Was wondering if somebody could help me with negotiating a new vehicle that I am looking to buy this week. It's a 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 "Laramie" 4x4 truck with Crew Cab and Long Bed (aka standard 6ft 4" bed). I've done most of my homework on this vehicle and have researched car buying in general, I just have some questions regarding negotiation of the Out-The-Door [OTD] price which is the stage I'm currently in via email with a new dealership's Internet Sales dept (dealer located in Puyallup, WA). First some info:
The window sticker total MSRP with the installed options is $54,215 and total invoice price is $49,830
They sent me a quote that includes several discounts and rebates totaling a deduction of $12,385 (off MSRP) but then they added on to that the Documentation Fee ($150) + Sales Tax ($4741) + Non Tax Fee ($1041) which brought the total OTD price back up to $48,161. [Truecar.com says people in my region are actually paying an average of $45,500+ for this exact vehicle.]
My question is what offer should I make next in my next email to the sales manager. I really want this vehicle for under $40K OTD and perhaps I shouldn't have but I already let him know this, to which he responded that he couldn't do that. The thing is I of course know they COULD do it, since they get the 3% holdback (off MSRP) + the factory to dealer incentives + any other kickbacks and secret rewards/bonuses that they get after they sell it, all of which pads their profits over True Dealer Cost (ie the actual amount the vehicle costs the dealership, which is usually much lower than Invoice). Plus new dealerships often buy their vehicles in fleets which nets them even more cost discounts. I've read that a shrewd negotiator should only allow them a 3-5% profit margin over dealer cost, but in my case since I don't know this truck's true dealer cost, I can't calculate that, I can only guess, and I have no idea how much exactly of what incentives they get beyond the holdback. And even if I did know the true dealer cost, WHAT EXACTLY SHOULD I SAY TO NEGOTIATE THEM DOWN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO THEIR TRUE BOTTOM LINE?
The window sticker total MSRP with the installed options is $54,215 and total invoice price is $49,830
They sent me a quote that includes several discounts and rebates totaling a deduction of $12,385 (off MSRP) but then they added on to that the Documentation Fee ($150) + Sales Tax ($4741) + Non Tax Fee ($1041) which brought the total OTD price back up to $48,161. [Truecar.com says people in my region are actually paying an average of $45,500+ for this exact vehicle.]
My question is what offer should I make next in my next email to the sales manager. I really want this vehicle for under $40K OTD and perhaps I shouldn't have but I already let him know this, to which he responded that he couldn't do that. The thing is I of course know they COULD do it, since they get the 3% holdback (off MSRP) + the factory to dealer incentives + any other kickbacks and secret rewards/bonuses that they get after they sell it, all of which pads their profits over True Dealer Cost (ie the actual amount the vehicle costs the dealership, which is usually much lower than Invoice). Plus new dealerships often buy their vehicles in fleets which nets them even more cost discounts. I've read that a shrewd negotiator should only allow them a 3-5% profit margin over dealer cost, but in my case since I don't know this truck's true dealer cost, I can't calculate that, I can only guess, and I have no idea how much exactly of what incentives they get beyond the holdback. And even if I did know the true dealer cost, WHAT EXACTLY SHOULD I SAY TO NEGOTIATE THEM DOWN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO THEIR TRUE BOTTOM LINE?