Negotiating a dealer, how low to start off with?

Tango said:
Like I wrote in another thread, the 2 cars I'm looking at are 6 hours drive away, it would be tough go go there walk in make an offer and walk away if the deal is too high and also tough buying one without really trying them out in the snow if that's even possible.
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I would say to wait until the spring then. No one in their right mind will take a car out in the snow with summer-only tires, let alone an expensive Corvette.

If you were coming to us, the test drive would be a hard "no." 95% of C7 Corvettes we have sold didn't need a test drive, both new and used.
 
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Tango said:
Like I wrote in another thread, the 2 cars I'm looking at are 6 hours drive away, it would be tough go go there walk in make an offer and walk away if the deal is too high and also tough buying one without really trying them out in the snow if that's even possible.
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What I would do then is get them each to give you their best out the door price on their car and go from there. You can let them know you are looking at other cars in the area and that you are a serious buyer. negotiate your best deal on each car and when you are happy go inspect both vehicles and take the most favored deal .
 
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There's no such thing as an "insulting offer" unless you are dealing with a private sale. At a dealer, it's just business. Chuck out your offer. If it's too low, they're just not going to sell it to you. They will always counter, but expect it to be damned near asking price. They want to make a sale and you're in the showroom talking. That's the biggest obstacle to selling cars: getting them in the door.

This is the "dance" with selling cars, new or used. Dealers understand this. Offer, counter, offer, counter, offer, counter, etc.

If they get "insulted" at a dealer, then just walk out. They don't understand the business of selling and you are NOT going to enjoy any further dealings with them.Any and every dealer will at least try to "work" as seller to try and make a sale. Just that you are there talking means there's something for them to work on. If you're chucking out dollar values that are even close to the ballpark, they will keep at it to try and make a deal. They may call you a "jerk" to thier buddies after you leave, but who gives a rat's patootie what they think if you get a deal you are OK with?

If you're too far apart on a car, thank them for their time, shake the guy's hand and leave. It's a CAR, there's literally tens of thousands more of them kicking around out there.....and sometimes, you get a phone call in a week or two asking if you are still interested.......
 
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Tango said:
Did anyone ever negotiate on the phone before driving that far outside the city to see it in person? Just curious.

I know I purchased my work van sight unseen in person but with many pictures on auction. I won it and took a bus ride to go and pick it up.
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We do this a lot, especially with customers who are far away.
 
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Tango said:
Did anyone ever negotiate on the phone before driving that far outside the city to see it in person? Just curious.

I know I purchased my work van sight unseen in person but with many pictures on auction. I won it and took a bus ride to go and pick it up.
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I pretty much did when I bought my 2016 F-150.

BUT:

it was year end and this was the last truck east of Montreal that had the options I wanted (crew cab, long box, lariat 502A, max tow package, etc)

Still, we had a price in mind and the final negotiations were when we went to go look at it. The "phone price" was just to make sure we were all in the same place (price wise) before the 1.5 hr drive (one way). Once at the dealer, we beat the price down a little more but then tossed on the extended warranty and just for good measure, the service package. Still ended up a little lower than the "phone price"....
 
Bought my Corvette over the phone and picked it up two months later. The dealership stored it for me at no cost. Had a great chat haggling over the phone on the price, etc... and made the down payment with my visa card. Really good guys to deal with and I haven't regretted it one bit. The dealership was in Mississauga and I am in Eastern Newfoundland.
 
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I bought my new Jeep in Ontario, after seeing it online and calling the dealership. Saved about $10K over the same vehicle on a lot here in NL, not to mention no destination fee, dealership fee, PDI fee, etc, etc. like they add here. It did cost me for the flight, travel back and the extra in taxes but was worth it for the mini vacation. I will never buy another new vehicle in NL again.
 
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Tango said:
Well if it's anything like roofers, tree branch cutting business they aren't just making a good living they charge excessively, not just a little but a lot, more than a 350$/hr lawyer.

That's my reasoning of dealers. I only bought a used truck at a dealer once when I was a young adult, I drove in front every day to go to work and over the months they started at 9K then 7K, then dropped by 2000 dollars each time till finally it was at a price of 1900$ and that's when I bought it. So based on that it's one thing to make a profit but to make so much profit I would get fined for "unreasonable profit" if I did that as a plumber.
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Sounds like you bought a 2000.00 truck for 1900.00 from a shady dealer. Hope you did his roof and trimmed his trees. A competitive marketplace, consumer education, research and common sense will allow even a first time buyer to get a fair deal. Some of the other replies have some very good points so no need for me to repeat them.
 
Just do your research, go online to sites like AutoTrader, Hemmings, Kijiji, etc. Look for what a similarly equipped (mileage, year, overall condition) vehicle's average asking price is posted for. That way you will be self educated as to what you should offer, as well as what your ceiling should be. The dealer gets rid of a vehicle at a fair price that covers his expenses, plus a little profit...you get a reasonably priced vehicle that you are comfortable with as having paid a fair price for. All players go home happy. I've worked with a dealer like this for years. When I walk in we're friends, there is no B.S., and he already knows that I am there to be serious and will walk out with one of his vehicles. A good rapport and long standing business relationship really helps.
 
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When I traded in my C6 the dealer tried to sell it at $4500. more than he had allowed me . It really didn’t need anything and was clean , but really he told me he gave me a little extra in the trade in as I was a roofer and knew how hard I worked for my money . He told me , had I been be of those gouging plumbers he would not have given me near as much !
 
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We purchased a C6 Z06 on Thursday. Asking price was $52,990. Our start offer was $47,000. We agreed on $48,000 CAD. Mint 14,000 km red one.
C6111FEB-3296-42CC-86C4-343D9A81635E.jpeg
 
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Tango said:
Did anyone ever negotiate on the phone before driving that far outside the city to see it in person? Just curious.

I know I purchased my work van sight unseen in person but with many pictures on auction. I won it and took a bus ride to go and pick it up.
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We did this very thing last week. All negotiations were via text and phone without seeing the car. My offer was we negotiate the price right now once we agree on price we will get pre approved and then we will come look at the car. If we like it we will sign papers. That way I’m not wasting your time and your not wasting ours.
 
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Podman said:
We did this very thing last week. All negotiations were via text and phone without seeing the car. My offer was we negotiate the price right now once we agree on price we will get pre approved and then we will come look at the car. If we like it we will sign papers. That way I’m not wasting your time and your not wasting ours.
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+1

It is much easier to deal via text or e-mail than physically going into a dealer and playing their stupid little games.
 
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