How to talk a used car dealership's price down on a car?

[cudomix]

Get a friend mechanic to go with you, he'll drop the price quite easily (i usually abuse mine for boat engines, worked great so far and all i owe him are couple beers after). Actually, mechanic is a great idea whenever you're buying a car.

[Toxigen]

Get a friend mechanic to go with you, he'll drop the price quite easily (i usually abuse mine for boat engines, worked great so far and all i owe him are couple beers after). Actually, mechanic is a great idea whenever you're buying a car.

This. 100x over.

[SageKalzi]

cudomix: I honestly wish I could. My friend that has worked on cars for 10+ years is actually pretty far opposite way of the car dealership I'm going to.

[Deadvolcanoes]

Reddit has a great AMA from a used car salesman. There's a lot of really great information in that thread. Im at work so finding it an linking it isn't possible, maybe someone else can?

[gneugen]

I posted a topic a few days ago regarding buying a car, but I thought it would be appropriate to go to a different subject.

How do you talk a salesman at a used car dealership into lowering the price? I've read and heard several tactics, but I want to make sure they're correct.

Take your time, they're going to try to convince you to buy the car right now cause "it might be gone by the time you come back." but even if that's true you still shouldn't accept it because it's an attempt to force you to buy the car immediately.

Don't talk about how you're going to pay or anything like that until you've officially decided you're buying the car. If they ask "Are you paying cash or financing?" just say something like "We'll get to that if I decide to buy the car."

Get the cost of every single thing in writing so you know what you're paying for.

If possible I'd like more examples to try to get them to lower their price, even if it's just by a couple hundred bucks.

When buying, pay cash/check if possible and make sure they know you're paying that way. By doing so, you take control of the negotiations. It shows you're serious, and they'll be willing to spend some time negotiating, trying to get that cash. Don't be shy about telling them up front "I've got cash and I'm looking to buy." What you're doing is taking away that "it might be gone soon" argument they love to throw around. Everyone with half a brain knows that has nothing to do with the quality of the car, so their time will now be spent on the price which is what you want. The more tricks you can throw to derail their techniques that don't address price, the better.

If you're financing the car, bring your printed credit report. If they try to fuck you during financing you'll have your credit report in hand and can illustrate their bluff/lie. They'll try to do this to slip a high interest rate on you to make back some of the money you won during negotiations.

Know what the car is worth, and that they probably payed half that or less (at a used lot). MANY used cars come from auction, are fixed up by the in house mechanic, and then flipped to the lot. Cars can be purchased at auction for under a grand and easily marked up to 3-4k on the used lot. Or more. For example, say they've got a jeep listed at $5000. You figure they picked it up for between $1000-$1500 and maybe spend $500 fixing easy problems. That means they've got $2000 invested and need to make their nut to pay the bills. You need to play with the numbers in your head to figure out where the sweet spot will be and aim below it.

Know how long the car has been at the lot. Lots will put the most stylish and most likely to move cars by the fence/road. Easy to spot, easy to sell. These are going to be harder to negotiate on price because they sell faster. I'm not saying don't try to negotiate one of the border cars, just understand that you're not going to get as much off the asking price because the lot operator generally knows what they've got when they put the car in a highly visible place.

Bring a mechanic friend. Or hire one. They can spot things you'll never know were there and you'll be able to use that power in the negotiations. Mechanics know what things cost to fix, how much labor is involved, how likely things are to fail, and most importantly, what to look for.

Knowledge is power, so bring your wit. Take your time driving, inspecting and detecting flaws and use them to your advantage. You may have no plans to fix the flaws you find, but mentioning them to the dealer will put him on his heels. The whole dance can be a bit like dealing with women. The reason asshole guys get the pussy is because they can keep women on their heels and feeling insecure about the goods. The result is that they seek security from the very guys who knock them down. The same applies at the used car lot. You need to remind them gently that the 1980 volvo he's got marked at $5000 isn't the hottest shit on the block. It's got a bad paint job, 50% left on the tires, and needs new ball joints. Then you offer something reasonable and see if they bite.

The thing to keep in mind: these guys do it all day, both buying and selling. If you want to see it in action, just take your car into the lot and see if they'll buy it. Offer out a price and watch how they try to work it down. They'll say you've got bad paint, and they need the price lower so they can make theirs, and whatever else they can think of. The best advice is to just try. There's nothing to lose (literally) in asking for a lower price. So do it, and you'll get better at it.

[SageKalzi]

When buying, pay cash/check if possible and make sure they know you're paying that way. By doing so, you take control of the negotiations. It shows you're serious, and they'll be willing to spend some time negotiating, trying to get that cash. Don't be shy about telling them up front "I've got cash and I'm looking to buy." What you're doing is taking away that "it might be gone soon" argument they love to throw around. Everyone with half a brain knows that has nothing to do with the quality of the car, so their time will now be spent on the price which is what you want. The more tricks you can throw to derail their techniques that don't address price, the better.

If you're financing the car, bring your printed credit report. If they try to fuck you during financing you'll have your credit report in hand and can illustrate their bluff/lie. They'll try to do this to slip a high interest rate on you to make back some of the money you won during negotiations.

Know what the car is worth, and that they probably payed half that or less (at a used lot). MANY used cars come from auction, are fixed up by the in house mechanic, and then flipped to the lot. Cars can be purchased at auction for under a grand and easily marked up to 3-4k on the used lot. Or more. For example, say they've got a jeep listed at $5000. You figure they picked it up for between $1000-$1500 and maybe spend $500 fixing easy problems. That means they've got $2000 invested and need to make their nut to pay the bills. You need to play with the numbers in your head to figure out where the sweet spot will be and aim below it.

Know how long the car has been at the lot. Lots will put the most stylish and most likely to move cars by the fence/road. Easy to spot, easy to sell. These are going to be harder to negotiate on price because they sell faster. I'm not saying don't try to negotiate one of the border cars, just understand that you're not going to get as much off the asking price because the lot operator generally knows what they've got when they put the car in a highly visible place.

Bring a mechanic friend. Or hire one. They can spot things you'll never know were there and you'll be able to use that power in the negotiations. Mechanics know what things cost to fix, how much labor is involved, how likely things are to fail, and most importantly, what to look for.

Knowledge is power, so bring your wit. Take your time driving, inspecting and detecting flaws and use them to your advantage. You may have no plans to fix the flaws you find, but mentioning them to the dealer will put him on his heels. The whole dance can be a bit like dealing with women. The reason asshole guys get the pussy is because they can keep women on their heels and feeling insecure about the goods. The result is that they seek security from the very guys who knock them down. The same applies at the used car lot. You need to remind them gently that the 1980 volvo he's got marked at $5000 isn't the hottest shit on the block. It's got a bad paint job, 50% left on the tires, and needs new ball joints. Then you offer something reasonable and see if they bite.

The thing to keep in mind: these guys do it all day, both buying and selling. If you want to see it in action, just take your car into the lot and see if they'll buy it. Offer out a price and watch how they try to work it down. They'll say you've got bad paint, and they need the price lower so they can make theirs, and whatever else they can think of. The best advice is to just try. There's nothing to lose (literally) in asking for a lower price. So do it, and you'll get better at it.

Yeah, I broke down and decided to ask my mechanic friend if he'll come with, lol.

Is it better to bring cash or just let them know that I have a certain amount ready to be put down, which can be taken out of my account? Is it really that important to actually BRING the cash?

I know my credit score, but do I need to bring the printed credit report? Again, just wondering since I know my credit score from last week, lol.

Yeah, I know my car looks and IS crap, that's the main reason I'm going to trade it in, I just already know they're going to lower the price as much as possible (Makes sense anyway.) and I'm sure that I won't get the full KBB value for it, maybe not even half.

---------- Post added 2012-11-29 at 06:12 PM ----------

Alright, well anyone have a reputable cash for clunkers site? Looked at a couple and saw they said they'd give me $340 for it. Would it be a good idea to bring it up when the time comes that it'd sell for that much if he tries to say he'd give me less than that? Honestly I'd be fine with getting $300 for it traded in but if he did try to say some awful number like under $250 should i say I could get $340 through cash for clunkers?

[daniel9696]

There is SO much inaccurate information in this thread I can't even begin to describe. My current job is being a manager at a used car dealership. We have cars at all price points but mainly specialize in high end late model luxury cars.

First of all. Screw Kelly Blue Book. If I could sell every car of mine for KBB i'd be a rich man. If I could give you KBB value for your trade i'd be out of business. Use NADA Guides for all your car values. Its really the only accurate one. Its what the banks use to determine how much they'll loan you. Most cars we have are marked up about 3000$ from what we paid for them. You simply have to realize it's a business. No I cannot sell it to you at cost. My salesmen don't have permission to take $1 off what we're asking. And even though I do, i'll get bitched at or possibly fired if I go to far. Rather loose your business.

Cars at that $10k and under price point are very different too. Say I take in a 1999 Infiniti QX4 with 160k miles. I might give the guy $2200-2500 for it. I'd put a price on the windshield for $4900. No Im not going to take money off because theres a scratch. I took money off from what I gave the guy for trade because of that. Its already factored into the price. No I wont sell it for three grand. Cars are VERY hard to find in that pricepoint. If you don't buy it someone else will. Guaranteed. I have so little money in it I don't car if it sits for a little while.

Don't act like a douche. Im much more willing to work with you and take $500 (maybe a grand) off if your nice instead of insulting me by offering me $5000 on a $7500 car.

And yea most dealerships have an online price thats $1000 less then the lot price.

Its a business. You wouldn't go into a grocery store and offer them $200 at the checkout for $250 worth of food. Yes ill take money off. But I have to stay in business. And i'm not trying to fuck you either. Im not hiding the carfax. Im not ganna patch up the motor to make it last for 1000 more miles and sell it as is. But if you buy a car with 100k miles can you really come back to me a month later and blame me when it fucks up? I've probably put a total of 5 miles on it from the time I got it to the time you bought it. How can I know whats ganna go wrong in 2k miles? I've had people hide things on there trade ins to me, drive off in the perfectly good car I had while i'm stuck with there piece of shit trade that smokes and has a bad transmission that I have to take a loss on. You didn't give me a 5 second warranty so why would I give you 5 months.

Im tired of all the hate to dealerships. Most of us are good guys. Yea if you go to a dealership specializing in cheap cars with 100k miles that have like 10 cars in inventory your probably ganna get fucked. But don't hate me because of it.

[tenzing21]

Just know how much you're willing to pay before you arrive and be ready to walk out. There's plenty of used cars for sale. You don't have to have that particular one if the dealer is trying to cheat you.

This. If you have lived for 21 years without this car, you can go another week without it.

[vindicatorx]

First research the value of the car. Being informed gives you power because his job is to sell you a car no matter what and if you know exactly what the car should go for you can simply make an offer and say take it or leave it. It's a used car there are tons of used car dealers around. The other main factor is your credit rating and size of a down payment. If you have a few thousand for a down payment and can get reliable financing they will work with you more than not.

[goodwrench]

There is SO much inaccurate information in this thread I can't even begin to describe. My current job is being a manager at a used car dealership. We have cars at all price points but mainly specialize in high end late model luxury cars.

First of all. Screw Kelly Blue Book. If I could sell every car of mine for KBB i'd be a rich man. If I could give you KBB value for your trade i'd be out of business. Use NADA Guides for all your car values. Its really the only accurate one. Its what the banks use to determine how much they'll loan you. Most cars we have are marked up about 3000$ from what we paid for them. You simply have to realize it's a business. No I cannot sell it to you at cost. My salesmen don't have permission to take $1 off what we're asking. And even though I do, i'll get bitched at or possibly fired if I go to far. Rather loose your business.

Cars at that $10k and under price point are very different too. Say I take in a 1999 Infiniti QX4 with 160k miles. I might give the guy $2200-2500 for it. I'd put a price on the windshield for $4900. No Im not going to take money off because theres a scratch. I took money off from what I gave the guy for trade because of that. Its already factored into the price. No I wont sell it for three grand. Cars are VERY hard to find in that pricepoint. If you don't buy it someone else will. Guaranteed. I have so little money in it I don't car if it sits for a little while.

Don't act like a douche. Im much more willing to work with you and take $500 (maybe a grand) off if your nice instead of insulting me by offering me $5000 on a $7500 car.

And yea most dealerships have an online price thats $1000 less then the lot price.

Its a business. You wouldn't go into a grocery store and offer them $200 at the checkout for $250 worth of food. Yes ill take money off. But I have to stay in business. And i'm not trying to fuck you either. Im not hiding the carfax. Im not ganna patch up the motor to make it last for 1000 more miles and sell it as is. But if you buy a car with 100k miles can you really come back to me a month later and blame me when it fucks up? I've probably put a total of 5 miles on it from the time I got it to the time you bought it. How can I know whats ganna go wrong in 2k miles? I've had people hide things on there trade ins to me, drive off in the perfectly good car I had while i'm stuck with there piece of shit trade that smokes and has a bad transmission that I have to take a loss on. You didn't give me a 5 second warranty so why would I give you 5 months.

Im tired of all the hate to dealerships. Most of us are good guys. Yea if you go to a dealership specializing in cheap cars with 100k miles that have like 10 cars in inventory your probably ganna get fucked. But don't hate me because of it.

This is the kind of deal you're dealing with at that price point, and it ISN'T representative of buying a used car at most places. As an example I will use the truck I bought about a year ago to tow the race car. The truck was on the lot for $17,000, which is KBB retail for a "good" condition truck, they want someone to come in and offer 2-3,000 less and they'd take it. That truck was traded in to a Ford dealership for $3500, It was then wholesaled at auction for $5500, they had about a cost of $500 in transporting it to the dealer and detailing it. They are into that truck for $6000 and anything they make over that is gravy. You typically want to double your money on a used car lot. I know the dealership I bought it from, I used to work a new car dealership across the street and we sold 500 cars a month at the height, so I got my truck for $8500 cash.


Id be really leary of any place that doesn't sell over a $10,000 car, not that cheap cars cant be good, but those places are usually bottom feeders and this can be a hit or miss proposition. What is the car? I can probably find wholesale cost for you.

[SageKalzi]

There is SO much inaccurate information in this thread I can't even begin to describe. My current job is being a manager at a used car dealership. We have cars at all price points but mainly specialize in high end late model luxury cars.

First of all. Screw Kelly Blue Book. If I could sell every car of mine for KBB i'd be a rich man. If I could give you KBB value for your trade i'd be out of business. Use NADA Guides for all your car values. Its really the only accurate one. Its what the banks use to determine how much they'll loan you. Most cars we have are marked up about 3000$ from what we paid for them. You simply have to realize it's a business. No I cannot sell it to you at cost. My salesmen don't have permission to take $1 off what we're asking. And even though I do, i'll get bitched at or possibly fired if I go to far. Rather loose your business.

Cars at that $10k and under price point are very different too. Say I take in a 1999 Infiniti QX4 with 160k miles. I might give the guy $2200-2500 for it. I'd put a price on the windshield for $4900. No Im not going to take money off because theres a scratch. I took money off from what I gave the guy for trade because of that. Its already factored into the price. No I wont sell it for three grand. Cars are VERY hard to find in that pricepoint. If you don't buy it someone else will. Guaranteed. I have so little money in it I don't car if it sits for a little while.

Don't act like a douche. Im much more willing to work with you and take $500 (maybe a grand) off if your nice instead of insulting me by offering me $5000 on a $7500 car.

And yea most dealerships have an online price thats $1000 less then the lot price.

Its a business. You wouldn't go into a grocery store and offer them $200 at the checkout for $250 worth of food. Yes ill take money off. But I have to stay in business. And i'm not trying to fuck you either. Im not hiding the carfax. Im not ganna patch up the motor to make it last for 1000 more miles and sell it as is. But if you buy a car with 100k miles can you really come back to me a month later and blame me when it fucks up? I've probably put a total of 5 miles on it from the time I got it to the time you bought it. How can I know whats ganna go wrong in 2k miles? I've had people hide things on there trade ins to me, drive off in the perfectly good car I had while i'm stuck with there piece of shit trade that smokes and has a bad transmission that I have to take a loss on. You didn't give me a 5 second warranty so why would I give you 5 months.

Im tired of all the hate to dealerships. Most of us are good guys. Yea if you go to a dealership specializing in cheap cars with 100k miles that have like 10 cars in inventory your probably ganna get fucked. But don't hate me because of it.

First off, to the thread, I bought a car. Under 60K miles 2009 Hyundai Elantra. Totally didn't expect to buy the car, but considering it ran with no issues unlike at the cheaper lot where every car had a problem and I was told by the (Extremely) shady Russian salesman "Oh, don't worry, we fix that, that's easy fix, won't even take long." for every issue.

Now, onto daniel. Never said I expect to get KBB value for my car, I didn't expect to get it at the cost you guys buy it at and as far as I knew no one had permission to take money off unless you said so anyway, just like every other car place, the manager decides the price. Still ridiculous that you expect me to believe you buy a (Very soon to be) 14 year old car with very high miles for $2500, I refuse to believe that. You very may well sell it for $4900 but you did NOT pay $2500 for it. You also SHOULD (Especially in your business) be trying to sell the car for extra money because there is that scratch and some people are morons that won't even think about it and just buy the car anyway, if not then you have something to give the guy who says "There's a scratch on it, I want $300 off."

Several people here suggested not to act like a douche, don't know why you're saying this. If a grocery store had a half eaten box of cereal for $3 instead of $6 for the new box I'd think that you should be able to negotiate the fact that the half eaten box is older, has had several hands in it and no longer has the "special prize" inside and won't last as long as the new box. I also think that stating a used car is the same as groceries is fucking retarded, but whatever. Yes, if I spent my hard earned cash on a vehicle from you and you say several times (Because you guys do) "It's a nice car, sure, it has some miles on it but it'll definitely last. By the way, sign this contract saying deal with it if it fucks up." sure, we agreed, but if it screws up that quickly it's both of our faults, not just mine.

Same thing applies to you buying the car. If there's an issue with the car then you could test drive it to make sure, since AFAIK that's what car dealerships do, they make sure that they're not trading in a POS. Along with the fact that, again, you definitely aren't giving them $2000 for their POS with the bad transmission and smokes, you're giving them as little as possible so you can sell it for a high price because it's a business, you need to make your money. You can probably sell most of the cars for scrap and nearly break even if it's 100% a POS.

Most of you may be good guys, absolutely, but your job is to get us to buy a car as soon as possible and to get as much profit as possible out of it. There's not a lot wrong with it, just that it's known that you guys are going to try to get the most money from us and that we need to try to get the best price possible as well.

[Grummgug]

You ask.

You get a price. You tell them no, you will pay this instead. If they say no, walk out the door.

I'm not being rude, its just that people get hung up on thinking they have to give a reason. You don't. Its like asking a girl out. You don't give a reason why. You ask her out. If she says no, move on.

If you have some sort of emergency where you need a car right then and cannot afford to walk out off the lot, then you probably don't have the leverage to get the price drop.

Perhaps one method is to set aside a couple days to shop for used cars. When you enter the lot, tell the sales guy you have x amount of time to shop at that lot because you are planning on visit x, y, and z lots later that day to find a car. This gives you opening leverage. The salesguy knows he probably has to give you a deal to keep you from walking away.