Ready to pull the trigger...negotiating strategies?

[JoeCarl]

Howdy, y'all!

After a car fire consumed my former vehicle a week ago, I've been test driving and researching like mad. Finally decided on the Genesis this past Friday, and after test drives yesterday decided on the 5.0L Ultimate...I am a sucker for a smooth ride, which is very important given the state of the streets in my neck of the woods.

I'm not that particular on color, but I do want a dark interior.

Insurance covers rental for 30 days, so I can afford to wait until the end of the month, but now that I know what I want I'm ready to get it.

Questions for those of you who have successfully negotiated deals: Care to share your strategies? Back in the day, before every dealer had their inventory online (I'm old), I did my research, set my price (with help from my late father), faxed my bid to a dozen dealers, and bought from the one that accepted my price. Today, I can email the internet salesperson at every dealer in a 500 mile radius more easily than I could fax back in the day, but whereas information was not as readily accessible then, there was also more certainty in the pricing levels, dealer costs and holdbacks, &c.

Looking at the web-advertised pricing over the last two days, I've found a local low of $49.2K at (another delaer has one at $47.6K, but it has almost 14K miles on it!). That's already at Farmer's/TrueCar pricing. Since this is effectively a year-old vehicle, with new MY expected Very Soon Now®, how much more of a discount is it possible to ring out of the dealers? Do the Flex Cash coupons expire with the model year, so they have to use them? Anything else I should be thinking of?

This forum, KBB, and Edmunds have been invaluable to me and others, so I thank you for what you have already shared, and what I hope to glean from you further!

PS I'm in Houston, but willing to travel for a great deal.

 

[guybo]

I always go to a lot (after the research phase) and look at the cars. This is for used cars. I focus on a car that I do not want and check it out. Then I notice the car I really want, ask a few questions about it and act like I want the other car. Him and haw about how you don't really want that car but keep interested. Then I do a stem-to-stern inspection of the car you really want and FIND PROBLEMS. They have a base price to work from, then pile up the list of problems to either work the price of the car down or the price of my trade-in up. IME if they are mentally stuck on the idea that I want Car A that I first looked at, they will be more flexible with Car B. Going with someone else who is also looking at cars can also add a little chaos. Team work, ask questions on several different cars. Spend the day, take advantage when they offer a free coupon for lunch at the snack bar. Have a fun day with your SO!

When I got my Genesis Coupe, I did my inspection and the only thing I could find (that car was so clean!) was water in my trunk. After googling this problem, I found that $6 of weather stripping fixes it. The dealer ended up knocking a little off the sticker price and gave me WAY OVER the KBB value of my trade-in. Even though I was upside down on the trade-in, the final amount financed was still LESS THAN the sticker price on the Genny.

My wife and I did this little game when she got her Prius (with 6,000 miles) with a 25K sticker price for 16K. She was very upside down on her trade in (older Prius with 120k on the odo) but we drove away financing something like $3,000 under sticker price with the old car paid off. She made the offer and we worked together and they accepted it. I really think the salesman got confused and made some sort of error, but my wife is the best shopper in the world- he had no chance. She's from NYC... If there's ever an olympic shopping event, she's going to enter.

The funny thing is, we bought both these cars on the same day. She got the better deal (she can out-shop and out-deal me any day) but we both ended up with exactly the cars we wanted.

 

[Dai Uy Ted]

Two months ago, for a different new car, I used the free buying service offered by both USAA and AARP. They came up with fair prices at two big-city dealers 50 - 60 miles away. I prefer patronizing my smaller local dealer, which wasn't in the program and couldn't believe the deals I was offered. I let the three duke it out for a few days, showing the local shop email offers from the out-of-town stores, and finally got the best deal locally. Including a generous allowance for my trade-in.

 

[ksoze]

Use TrueCar as the worse case scenario for your price target. Make sure to understand what incentives are active in your area and subtract those from the TC price. Do not let the dealer make up any great car price you settle on with add-ons, inflated interest rates or other items. Do not use a trade in in any of these negotiations - it will just cloud the deal specifics. Know what the best interest rate you can get at a local credit union before you go in (if purchasing). Do not fall in love with the car on the lot - be willing to walk if you do not feel you are getting a good deal. If you think you did get a good deal and do buy, ignore all the better deals you read here after - it's how you feel when it's over that counts in the end.

 

[Alwaysforward]

aboard JoeCarl... This site is awesome and full of information for sure. I recommend you wait until the last day of the month. Find a local dealer with a lot of 5.0 Ultimate's (hard to do I know) on the lot and start there. Good luck and keep us posted on how you make out.

 

[Garak]

I have been buying Hyundai since 2007. (and unfortunately one KIA).

IMO Hyundai is always ready to deal, and go with the largest dealership you can find. The smaller dealer may not deal as well as the larger. The first dealer was undercutting my trade in, so I went down the street and got the deal mentioned above. (In Michigan)

 

[kn5owa]

Watch out for "manager's cars" (demos) represented as new cars

 

[krs71]

Watch out for "manager's cars" (demos) represented as new cars

What's wrong with those cars?

 

[Genentec]

as far as i can tell, there is nothing wrong with demos. some can be leased and your mileage allowance starts where the car mileage left off..so u get your mileage allowance 100 percent with no penalties.

warranty is same as well. if u can get a lower price on a demo then its a better route imo.

What's wrong with those cars?

 

[GenesisFred]

A dealer that sells a lot of Genesis's. (Genesii?) will offer better deals. They get a coupon for $500 for each one they sell. And they can use it to discount the next one. My dealer used 5 on me.

The other thng is that any and all dealers get bonus money and kickbacks for selling a certain number. If they exceed that number they get a Bonus for each vehicle from #1. So if you are ##99 out of 100 or close to it, you can walk away with a shockingly good deal. A dealer will easily loose 5k on one deal, to guarantee $50k+ for a bonus.


I have bought 18 new cars in the last 15 years. I have gotten good at the game.

One golden rule can't be broken. Make sure they need to sell you the car far more than you want to buy it. 😀

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[ksoze]

I have bought 18 new cars in the last 15 years. I have gotten good at the game.

If the game is buying a depreciating asset at its peak, you are indeed a winner

 

[kn5owa]

What's wrong with those cars?

Read the second half of my rather short post.

Dealers around here, at least, will freely represent a demo as a new car.

A car with a couple of thousand miles on it is not "new" by any definition.
They are used cars and they are not "manager's cars".

As to what's wrong with an admitted demo being sold as such: I would consider those "hard miles" - you pays your money - you takes your chances.

 

[GenesisFred]

Read the second half of my rather short post.

Dealers around here, at least, will freely represent a demo as a new car.

A car with a couple of thousand miles on it is not "new" by any definition.
They are used cars and they are not "manager's cars".

As to what's wrong with an admitted demo being sold as such: I would consider those "hard miles" - you pays your money - you takes your chances.

Demo's can usually be sold and titled as new, but with some miles. My dad worked as a manager and always had a demo. Not hard miles, and they discounted them to offset and wrote off the expense.

 

[GenesisFred]

If the game is buying a depreciating asset at its peak, you are indeed a winner

Well, I like to have nice new cars, can easily afford it no matter how much they depreciate. Yet, I always come out ahead. How is that?


It is all about what you buy, when you buy and when you sell.

I also do pretty good with real estate.


Some guys spend money on kids, booze, strippers or gambling. I spend mine on cars, guitars, music and travel.

 

[Friscodad]

I just purchased one today (3.8 tech package). There is a dealer in New Braunfels and Kyle TX that has $6,000 off all 2015 Genesis models on their website. I used that as a point of reference when I contacted dealers in my area. I made it clear that I was ready to buy, didn't need a test drive and would not come to a dealer until I was ready to sign papers to buy. I told them I would prefer to buy local but would travel if need be. I wound up getting the car for $5,800 less than MSRP and had the first 5 oil changes along with changing out the H medallion on the trunk with the wings which more than covered the $200. Make sure you ask for out the door pricing including TTL and all fees so you have a true comparison.

 

[reddogva99]

I made them pay for my bluelink for a couple years.....

 

[JoeCarl]

Thank you all for your replies. Am going to start in earnest later today, will let y'all know how it turns out!

 

[JoeCarl]

I wound up getting the car for $5,800 less than MSRP and had the first 5 oil changes along with changing out the H medallion on the trunk with the wings which more than covered the $200. Make sure you ask for out the door pricing including TTL and all fees so you have a true comparison.

Friscodad, does that mean you paid $5800 less than MSRP, TTL and all?

 

[GenesisFred]

I got about 8k off. Pretty good deal

 

[Friscodad]

Friscodad, does that mean you paid $5800 less than MSRP, TTL and all?

Yes, my net cost after TT&L and all fees was $43,858. Purchase price before TT&L, fees, etc was $40,905 which included the $950 delivery fee.