BrianK

Yeah - who buys a Mustang in the winter. (oops - I did and got a deal I was happy with).
Stick to your guns wrt you price and let them come (back) to you. If they wait too long to sell it - they compete with yet another year's depreciation especially with the new model coming out (whether or not you like it is another story).

runstang22

Negotiating at the dealership for me is always a 3 step process over 2-3 days. I walk in knowing what I want, but I always have a car at another dealership I'm gonna go checkout after I leave that one - at least thats what I tell them. I tell them I'd like a price that is 15-20% lower than they are offering. Usually they give me some line about how cars cant be negotiated like they used to and their isnt that much wiggle room anymore. Thats when I say "Lets let the finance manager decide that." A this point its you against all of them (the manager, finance, the saleman and the GM). They will surround you and pressure you with smiles on their faces if they think they can get more money out of you. As he leaves (normally this is where they leave you sitting for 30-45 minutes) you go out on the lot and start looking at all the new stuff out there and show little interest in doing the deal... don't feel rude, just show you don't wanna waste your time. They then come back with a number that is 500 - 800 less off the price if any at all. I simply state "that isn't gonna work for me." DO NOT DISCUSS MONTHLY PAYMENT with them - if you do, you lose. Its always about out the door bottom line price. Have financing beforehand also if you can. Usually they either go back once more or let you walk out. If they go back and try to get a lower price, great. If they let you walk out thats ok too, they either call you back or will meet you in the parking lot to stop you from leaving. The final step is always "if you lower the car price by $700" OR "if you give me $700 more for my trade-in (less taxes to pay) I will take delivery today - If not I'm walking, its not personal its just business and I take my finances very seriously." I have bought 10 used cars in the last 8 years and this has worked for me every time. Hope this helps.

One last tip - if they tell you they cant make a deal on a car but they have another one for the same price they can get you into you need to leave ASAP. Heres why: you just spent probably 2 hours negotiating over the car from a sticker price to their lowest price. They have come down on the car. They then want to put you into a car whose price is not yet marked down -maximizing their profits and making you pay full markup on something else. Basically you would be paying full mark up for a cheaper car - unless of course you want to start the whole process over again.

BrianK

I did basically what Runstang did when talking with the dealer. I did some research (Kijiji and Autotrader) to see what private sellers were asking for their equivalent cars.
I went in saying that number was my budget - we were about $2000 apart. The salesman did his back and forth with "the manager" and eventually I walked out saying their price wasn't going to work for me and I left. I came up $500 from my price and we were $250 apart. I did leave my e-mail address and contact info with the salesman.
A day later he phoned and said he wasn't going to lose a sale for $250 so he would meet my price. I also negotiated an extension on their warranty. I bought the car used and their warranty was 3 months/5000 kms. Since I was buying in November and going to park the car for the winter anyway - they extended the warranty time to the end of June.
Good luck.

2006Mu5tang

Print copies of everything you can find out about the car, and take it with you to the dealer. Once they realize you know more than you do, they'll forget about add-ons and such, and just focus on getting the quick commission.

Don't be afraid to walk away. They will be there tomorrow.

Lol, of course I don't follow my own advice. I don't even get out of my car at the dealership if I'm not going to buy that day. Thing is, I've done ALL the research on the car beforehand, and have hard copies of everything to show I've done my homework. Last new car I bought took <90 min., and I was out the door.

Good luck!

RazorGT

what do you mean by print stuff out? You mean like car fax report? what else should I print out?

2006Mu5tang

EVERYTHING! If it's a used car, print a carfax. But whether new OR used, print everything there is about the make, model, trim pkgs., engine options. Print out competitor ads from the paper. Put that salesman on his heel, then go and get that f****ng deal!!

BrianK

After you make the deal - then comes the nickel and diming for the extras - like an extended warranty, paint protection, undercoating etc. I told them they already took all my budgeted money and more. After a while, "NO" worked - but they kept trying.

Buying a sports car in the winter works well - and remember the end of the month is a pressure point for them too. So if you wait or drag it out until then, you have a bit more leverage because they want their monthly sales numbers as high as possible for bonuses etc.
Did you get the car?