Originally Posted by doitmyself
Repetitious, but I concur with demarpaint's basic strategy. You do all the homework yourself to determine the exact model you want. You tell (don't ask) them the price you will pay out the door. You contact as many dealers as possible within your driving range. You negotiate very little, if at all.
Years ago Edmunds had a cookbook method to determine how much to offer. It's harder now a days. What I remember most is that many mfg. have dealer incentives not advertised to the public. Dealers sometimes have enough incentives to sell a car below their cost. You have to be reasonable and realize that the sales person deserves to make a living, but let them make a killing on a less knowledgeable person. On my last purchase, the dealer used one of their employee's family discount to meet my offer.
Like many above, most of my interactions are via email or phone. I only meet with the salesperson to sign the papers.
This is how I do it.
Repetitious, but I concur with demarpaint's basic strategy. You do all the homework yourself to determine the exact model you want. You tell (don't ask) them the price you will pay out the door. You contact as many dealers as possible within your driving range. You negotiate very little, if at all.
Years ago Edmunds had a cookbook method to determine how much to offer. It's harder now a days. What I remember most is that many mfg. have dealer incentives not advertised to the public. Dealers sometimes have enough incentives to sell a car below their cost. You have to be reasonable and realize that the sales person deserves to make a living, but let them make a killing on a less knowledgeable person. On my last purchase, the dealer used one of their employee's family discount to meet my offer.
Like many above, most of my interactions are via email or phone. I only meet with the salesperson to sign the papers.
This is how I do it.