QuestionLet's say I have the money to pay cash for any vehicle I want. How can I best use that to my advantage when buying a vehicle only a year or two old, low or no mileage, and get a good deal? I need some general pointers and don't know how to haggle. I am looking for a pretty solid truck or SUV, as deer collisions are common in my area. I'm also looking for enough room for two or three kids to have safety seats when I'm babysitting. Where do I start?
Answer
Car Guy
PART II
I am back I forgot to finish this one and I apologize to you!
Now where did I leave off. The kind of your car you're looking for regardless of what make or model you decide to get is called a program car. Stick to cars that have at least 6000 miles on because a lot of times the dealers will put a car into demo service which they can still sell as a new car for up to 6000 miles so what we do is we put them in demo service until it has about 5500 miles and then sell it as a new car.
You don't want to buy a new used car you want to buy a used car with low miles. The next important consideration is getting the best deal. I would look for car that one model year out for instance if you are looking for a suburban I would be trying to find it 09 with about 6001 miles it, and I would go to Edmunds.com or to the Chevy website… in this example… to see what the rebates on the 2010 model year are. The 2009 used models are a direct competitor for the 2010 new models if the rebates on new ones are $4000, then the values of the 09 used ones need to backup by that same $4000. Does that make sense? Otherwise dealers would be trying to sell used ones for the same price as the new ones doesn't make a lot of sense so big rebates on new suburban’s equals a better price on the used ones… think of it as a rebate on a used car!
Once you find the make and model of the car you want and you've been to a dealership and driven one so you're certain that's the car then go to your house and get on your computer and find the dealer closest to you with the vehicle and give them a call. The first person I would speak with their is the Internet manager. Internet sales people are generally considered to be the giveaway department. I wish I had a dollar for every time the Internet apartment has sold or tried to sell prime inventory for a $500 profit! I would be rich. Generally speaking you will find the weakest salespeople from a negotiating standpoint and the smartest salespeople from a product knowledge standpoint in the Internet Department. When get that guy on the phone tell him the stock number of the vehicle you're interested in and asked him what his best price on that vehicle is. Do a little hoeing and humming and I don't knowing make sure you tell them that there is one just like it with a few thousand more miles that is a couple thousand dollars cheaper than his and your vacillating between the two… you like his better but the other guys price is so good. He can also tell them that there's a private party vehicle even looking at in your waiting to hear back from that guy too. The point here is to let him know that there are other players that you're dealing with, that you are extremely price-sensitive and price driven, and that you are loyal to no one but dead presidents in your wallet. Tell him you don't know and haven't decided if you're going to finance or not. And before you finish the call with him leave him with a price number that you would be willing to buy the car for right now if they agreed. For instance
"okay Mr. Internet manager I will keep shopping I was hoping he would have a lot more room to negotiate on that vehicle but hey it's just a car and I will keep looking there appears to be a lot of them out there I'm certain I will find one in my price range. If you or your manager decide that you're willing to accept … whatever price you are willing to pay, which is hopefully significantly below their offering price... then I would drive right in there today and buy it for that price... if I give you my phone number will you promise me that you will only use it to call me to let me know if my offer has been accepted… please don't take it personally I just got lots of calls and I'm sold on the product I'm just not a buyer at that price thanks”
Or something like that.
I don't know which part of the United States you are in but the best of my knowledge craigslist is very active in every city and that you're going to find some very attractive aggressive prices. Unfortunately there's a lot of people who are in serious financial condition in this economy and I we've made some incredible buys of craigslist lately. I try to find vehicles parked in front of nice houses to get a feel for how they've taken care of before I called…if the vehicles parked on a mud lot in front of a trailer I don't call.
DELIVERING THE BOMB …after you find the car you want to buy …. Here is how you will start the offer process with the owner or dealership:
1. Forget and disregard everything that they've told you about what they are willing to sell the car for. You don't care what their payoff is, you don't care how much has paid for wheels and tires, you don't care how much they just spent to have the engine put in it… or the tranny fixed …you don't care about any of it.
2. This is their car and they like it as a rule … everyone dealers included think their vehicles are worth more money than they really are …. Your job is to correct their thinking. The purpose of taking this these corrective measures is not to cheat them nor are you really trying to buy the cars cheap as what you say would indicate he will be surprised that some people will say yes when you hit them with A lowball figure. If you are uncomfortable doing this on the phone then by all means feel free to e-mail it.
3. Whatever price they are offering the vehicle for… smack them with an offer several to many thousand dollars lower than their price. If they are offering the suburban for sale for $40,000 you need to them that you like the vehicle for their vehicle looks good but the price is a little more than you can
“Buy one off the Internet” “for anywhere else in town you are hoping there was something credible or different about their vehicle to justify the huge price difference… your car is one of looking for and I like the fact that it's coming from a … Dealer/Private party…. but I've been seeing them on the Internet just like this one for $32,000-$33,000” And then say nothing else until he talks even if it takes two days….
he will say:
“oh God, you must be kidding his cards are selling for 65,000 brand-new mine only has 10,000 miles “
you say,
“no I can tell you have good care of it I was just telling you what the market is that I've noticed that I've been looking for a couple weeks and I'm ready to buy… most people understand that everybody's going to want to negotiate when they buy a car even from a private party, so they build in a little extra cushion to negotiate with since your vehicle was priced so high I was hoping you had added a lot of negotiating power lol … let me ask you this …how close to that price could you get me on yours?”And take it from there…
you really are trying to buy this gentleman's car for 32,000.00 but he was thinking 39,000 before you told him the 32,000 …. and now he's thinking 37,000.00
The only part of this process that requires a lot of work is to come up with what you know to be an aggressive price that requires little bit of homework. Once you land on the exact year make and model and miles that you're going to try to find to buy, you can e-mail it over to me or call me and tell me I will run the MMR on it for you for your geographic area. The MMR is the Manheim market report and what it tells us is how much that exact vehicle sold for at auction in your area in the preceding 30 days. The report breaks out cars based on condition and a few other variables so we couldn't get a really accurate match even though most of the time all used cars are not created equal. If you were to ask the local dealer who has the car you want to see it he would probably not give it to you or he would amend it or doctor it up for you, and I will send you the report by e-mail. These reports will have the raw cost of the vehicle will not include things like buy fees, arbitration fees, reconditioning costs, service department costs etc. On the car you're looking for… it's covered under warranty and it's nearly brand-new. Let me know if you have follow-up questions my personal direct e-mail is roadloans@gmail.com
Roger
PS we live and die based upon our ratings and feedback that we get from the people we answer questions for. If at the end you are not able in good conscience to give me a perfect score than please get back to me and let me know how I can further assist you so that you can be completely happy and satisfied with the information I have given you… thank you very much
Hi Reg,
What part of the country are you in? I am in Portland Oregon and there are parts of this state where it seems like I am constantly dodging deer and elk. But on to your question… From the sounds of things you have the resources that pretty much every approach to the getting the best deal is available to us and you would like to be able to spank someone a little and have the head stuffed and mounted so you can hang it on your wall and even feel a little embarrassed sometimes when you look at it because it was such a screaming buy! Lol It’s fun to win … Here is how you do it:
First a few general rules you should never, never, never, break. As you have probably learned in business and life
1. You must be extremely disciplined and unemotional from start to finish. Show me a man who fell in love with the car he bought and I will show you a man who got grossed. P.T. Barnum was right and blind squirrels actually do find acorns. Set your must haves and price limits and then stick to it.
2. You never negotiate the deal on your feet…only on your seat and that seat MUST NEVER be at the dealership or on a private owner’s home turf. All negotiations take place by phone fax or email…ALWAYS!
3. Never trade anything in… retail it yourself on Craig’s list THEN go find your new car.
4. When it comes to car deals cash is NOT king. We spend a lot of training hours and dollars training our finance managers how to convert cash buyers in to finance buyers. The least extra we will make if you finance with us is 1%-2% of what we call “Line 5” which is the total amount financed. On the high end we can mark the rate you really qualify for up 3% pts. (if you qualify for 5% we write the deal at 8% …do that math on a $40,000.00 truck over 72 months)
5. When negotiating the deal let them think you are going to possibly finance you haven’t decided yet …swallow some ego and say it just like that because that’s what people say who are definitely going to finance. People who pay cash don’t discuss it usually at all.
6. Never use payments as a negotiating point … they will want to …you are only willing to negotiate the price!
7. And the obvious one …when you find the rig you want don’t tell anyone you love it … wear sunglasses like the Poker players do but act like you really could take it or leave it.
What would I buy? I would buy a 2009 Chevy Suburban to get the best truck for the buck …hands down… before you say it’s too big...Go drive one of these new ones…you will not find a better ride ..Period. If it is too big then buy a Tahoe. If you need to drive an import then get an X-5 BMW with the 4.0l engine.
More coming right behind this wanted you to know I was on it
I am back
