Buying a new car tips

[RD3 64]

We hold onto our cars for a while. Typically 7+ years so I don't go through this process that often.  And the last 4 cars we have bought have been from those "one simple price" dealerships.  2 from Gunn Honda, 1 from Gunn Nissan and 1 from First Texas Honda.

We are on the market for a GMC Yukon.  I have a 2011 Nissan Pathfinder that we bought when we got pregnant with #3.  But 7 years later, we need more room.  I have a feeling we'll keep this for a while...

I'm looking around online at Covert, Covert Bastrop, Gunn GMC, Nyle Maxwell and there is a ton of inventory. Which is good as a buyer.  But I have some questions..

1. How much is worth between 2018 vs 2019 (assuming both are brand new)? They have to be wanting to unload the 2018s but how much of a discount between an identical 2019 should I get?
2. Any websites to use to price shop?
3. If they aren't "one simple price", any tips on negotiating?  I have never bought a car that wasn't a fixed price...

Any other tips?

Edited October 1, 2018 by RD3

[Lat22 4010]

Go to this website and read up. When you’re ready to buy, get the VIP certificate from one of his certified dealers. 

 

https://www.carprousa.com/

[Updawg 2266]

Are you a Costco member, if so check that out

[thunderlounge 7816]

Sell. Me. A. Car. 

[HornOnTheBayou 8921]

1. Email all the dealerships in the area with a throw-away e-mail address. I usually e-mail Austin and San Antonio ones. Throw in Houston or Dallas if you're willing to drive that far.

2. Tell them exactly what you want and ask them for their best price. Some will ask you to come in and take a test drive, but most will give you a direct answer.

3. Take the two lowest offers and play them off of each other.

[otisdog 365]

Car-pro USA sucks...had a very bad experience with one of his dealers, who was a flat out liar. Let him know about it, and his response was "they are independent contractors, and we can't do anything about it."

Believe it or not , Black Friday is a good day to buy. But expand your area to shop. I live in LA, but got 29% off of a F-150 truck in Portland.  Don't settle for the factory rebate - this dealer gave me a bigger discount than than the factory rebate, and I still  got the rebate.

Go to the Chevy website and search for what you want...also, find a Suburban forum and see who is paying what where...

[Guest Lobo]

it's amazing to me that most car dealerships have never bothered to calculate how much time it takes their sales dept. to make a sale and don't discount cars based on that metric. 

 

[Sandman 3403]

9 hours ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

1. Email all the dealerships in the area with a throw-away e-mail address. I usually e-mail Austin and San Antonio ones. Throw in Houston or Dallas if you're willing to drive that far.

2. Tell them exactly what you want and ask them for their best price. Some will ask you to come in and take a test drive, but most will give you a direct answer.

3. Take the two lowest offers and play them off of each other.

I tried this approach recently and every dealer I dealt with told me to pound sand. "The price listed on our website is what we have to get." I told them I wanted to buy a truck TODAY, they didn't give a fuck, they refused to negotiate. I think too many people use this approach and then bail on them without coming in at all.

[thunderlounge 7816]

I used the email attack method when I bought my truck 2 years ago. Helped a friend a year ago buy a truck using the same method.

Both ended up a hair under invoice, then minus incentives. 

 

Did the dealership still make money? You’re fuckin a right they did. However, the end result was still a good deal, and even if they dip into holdout, they’re still making money. 

[mapplewhite132 309]

1) Pick out the car you want

2) Do some price research on autotrader, NADA, and your local dealer's websites

3) Figure out fair price for the car you want

4) Find the car at a local dealer

5) Go in and offer $500 less than the fair price you determined

6) Dealer will probably take your offer

7) ????????

Profit. 

 

 

People make buying cars way too complicated. 

 

 

[Gator Dave 14]

40 minutes ago, mapplewhite132 said:

1) Pick out the car you want

2) Do some price research on autotrader, NADA, and your local dealer's websites

3) Figure out fair price for the car you want

4) Find the car at a local dealer

5) Go in and offer $500 less than the fair price you determined

6) Dealer will probably take your offer

7) ????????

Profit. 

 

 

People Dealers make buying cars way too complicated. 

 

 

 

[shakahorn 1645]

 

11 hours ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

1. Email all the dealerships in the area with a throw-away e-mail address. I usually e-mail Austin and San Antonio ones. Throw in Houston or Dallas if you're willing to drive that far.

2. Tell them exactly what you want and ask them for their best price. Some will ask you to come in and take a test drive, but most will give you a direct answer.

3. Take the two lowest offers and play them off of each other.

 

2 hours ago, Lobo said:

it's amazing to me that most car dealerships have never bothered to calculate how much time it takes their sales dept. to make a sale and don't discount cars based on that metric. 

 

These two kinda go together.  I did the email thing the last time I bought a car, was referred to the "Internet Sales Department" of 3-4 dealerships and was able to get what I wanted at the price I wanted over a couple days and maybe 15 minutes of my time.  When I went to pick up the car the "sales people" in the internet sales were laughing at how easy it was to turn the car around vs the traditional car sales route and basically said they had better pricing because the sales process took maybe 15 minutes of their time.

I find it hard to believe that there aren't dealerships of every make in/near every big city in America that have an internet sales dept.

Edited October 2, 2018 by shakahorn

[Rimbo 25919]

5-year necro-bump GO!

Surly, help me.

Pretty much every car I've owned outside of my formative undergraduate years at the University of Texas at Austin has been some kind of performance hatchback/wagon. Started out on my Dad's old '74 Camaro, then the SPCS*, then an Integra GS-R up until it was stolen and stripped, then the past twenty-one years have been two WRX wagons.

Much-beloved WRX #2 with the 4thAnd5 license plate's time is up. I'm looking at a minimum of $5k in repairs and maintenance over the next year, and that estimate is likely on the low side. Almost all of these are not optional repairs -- we're talking about steering, tires, brake pads... things you'd like to work when your car is in motion. And then, after I fix those, I'm still dealing with an 11-year-old discount performance car with over 100k miles on it that will start finding other new and interesting ways to break. tl;dr, new Monthly Car Payments are in my future.

My needs have changed.

• In my older age, I need something more comfortable to ride in (quieter, smoother).
• Another manual is out; I'm starting to have health issues, so a car my wife or son can drive me in when I can't drive, has to happen.
• Almost all of my driving is up and down a city street with lots of stoplights taking my daughter to school, but once in a while we have to drag my son back to school in Merced, a 400-mile drive through highways and traffic and stuff.
• I still want something that I can drive for 10 years without major reliability concerns.
• I still want something at least moderately fun-to-drive. I don't need something that does 0-60 in 4.7 seconds any more, but anything worse than 7 seconds is gonna be a no-go.
• Gotta fit the whole family of 4, including a 6'3" teen.
• $50k is probably as expensive as I can afford.

What Should I Do?

*"Self-Propelled Component Stereo" -- a '91 Geo Prizm (GM re-badged Toyota Corolla) with a hand-installed stereo that could blast Mahler's Symphony No. 1 and be heard clearly a block away

[HOOKEM4 5036]

Toyota Camry

[Elvis 3371]

Used Cayenne S without 21” wheels. 20” preferred. CPO if possible. 
 

 

[Dbeasy 15047]

For a car, Lexus ES 

For an SUV, Lexus NX

[NWBuck 8552]

On 10/2/2018 at 5:03 AM, HornOnTheBayou said:

1. Email all the dealerships in the area with a throw-away e-mail address. I usually e-mail Austin and San Antonio ones. Throw in Houston or Dallas if you're willing to drive that far.

2. Tell them exactly what you want and ask them for their best price. Some will ask you to come in and take a test drive, but most will give you a direct answer.

3. Take the two lowest offers and play them off of each other.

This is the way.

[Rimbo 25919]

11 hours ago, HOOKEM4 said:

Toyota Camry

 

I'll probably look at the Accord first.

 

9 hours ago, Elvis said:

Used Cayenne S without 21” wheels. 20” preferred. CPO if possible. 
 

 

 

Interesting. Wouldn't have thought Porsche. I'll keep that in mind.

 

9 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

For a car, Lexus ES 

For an SUV, Lexus NX

 

The NX seems to be getting great reviews.

Thanks, y'all.

Edited December 31, 2023 by Rimbo

[billfromlaketravis 11456]

What is the most reputable used car dealer? I’ve had good experiences buying from CarMax, but they’re routinely serval thousand dollars higher than their competitors for very similar vehicles. 

[fuggled 576]

12 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

What is the most reputable used car dealer? I’ve had good experiences buying from CarMax, but they’re routinely serval thousand dollars higher than their competitors for very similar vehicles. 

This is going to have the same price premium concern as CarMax, but I was very impressed by Carvana when I was browsing through their inventory and process.  I didn't end up buying from them, but the shopping experience was fast, easy and transparent.  I had a lot of confidence that I would have gotten a solid vehicle from them, if I was willing to pay for the premium service.

There's at least 2 thing to consider when you're talking about a reputable dealer. 

The first is whether they're going to sell you a vehicle without being honest about any problems with it.  There are a couple things I've done to mitigate this.  One is shopping for certified used vehicles.  Certified used really is a warranty that gets attached to the vehicle and at negotiation time you can get them to remove the certified label and warranty.  I've done this twice and it knocks maybe $1500 off the vehicle (going from memory).  Certified isn't a guarantee, but it gives me some confidence that the dealer has checked for obvious problems, accidents, damage, etc.  The other thing I'd advise is getting your own mechanic to look at the vehicle.  There are mobile mechanics that will come out to a dealership and do an inspection for a couple hundred bucks. 

The second thing to consider regarding a reputable dealer is whether they're going to hit you with BS fees and surprises on the deal.  Unless you're buying from a CarMax or Carvana, you're almost certainly going to run into this.  I don't think I've ever come across a dealer that doesn't try to tack stuff on.  You just have to be prepared, watch out for it, know what's fair and be ready to walk away.  I like to make it easier on myself by shopping for really common vehicles so I can be honest with the dealer and tell them, "I've already found a dozen of these Honda Odysseys online that I'd be happy with.  If you don't want to make this easy, I'm happy to go to the next one on my list."