First time Dealership tips?

OkanaganHatch

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Hey all!

This spring I'm going to be in the market for a new lx hatchback (buying it out right) and just looking for tips on haggling with the dealership, I have never bought a vehicle from a dealership before.

  • What is a common percentage to get taken off of the MSRP? (current model at local dealer is about 24K)
  • Do they commonly throw in accessories to sweeten the deal? (winter tires, floor mats, trunk guards etc)
  • I have a crappy trade in - 2007 jeep compass - do they have base trade in values for older models or go strictly by the blue book value?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!
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Hey all!

This spring I'm going to be in the market for a new lx hatchback (buying it out right) and just looking for tips on haggling with the dealership, I have never bought a vehicle from a dealership before.

  • What is a common percentage to get taken off of the MSRP? (current model at local dealer is about 24K)
  • Do they commonly throw in accessories to sweeten the deal? (winter tires, floor mats, trunk guards etc)
  • I have a crappy trade in - 2007 jeep compass - do they have base trade in values for older models or go strictly by the blue book value?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!
#1 Take someone with you who has done this before. Preferably a big, intimidating male !!

If you just walk in my yourself, not knowing anything, they will eat you for breakfast.

If you don't want to be taken, you have a lot of basic things to learn ..

Where do I begin ??

well, for a start :- since you mention it ..

Do they commonly throw in accessories to sweeten the deal? (winter tires, floor mats, trunk guards etc)


NO !!! The ADD in accessories like (winter tires, floor mats, trunk guards etc) to add high profit margin items to the deal.

Do not get hung up on what the payments are .. concentrate on the best OUT-THE_DOOR price.

Get financing elsewhere and set up before you go to Dealer. Then compare what they offer with what you got elsewhere. Guarantee the Dealer Financing will be higher .. they are taking a percentage !!

Be prepared for them to make so many Credit Report inquiries, and have so many other Lending companies make credit report inquiries, that your Credit Score will plummet.
Hold off any Credit Talks, or giving them any info (SS #) etc, or authority to conduct a Credit Search, until you have sure that you want the car at the Out-The_Door price you negotiate.

NEVER, EVER sign anything until at least the next day .. take home the numbers, and think long and hard before making any decision to sign.
The same deal, or even a better one will be there tomorrow, despite what the Salesperson tells you.


Oh God -- there are so many things .. you really need a friend who has done this a few times to help you and support you by going with you.
 

kg4fxg

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I only buy. No financing. Research trade in at KBB and maybe get a free Carmax quote. I don't haggle all that well. Get a printout of the final offer to think about. Study the numbers ask questions here. Visit several dealers, I did that with three. Make them wait.
 
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OkanaganHatch

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I only buy. No financing. Research trade in at KBB and maybe get a free Carmax quote. I don't haggle all that well. Get a printout of the final offer to think about. Study the numbers ask questions here. Visit several dealers, I did that with three. Make them wait.
Thanks for the non condescending feedback!
 


kg4fxg

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Just wait till they get you into signing papers. They want to sell you maintenance agreements. Figure this put ahead of time. I said no. They pushed. I said look, I am a CPA and I can buy three cars today. This is a disposable car. I will pay as I go. If I don't like the car in days, weeks, months I will trade for a high end car. Most of my colleagues drive much more expensive cars. I like cheap maintenance. They were dumb founded. No, no and again no. Just the car. Do I make myself clear? No maintenance agreements.
 

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as above no agreements maintenance or the many other they will hound you with. set your price and stick to it. once the sales guy goes to get approval for what price you got him to agree to, stick with that price dont let them nickle and dime it up.
 

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Hey all!

This spring I'm going to be in the market for a new lx hatchback (buying it out right) and just looking for tips on haggling with the dealership, I have never bought a vehicle from a dealership before.

  • What is a common percentage to get taken off of the MSRP? (current model at local dealer is about 24K)
  • Do they commonly throw in accessories to sweeten the deal? (winter tires, floor mats, trunk guards etc)
  • I have a crappy trade in - 2007 jeep compass - do they have base trade in values for older models or go strictly by the blue book value?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!
Wait til the end of the month. Research the trims they have and colors before stepping in. You need to know what trims come with what and how much they cost. If you wait til the last day of the month you can get a killer deal as they will bend over backwards to get a deal for you. Right now is a bad time to go because they will gut you. If you buy a 17 or 18 civic on the lot still you can get even MORE money off the deal. Research research research. The website doesn’t always have their full stock. I went last November 31st and got 5k off msrp for a 17 Ex-l coupe trim and got the car for 20k instead of 25k. Haggle every price. If they offer add one ignore them. If you get a high enough trim you’ll get some nice tires already with it. I have continentals and I’ve been told they are top of the line. Not sure on accuracy though. Don’t let them sell you rust protection packages or paint packages as you can do it yourself with a spray can for $40. Also decide if you want extended warranty. I got it and it’s up to 100,000 miles bumper to bumper, but you won’t be able to mod. Sorry lots of info but I just went through it. As for the trade in. You can go on the website and ask someone to contact you and set up texting like I did. I basically used the guy to calculate payments and as a data mine up until I got to the dealership. Dont tell them you have a trade in til AFTER you’ve negotiated the price of the car. Also don’t tell them an accurate down payment until after car price.
 
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ShuJam

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They will always offer you much less for your trade in than KBB. So be prepared if you are willing to take a big hit on your trade-in.

If you are really uncomfortable haggling, use some kind of non-haggle pricing service, like Carcostcanada.com, or if you become a member of the APA, you can get dealer invoice pricing, so you know exactly how much the dealers are getting the cars for. These may even have a partner dealership or sales person who specifically works with them to provide you a good deal. Or walk into a dealership with the dealer invoice cost printed out. I cant be bothered haggling, so I have bought every car like this. It takes so much stress and time out of the whole experience. Some love to haggle - I hate it. I think I ended up paying 1.25% over the dealer invoice price for my Sport Touring. YMMV, as you are in BC, and I am in Ontario.

As far as accessories, YOU negotiate with the dealer to get anything thrown in, or discounted off MSRP. NEVER pay the MSRP for accessories - check Honda's website for the MSRP and what accessories you want. Generally you can get things like wheel locks and paint pens thrown in easily. Things like floor mats, trunk trays, you can probably get for a deep discount. But negotiate accessories AFTER you settle on a price for just the car.I have NEVER paid for any accessories, but I don't usually get much - usually splash guards and a trunk tray, but I've managed to get winter floor mats thrown in too on a couple of occasions.

Good luck!
 

kg4fxg

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You negotiate. In the end you agree on a price. Then you think it is all over and the wait begins.

First you are visited by the accessory girl. She goes over all the accessories they sell even the black car bra to strap on the front.
Second, more papers and you get the keys and manual from another person.
Third, you wait to see the finance guy even if you are paying cash. Be careful here. Beside maintenance agreements, fabric treatment, dent removal, scratch coverage, paint coating, bird crap coverage, and so much more. Factor another $2,500 - 3,500 if you go all out. I chose none. They don't like that and are very persistent. He wanted to give me a special deal on maintenance for $1,200 and would throw in an extra oil change. This is not a Mercedes.

Now you have visited the three ghosts of Christmas. Just research your options. If you buy them only get Honda not the dealer agreements. What if you don't like the dealer later and want to go somewhere else? And if you finance get rates from your credit union.

For trade in, most will match CarMax. They don't want you to leave, sell your car to CarMax and wait for you to come back. I use that and KBB. Generally speaking, mine was a pleasant experience. I knew what I wanted and I did my research up front. The dealer was fine. Less stress when you research and know what to expect.
 


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Lots of good advice above.. get your ducks in a row first. How you are paiying, any outside financing etc. Your trade will be useless.. sorry.. 12 year old Jeep, regardless of mileage, is a $500 car to the dealer. They will wholesale it out. You may do better to sell privately but it will cost you time/money to do so.

Tons of internet searching is available for your research.. here and elsewhere regarding prices, experiences, etc.

Depending on where you live, visit as many dealers as you can to get a feel for their tactics. Stay firm. No one is forcing you to buy a new car. You don't like the deal or feel its not in your best interest, just walk away. Try to remove the emotion. There are thousands of cars to choose from. Take your time. Take test drives. Ask questions. Make the dealer work for the sale. Don't like haggling? Truecar, Costco, maybe even your current Ins Co will help you get to a prenegotiated price. Is it the best possible price? maybe not.. but sometimes ease overcomes that.
 

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If they do throw in all season floor mats to sweeten the deal, make sure they are genuine honda floor mats.
The honda dealership in scarborough (Roadsport Honda) gave me aftermarket floor mats that didn't fit my car right.
At the time, I thought it was normal until I saw the official accessories. I had to buy my own later.
 

japan617

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Don't step into a dealership. Call around and ask them for their best OTD price on a vehicle you're interested. If they won't give you a OTD price they want you to come into the store to try and corner you..I would shy away from a dealership that does that.

From what I've read, it's reasonable to be able to get 9%-11% off MSRP+delivery charges based off the OTD prices that others have posted. I got 9% off MSRP and my college buddy got 11% but he really put them to the wringer. I was happy to walk out financially in one piece.

I would recommend selling/trading in your old car separately from buying the new car, that way you can focus your entire efforts on purchasing the car.

Bring a friend who is financially savvy and has dealt with dealerships before! If this is your first buying experience you could be taken for quite a ride if the dealership is unscrupulous. This is even more important if you are buying a used car, I got burned pretty bad trying to buy a used car.

And as someone said above, don't let emotions get in the way. If your gut tells you to walk out, walk out.

If you finance the car with the dealership. Make damn sure it's a simple interest loan. No precomputed loans, no early pay off penalties. Precomputed loans guarantee the financer get the principal+interest regardless of how early you pay it off.
 
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OldSkool

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Hey all!

This spring I'm going to be in the market for a new lx hatchback (buying it out right) and just looking for tips on haggling with the dealership, I have never bought a vehicle from a dealership before.

  • What is a common percentage to get taken off of the MSRP? (current model at local dealer is about 24K)
  • Do they commonly throw in accessories to sweeten the deal? (winter tires, floor mats, trunk guards etc)
  • I have a crappy trade in - 2007 jeep compass - do they have base trade in values for older models or go strictly by the blue book value?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!
I just picked up my vehicle on Friday, and can share my experience, which was totally different than the traditional walk-into-a-dealership-to-negotiate (which I will never do again).

You can get the "dealer invoice price" (supposedly, the price they pay for the vehicle, for free at carcostcanada[.com] (account creation is free, and you get 3 vehicle builds... Be warned, when you spec out the vehicle, they send your contact info to one of their partnered local dealership reps (who is willing to only take 3% above the dealer invoice price) who *will* call you. You can choose not to answer/go with them (let it go to voicemail).

But at the very least, you're armed with how much they should be making between invoice price and MSRP (typically $2000-5000). They also give you access to other members who reviewed dealerships and note how much of a discount they got at those discounts, to give you an idea of how much a dealership has historically cut from MSRP. Useful info for sure, to see if dealerships focus on low margins and high volume or not...

That said....

Don't step into a dealership. Call around and ask them for their best OTD price on a vehicle you're interested. If they won't give you a OTD price they want you to come into the store to try and corner you..I would shy away from a dealership that does that.

From what I've read, it's reasonable to be able to get 9%-11% off MSRP+delivery charges based off the OTD prices that others have posted. I got 9% off MSRP and my college buddy got 11% but he really put them to the wringer. I was happy to walk out financially in one piece.
I just did this as well. Except I never spoke to anyone to negotiate. I just went to honda.ca and picked out all the dealerships within a 20km radius (or wherever I was willing to drive to) and got their sales contact email addresses... then created a new/anonymous email (optional) and picked a price I wanted to pay (I chose roughly 2.5%, or about $700 above dealer invoice price -- anecdotally, I copy/pasted the wrong value and ended up accidentally asking for the 3% value (+$800) lol, oh well).

So I disclosed:
  • that I had a carcostcanada report, and stated the known dealer invoice price
  • the price I was willing to pay (you can try not putting any price, and see what happens, but stating a price gives them a ballpark on what to work with). Since you can always get a dealer around you willing to go for the 3% above invoice price via carcostcanada
  • the financing rate I was going for, knowing the existing promo and the biweekly payment amounts
  • the few dealer-installed options I wanted (and how much each was)
  • that I knew the fees that were unavoidable (freight, air, tire, PPSA), however, I wasn't willing to pay exorbitant 'administrative fees' (documentation fees, "admin fees", etc)
Note: the only additional fees on the quote (the only dollar values I didn't already state) were exactly what I stated, with the exception of wheel locks. blah :p
So you know...

  • Ontario Tire Stewardship - $30
  • Air Conditioning Tax - $100
  • Freight & ADV Civic/ CR-Z - $1655
  • OMVIC Fee - $10
  • Wheel Locks - $85

Then I told them I had to make a decision within a few days, so I would contact whoever provided me with the best QUOTE.

The idea is that this is a no-nonsense way of getting a sales guy to put in one offer. And technically, you can pit them against each other if you get multiple favourable offers quick enough. (One guy was willing to match the price, and give a decent discount off the corrosion package)

Out of the 12 dealerships I contacted, 8 replied.
- 4 said, call and we'll talk. Pass
- 3 said they would settle with the price I requested (did not provide a quote though)
- 1 guy (and actually the first to respond), didn't even put any words into the email, just sent a quote (lol). He beat my price, and was just over 2% above the dealer invoice price (roughly $600 above dealer invoice).

This all happened within 3 days (including over new years, as I was trying to lock in the december promo (financing rate), not knowing there was a better promo (financing rate) in January. This guy obviously wanted the extra number for his december totals for very little work.

We got enough paperwork done to seal the deal on Dec 31, and I picked up the car last Friday. Best experience ever. :)

Infact, the January promo was better than the December promo, so I asked if I could get that (after the fact) and they said yes. Woohoo, $500 more back in my pocket! (or $5 less on each payment :p lol)

This was all inspired by an RFD post I read just before. (I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post other forum links, I need to check that first...)

Good luck!

Oh, also... The only issue I have with two points of japan617's post....

I would recommend selling/trading in your old car separately from buying the new car, that way you can focus your entire efforts on purchasing the car.
I would put your trade in as part of the deal. The point is to put out their best offer in one shot. Trade-ins do make the negotiations more complicated because that's two departments, but still worth asking. Infact, in your initial request, you can state two prices you are looking for, the one with trade in and the one without.

If you finance the car with the dealership. Make damn sure it's a simple interest loan. No precomputed loans, no early pay off penalties. Precomputed loans guarantee the financer get the principal+interest regardless of how early you pay it off.
I don't think you really have power to negotiate the financing conditions, it was all very 'pre-printed'. And these end up going to HCFI (Honda Canada Finance Inc), and are not dealt with the local dealership anyway. They do the entire interest payment over the timeframe in question. Yes, you can pay it off early, but the interest is calculated in there. At 1.5% (the Jan promo rate), it's a pretty good deal. :) (though OP wasn't going to finance anyway)

Lastly, they didn't try and upsell me at all when I got to the dealership.. I expected window etching (is that still a thing? :p ), floor mats, tinting, etc.. but they didn't offer a thing, likely because I stated exactly what I wanted. I will say I picked up custom-fitted "3d floormats") from findway[.ca] for $100 (+shipping since your'e in BC). They fit perfectly! check their site out for the video of their product. Lots of recommendations from RFD.
 
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87elco

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You should also look at certified preowned some of those cars have less than 5000 miles and have a longer warranty...i have seen 2018 civic si with 1100 miles for 19grand ceriltified it's crazy I should've waited lol
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