What's the most you've negotiated down the price of a car?

[SuperSix]

When I bought my last new car (Many moons ago) - I found what I wanted, and faxed (I said it was a long time ago) all of the dealers in the area, with exactly what I wanted, and what I wanted to pay for it. 2 came back with much higher prices than I offered - 3rd matched my offer - they go my business. I made sure that the fax cover sheet had all of the dealers names and contact numbers on it - so they knew they were competing.

 

[yottabit]

$3500 -> $2250 at a dealer I hope maybe that wins for percentage

Some crazy wide eyed sales manager that told me "WHAT PRICE DO YOU NEED TO LEAVE WITH THIS CAR TODAY" and I said.... "2 grand?"

 

[madoka]

back in 2009 there were killer deals to be had on new cars since nobody was buying them

+1

I still think of the deals I missed out on that year. I did get $17K off retail on my car that year though.

Last month I got an offer of $45K off MSRP on an Aston Martin Vantage. Still felt a bit high relative to what else I could get for the same price, so I walked.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

$1100 down to $600

Was the Mk1 MR2 that I made into my MK1.5
It had a thrown rod bearing, so I used that as a haggle point. Also the floor boards were bad. I just picked the car apart, added up the cost to fix everything then subtracted from the average cost of a clean MR2 and come up with $500. He rebuttles $600 with the rims, and I accepted.

 

[DominionSeraph]

$659

Asked if they could come down $500 from $19,800, and then got them to drop the ridiculous $159 VIN etching charge.

 

[Kaido]

My last lease (Kia Soul) - they wanted about $2600 down and $330 a month for a 3-year lease on the top-end model. I left and they ran after me and offered a measly $15 off a month. I laughed and left. Got pricing on an equivalent Honda and brought the numbers back. They dropped it to $0 down and $239 a month. So about $9k over course of the lease (with return fee), versus about $15k originally (for a $22k car). Don't know how much that counts since leasing deals are all baloney anyway :awe:

 

[OCGuy]

When buying new Fords I just use the X-plan pin code. No haggling, no hasseling....out of the dealer in a about an hour.

My F150's sticker was 37k, brought it down to 31+ fees.

 

[EagleKeeper]

'09 $25K Jeep coming of rental - Feb 2010
Out the door at $20K COD
Denver

'08 $26K Ford Escape - Nov '08
Out the door @ 21K COD with added GPS, TV, Remote Start & Tow Bar
San Jose - Refused to pay the CA fees - vehicle was going to be registered in NV

(1 week before the fuel bubble popped)

 

[amdhunter]

Saw my R3 model RX-8 at a Toyota dealership in NJ with a sticker of $24,999 on it. Seemed about right for the car at the time.

Walked in, let them check my credit and spent about 4-5 hours haggling. In the end, I walked out of the dealership with a final price of $20,200 after everything.

The best bargaining point I had was that the dealership did NOT realize the car was an R3 model. I won a lot of bargaining points because I said the car didn't have leather, sunroof or navigation (which are not an option anyway.) They also traded some extra money because I bitched about the high APR (5.9%). I never paid more than 2% ever, and I was took it personal that they'd even consider me paying that much.

I made a serious killing that day. I was grinning from ear-ear when I left.

 

[ballmode]

I need you guys to come in with me and do some haggling.

I've only done it to private party people and its easier for me to walk away.

Wish I could do the same with dealers, usually when I walk from a dealer they are cussing me out telling me not to come back (Greenwood, IN)

 

[EagleKeeper]

I need you guys to come in with me and do some haggling.

I've only done it to private party people and its easier for me to walk away.

Wish I could do the same with dealers, usually when I walk from a dealer they are cussing me out telling me not to come back (Greenwood, IN)

Main concept is to have all of your ducks lines up up front.

Cash is king!
Knowing what the competition is selling the unit for.
Knowing the demand for the unit.
Knowing the base cost.
Knowing your bottom line and not exposing it.
Knowing how long the vehicle has been sitting on the lot - longer the better for you - it is costing the dealer $$ sitting there.
Be willing to show serious interest and then walk away if price movement is not to your satisfaction
Coming in low, but not ridiculous and move up slower than they move down.

give yourself a 50-100 mile redius to work with if desired.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

My IS250 was listed at a Jeep dealer (got it on trade) for $18,000... after they lied about it being in an accident (minor accident 3 years from date of purchase) and the fact the car was FILTHY (neighbor owns a detailing place so I knew I could get it spotless for free) I managed to work him down to $15,000 - 16%... then also got $2500 in trade for a car I paid $2,000 for.... ended up out the door for 13k including ttl

Soon after sold the IS250 to buy a IS350 and got the Lexus dealer to go from 23k (was CPO with warranty) down to 18.5k be having them drop the warranty from the car and doing some haggling.... this was a 19% drop (but I did lose the CPO warranty)

 

[ballmode]

nice cars for that cash

 

[Jeffg010]

I bought a used 2001 Honda accord LX it was selling for $11,000 at the time. I got it for $7,500 out the door. A couple of weeks before I bought the car I was there checking out some cars and really like that Honda. I talked with the salesman and he gave me his card and all that jazz. Well for the next 2 weeks he called me every day to see if I was still interested in the car. By second week they were not sure they would get a sale out of me, I kept blowing them off. Even I was not sure if I was going even buy it. Finally when I went back the first thing he ask me was how much would it take to get you out the door I said $7,500 thinking well this will be the end of that but the sales guy walk back to one of the offices and can back out and say ya we can do that. I wish I would have said $7,000 or lower after seeing how fast it all went down.

So I was thinking $7,500 plus tax but when they were writing up the sale it included all that crap. I just looked on KBB and the same specs at the time of the sale is listed as $9,300 from a dealer. 2 things that help me was waiting 2 weeks and blowing them off and I was also paying cash. I bought the car in 2008 and only had 53,000 miles.

 

[OCGuy]

Not sure why people think cash is king. They make kickbacks and give you kickbacks for financing through the manufacturers finance company.

 

[iamwiz82]

Just depends on how well you research and such. My personal record for a new car's MSRP versus the price on the contract was about $17,000. 2005 Dodge Ram 4x4 5.7. It was a great truck and I miss it a bit. I also had my BMW Z4M at just over $18,000 off sticker. I REALLY miss that one.

Again, all relative though. I paid only a few ticks under sticker for my current car. Custom ordered 2012 MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works.

 

[Hmongkeysauce]

My negotiating skills suck. I was able to get $50 off my last purchase. It did come with free lifetime oil change and $250 rebate check. Does that count?

 

[DAGTA]

$32,500 down to $22,400 for a new G8 GT

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Techniques like what, in particular? I'm always interested in hearing things like that.

When negotiating, never be afraid to pull out prematurely. Sometimes when your in it to long, you get screwed.

 

[WackyDan]

Picked up my 2012 F-150 for $34k... down from $42500... Before trade.

 

[rh71]

About to buy an Elantra and it looks like there's less than $1k wiggle room between dealer cost (lower than invoice) and MSRP after you give like 3-5% profit from dealer cost (you have to give something). So this $1k at the $21k price range seems pretty common? Compare that to luxury cars where you can easily negotiate $2-5k off (also options are pricey to begin with). So to answer the OP... doesn't it depend on what kind of car you're buying?

 

[NutBucket]

Not sure why people think cash is king. They make kickbacks and give you kickbacks for financing through the manufacturers finance company.

True, but if you're financing at a super low rate the dealer isn't getting much anyway

And rh71, totally depends on the car you're buying. According to my bro-in-law, Ford has a 7% holdback on most everything. He was able to get a solid deal on a Focus last year even though it was a new model.

 

[WackyDan]

Another rule to live by when haggling with dealers...

Don't tell them where you work, what you do for a living, how much you plan on putting down. PERIOD. Don't tell them you are trading.

The less they know the better. All that matters is the out the door price they give you... PERIOD.