Off to buy a new car : how do I get the best price?

[radhak]

After considering a used car for my wife, I've finally persuaded her to go for a new car. She has a high preference for a Corolla. She dislikes larger cars, and I'm not willing for her to get the tiny Yaris or the korean cars. Maybe the Ford Focus or the Honda Civic might be equivalent, but only if the Corolla proves to be prohibitive for some reason.

She wanted the car to be 15K or less. I think I can nudge her till the 18K mark. Looking at the pricing given by Toyota online, I think that's what it'd even be before the registration/taxes are added.

So before we go to the local dealers, how do I prepare? How do I ascertain that I'm getting the best possible deal?

I see that Toyota is advertising 0% APR, and we should get that given our credit record; that itself is a good incentive for a corolla currently.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

take a look at the new mazda 3 with the skyactiv engine. 40 mpgs, about the same size as the corolla but a lot more fun and better mpg

 

[Raizinman]

If you are a member of either Sams Club or Costco, check out their car buying program. I just bought my Honda through them after searching the dealers. It save me about 2 grand. Buying through them eliminates haggling and frustration. Even if you don't buy, it gives you hard numbers to negotiate with. I've known people who became Costco members just for their car buying program.

 

[Doppel]

Having bought three new cars in the last two years at rock-bottom prices I can tell you the number one way to get a great price on a car is to shop price, not vehicle. By this I mean don't set your heart on a Corolla; set it on something like a Corolla (e.g. Civic, Cruze, Sentra) and then pull up the local dealers' web sites and see the best rates each dealer has on their cars in the "online ad" or "newspaper ad" section.

It's very common to find substantial differences between dealers even on the same brand. If you're not in love with a particular car you could very well find that a Corolla, for example, is going at a firesale price but that there are no good prices on Civics, and this can work out to a large difference in purchase price.

Anyway, once you narrow down of course call the dealership(s) and get some prices over the phone. However, just as a dealership knows that a buyer who's dunked time in the dealership to a deal is going to really want to close, so too will the dealership, so if you want the best price you still need to go into the dealership and spend some of their time and then make them know that you'll walk without the best price.

Deals and incentives are changing constantly. For example a Nissan Pathfinder is generally more expensive than a Toyota Highlander, but this week I've seen two dealerships offering to lease a new 4X4 Pathfinder at $230-240/month $0 down. This is an unheard of price on these. But next month the price could go up again. Maybe the Highlander would go for a crazy price.

 

[radhak]

Good suggestions, thanks.

About Costco, wanted to check the prices and if good enough become a member, unfortunately I can't see the price unless I'm a member and then talk to the Dealer, so not sure I can avail of it; still will ask.

 

[tbike06]

Pretty sure Nissan is clearing out their 2012 Sentras, you could probably get a steal on one of those, around 13 or 14k. Keep you under her price point.

 

[sdifox]

Mazda CX5 too big? Elantra, Focus are not a bad choices either.

 

[EagleKeeper]

If you can hold off for 3 weeks, as the 2013 models are delivered, dealers will start to unload the 2012 models. Decent deals if you look around. Also getting the last two or three days of a month puts pressure on sales people to get the numbers for the month looking better.

Most dealers have an internet sales office. Spam dealers within a hours drive to see what they will do.

Above comments apply once you have identified model desired and now going by price.

 

[Doppel]

If you can hold off for 3 weeks, as the 2013 models are delivered, dealers will start to unload the 2012 models. Decent deals if you look around. Also getting the last two or three days of a month puts pressure on sales people to get the numbers for the month looking better.

Most dealers have an internet sales office. Spam dealers within a hours drive to see what they will do.

Above comments apply once you have identified model desired and now going by price.

This is all true, case in point right now a 2012 Altima can be had for about the price of a bag of chips because the 2013s are out. And the end of month quota thing is still in play in some cases :thumbsup:

 

[vi edit]

You can check out true car too...
http://www.truecar.com/

It's a pre-negotiated rate.

 

[Greenman]

The last three vehicles I've purchased were done through email. For the car and truck, I sent an email to fleet sales at local dealers with the specs of what I wanted. I had bids back within a day purchased both for well below what I expected to pay.
For my bike, decided what I wanted, and emailed an offer to the only local dealer. They accepted my offer two days later.

All three were very simple transactions without all the salesmen bullshit.