Car buying advice for my teenager

There's little room to negotiate right now, especially if you're looking for something likely not in stock (Toyota, Honda, etc). It's doable, but not like it used to be for the most part. Years ago I used truecar to see what others paid for that model and used that to haggle. Dealers honored the pricing for me. Buying at the end of the month, even at the end of the year may help.

Bought my daughter a corolla and had to wait a few weeks for the model and colors we were willing to accept. Fortunately she had our old vehicle, which she was using and we could wait it out. Desperate people needing cars are willing to pay full price plus whatever dealer add-ons are added.

 

There's always room to negotiate. The problem for the buyer is usually the buyer's FOMO. If you can walk away, you'll get a deal.

Know the market, know what you want, watch listings, that way when a good deal pops up you don't lose out due to overthinking.

 

Pontiac Sunfire and Mitsubishi Eclipse are the finest sports cars.

 

Went looking at cars a few weeks ago for my mother. It seems like every dealer has "their add-on options" which add significantly to the price of the car. For us it was $2500 at one dealer and $7k at another (both Toyota). No matter if they had the car in stock or not, you had to pay a "destination fee". We did not want the "dealer options", but according to the dealer, all of their cars had those options already so they could not be taken off. At that point I realized it was cheaper to order the car online and have it shipped to the dealer for pickup since you have to pay that "destination fee" regardless. This is because if you order online, you don't have to pay for the unwanted "dealer options".

 

What car did you buy and how much?

 

Seems like car dealers and restaurants have both taken to and are refusing to let go of this brave new world of bullshit fees tacked on at point of sale because "covid".

 

another option. the Del Sol

 

Things seemingly have got better for the buy side, but it does depend on what you’re getting. Do your research, cast a broad net and take your time and don’t be afraid to walk away. People get themselves into trouble when they start to feel pressure from a time perspective.

 

Probably won't be able to negotiate much. I think your best bet will be to:

1) Don't be too picky about the brand / model
2) Check dealer websites monthly to see what their specials are, and what the manufacturer's specials are

This is what I did. I wasn't married to any specific brand or model. Just checked out all the dealer websites to find the best deal for a vehicle that met my requirements. Best deal ended up being for a PHEV Ford Escape, which had an incentive of $3,500 off MSRP and 0% financing for 36 months.

I actually did have to put up a fight for them to actually honor the sale terms. They were arguing that you got $3.5k off or 0% financing; you couldn't get both. So we had a discussion about what the word and means since that's the word their advertisement used. I took screenshots of everything and got it in writing that they weren't going to honor their advertised price. Armed with this, the next day I asked one final time via email if they would honor their advertised sale terms, and they accepted. I think they could tell I was going to report them for false advertising (which I definitely was going to do).

 

LMAO. God, there's a special place in hell for car dealers.

IIRC what really spooks them if you find them doing shady **** like that is reporting them to their manufacturer (provided you're shopping new vehicles at a mainline brand dealer and not 'bob's auto emporium'). The manufacturers take stuff like that very seriously when their local dealers start monkeying with their bottom line/corporate sales agreements.

 

I remember one time a manager coming at me for making his employee feel bad (according to him). I told that guy to **** himself and walked out. I was serious about walking out that day with a car. Went to another dealer and got the deal I wanted.

 

She didn't buy anything. My brother is getting a new truck and giving her his 2yr old Suburu. She has a 12yr old Toyota Corolla right now.

 

Ah I remember the first car days. My Dad had a Volvo sedan stick shift with some absurd number of miles on it from the 70s he was proud of. So, we go looking for a used car and he hoodwinks me into buying a used Volvo sedan from CA without an air conditioner. I was so eager to get a car that I bit. Big mistake per the summer heat. It ended up being my college car. A lot of hot fricking rides with a dash mounted fan blowing hot air on me. lol

 

Be wary of the salesman. First they stick you with the undercoating, rust-proofing, dealer prep. Sudeenly, you’re on your back like a turnip.

Also, the only thing those guys fear is the walk-out. No matter what they say, you say, "I’ll walk out of here right now!"

 

Four years ago, I bought a car for my oldest child. I did my research on fair value on various platforms, determined the price I would be willing to pay. I went to a dealership and said I want a Subaru cross trek with the following features for X as the walk out price. No add ons, no anything.

Salesman went through he usual routine saying they could do Y price, and I said no, you don’t understand,ni did my research, I know value, this is my price. I’m not here to negotiate, im here to see if you have the car with the features I want, and then a yes or no answer on my price. More talk, saying look we want to sell you a car but need you to come up. I said, thank you, Im leaving now. Later this week, when I have time, I will go see if the other Subaru place will do the deal at my price.

I get a call on my cell phone as Im driving home. It’s the salesman, more blah blah blah, come back, I talked to my manager, we can come down a little more. Just come back and let’s talk. Is it my price? Well let’s just talk and im sure we can work something out. No thanks, call me when you have a yes for me.

Next day, same conversation.

next day, salesman calls saying yes, we will sell at that price. I say, ok, but I am bringing a check with that price written on it, and I am not writing another check. If you tell me there is any additional fee, I will leave and will kill you guys with negative comments on line. I just want to be clear on expectations before I drive back.

I drive back, they have fees on the paperwork that they claim can’t be removed. I get up and say I’m leaving. The salesman said there isn’t anything we can do about these fees. I say, you are a liar. I was clear and you lied to me. I walk out of his office and before I get to the door, the manager walks over, plays the good cop, says there was a misunderstanding. I was very close to leaving anyway. But I bought the car, told the salesman he was a piece of crap, and told the general manager he should be fired, and that they would receive no money from me for service, and I would tell people not to do business with them.

 

Pass me the corolla.

 

If you have to ask, you are a salesman's dream sucker.

 

Be the last customer on the last day of the month, take snacks, plan to stay until midnight, no dealer add-ons, and make sure you get floormats thrown in the deal.

(The way we price and buy cars is stupid.)

 

Direct-to-consumer model can't happen fast enough