dealer tricks and getting the best deal

[navyramman]

I just made a deal with southtown Dodge in St. louis for one that mrsp'ed out at $38455 for $29872. Best deal I could find. The rebates were $500 for holiday till 31 Dec. Then $2500 ongoing rebate then 4% for employee choice,around $1200. They may have more employee choice numbers there since I gave them a couple. Give Mike Font a ring at 314 487 1010,ext 223 or e-mail at mike@the fonts.org. They can drop ship to any dealer in the country. Might cost you $75 for paperwork but if you"re saving that much that's cheap.

 

[Ramrod]

When I purchased my 96 CTD I ended up paying 28,500 for a 2500 loaded with everything. The salemans then saved me 4000 grand(baiscally the price of the cummins) over every other dealership price quotes I had. I had visited over 15 dealerships back then because this was when the 2ng gen just came out with the Cummins and everybody wanted one. I had friends wait 10 months for them. I can remember some dealers selling them to other dealers down in Texas for over list. And yes, then and now I know more about the trucks than they do. . What's up with that, don't they know thier product.



Anyway, I have not purchased a new car since 95 and you guys gave me a wealth of information. I now feel much better about the purchase. I just need to find the right dealer who is willing to work with an educated TDR CONSUMER.



I guess I have the 2500 back incentive till dec. 31, the farm discount of 500, maybe some other incentives. Gotta sell my truck this week. I think she is sold, but well see how that goes.



Thanks again to all who contibute

 

[lschultz]

tommeygun

Is the invoice price really what the dealer pays for the truck. This is why I question this. A friend of mine dads delivers fords all over Texas for this dealer. A while back he had to go pick up two trucks so he asked his son(who I work with)if he wanted to drive one of them back so he did. They stopped some where for something and his son was looking through it at the paperwork. Sticker was on truck with list price and in glove box was another piece of paper with what they payed for it. I will just use 20000 as a random number. Paper in glove box said there price was 10000 or about half of window sticker. Any truth to this?Whether this is the truth I don't know cause he is one of those ford boys.

 

[klenger]

My understanding is that the invoice is the price that the dealer actually pays for the truck, but they also make additional profit from holdback (3%) and occassionaly dealer incentives that we don't hear about. They also make profit from financing, dealer accessories, paint protection, extended warranties, etc. I plan to use purchase about $2000 worth of accessories (ebrake, Sirius radio, mud flaps, etc) and will use that as an incentive to the dealer to work with me on the truck price. Can't wait.

 

[Jengle]

I don't need any secrets for buying. I just call Tomeygun and get the real deal. No hassle pricing, no BS and the vehicle is ready to go when you get there. And nobody was able to beat his price.

 

[zari]

Bought mine after researching and comparing trucks (Dodge, Ch*vy, F*rd ) on the Internet (Edmunds and Carpoint mostly). Got the Invoice for a truck with the options I wanted, and searched Internet listings of local dealers - yep, they have their inventory on the Web, with VINs and everything!



Figured 'edmunds' TMV (true market value), holdback, <em>reasonable</em> marketing costs, and both dealer and customer incentives. Figured the price I was willing to pay for a couple of trucks listed on local dealerhips' Web sites and visited them. No intention of "negotiating," just told them what I was willing to pay, and how much profit they'd be making (around $1500).



First dealership salesperson tried to give me bull about how they wouldn't make any money, becuause <b>I</b> didn't understand holdback correctly (yeah right). Asked to talk to his manager, but he got evasive, so I got up and left.



Second dealership salesperson listened to my explanation, said that was over his head, and called the sales manager. Told the sales manager my 'spiel' and he said "your price + $1200"... I said "my price, or no deal. "



Got my truck from that dealership at the price I set, and they'll get repeat business from me.

 

[Glen]

I traded a 2001 CTD when I bought my truck. In Washington, if you have a high value trade-in, it is best to trade it. The sales tax is computed on the net cost of the sale: new-trade. For me that was 8% of $20,000 if I sold the 2001 myself.



This is the easiest truck I ever bought: I sent out a request for quotes on the farm stationary, specified exactly what I wanted and said I would wait for the order. There was 18% difference between the high and low bid. That is amazing; they all knew that I was going to buy from the low bidder!

 

[CATCRACKER]

yea they do make extra incentives if they move so many units they will can get up to a 200K bonus. my friend owns a chrysler/Volvo dealership he takes that 200K and gives deep discounts on vehicles and bonuses to sales force needless to say this lack of greed has had made him a millionair many times over!

 

[MSilva]

I paid 30,800 for my 03 SLT before sales tax on the 25th of Sept.

 

[MSilva]

Try carsdirect.com as a price bases. At the time ,my dealer beat there price.

 

[MSilva]

http://www.carsdirect.com Try it.

 

[Cummins Cowboy]

I would personally like to thank Tomey Gun, about 1. 5yrs ago I bought a new truck and with some advice from tomey gun he literally saved me thousands. If I would have been closer I would have bought from him, he will definatly give you the strait shot without all the BS. Given the way he willingly helps others I think I may just buy from him next time I need a truck. take the sticker price and minus 10. 5% off of it this will give you very close to invoice then minus you incentives, you should at least be getting this a minimum.





My dad just bought a truck last week and i was talking to the sales guy, I did a lease on my truck and at the end of the lease I have a 16k buy out, this guy claimed he can usually get the buy out negotiated down by at least 2k at the end of the lease. Tomey gun do you have any info on this?? if you don't wanna post online PM me.

 

[Tomeygun]

Originally posted by cummins cowboy



My dad just bought a truck last week and i was talking to the sales guy, I did a lease on my truck and at the end of the lease I have a 16k buy out, this guy claimed he can usually get the buy out negotiated down by at least 2k at the end of the lease. Tomey gun do you have any info on this?? if you don't wanna post online PM me.

for one, thanks for the kind comments, its nice to know that my info helped,



Second, its not so much that you negotiate the "buyout" down, but that you simply tell the lease co. that you do not wish buy the truck for "that" amount. Then ask them what they will do with it when they get it from you... well, one things for sure, they don't want to hassle with selling/sending to auction house,etc



so them you just tell them you want the truck for "x" amount take it or leave it, well, most of the time they would rather take it...



most of the time this happens when there is a new model and you lease it with expectation of a certain value in 3 years



well in 3 years it goes down more than expected, and you say "come get this de-valued hunk of metal" --- well heck, they still have "x" invested in it, the same reason YOU don't want it, is the same reason THEY want you buy it for the buyout amount (which is crazy high because of the downturn in the market)





to sum it up, YES , offer them less (based upon actual value), maybe they take, maybe not --- but never thake the buyout unless it is at/below market value

 

[bighammer]

1. Know the price before you walk in the door. Do your homework and find out invoice pricing of what you want.



2. Contain your excitement and act indifferent. Let them know you just need a truck and if it's going to be a Dodge what it must have.



3. Act as though you are ready to go down the street and plunk your $$$ on a Duramax or Powerstroke, or go to the nearest big town and see a larger Dodge dealer. In any case, they make NOTHING. If they REALLY want to sell you a truck, they will make a deal.



4. Negotiate the price of the truck without trade-in. If you are trading something else, it's a separate deal, and treat it as such. Numbers get fuzzy when it gets complicated. They do this stuff every day and will make it sound better than it really is. You can even negotiate the trade when you go to pick up the new one.



5. Don't sign ANYTHING until you read and understand it. Take all the time you need and don't be rushed.



6. Know what rate your bank will give you before you go shopping. Then when they offer somethiing higher, you say match it or finance with the bank. (rates are often better at the dealers these days though)



7. It often helps to take a friend with you, or take a break and call them on a cell phone. Car buying can be trying and a break to talk things over and come down to earth is helpful.



8. If you own a home and can get a home equity line of credit (HELOC) you can walk in and write a check for the truck and the interst is deductable. Then the dealer knows as a cash buyer, you are ready to jump on a good deal. (who ever makes it gets it)



9. If you are buying off the lot, look at the manufacture date, or how long it has been on the lot. Mine had been there for 6 or 7 months so I got it at dealer cost. It costs them money to have it sit there, so they will be happy to see you take it home.



Hope this helps

 

[RobbieH]

I bought a 2500 HO 6 Speed QuadCab LWB SLT in August. I went in on August 31, at about 6:00 PM. Some say that helps, in my case it was chance. I honestly had no intention of buying a truck that day, I just wanted to see what the prices were.



They had my truck sitting on the lot, they said it had been there since the end of May. It had some hail damage (not bad at all) and they said they needed it off the lot. The truck is not fully optioned, but it is very nice. It has the Infinity stereo with steering wheel controls, leather steering wheel, premium cloth seats with electric driver's seat, power mirrors with electric heat, trailer tow group, fog lamps, etc. They even tinted the windows for me for free.



They pulled out the invoice, not the one they typically show the customers but the real invoice. My dad used to run a dealership, there is a difference in some cases. Anyway, the invoice said their cost was $32k and some change. I have since confirmed that the invoice price was correct via Edmunds.com. In fact, the Edmunds figure came out higher than what they showed me, either Edmunds was off a little, or possibly the cost of the truck has gone up.



We sat and talked about it, basically he said "I'm not going to jack around, I'm going to go ahead and give you the low price right now". I figured he was playing "salesman", but he wrote down $26,135 and I walked out with a new truck.



Keep in mind that I'm not the type that cares about 3 or 4 dents in the hood and a few on top of the cab. Some care, but as long as the thing runs good and does what I need I don't care at all about a few dents. If you can find one like this, you can save some serious cash on one. Sticker on my truck was $36,850 or something close to that, don't have the sticker here handy.

 

[Tomeygun]

Originally posted by bighammer





3. Act as though you are ready to go down the street and plunk your $$$ on a Duramax or Powerstroke, or go to the nearest big town and see a larger Dodge dealer. In any case, they make NOTHING. If they REALLY want to sell you a truck, they will make a deal.



7. It often helps to take a friend with you, or take a break and call them on a cell phone. Car buying can be trying and a break to talk things over and come down to earth is helpful.



Hope this helps

well, again I must pipe up:



concerning #3 --- I had a guy come in and tell me he could buy a Furd for 31k -- about 1k less than my nicer-equipped dodge... So I called his bluff and told him to go buy it! I didn't even give him a price - why would I? my product was not good enough for him - not to mention I want the person who buys my beloved cummins to be 100% sure it is the truck they want, otherwise if cost is your buyer motavation - buy a kia !



POINT - be careful - a good salesman will see right through that trick - and call your bluff with a fake "undo-able" price



concerning #7 --- hopefully if you followed this thread, the buying process will be as easy as 1-2-3, price-buy-pay for...



POINT - READ THE TDR!!!!!!



happy thanksgiving everyone!

 

[2003Cummins4Me]

I havent been on the site in a few weeks but this is an interesting topic... i also sold cars for about a year and tommygun is 100% correct, dont settle for nothing less than invoice or cheaper and keep an eye out for the fake invoices (our dealer had them)

 

[wyosteve]

Now you've got my curiosity aroused--how do you know what is a fake vs. real invoice? If the sheet they show me equates to about 10. 5% off MSRP is that the "real invoice" ? I realize they still get the holdback even if they sell off invoice, but that is fine with me. I feel the holdback plus whatever unknown incentives exist is a fair profit.

 

[Tomeygun]

I know we have never used fake invoices here, but I think you will know a real invoice buy its look - it looks VERY old-school



like a dot matrix printer printed it, you know?



no fancy lines-- like this:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

| blah, diamler, blah, blah |

| |

| date built , blah,blah |

-------------------------------------------------------------------------



you get the idea

 

[MO'Donnell]

"Real" invoices will also state who paid for the vehicle, if it was a credit or cash sale. Key code numbers, shipping wt, etc. also show up on the invoices. Also, right under the list of equipment, after the destination charge there will be something like HB126900. This is the "holdback" the dealer gets for this vehicle HB = Holdback, 126900 = $1,269. 00 to the dealer.