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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,570 posts, read 81,167,557 times
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It's just a matter of choosing the right dealer, read the reviews on Yelp and various automotive sites. When I bought the F150 in 2017 I was given more than I expected for my trade, about $12,000 off the sticker price, and was out in about 90 minutes. When I bought my wife's 2020 Subaru Outback, again I got more than expected for the trade, a couple of thousand off the sticker and from arrival to driving away with a 0% loan was about an hour and 10 minutes. In both cases the vehicles were ready to go although they did add a trailer brake controller to the truck, but that only took 20 minutes while we did the paperwork.
I went through something similar recently. Wanted to buy a new Tucson, would try and get an out the door quote for paying cash but it was very difficult to get a straight forward answer. They would constantly ask me about financing, throw in ad ons and tell me it is not optional. I eventually gave up as most of the ones that had the model/trim I wanted were an hour away. I saw the writing on the wall, drive an hour in LA traffic with my wife and they are going to do the switch and since we are tired, we would be compelled to buy.
I always wonder why buying a car is not as simple as buying a big screen TV from costco or best buy. This is the price $X + Tax + fees. The DMV site in CA has a calculator that would tell you the exact fees down to the last cent.
Never, ever, tell a dealership up front that you're paying cash.
Never, ever, tell a dealership up front that you're paying cash.
Why is that?
I am looking to buy a new car in about 6 months or so (maybe a little longer, it just depends). I planned on paying cash so I would like to know why I shouldn't do that. Would it be better to finance and pay it off the next month like another posted mentioned?
The theory is that dealerships will cut you a better deal on the price if they think you're going to finance - because they think they'll make it up on financing. Then you switch the bait on them and tell them you're going to pay cash.
I don't buy a lot of new cars; I always pay cash; and while I don't explictly say I'm paying cash, I also don't really see evidence that the method of payment makes a lot of difference in the price negotiation. But I'm not going to "stack 'em deep and sell 'em cheap" dealerships where the only thing the typical customer cares about is the size of the monthly payment (Nissan, anyone?) so maybe my experience is not indicative.
At any rate, I'm not totally convinced of the theory, but as noted I do not have a wide experience in buying new cars from dealers (5 so far, I think).
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,570 posts, read 81,167,557 times
Reputation: 57793
Quote:
Originally Posted by WalkingLiberty1919D
Why is that?
I am looking to buy a new car in about 6 months or so (maybe a little longer, it just depends). I planned on paying cash so I would like to know why I shouldn't do that. Would it be better to finance and pay it off the next month like another posted mentioned?
Yes. Don't tell them until after the deal is made. Losing their kickback from their lender means less discount will be given off the sticker price. On the other hand, if they are offering 0% interest, or even 0.9% that costs them, making up the difference to the lender, so you are more likely to get a deal if paying cash.
I am looking to buy a new car in about 6 months or so (maybe a little longer, it just depends). I planned on paying cash so I would like to know why I shouldn't do that. Would it be better to finance and pay it off the next month like another posted mentioned?
Dealers make money on a variety of aspects of a new car purchase and are the masters of obfuscating exactly where they're making that money. It could be rolled into the financing, the trade in, dealer installed accessories, etc. When you tell them up front that you're paying cash, they will simply move any potential money you would have saved into something else - lower trade-in offer, restricted access to rebates, increased pricing for extended warranties and accessories, etc. The best thing to do is act like you're interested in financing and are considering extended warranties and accessories. They'll come up with a lower price for the vehicle itself, thinking they'll make it up elsewhere. Only after you've got it writing, announce you're paying cash, don't want an extended warranty, and don't want any dealer installed accessories. I've purchased 40 new cars/trucks over the years and use this tactic frequently. You'll get one of three reactions: 1) A surprised look, followed by resignation that you out maneuvered them. 2) Visible anger, followed by resignation that you our maneuvered them. 3) Visible anger, then refusal to sell the car under the negotiated terms.
In the end, you need to do the math on a variety of options (cash, leasing, financing) to determine which offers the lowest overall vehicle cost. The overall cost is the down payment + trade in credit + price of accessories and warranties + (number of payments * payment amount). The cost is NOT the number written on the invoice. Of course, there's also the lost investment opportunity cost incurred by tying up cash in a car instead of leaving it in an investment account, but that's an debate for a different day. I generally take low interest financing, assuming I don't lose any rebates by doing so (another trick used by dealers).
There's lots of information out there as to why telling the dealer you're paying cash is a bad idea. Here's one:
I'm with my brother. He's buying a car. He needed a lift to the dealership that's fifty miles outside of town.
He showed up yesterday, had his credit approved, and when it came time to sign the paperwork, he found an error in the price. A $2,000 difference over what was quoted. They promised to get the paperwork right when we got back this morning.
So we're back. Arrived here at 9 a.m. on the dot and I'm still here two hours later. I'd like to leave, but I don't want to maroon my brother here in case these guys screw things up again.
I'd like to say that this is the exception to most car-buying experiences, but I've yet to have a good one.
The last time I bought a car, I knew what I wanted, knew what I'd pay, and my wife and I have credit stronger than three acres of garlic. Rather than pay cash, I though I'd take advantage of the 0% interest.
Walked into the dealership at 10 a.m., test drove two cars and picked the second one. By 11 a.m., we had an agreed-upon price. By 11:30, my credit was approved.
But I didn't drive off the lot until 4:30 that afternoon. Why? Because they had to prep the car, put gas in the tank, and a host of other pointless crap. Even then, at 4:30, they still wanted me to walk through the service department and meet everybody, as if I gave a damn. Trust me. I don't want to glad-hand the guys in the service department for two essential reasons: 1) That means something has gone wrong with the car I just purchased and 2) I prefer not to be overcharged for an oil change, thanks. What's more, by the time my new car needs actual service a year or two from now, that guy in the service department has likely moved on to somewhere else.
And this purchase experience didn't even include the other five dealerships prior where the salesperson knew less than me. Or left me standing out in the rain because he forgot to get the key and had to go in to get it. Or did their level best to not sell me the car at the advertised price. Or wanted to charge me $1,000 for floor mats that I could get at a fraction of the cost online. And on and on and on.
The thing is, I'm a pretty amiable guy. I'm not some crank. I'm just a guy with a reasonably busy schedule who thinks that it should be a simple matter to pick out a car, get the financing hammered out, and leave.
Yet, I've probably bought fifteen cars over the years for either myself, for my kids, or with my wife. And I've yet to have a good experience. And I'm a guy with good credit who does his research. I'm not a pain in the ass. I'm not trying to squeeze these guys in negotiations.
So why is the entire process an ordeal on the order of a spinal tap or a root canal? You mention this to people in the car biz and they shrug their shoulders and say, "Well, that's just the way it is."
Help me out here. Why are car dealerships seemingly run by shady incompetents? I'd really like to know.
they make you wait to beat you into submission and keep you from fighting to much. they figure if you wait you are tired and invested so more likely you will just accept their offer. i recently was in a dealership and they had me waiting like 30-40 minutes to give me an initial offer for the car and my trade. i was so pissed, i went looking for my car and would have left if i had found it.
i ultimately wanted to buy my car on rodo but they didnt have an exact match for what my wife wanted. id definitely do the deal with them if it werent for that. you are dealing with those old bastards who still want to do things the old fashioned way.
i remember when they finally accepted my trade in value via email i went to the dealer and was told "we are relucantly going to keep the price the same as we said before." that was probably some old guy tactic to try to make me feel like i got a great deal. i absolutely hate that crap. dont tell me that, i dont care and the attempt at manipulating me pisses me off.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,570 posts, read 81,167,557 times
Reputation: 57793
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainNJ
they make you wait to beat you into submission and keep you from fighting to much. they figure if you wait you are tired and invested so more likely you will just accept their offer. i recently was in a dealership and they had me waiting like 30-40 minutes to give me an initial offer for the car and my trade. i was so pissed, i went looking for my car and would have left if i had found it.
i ultimately wanted to buy my car on rodo but they didnt have an exact match for what my wife wanted. id definitely do the deal with them if it werent for that. you are dealing with those old bastards who still want to do things the old fashioned way.
i remember when they finally accepted my trade in value via email i went to the dealer and was told "we are relucantly going to keep the price the same as we said before." that was probably some old guy tactic to try to make me feel like i got a great deal. i absolutely hate that crap. dont tell me that, i dont care and the attempt at manipulating me pisses me off.
This is why I love buying new cars. Until I found a couple of fair and honest dealers, I always enjoyed the challenge of dealing with their tactics. Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealers are the worst. Years ago my wife wanted a Liberty. I was paying cash, and told the salesman I would pay $23,000 "out the door" (Sticker was $32,xxx) This was not far after 911, in December 2001 and no one was buying cars. I ended up getting it for that, after 4 hours, 5pm-9pm during which time I walked away 3 times and was chased back. He kept trying to get me to do a credit application but I refused, saying that I wasn't going to discuss financing without agreeing to the amount. Then when they finally caved I wrote a check for the total amount, $23,000. While with the finance guy doing the paperwork he told me that mine was the only car they sold that day.
More than once I walked out to never come back when the manager walked back on the pre-negotiated deal.
And made sure everybody knew what to expect in that location.
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