Buying a new car today, need tips?

[MonsterD]

Forgot to add something I did everytime I was buying a car including the times I bought one- attempting to just walk out of the place. :laugh2: This will work if you are involved enough in the negotiations. Had one walk out the front door and beg me to come back. This is not necessarily an attitude tactic, be polite and civil and be a SYMPATHETIC character. If you are like this and consistent you can actually draw more power in getting them to budge, the walking out part puts it over the top. You are not big angry pushy time customer, this will not work in finer details of negotiating.

 

[trickblue]

Edmunds.com has fairly extensive advice ("10 Steps to Buying a New Car").

I'd recommend that you seperate the decision into two distinct steps.

1. Decided what you want to buy. --- Do some research on the models (e.g., Consumer Reports), take some test drives, and decide which car (or couple of cars) you'd like to buy. When the salesperson presses, just tell him that you are not planning to make a decision today.

2. Then decide where you want to buy it.

It is a good idea to visit at least a couple of dealerships and to contact a few more. ... so that you can play one off of another. Soliciting best prices via the internet can be helpful too, especially if you are not so hot at negotiations.

This...

Decide on what you want. test drive everything and everything. Then walk away.


Lets say you pick an Audi..... Go home, and email several audi dealers close to you and tell them EXACTLY what you want....leather, nav, etc, etc.

Tell them in the email you are sending this out to several audi dealers and whoever emails me the best price wins.

You will then get several prices back that are remarkably cheap because the dealers know they are competing against each other..........

Then take the lowest priced offer you get, lets say the price is $30,000....you print out that offer and change the 30K to 29K. Bring it to the dealer that you want to buy from and say you were offered this car for this price, but you'd rather buy it here because its closer to your house.

They will match the price, and you just got a SMOKIN deal.

I've done this on several cars and I've actually bought them and compared my new car price to a used car price and have actually bought a new car for less than what edmunds says I can get one used for.

Plus there is no haggling.

and this...

 

[TwoCentPlain]

At 6'6", I reccomend the Smart Car or MiniCooper Both are great for the environment and chicks dig the MiniCooper.

The Smart Car you can pack in your luggage when you go to Japan.

 

[Dodger12]

Going to be purchasing a new car today, I think and I need some tips on what to bring in so the sales guys don't confuse my feeble mind with their jibber-jabber and I end up getting jerked.

Any ideas?

I've got info from True Market Value from Edmunds.com, but not even sure how to utilize it as ammunition when it comes time to negotiate.


For the record, I'm not even positive what I want yet. I'm 6'6" with absurdly long legs so I need to test drive a couple to see what fits best.

Right now I'd say it's between a 2011 Ford Edge and an Audi A4 or maybe even the Audi A3, since the hatch would be more versatile. But who knows, maybe long the way I'll find something else.

Thanks.

I looked into the Audi A4's a few years back but they were too small for the price. My brother-in-law also bought an A4 and dumped it after a couple of years because the back seat was way too small for passengers.

I ended up with a Honda Accord and it is the best car, by far, that I've ever owned. My only hang up at the time was buying a foreign car but you just can't beat the quality of a Honda relative to the price. I've owned Fords, Chevys and Chryslers and I'll never go back. I've got 142,000 miles on my Honda and I've never had any work done beyond the routine maintenance (knock on wood).

What worked for me was I e-mailed Honda dealerships in my area with the exact make/model of Honda I wanted. If I recall, either Edmunds or AOL had a web site that allowed me to pick the car with the extras I wanted and then e-mailed my request to the dealers. I received three quotes, all of which were different (as much as $2,000) which surprised me bacause a lot of friends told me there's not a whole lot of leeway for Honda pricing because of their popularity. In any event, I started with the lowest price as my baseline and worked from there; I wasn't going to pay a penny more than that and in my case, a dealer beat the lowest price and I bought the car. I've never plugged a car manufacturer before but for the price, quality and reliability, I won't buy anything other than a Honda.

 

[locked&loaded]

Dont buy a new car. Be smart, go used. Money wise.

 

[Kangaroo]

Dont buy a new car. Be smart, go used. Money wise.

When I bought my wifes car last year I got a new car for 2k more than the used ones the way the market was at the time and how hard up the dealers where I got a really good deal on my Wifes Corrola

 

[Kevinicus]

Personally, I like the way the Edge looks though I haven't actually sat in one. I rented a Ford Fusion in Texas once, I really liked it except for the turn signal was driving me nuts. I hated the way it sounded. Other than that, I was impressed with the Fusion. The Edge appears to be the SUV version of the Fusion. (same class of vehicle)

If you're 6'6, you had better sit in an A4 first. A4s are Audi's smaller sports sedans. (never seen an A3, I'm guessing they are a newer model) A guy I used to work with was looking at the A4, but he ended up going with the A6 due to his size. (and it cost him! :laugh2: )

Don't buy anything that is related to Chrysler. (include Mercedes Benz) Their quality right now is one of the lowest of all auto makers.

Best car by a very wide margin I've ever had is a Dodge.

I say go buy a Challenger, there's plenty of space.

 

[MonsterD]

Best car by a very wide margin I've ever had is a Dodge.

I say go buy a Challenger, there's plenty of space.

Not sure what specifically you base that on, everyone has a different taste. But he is right the Daimler merger and break left Chrysler/Dodge in the doldrums of car makers.

 

[CliffnDallas]

Going to be purchasing a new car today, I think and I need some tips on what to bring in so the sales guys don't confuse my feeble mind with their jibber-jabber and I end up getting jerked.

Any ideas?

I've got info from True Market Value from Edmunds.com, but not even sure how to utilize it as ammunition when it comes time to negotiate.


For the record, I'm not even positive what I want yet. I'm 6'6" with absurdly long legs so I need to test drive a couple to see what fits best.

Right now I'd say it's between a 2011 Ford Edge and an Audi A4 or maybe even the Audi A3, since the hatch would be more versatile. But who knows, maybe long the way I'll find something else.

Thanks.

Pay Cash...

Google..."Confessions of a car salesman"

 

[Hoofbite]

What did you buy?

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Yeah, daddy long legs. What did you end up getting?

 

[MonsterD]

Yeah, daddy long legs. What did you end up getting?

He bought this for 1.4 million

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/BugattiVeyron16.4_3.jpg

Here is what happened when he was driving it home

[youtube]IQphzVfsnEA[/youtube]

LMAO!!

 

[CanuckCowboysFan]

I can cosign this method. When I bought my G35 this is exactly what I did. Make sure you tell them the price you want is out the door - also, now is about the time that the 2011s are coming in...if the 2010 is untouched on the lot and is nearly identical, make a play for it.

Ford Edge will cost you more in repairs than anything else though. I'd stay away.

what years your G35?

 

[TheCount]

What did you buy?

Didn't even make it to the dealership. As some may know, I'm getting married on Sunday and I got sucked into some family stuff that ended up burning up daylight. Plan now is to go in the morning.

Best car by a very wide margin I've ever had is a Dodge.

I say go buy a Challenger, there's plenty of space.

I've got a 2001 Dodge Durango and don't plan on owning another Dodge the rest of my natural life. I do love the look of the challenger though, but the interior leaves a lot to be desired.

Where you located at

New York City



Thanks for the tips guys, I'm kinda in a rush though so not sure I can take my time like I'd normally like to and because of several factors, I basically only have a few days to hammer this out.

 

[Doomsday]

Make sure you get them to sell it to you UNDER MSRP.

 

[CliffnDallas]

Also check out carsdirect.com

 

[ZeroClub]

Didn't even make it to the dealership.

Thanks for the tips guys, I'm kinda in a rush though so not sure I can take my time like I'd normally like to and because of several factors, I basically only have a few days to hammer this out.

O.K., here's a Plan B.

Buy a Consumer Reports used car guide and take a ride to the East Haven, CT CarMax. They've got a decent sized inventory and you'll be able to see and sit in a wide range of makes and models all at once. Consider only the used cars that are rated as highly reliable and/or recommended by the magazine.

Prices at CarMax are reasonable, especially considering the simplicity of the car buying process there ... you won't get a steal but you won't get hosed either. You don't negotiate on price, everything is priced as marked. It's fast and it's easy, which sounds like what you are looking for.

There are differences between the used car market and the new car market, so there will be some cars that you might not consider buying new that'll look good to you as a used car. (e.g., You might prefer a BMW over a Volvo new but due to differing depreciation, a well equipped Volvo S60 might look better as a used car). I'd suggest looking at something that's about 3 years old and coming off of a lease (as opposed to a former rental car).

If you have a trade-in, best to try to sell it yourself.

 

[TheCount]

O.K., here's a Plan B.

Buy a Consumer Reports used car guide and take a ride to the East Haven, CT CarMax.

Thanks for the tip but I definitely wouldn't have had time to go to CT.


So for those interested, I ended up getting the new 2011 Ford Edge AWD Limited in Kona Blue Metallic (not my first choice of color, although it's growing on me) but I was inches from getting the loaded Taurus SHO AWD.

In the end my Gadget Lust won out, as well as the fact that for how big the SHO is, it doesn't feel that way inside. I'm sure I'll regret passing on all that horse power, I kinda regret it already but the Edge is just more versatile.

The sticker price was $40,640 but after plenty of back and forth and eventually walking out before having the sales manager come outside and talk us back inside, we ended up paying $37,000 OTD (before tax).

I feel like we maybe could have done better, but I'm not unhappy with the price.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

How come you didn't get an SUV? Why were you so gung ho to get a coupe?

 

[ZeroClub]

Congrats!