fee was on top of that though. Whatever was on the sticker, no ADM listed. 2004 and 2011 I did add some warranty and on the 2011 prepaid service—but I got 0% apr on that, so no issues financing that. Test drive, get the number. Not hard at all. Would not have gone in the first place if they marked up from msrp.

On my last buy, in 2023, albeit used, I went in with an internet price and did get it for that plus most of their bogus doc fee. I think they caved, mind you the first go around had substantial marking up, thinking the backend guy could make it up, not sure, but he sure did try. Internet price was more than 4k lower than the window price, which was pretty substantial difference (I would not have gone in had I seen that window price).

 

[Malo83]

Bought my last 2 new cars thru the internet with the dealer, found the car I wanted and let them know, haggled a little bit and waited for the response, couple of days later got my car at my price.

 

[zzyzzx]

Saturn had no haggle price dealers, and see where they are now.

CarMax has no hassle fixed high prices and they seem to be doing fine.

 

[dbias]

Common mistake is people negotiate off sticker price, or invoice, then get hosed for fees bringing the price right back up again. The only price that matters is the out the door price, how the dealer arrives at that price doesn't matter. I know what the price is with tax, and tags, to me that is all that matters. I laugh at people bragging they got 5%, or whatever under invoice. Then conveniently forget the doc fees, and any other fees the dealer tacked on erasing the discounts, quickly in fact. Again the only number that matters is what it costs to get the vehicle out the door. An educated customer can be a dealer's worst nightmare.

Exactly. I have never bought a car without using an “out the door” figure or in the case of a trade in “out the door difference”. And I have very rarely bought a car where the dealer didn’t have to call me back at the end of the month to see if I was still looking to buy a car. I’ve also been offered a job by two different dealers.
The way I see it they can make their money on the suckers and meet the quotas with me.
I’ve never HAD to buy a car and that helps.

 

[Chris142]

I kinda miss haggling. Plus imo it drives the prices up. When we bought our fj the dealer would not haggle. Wife really wanted it and there was another family waiting to see if we were going to buy it. Plus it was the best condition one I found. We paid several thousand more than we should have due those things.

 

[proveitwithdata]

CarMax has no hassle fixed high prices and they seem to be doing fine.

Didnt they exit the new car market, and focus soley on used car market and carmax dealer auctions?

Their inventory leaves a lot to be desired, but at least they do have a a solid refund policy

 

[proveitwithdata]

I kinda miss haggling. Plus imo it drives the prices up. When we bought our fj the dealer would not haggle. Wife really wanted it and there was another family waiting to see if we were going to buy it. Plus it was the best condition one I found. We paid several thousand more than we should have due those things.

haggling does not drive the price up, what drives the price up is folks choosing the car over the deal. Its partly why adms exist. For example, the Type R civic, dealers were charging 50k over asking, and some gladly obliged. I get the type r is special, but 100k can buy a whole lot of special new car. We see this with Tesla and the Cybertruck, where Tesla is openly advertising a special edition that can bump your delivery date up for $$$. Folks are willing to pay that. We dont hear outrage about the foundational edition (which is what Tesla is calling it), being a white collar ADM.

When purchasing a car, its either the deal or the car.

 

[TimeFlies]

I didn't pay asking price for my home, F150, PWC, ATV, snowmobile, furniture, new flooring, most hotel rooms I've stayed in, new tires, hunting rifle, TVs, many parts, new furnace, new windows, and much more.

Dealerships have been screwing customers over for generations, so all trust has been broken.
If dealers want to clean up their industry, stop the games and lies, and earn trust back, after some years, they will get trust. But it is going to take time and effort on their part. Don't blame the consumer, we have been conditioned to expect nothing but shady dealings, and that we need to protect ourselves, and our wallets from them.

 

[supton]

Few years ago I sold a popup camper. I listed at $1,200 and hoped for $1k, give or take. The guy who called on it showed when he said he would, looked it over, had a good chat. Said he'd take it and started pulling out bills. I told him to keep $200 as I had listed it high and since he hadn't ___ me around, that I was good with $1k. I think we were both happy with the transaction.

Clearly a career in sales was never in the cards for me.

 

[John105]

Few years ago I sold a popup camper. I listed at $1,200 and hoped for $1k, give or take. The guy who called on it showed when he said he would, looked it over, had a good chat. Said he'd take it and started pulling out bills. I told him to keep $200 as I had listed it high and since he hadn't ___ me around, that I was good with $1k. I think we were both happy with the transaction.

Clearly a career in sales was never in the cards for me.

Yeah, you and my wife would not succeed in sales. But, if you are like my wife, my sneaking suspicion is that you get gratification on giving and being fair. Those are not bad things.

Shameless plug for me. I left a 25% tip yesterday at our favorite restaurant. Once again they treated us well and the food was excellent. I felt good doing so.