How do you negotiate the price of a new car?

[Jimaz]

[lpg]

Many years ago, the wife and I bought a new van. Our trade in was a ratted out 68 Cougar with dead power steering and very bad brakes. The salesman was a arrogant and snotty A-hole. We agreed on a price for the van. When it came time to turn the car in, he sneered that the car was a POS and not worth anything. We didn't care as it was a deathtrap. He took the keys and tore out of the parking space. When he tried to stop in front of the used car temporary office trailer, we saw the brake lights flashing on and off, he crashed into the concrete bumpers in front [[the only thing that saved him from going through the trailer). He returned ashen faced and shaken and asked why we didn't tell him the brakes were bad. We told him he didn't ask and what do you expect from a car you described as a POS. We left and never returned, even for service.

[Gannon]

The key trick is an old one, didn't think in the modern age of cell phones it would be used. They'd get sued in a NY minute for taking you hostage.

I'd have some fun with them. Get another key of the same manufacturer, and load up a key ring with useless old keys. Give the dealer THIS keyring when they ask, I'd bet big bucks they never, EVER discover they are the wrong keys. At least before the deal is done and you're driving away with your new car!

It'd be a nice way to catch them in a few lies.


Cheers

[Gannon]

I'm really not a fan of car dealer sales tactics. If I could've suffered them, I would be a VERY rich man today. I made more money in the three months selling at the old Seaway Motors in Dearborn than during any similar time in my life. Period.

But it was EASY to quit that job...

[56packman]

One thing: assuming you are at a dealer in the greater tri-county area and not in the sticks--do your dealing with the salesperson, If they have to get up and leave the room to "go check with their manager" you get, and walk out the door and don't come back. That is a BS tatic and whaever you are buying is not the first of that make and model that salesperson has ever sold. When you first sit down say If you get up and leave, I get up and LEAVE" .

[Detwa]

I finally got a chance to test drive the Kia Sorrento. LOVED it. In all fairness, its the only one I drove, but I loved it. I've changed my mind about the Dodge Journey because it seems smaller to me. The Ford Escape is still in the running but I haven't driven it yet.

So far my salesman seems cool but I don't know. I wanted the car with the roof rack and its $2000 more than the one without, and he suggested I get the one without and have them put on a rack for $700, so that seems honest. It could just be a tactic to throw me off so he can slide in another $2500 somewhere else, lol.

My sister also worked in car sales VERY briefly. I think she lasted about two weeks and she couldn't stand the high pressure from management to make sales at any cost. I completely forgot about her experience, I could have asked her for some tips from what she remembers. She was going to make more money than she ever dreamed of but she just couldn't handle it. For some reason though, she was able to sell Amway for years, lol.

I hope to get my car either this Friday or next, so I might still check out the Escape just for the heck of it. And I'll let you all know how the process goes. I'll come here and update on everything I'm told, lol.

Thanks for all of the tips and stories!

[Vic_doucette]

According to the Kia website, the roof rack is optional on the LX 4-cylinder and standard on all the other models. If you can get everything else you want on the LX 4-cylinder and don't need to go up to a higher trim, that might work out well for you.

http://www.kia.com/#/sorento/explore/?cid=sem&ppc=y

[cman710]

When my wife and I needed to replace her 2001 Ford Explorer, I really wanted to stick with a Ford product and we test drove the Escape. Ultimately, we ended up purchasing a 2011 Kia Sorrento because it offered more features and space for the same money.

We have an LX, 6-cylinder AWD, in Pacific Blue. So far, I have been very happy with the car, except for one thing, which is fuel mileage. Using 87 octane fuel, we have never gotten better than about 13 or 14 mpg in city driving and 21 or 22 mpg with highway driving. Using 93 octane fuel, I was able to get slightly better mileage, but not enough to make the extra cost worth it.

[Ray1936]

On a visit back to Michigan last year, my Dollar Rent-a-car turned out to be a Kia. Frankly, I was delighted with it. Once I got my usual "Buy American" motto put aside, must admit it was a very well built car, with all the usual bells and whistles. This year, I picked up a new '13 Ford Escape from Dollar, and except for the fact that it didn't have power seats, it, too, was just super. Gas mileage was a bit less than on my own '08 Escape, and it cranked me off that they put the gas filler on the right side of the vehicle instead of the left, as where it had been for years.

[Vic_doucette]

So far, I have been very happy with the car, except for one thing, which is fuel mileage. Using 87 octane fuel, we have never gotten better than about 13 or 14 mpg in city driving and 21 or 22 mpg with highway driving. Using 93 octane fuel, I was able to get slightly better mileage, but not enough to make the extra cost worth it.

OOPS! Kia/Hyundai have been busted for overstating mileage on several of their vehicles, including the Sorento.

http://news.yahoo.com/epa-finds-hyun...--finance.html

[cman710]

OOPS! Kia/Hyundai have been busted for overstating mileage on several of their vehicles, including the Sorento.

http://news.yahoo.com/epa-finds-hyun...--finance.html

I saw that in the news, and checked with the proper website, hoping to get a debit card to help pay for gas. Alas, our model was not covered by the settlement, so we are out of luck. Like I said, I have not been happy with the mileage, but I have otherwise been very happy with the car.

Where we used to live [[Cambridge, MA), we mostly drove very short distances in slow urban traffic, which contributed to the poor mileage. And even now [[in the DC area), we do not drive far distances very often. For that reason, the poor mileage is not as much of a problem for us as it would be for people driving a few hundred miles a week. Even with the poor mileage, we do not need to fill up that often. If I were commuting to work by car, I would get a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle.

[Detwa]

Wait, on the '13 Ford Escape, the fuel door is on the passenger side? I actually have an Escape now, 2001, and its on the driver side.

Welp, counting down! Plan to bring that baby home in 7 more days! I saw that on the news about the mileage reports. That's too bad. So does the actual mileage then make it more comparable with other cars in the same category? I mean, it doesn't make it worse than the average, does it?

I haven't settled on my final price yet, I went through my CU website and got a "guaranteed price" that was less than the dealer offered, so I'm going to see if he can beat that, since he's not one of their preferred dealers. If he cannot, then I'll just go to the one recommended by the CU.

[Vic_doucette]

Detwa, please check your inbox for a private message.

[Gannon]

Hadn't thought about it until now, but the fuel filler on the driver's side is a pre-requisite for Detroit drivers. Safer on the refill, closer to the door. Driver's door 'protected' by the proximity to the pumps, not exposed to the roadside.

H-m-m-n-n.

If I had the fuel filler on the proper side, I might not have to look for lucky numbers 7 or 11...sucks when there are only six pumps.

[Vic_doucette]

Any news, detwa?

[Detwa]

So very sorry for not getting back here! I got tied up with various personal things and kept pushing the date back, then I changed the skin on my browser and all of the colors changed so I didn't get a yellow Notification box at the top. I had no idea that I had any messages! I peeked in here a couple of times but only for a few minutes, then left.

Anyway, update at last. I ended up getting a 2012 Jeep Liberty. I know, complete 180, lol. I didn't PLAN it, but with the work I do, I have to spend a lot of time at Chrysler - or rather, the amount of time I spend there was recently increased. And as some of you probably know, if you aren't driving a Chrysler product, you have to park in the far parking lot, not in the structure. After a few times of having to walk miles in the cold, or, having to walk miles in the HEAT on those crazy weird warm days we had in December, and having my hair a complete mess by the time I got to my meeting - I decided that I'm going to get a Chrysler car so I can park in the doggone structure!

I may regret it later, lol, but that's what I did. I remember I went one day in December before I got this car, and my hair was literally sweated up into an afro, every curl gone, just from walking the back of the lot to the building and into the conference room. I was mad that entire day. So then I had to make a decision before the blank check expired and I'd have to reapply all over again, so I got the Jeep.

Honestly, I'm not in love with it like I was with the Kia. But I hadn't had a new car in so many years so I do love the new car smell and feeling. Since I had a blank check from the credit union, there was no pressure from the salesguy to go with his financing. I used a relative's EP discount so I didn't have to really negotiate the price. I paid 20,852, I think that was a deal for the 4x4.

[AUSSIE]

After driving my car for nine years I decided to buy something "new" about a month ago. I had driven a Chrysler 300 on a couple of vacations and REALLY liked it. So that's what I decided I wanted after also reading numerous car reviews on it and other comps.

I went to the Chrysler webpage and "built" my car and was shown the MSRP for that package. We also subscribe to Consumer Reports online. I went there and for an additional $13 I subscribed to their new car buying guide. Using that service you again "build" your desired car and Consumer Reports gives you a report based on your Zip code that shows what the MSRP is for your area, what the dealer invoice is for that same vehicle, AND most importantly shows you what buyers are paying on average for the vehicle!

At the end of this report I was asked if I wanted local Chrysler dealers to submit a guaranteed price to me online...sure I did. I received three online price quotes, two were a bit higher than the average being paid and one was a couple of thousand lower than average.

I contacted that dealer online, they replied that they had an exact match on their lot for what I "built" and gave me that vehicles stock number so I could go to their website and look at it. I saw online that their sales price was a $1,000 higher than the price they guaranteed to me through Consumer Reports. I e-mailed them telling them of the difference and the salesman replied that thye would in fact honor the Consumer Reports guaranteed price.

I drove 42 miles to the dealer and in 30 minutes drove out in a new 2012 Chrysler 300. BTW, after the new car price was agreed upon, I then traded in my 2003 vehicle with 170,000 miles and dents/dings, worn leather for $2,000 which was about what consumer Reports quoted as the average private sale amount for that vehicle in that condition! Bottom line is that I bought this new car for about $4,000 below Dealer Invoice.

As a side note, I know the Region VP for Enterprise Rent a Car here and at first thought I'd do like common "wisdom" says and buy slightly used. The cheapest price I could get from my friends at Enterprise for a used 2012 Chrysler 300 with 25,000 miles on it was about $2,000 MORE than what I paid for a NEW Chrysler!

Consumer Reports ROCKS! Easiest car purchase I've ever made. NO haggling, no pressure, NO "I have to check with my salesmanager" crap.

What was the actual price of the 300C?

In Australia they are AUS$47,120 driveaway [US$49,500]

You should be able to get 10% off that above price here

Tell me about the car, whats it like, any issues?

Cheers

[Detwa]

My car didn't rate very well at Consumer Reports, lol. Looks like they hated it! Oh well, it serves a purpose. I'm not crazy about any of Chrysler's cars, wish I could have gotten something from GM, but I had to make a choice and I figured I should buy from the people paying my bills. Even if I'm not in love with the car.

[AUSSIE]

I will see, and raise you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWxbbWdxepc



Cheers

[Zacha341]

I second that! All Chryler/ Dodge products are theft magnets, and when they are not stealing the whole car they sliding under them to saw off the converters. The doors are incredibly hard to open and ignition are pop out and start types.

I work in a setting were Chrylser cars are stolen with impunity while other cars go untouched. I'd never own one but then I don't really like them so that make that decision easy.

And Police Reports rates the Dodge the most easily stolen!

So, if you'd like to replace it in a few years, regardless of mileage and condition, get the Dodge.

Keep it fully insured.

[Zacha341]

Double LOL! This thread is about new, but used car sales from dealers is hell too. I usually get my cars from private sellers but that's become harder as people just don't want the hassle and risk of people coming to their homes to look at cars.

I had to really haggle with the sellers and of course I had a vin check to verify the history of the car. Great times! I made out only ok. Not great in terms of what I paid.

LOL @ stealership!

[Zacha341]

Try Edmunds.com. I like their reviews and it's free.

My car didn't rate very well at Consumer Reports, lol. Looks like they hated it! Oh well, it serves a purpose. I'm not crazy about any of Chrysler's cars, wish I could have gotten something from GM, but I had to make a choice and I figured I should buy from the people paying my bills. Even if I'm not in love with the car.

[Trumpeteer]

What was the actual price of the 300C?

In Australia they are AUS$47,120 driveaway [US$49,500]

You should be able to get 10% off that above price here

Tell me about the car, whats it like, any issues?

Cheers

I bought a 300 Limited not a 300C. I paid right at $29,000 then got $2k for my old Sonata. I have a bit over 5,000 miles on it since last October and absolutely love the car! VERY comfortable and looks awesome.

[Ray1936]

Y'know, I'm a dedicated "buy Detroit" when it comes to cars. Usually buy Fords, but have had an occasional Plymouth. But last time I rented a car it was a Kia, and as much as I hate the import invasion, must admit it was a sweet little car.