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How much did you save at the car dealer?

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jetmal

jetmal

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Feb 10, 2006
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Hi,

I''m in the process of purchasing a new SUV. I need to unload the pain in the butt Mercedes ML 430...nothing but problems...

I''m looking at getting a Hummer H3....or waiting another month or two to check out the new 2007 4 door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

My question for all of you is.....how much money did you save off the MSRP?? Were you able to get them to go down in price, closer to the invoice price?

one problem is that there is onyl 1 hummer dealer in my area , so I''m having a hard time "playing" the dealer against dealer game. I looked up the pricing on edmunds, and I''ve done all my homework. They just dont seem to want to come down on price.......they offered me $1500 off the MSRP, which they called it "a birthday discount"....I told them to go fly a kite!

So, now they are trying to get me to come back in to deal again. I have already wasted over 4 hours there (and that was with my kids)...so I just want to be able for them to tell me over the phone if they will meet my price or not.....ya know?

thanks for any advice!
 
I bought my 2005 at the end of last year (September) so they were trying to get rid of them to make room for the new 2006 models. I actually paid the exact invoice price (not sticker price) which I had on hand when I walked into the showroom. It only took about five minutes of bargaining. I forget where I got it, Kelly Blue Book I think?? Of course there were a few fees after that (destination fee being the highest) plus tax but I thought it was a decent deal.
 
Hello jetmal,

I remember reading an article in this pasrt Thursday''s New York Times (Thursday Styles, Online Shopper section, I think) about someone''s experience buying a car and getting the best deal possible - it may help you. I wish you good luck - sometimes buyinga car is such a PITA, as I have been learning!
 
Edmunds.com has a great article where a writer goes under cover and works in two different types of dealerships. He kind of gives you an inside view. Very interesting.

You can read it here.
 
I don''t deal with MSRP (sticker). I got my new SUV for around $480 under invoice. Used the dealers internet salesman (not showroom). They still made their money given the dealer holdback %.
 
While bertrand is right about the dealers still making money when they sell cars at or slightly below invoice.. with a car like an H3 or even a brand new Jeep like that, it doesn''t suprise me that they won''t budge, because they dont'' have to.. If *YOU* don''t buy that car.. someone else will..an H3 is a novelty car.. a bunch of people would LOOVE to have them (don''t ask ME why.. I''d shoot myself if I ever even had to RIDE in one..)..but not a lot of people can afford them.. so its not like they have to try to push them off the lot.. I''m thinking generally people come in for those.. they know what they want.. and most of them don''t really care what they are gonna pay.. Sounds like you might be the exception.. You might have slightly better luck with the Jeep.. but..if its a brand new car.. again.. dealers aren''t gonna be too anxious to cut you a deal. Wait a month or so and get an 06! THAT is when you will get deals..
 
Totally second what MelissaSue wrote.

I was in the market for an Acura TSX almost two years ago. That model was relatively new (first year was '04) and it was very much in demand. I waited until December 30th to buy an '05. I got quite a bit $$ off the invoice! Sure, it helped that I'm in L.A and had around 5 dealerships to choose from and negotiate with.

If you can, wait a month or more!
 
Jetmal,

Just out of curiosity, why do you want a Hummer H3?

Thanks : )

Aurelia
 
I just leased a new Jeep Grand Cherokee at the end of February and the salesman that leased it to me informed me that the customer gets the best price (for leases anyways) on new cars in September because that is the beginning of their first quarter. It sounds like you are looking to purchase a vehicle, so I don''t know if this applies but it may and if you are able to wait, it may help bring the price down a bit.
 
Certain car manufacturers don't have to budge on price. So they won't. With higher end cars, also, they pretty much know people aren't coming to haggle *that* much...I recently got a RX350 and the dealer (and another I tried) would not give me more than $2000 off MSRP and free front window tinting and free 10k service. The car is a top seller, so they have no motivation to try entice you to buy.

BTW, I found Edmunds useless. And full of false hope. In my area, the prices are pretty much about the same. I'm not getting $6000 off of MSRP as some of the people in Boise did on edmunds.

p.s. I'd get the benz. Every time I see a hummer I laugh a bit. Sorry.
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She''s not getting the Benz. She''s trying to get rid of it. She''s yet another in a long line of unhappy customers. The ML line single handedly tanked Mercedes'' JD Power ranking. Then they had problems with the E-class and C-class which didn''t help things either.

I also fail to understand the appeal of the H3. It''s a Chevy Trailblazer, except upglier and horribly space inefficient on the inside. Same with the H2, but at least it looks like a tough military vehicle. However, the H2 has a lovely problem of the wheel falling off for no good reason.

But yeah, my point was supposed to be to use carsdirect.com to find out a decent price in your zip code. Edmunds is fairly useless for price comparisons. You can beat the carsdirect price, but it will give you a good price for your particular region. I also agree with the suggestion to only deal with the dealer''s internet salesperson or fleet manager (sometimes it''s the same guy). If you can, I''d travel to get a better deal. When I bought my 325ci, I was up in NorCal. I got it from a SoCal dealer cuz they have more dealers so more competition. However, I had them use my NorCal zipcode cuz the tax is cheaper up here.
 
I suggested Edmunds for the article I linked not for the actual prices. I personally am not a hummer fan either but if that is what she wants I don''t think anyone should talk her out of it.
 
well, i don''t recall exactly how much off i got, but i thought i got a deal. what i did was do my research. i put together the car with the interior and all the bells and whistles that i wanted online. got the price and went to the dealership. they offered me x and xx for trade in of my existing car. i said well my car is worth xxx according to the blue book. they said ok, will give it to you for that. i also said i wasn''t thrilled about the price they were trying to give me on the new car. so they said "what would make you happy?" i said xxxx. they made a couple of calls and said done. all in all it was under what i had priced it out as online.
 
Oops! Misread! Funy b/c I tought in another thread she said she wanted to get rid...but then I thought she was thinking of the new ML...Oh well...Funny, b/c that's part of why I crossed the ML off of my list. Look at all those complaints on edmunds. I think the 2007s are better? They sure look better...they don't look like a minivan anymore!

Love the kitty rachie! And I don't know if you'vehad a jeep grand cherokee before, but I really loved my girl (it was not the 2007 model...) but she had so much pep! I had 2 jeep cherokees so really wanted a change but they are very powerful and very nicely appointed inside!
 
thanks for all your comments here! hmmm, lets see...why do I want a HUMMER???
Well, this is difficult to answer.....I do know I want to ditch the MB, but I dont really have any other SUV''s in mind right now that I like. My hubby really loves the H2, but I told him no way, its too big. So he asked if I would consider test driving the H3....I said sure, and so I did. It is a really nice ride! I really liked it. I am a small petite person, and I felt really good in that big ole thing! It is very luxurious....I just really liked it.

but anyway....I started this thread to ask about pricing deals...not about the car itself.

I guess I am too low on my offer...I spent all day calling around to get pricing, and I pushed the salesman that we had been working with to the limit I guess. He had his boss call me and tell me that they could not take my offer, they would be losing about $4k if they did that.....whatever....dont know if I believe them or not...anyway....I wont pay their price which was only $1000 below their MSRP. So, I told them goodbye.

Back to the drawing board I guess. I think I''ll wait for the 07 Jeep and take it from there.
ugh, what a headache!
 
Never believe what a salesperson says. If you really want the car, i''d start looking into the various fleet pricing. Carsdirect, AAA (the Auto Club''s member discount), Costco members'' price, etc. The quotes you get from those pricing groups are no pressure so it''s not like they''re saying they''ll expire if you don''t act on it immediately. It''ll also let you know if you''re way off base with our own offer.
 
Well, I just bought a car 2 days ago, so I''ll tell you how it went with me. I did get a great deal because I followed the advice of a friend. I wanted an Acura TL (great car BTW). We started out wanting a certified used. When we got to the dealership the one we wanted was sold. So then they said, how about if we can get you into a new one at close to invoice? We dickered and their best offer was $300 over invoice for a TL without navigation ($33,120). After some wrangling we walked out.

Then my friend told me to look up all the dealerships from San Diego up through LA. Send them all an email asking for their best internet price, and make them break out the other charges such as doc prep, tax and license, for an out the door total. Don''t engage in "when can you come in for a test drive." It''s ok if they call you, but be polite and insist they email you the price with all the details broken down and politely tell them you''re only considering dealers that will give a written quote before you come into the dealership.

By the end of a week, I had several written bids for the same car WITH navigation for $1,625 LESS than the price we were quoted for the car WITHOUT navigation at the first dealership.

We ended up getting the TL WITH Navigation for $31,495, quite a bit better than $33,120 WITHOUT Navigation. By the time we walked into the dealership, all we had to do was decide on color.

Also, I would suggest ordering the Consumer Reports car buying service online, it''s only about $15 and they will tell you what all the dealer incentives and holdbacks are.
 
BTW, the invoice on the Acura TL I bought is $32,820, and the MSRP is $35,940. There''s a dealer hold back of $1,060 on the car so, so when I bought it for $31,495 using the method I described above, I pretty much shaved them down close to the bone.
 
Date: 7/31/2006 3:18:58 PM
Author: moremoremore

Love the kitty rachie! And I don''t know if you''vehad a jeep grand cherokee before, but I really loved my girl (it was not the 2007 model...) but she had so much pep! I had 2 jeep cherokees so really wanted a change but they are very powerful and very nicely appointed inside!
Click to expand...

Thanks moremoremore! The kitty is my cat Suzy. This is my 3rd Jeep and I love it!! The one I have now is an ''06 and it is my favorite one so far.
 
Excellent deal. Yes, people should learn about holdback. It''s money the car companies give the dealers to help pay costs for having the car sit on the lot, such as insurance, etc. The sooner the dealer sells the car, the more of the holdback money is theirs as pure profit. That''s why dealers can sell a car at invoice and still make money.

Man, portoar, you really did shave them to the bone. Good job. Gotta love SoCal and all the dealers forcing them to compete against one another.
 
that''s really close to what the car salesman told me after we made the deal. I asked him how could he make any money on the car if I''m buying it for invoice price? He said something about the car costing money for the dealership the longer it is sitting on the lot.
 
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