Has anyone here negotiated price/terms via email? When we bought the Fit, I was relating the stealership price battle to a customer. He says "Pssshhh, berkeley that, I buy 'em online now." Me...looking puzzled. He says "I email 3 dealerships. Tell them what color/trim level I want, then let 'em duke it out over price. I always get a killer deal."
Makes perfect sense, right?
The day after not doing this, I will relate what my girlfriend's boss did: He looked up the nominal invoice on Edmunds or something like it, added some small amount ($100?), and basically just emailed dealerships with a car and a price until one said yes, then he bought it.
If I hadn't had the whole discount-slip thing that I have chosen to believe helped in the end, I'd have probably just used my credit union's service (via AutoLand) which a friend of mine bought his last two cars with. He told them what he wanted, they went and bugged dealerships and let them fight it out, and my friend just went to the credit union, signed, and drove away. He never set foot on a dealer's lot. (He knew what he wanted and was more concerned about other aspects than the driving experience).
That's pretty awesome. Looking forward to hearing more good experiences. Here's my bad one:
I went car shopping with my Dad. He sold used cars for almost 30 years, so I figured he'd be helpful with the negotiations. We looked at the closest dealership, one with a good reputation, and one that I had done business with when I worked for the man (we supplied and framed all of the artwork for this particular dealer's stores.)
I had also had a really good experience with a particular sales guy when wifey and I went test-drivin, so I kind of wanted him to get the commission. Anyway, they didn't have the particular car I wanted.
We went and drove some other stuff, ended up at another Honda dealership, and found a bright red sport 5-speed. Perfect. I decided that was the one I wanted, but my Dad and I both agreed we'd go BACK to the first dealership and ask them to do a dealer trade. Seemed like the nice thing to do.
We go back to the first dealership, talk to the GM, (who my Dad has known for years) "No problem" he says. We start the negotiations with the salesguy. Probably lasted a half-hour. We didn't get the deal of the century, but sufficiently laid the screws to him, joked around, and got a REALLY GOOD price based on what others on Fitfreak etc., are saying they paid.
Then the shenanigans start. For whatever reason SUPPOSEDLY, the other dealer wasn't giving up my Red 5-speed. "Fine" I say, "we'll just go down there and buy it from them." Pop says, "Nah, just let these guys get it somewhere else.
A little bummed, I reluctantly agreed. They found one about 150 miles away, would have it in a couple days. Fine.
We leave the dealership, go out for a celebratory meal (on me of course,) and I realize I left the scratch sheet with the negotiated price, etc., at the dealership. Dad says not to worry about it, just call dude and have it faxed.
Well, the next day I do just that. The sales guy faxes it, but the number he's got circled is $500 more than our negotiated price. And there's this suspicious little blank space that looks like someone taped a piece of paper to it before copying/faxing. I let it go for the time being.
When we got there to fill out the paperwork I say "Hey man, doggoneit, I lost that stupid piece of paper again, you've got the original, right? Sure enough a few minutes later, he produces the paper, and sure enough, THERE'S the price we agreed on. I say "Man, I'd always heard car salesmen were pretty slimey, but that must be a new low." He gives a half-grin and kind of a "who meeee?"
I still regret not walking out then and there. Just wanted to get it over with at that point.
Most (if not all) car dealerships have an "online sales manager" these days. Shopping via email is the way to do it. The internet has crushed the old style business model of buying cars.
I'm amazed that dealers so close will do dealer trades with each other. Around here, if they are doing a dealer trade, it is with somebody 250 or more miles away, every time.
I suspect there is some regional thing going on with this.
When I bought my C1500 back in '08, I emailed all the Chevy dealers within a 50 mile radius exactly what I wanted (ext cab, v6, cruise). Some had online forms, some had just an email address. Gave my name and email address, didn't provide my phone number.
Got 15 or so responses within 2 days. Everything from fully loaded trucks at premium prices to "we don't have any but can find you one...."
Ended up buying it from a dealer 35 miles away. He sent me exactly want I wanted via email with the complete breakdown (tax, title, license, etc). Showed up that night and had the deal done in about 45 minutes. Ended up paying $16500 for the truck, MSRP on the sticker was $25k and change.
-Rob
Edmunds TMV works pretty well for me--and yes, I negotiate online before I go in...and then show up with a trade (if I've got one) and negotiate that one in person
New 2009 Odyssey EXL for 27k....8k under sticker is my best deal so far.
I paid the $14 from Consumer Reports to get the detailed info. Then 3 dealers will contact you with a price.
I didn't use these 3 dealers as I talked to one closer to my house. Honda Accord.
I really wanted the Spec V that had a heavy rebate last winter before the earthquake and Nissan was pushing them out the door in February.
Miata.net had a thread going where people would list when they bought their car, and how much it cost. Based on that info, I negotiated 6250 off MSRP in February on a leftover 2010 Sport model. Went to the dealer, and was out in about an hour. I'm sure it would have taken a lot longer, and I'm not sure I'd've gotten as good of a deal negotiating with a salesman.
When buying my wife's Accord, we went to a dealer and decided exactly what she wanted. Then I emailed every Honda dealer in Connecticut. 75% of them came back with exactly the same number, to the penny. A few were higher and one was about $200 lower. It was the dealer that I bought my last three Hondas from, so we went there. I forget what the exact number was, but it was well below what all the guides said that we should pay.
Many years ago, I worked at a Honda dealership. At the time, the Credit Union sales and the like were a home run for us. A bunch of people would rush in on the chosen weekend, all ready to buy. The "Credit Union price" was pre-negotiated, so it was just a mater of picking a color and doing the financing. The price was always less than MSRP, but usually a lot more than some people would pay if they just walked in and negotiated their own deal. And it a lot less hassle for us.
When I bought my WRX, I had access to Subaru VIP pricing after working with some Subaru bigshots at a rally. I went to one dealer with my VIP credentials. They didn't seem happy to be involved with the deal, but they gave me the price. Then I went to another dealer, never mentioned the VIP stuff and negotiated my own deal on the identical car.
Guess where I bought it...
I also have access to General Motors employee pricing.
It really isn't that great.
I also dealt with the online salesman when we bought our Fit. It was a very smooth, no haggle/hassle/tricks deal, and despite the fact I found the same car for $100-less about an hour further away, I purchased it from him anyway because I had a hunch I'd get dicked around with at the other dealer.
Every time I think I want a new car, I go buy the wife a new car and it convinces me that I can live with my POS another two years before I have to go through that again.
Wife loves her new Nissan Versa. Me, I don't even want to drive past the dealer anymore. No Nissan for me, and it has nothing to do with their rolling stock.
Woody wrote: Many years ago, I worked at a Honda dealership. At the time, the Credit Union sales and the like were a home run for us. A bunch of people would rush in on the chosen weekend, all ready to buy. The "Credit Union price" was pre-negotiated, so it was just a mater of picking a color and doing the financing. The price was always less than MSRP, but usually a lot more than some people would pay if they just walked in and negotiated their own deal. And it a lot less hassle for us.
When we bought our first new car, a '96 Accord, we went to Mohawk Honda in Albany with our special wholesale club pricing. The salesman pulled out the book with the club pricing, laid it on his desk, showed it to me and then said "we can do better" and proceeded to knock a couple thousand more off the deal before we were done. They dealer traded for the exact car we wanted, and it was the best buying experience I've ever had. Even better than when I bought a Volvo at the dealer where my b-i-l was the F&I guy.
Last time I tried the internet negotiation I got no responses. None. It was about 5 years ago though, so things may have changed since then.
pigeon wrote: Last time I tried the internet negotiation I got no responses. None. It was about 5 years ago though, so things may have changed since then.
I went through the same thing about six years ago. I only got a couple of replies and a few "come in and we'll see what we can do" emails.
Last year, I got a price, usually a pretty good one, from every dealer I wrote to. It's the new way to buy cars.
When we bought my wife's Kia Soul, I got such a runaround from local dealers that I started calling any dealer that I could find on the internet with the car that I wanted listed on their website. Eventually drove 2.5 hours away to the other side of Cleveland just to get a straight, honest deal. (Montrose Kia BTW)
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