Tips to negotiate a brand new car purchase

[_JB_]

Title says it all. I plan on purchasing a CRZ by the end of the month if all goes well. This will be my first brand new car purchase and I know I want a CVT EX with Navi, in blue, and don't care about armrests, floormats, lighted doorsills, ect.

So going into these negotiations, any tips? With used cars in the past, I've done the, "nah I'm not interested in X car" and such but this time I know exactly what I want.

[ShazzNADES]

I just called around until I found a dealer that was willing to do an invoice deal. Then don't give in to all the other stuff they try to sell you when you get there. Also make sure they don't try to add a couple points more to the APR you get approved for.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

[hotboxn]

Do all of your negotiations online, shop multiple dealers, then shop their rates. If you have a trade-in, take it to carmax to get appraised and get an idea of what you can expect and then see what the dealer offers. If the dealer is lower, show them what carmax was offering and see if they'll match it. The best thing to do is have all of the numbers finalized at the lowest possible amount you can find all prior to stepping foot in the dealership. Once in the dealership they're going to try to sell you everything under the sun to make up their costs, just say no lol.

[Kyleseghatch]

Carmax is where I sold my old Civic and bought my CR-Z. I love thier NO BS policy.

[Browland]

I'm on my 7th car and I'm 25. This is not counting the two I have helped my wife negotiate.
The most important thing you can do is walk in there knowing EVERYTHING you possibly can about their car and your trade.

For their car know: asking price, get prices on similar cars at other dealers, know the NADA, KBB, and USAA. Ask for the invoice. Organize all of your findings neatly and prepare printouts.

For your car: look online and see what similar cars are selling for on auto trader, know the KBB, NADA, and if you can get other offers do that too. Have print outs! Don't just say this is and I saw. SHOW THEM.

Besides the money aspect know the car inside and out. When they try to point out a cool selling feature to wow your socks off you should not be surprised. You should be able to tell them more about the car than they can tell you.

Know the numbers you need to see. Do not go in with a ball park figure. Know your limit and stick to it.

DO NOT NEGOTIATE YOUR TRADE AND THE PRICE OF THEIR CAR AT THE SAME TIME, OR NEGOTIATE BASED ON A MONTHLY PAYMENT. Tell the dealer you want to negotiate the selling price of their car and fees. Once you have that number locked down and in ink you can allow the dealer to make a reasonable offer for your car. What they offer will not be what they can give you. You are now selling your car to them, don't be afraid to negotiate and drive a hard bargain.

THEY EXPECT YOU TO PAY A FAIR PRICE YOU SHOULD DEMAND THEY DO THE SAME!

BE 100% ready to walk away if they are not willing to give you what you want! It is a bad economy and a buyers market because of it. 9 times out of 10 they will call you on the phone within the hour of you walking out on a deal to say they can do better.

Use the quirkiness of the CR-Z to your advantage.
When I traded they pointed out my car was a car for a select market because in was a numbered edition GLI. They offered 12K I wanted 14k. Walked out, sent an email explaining that while my car was a small market car that the CR-Z was an even more niche car being a 2 seater hybrid stick shift. I said that dealers are having trouble moving these and are jumping at the opportunity to move one quickly... Long story short I got 14K for mine and an extra price drop on theirs.

The salesman will go back and forth between you and the manager. Stay relaxed and if you feel uncomfortable say that you would like to deal with the manager in the room. The sales manager over my deal eben tried gimmicks like writing YOU WIN! on the paper work that he sent back with the sales guy. Don't let them butter your ego up to make the sale only to realize that they were getting ready to fry you.

DO NOT LET THEM RUN YOUR CREDIT UNTIL YOU HAVE A FINAL OUT THE DOOR PRICE AGREED UPON INCLUDING THEIR CAR AND YOUR TRADE!!!

Good Luck. Last word of advice I can give you is stay cool, calm, collected, and stay in control of the deal. Never let the sales person think they can manipulate you.

[sohcsol]

^ aha, I got the "you win" note when I bought my crz new. They also ALWAYS try working you by monthly payments. They basically get you to agree on a certain payment, then jack up the interest rate to make it whatever you signed on.

I argued with then endlessly bc I wanted to see the total price and interest, all theyd show me werw the monthlies until I went into the finance managers office.

Still, couldve done better, shouldve walked.

[Saulutations!]

Just know that they aren't they only ones with the exact CRZ that you want. I walked out of two dealerships and actually used the second dealership to get a low price at the third dealership because the third dealership didn't believe the low price they were giving me at the second second one and asked me to call the second dealership on speakerphone to see if I was telling the truth. I called and they realized that i wasn't lying. To be honest, I even walked out on the third dealership, sat in my car for a couple of minutes, and realized that they had offered me a great deal and i was starting to press my luck, walked back in and told them that I would do it. Even the finance guy was surprised by how much they went below the sticker price to make me the sale.

As browland said, know your car from the inside and out. Bring up the fact that the navi is the same model that is found in 2004 Hondas or that only 305 crz's were sold last month. Surprise them so they don't try to pull anything on you.

[_JB_]

First...Thanks for the replies!

I won't be having a trade in, so that headache is behind me. I do plan to finance (purchase, not lease) the car, and I'm pretty sure I will qualify for Honda's .9% APR for 24-60 months. I don't think it can get too much lower than that, but you never know.

I also checked out a site New 2011 Honda CR-Z Price Quote w/ MSRP, Dealer Cost & Invoice for CRZ info, and it seemed pretty good layout of how the cars have been selling. They also had some ideas on how to purchase a new car as well.

I was going to head to a few dealers today for some warranty information and maybe try pricing then. According to you guys I should do all the pricing through email? I figured that would be too informal at first. I also figure the closer it gets to the end of the year the more they will want to get rid of the car.

I've been reading up on CR-Zs for at least 6 months now. Thanks to this site there is nothing they can surprise me with.

[CR-Z Canadian]

If you've been lurking here, you've seen most of these suggestions before, but you received some great and very detailed responses here.

Keep in mind that the dealer has the car you want, and likely the franchise for at least a few miles. He also has the experience to be able to fleece many. You have the interest in the car, and the money. Don't let him know how much of either that you really have!!! Play it ever so cool, and be prepared to walk at any time. It's a game, that's all. And they are experts at it - you are just a newbie at it.

Act only interested enough to keep the salesman's interest in serving you. Pick another car to study up on (Veloster?) that's cheaper and newer, and tell him that's your benchmark for your next car. Let him talk. The less you say the better. The best negotiations in the world are the result of copious use of the word "no"! And keep your guard up until you walk out of the dealership with the signed deal. You may be metally exhausted, and somewhat exhillarated to have the basic price inked but that's when they bring out their "A" team to try to sell you extended warranties, undercoating, paint protection, interior fabric protection, whatever they think they can pile on to increase the bottom line. Again, if you are ready for this, you can be prepared to brace yourself for just a little bit longer. Remember "no".

Save the happy dance for when you get home, or when you pick up the car!

No go out and score yourself a Z!

[gozoner]

I tried TrueCar and found the dealers listed on TrueCar always had an excuse for not keeping the 'guaranteed' price. When I complained to TrueCar, no response. Still, it might be worth a try to contact one of the TrueCar listed sellers.

Also, you might consider an auto broker. I tried one but in the end he could not find the CR-Z that I wanted. But, I have friends who absolutely swear by brokers. The broker is your expert negotiator - it is not you, the newbie, versus the dealer. The broker does everything for a small fee; the car is delivered to your door; you need not spend one minute in the dealership playing some game.