Help with car price negotiations on the prime

You can try to negotiate the doc fees but I think almost all of them charge something these days. I paid dealers invoice at 0% for 5 years with $350 in doc fees.
But mind you dealers invoice and MSRP are only $695. You heard right $695! That's why if a dealer goes below invoice there are factory incentives behind it.
I also tried emailing a bunch of dealers but they wouldn't quote me an internet price and only tell me know what MSRP. Now I have about 3-4 calls/texts/emails daily from the different dealers.
So after it all I think it's best to go on a referral. That's how I got my last 2 cars and left happy without the haggling.
Wish you luck!

Nexus 6P ?

 

Well, the first thing that a good salesman will tell you is that you cannot buy a car on the phone. It just won't fit through the telephone line!
You should certainly find out what their price is on the phone, find out who you're speaking to make sure that they'll be there at the dealership when you come down. Since this is the nastiest part of purchasing a car, you need to be prepared to walk out if it isn't the right deal for you; the car will not be the end-all-be-all for you. When you find a car that you're looking for, make sure you're prepared to go down immediately to the dealership. Otherwise some Bozo may try to tell you, "oh I'm sorry they sold that car yesterday." See if you can get the VIN number of the car that you're interested in, so they don't do a bait and switch on you. This may also give them the hint that you're a careful shopper and you're not to be messed with. One fun trick that I would do if I were a woman, is have a man come along with me, who is to act like he is the buyer. So now they focus on the guy, instead of you and you can observe the situation calmly without having to figure out what you're going to say next. In sales we learned that when you're talking you're not able to think as well. A still better tactic, is to take a friend who's purchased cars from that particular dealership before, and can advise you who to speak to and who is a fair person there. If you know who is in charge of Fleet Sales, or Web Sales, they generally can give you a little bit better price than the salesman on the lot. Try to deal with them at the ONSET! Be careful, be calm.
You can always walk out, and if they've spent time with you, they just HATE that! Make sure to get quotes from at least 3 dealers if you can, so that you know the prices in your area. The prices can be for any color; you just want to sound out the territory. Remember, you've got the money, so you've got the power!!

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Regardless of how they justify various additional charges, the bottom line is what counts.

Still: they should NOT start shifting the goal posts once the game has started, that is playing dirty. I had an experience with that with our 2010: we had agreed on a price, had printed-out contract with all the figures, and the "documentation fee" was clearly/specifically indicated as zero. Then, they "reprinted" the contract, reformatted with their dealership letterhead, and documentation fee became $295.

When I disputed it they were actually offended: saying it was too late to revise, highly irregular, what could they do, and on, and on. Eventually they gave up.

 

i just email all the dealers i'm willing to drive to, about a specific car in their inventory, and ask for their best price.
when i've settled on one, i ask how much to bring a check for, so i get the bottom, bottom line.

 

Good idea. Reminds me too, with this 2010 of ours: it was the first time I'd been asked for something more than a personal check. Forget the expression, but had to visit the bank, get this cheque printed out in advance, with the amount and recipient's name.

 

Mendel, sounds like they wanted a certified check.

Read through http://www.carbuyingtips.com and get quotes through www.aaa.com redirect, http://www.truecar.com or other buying services.

Know what the MVC fees and taxes are. Dealers will overcharge for these EVERY chance they get so don't agree to pay more than you legally need to. Ask about their fees and get it in writing.

Now that you know what a program dealer will sell the car for, contact the other local dealers through their Internet sales Dept. and ask what they want for the car. When they ask what you want to pay for the car offer a really low price.

IF you can get documentation that the car will be covered under the CARB warranty explore the possibility of buying out of state.

Holman has 5
Liberty has 1
Toyota of Runnemede has 3

Happy hunting.

 

You're absolutely right; always wait for last day of month; I did that for the purchase of my Prime. I contacted 3 friend-recommended dealers' Fleet Managers (after my credit union had approved my $40,000 loan) and told them what I wanted; first one with car (Longo, in 2 days) got my business. They all offered similar pricing and I knew the reputations of all, either in previous dealings, or from friend's recommendation. Try the fleet manager;
you're less likely to get the bump and grind that the salesman will put you through. One thing I noticed that nobody in this forum mentions, is that car purchases are one of the last places where you can actually argue about a price. Try to argue with your market, or your clothes store, or your gasoline station or when you buy a major appliance; they'll look at you like you're crazy. I remember going to shop for a suit with a girlfriend, who became upset when I asked the salesman for a discount for the $200 suit. I told her, "if you don't ask you won't get."
People who don't like to haggle over price should either, send somebody else to buy the car, or pay sticker! Sorry, but haggling over car prices is the American way!



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I just looked over the contract & sales agreement for my last 2 cars and the doc fees are pre-printed from the print shop. It's not negotiable unless you can get the car lower to compensate for the doc fees but either way it's still there in b&w.

Nexus 6P ?

 

Also, if you are financing, the finance companies will give the best deals at the end of the month to pad their numbers.

 

I talked to 5 different dealers here in eastern MO and 4 said MSRP take it or leave it. The other one even came right out and said it its not worth it for them to even order it. I went with the one that gave me the most on my trade in. That's about all they are negotiating on near me.

 

I recall one time looking over a sales agreement with our real estate agent. She crossed out something, and got me to initialize it, saying "no way we're agreeing to that".

Made me realize: nothing is final, till both parties agree. Just cus someone's got a printer doesn't make them your lord and master.

 

If all the dealers are singing the same tune (MSRP), just be truthful: you're willing to drive an hour... Then ask them what they're willing to do to earn your business. If they can steal you away from your local dealer, they're much more willing to discount the car. I don't know how fast the car is selling in your area and what your flexibility is vis a vis color and equipment. I was somewhat flexible on those things so I didn't feel as much pressure to close the deal with any particular dealer. My 3 were all basically decent folks. End of the month pushes dealer to sell to avoid paying flooring interest charges on inventory. If they say they'll order the car, you lose that leverage. Don't ever give them your offer first; have them give you their price and go from there. I hope that helps and Good Luck!!






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I talked to 4 dealers in the Nor Cal Bay Area and all told me MSRP, no dealer discounts. There's one in Sacramento that won't tell me a price but tried to get me to drive 3 hours over.

Do you think when 2018 models comes out they would sell it above MSRP?

Any news on 2018 models?

 

We walked into a dealer and asked for a deal and mentioned that we already left another dealer. They gave us free alloy wheel and took $400 off MSRP for the premium. Couldn't hurt to ask and always tell them that you went to multiple dealers.

PS, this is in east bay.

 

Be aware that Toyota usually has a cash back incentive going on. When I bought mine, it was $2000 for the Prius C and V, and $1000 for the Prime. You need to do a search online to find out about this as the salesman will not volunteer that info. Also, if you are a Costco member they often have an arrangement with local dealers to get you a discount on new cars. In my case, they had an arrangement with my local Toyota dealer, but not with the one I bought it from about 60 miles from home. If you have a trade in, use something like Edmunds to find what it is really worth. In Washington, we pay sales tax on the cost of the car minus the cost of the trade in. You will have to negotiate what they are willing to pay you. I knew that I could get $13K to $13.5K for my Miata from a private sale. They offered me $10K. After some negotiating they offered $12.5K. That saved me about $1100. in sales tax, so I accepted the deal.

 

Very true about the rebate. I got $1,000 instant rebate or 0.9% financing on top of the alloy wheel and $400 off of MSRP. I had no trade-ins so that was easy. I did the math and took the rebate and paid full.

Also I did research Costco, they couldn't get me any deals