Employee pricing was something that came about in 2005. GM, Dodge, and Ford were all advertising employee pricing.
Is it worth it for employee pricing? Well yes and no. For some manufacturers it may be worth it. For others, you may actually be able to negotiate a better deal than what the employee price would be!
The trick here is to find whether employee pricing is easily accessible, and if you can easily obtain a card, certificate, letter, etc, "proof" of the employee pricing.
Sometimes employee pricing is at invoice. If that is the case, you can negotiate a better deal possibly. Otherwise you might as well take the employee price and go on your way.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Dealer vs. Dealer
I'd like to apologize that it's been so long since I last posted. I was sick! Enough though...
Naturally, everyone wants to save money. When it comes to purchasing a new car, we all want the best price. Knowing this, dealers do what they need to account for shoppers and people who pit them against rival dealers. Now what I will discuss goes mostly for dealers who have the same franchise. For example, going to 2 Subaru dealers. This way everything is essentially the same, and whoever would give you the better price, would earn your business.
Online quotes - It's so easy to go onto edmunds.com and send a quote out to the 5 nearest dealers for a price quote on that new car you want. When it comes down to it, dealers are playing games with what they say, to get you through the door. They figure if your sending e-mails to other dealers, so they'll quote the "lowest" price, and when you come through the door things will change. So the price they quote won't include things like DESTINATION (avg. ~$700), Tax's, motor vehicle, prep charges, window etching, etc... To EFFECTIVELY use the internet as a tool in this case, you need to specifically lay out what YOU want. You need to tell them that you want an "OUT THE DOOR" price with all tax's and charges included. What your trying to find is what the total cost would be for you to purchase that specific vehicle. This sets a baseline and lets you know where every dealer stands. For a dealer that quotes a higher price, his price may include destination. Therefore potentially being cheaper than the lowest quoting dealer who's price may have not included destination.
To do this most effectively you want an itemized list of the Out The Door price.
Also keep in mind that until you actually sign the paperwork and the car is in your name, the games aren't over yet. Most dealers are somewhat straightforward when it comes down to things, but some dealers play games and supposedly make "mistakes." It's just another way of boosting their revenue's and earning your business. Some dealers are known to deliver cars without having the customer approved for financing/leasing, calling insurance, etc... They especially do this with people who have less than perfect credit. They let the customer take the car that day, and when they can't get approved for the price settled on, they call them back and tell them they need another $1,000 down, or their is going up $30 per month, or they made a mistake, etc... They do this so that the customer becomes attached to the vehicle, and doesn't want to give it back after they have shown all their friends and family.
All in all start on the internet and narrow down your list of possible dealers. Naturally you probably only want to consider the dealers who have the vehicle that you want, but keep in mind every dealer can order you a vehicle. To be honest, in the almost 5 years I've been selling cars, the most you are really going to save is ~$500. Most of the time it is in the $200-$300 category. Who knows though if you got the best deal, if you were "bumped" in the finance department and ended up paying more anyhow. It may seem like a good idea, but in the end it will most likely create more aggravation than good.
BOTTOM LINE - If your happy at a specific dealership, and they treat you well, it pays to stay. There's more important things in life to waste weeks of negotiation on, and your time and effort, to save a few bucks. And think about it, how much does your time cost?
Naturally, everyone wants to save money. When it comes to purchasing a new car, we all want the best price. Knowing this, dealers do what they need to account for shoppers and people who pit them against rival dealers. Now what I will discuss goes mostly for dealers who have the same franchise. For example, going to 2 Subaru dealers. This way everything is essentially the same, and whoever would give you the better price, would earn your business.
Online quotes - It's so easy to go onto edmunds.com and send a quote out to the 5 nearest dealers for a price quote on that new car you want. When it comes down to it, dealers are playing games with what they say, to get you through the door. They figure if your sending e-mails to other dealers, so they'll quote the "lowest" price, and when you come through the door things will change. So the price they quote won't include things like DESTINATION (avg. ~$700), Tax's, motor vehicle, prep charges, window etching, etc... To EFFECTIVELY use the internet as a tool in this case, you need to specifically lay out what YOU want. You need to tell them that you want an "OUT THE DOOR" price with all tax's and charges included. What your trying to find is what the total cost would be for you to purchase that specific vehicle. This sets a baseline and lets you know where every dealer stands. For a dealer that quotes a higher price, his price may include destination. Therefore potentially being cheaper than the lowest quoting dealer who's price may have not included destination.
To do this most effectively you want an itemized list of the Out The Door price.
Also keep in mind that until you actually sign the paperwork and the car is in your name, the games aren't over yet. Most dealers are somewhat straightforward when it comes down to things, but some dealers play games and supposedly make "mistakes." It's just another way of boosting their revenue's and earning your business. Some dealers are known to deliver cars without having the customer approved for financing/leasing, calling insurance, etc... They especially do this with people who have less than perfect credit. They let the customer take the car that day, and when they can't get approved for the price settled on, they call them back and tell them they need another $1,000 down, or their is going up $30 per month, or they made a mistake, etc... They do this so that the customer becomes attached to the vehicle, and doesn't want to give it back after they have shown all their friends and family.
All in all start on the internet and narrow down your list of possible dealers. Naturally you probably only want to consider the dealers who have the vehicle that you want, but keep in mind every dealer can order you a vehicle. To be honest, in the almost 5 years I've been selling cars, the most you are really going to save is ~$500. Most of the time it is in the $200-$300 category. Who knows though if you got the best deal, if you were "bumped" in the finance department and ended up paying more anyhow. It may seem like a good idea, but in the end it will most likely create more aggravation than good.
BOTTOM LINE - If your happy at a specific dealership, and they treat you well, it pays to stay. There's more important things in life to waste weeks of negotiation on, and your time and effort, to save a few bucks. And think about it, how much does your time cost?
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
When is the best time to buy that new car?
Most people think that the best time to purchase a car is at the end of the month. And they're 100% right. But there's a few other times that make more sense.
#2 The last week of December, between Christmas and New years, takes up the #2 spot for the best time to buy. Dealerships are coming up on year end, and if they haven't met their goal for the manufacturer, they may want to "give" cars away. Especially when they haven't met their goal, and an additional 10, 20, or 30 cars, could make or break them. So they're more willing to wheel and deal at this time.
#1 The best time to purchase a new car, is right after the new models come out. Leading up to the release of the new vehicles, manufacturers will enroll hefty rebates and incentives to get rid of the remaining inventory. Once the new models hit, the incentives usually get even better! The difficult part is timing it with when the new models come out. For some manufacturers, the 08's just came out. For some, the 09's just hit. And to make it more complicated, each region may have different release dates. Take the all-new Subaru Impreza WRX/STi. The West coast had them around October 2007. The northeast didn't receive them until January of 08. Another downfall is that by the time the new models have hit, what's left on dealers lots are generally the least desirable colors or model packages.
I recommend to folks, to get in a with 2 days left of the month. Do your research and go in ready to make a deal. If it's before the new models are out, but around that time, you can still get the color and package that you want, and life will go on.
Tomorrow we'll discus dealership shopping, and shopping prices from dealer to dealer.
#2 The last week of December, between Christmas and New years, takes up the #2 spot for the best time to buy. Dealerships are coming up on year end, and if they haven't met their goal for the manufacturer, they may want to "give" cars away. Especially when they haven't met their goal, and an additional 10, 20, or 30 cars, could make or break them. So they're more willing to wheel and deal at this time.
#1 The best time to purchase a new car, is right after the new models come out. Leading up to the release of the new vehicles, manufacturers will enroll hefty rebates and incentives to get rid of the remaining inventory. Once the new models hit, the incentives usually get even better! The difficult part is timing it with when the new models come out. For some manufacturers, the 08's just came out. For some, the 09's just hit. And to make it more complicated, each region may have different release dates. Take the all-new Subaru Impreza WRX/STi. The West coast had them around October 2007. The northeast didn't receive them until January of 08. Another downfall is that by the time the new models have hit, what's left on dealers lots are generally the least desirable colors or model packages.
I recommend to folks, to get in a with 2 days left of the month. Do your research and go in ready to make a deal. If it's before the new models are out, but around that time, you can still get the color and package that you want, and life will go on.
Tomorrow we'll discus dealership shopping, and shopping prices from dealer to dealer.
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