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I didn't read thru all the other posts so if this has already been posted, then ok, but....
You say this is a dealer selling the car and you only have $15k to spend.....here's an idea....
Walk in the dealer with the $15k in hand. Show them the money. Wave it in their face. Get them excited about it. Tell them you'll offer that much for the $17k car you are wanting.
If they balk (which they probably will) simply walk away.
Trust me as long as you're not being ridiculous on the price, they'll be begging and pleading with you not to walk out the door. They'll probably have a comeback of "how can i earn your business today?".....that's when you respond with "sell me that $17k car for $15k"...
Yes they'll play hardball. That's how dealerships work. Their job is to extract as much out of your wallet as they can any way they can. Your job is to keep them from doing so by knowing how to play their game. Don't fall for their b.s. lines of "I got a family to feed I have to sell that car for $17k"....because so does everyone else.
Instead stand your ground. Know how much you're willing to pay and stick with it.
I saw the car, I walked in, waited about 10 minutes to be helped (I guess they didn't like my clothing) looked at the sticker price, had a test drive, reflected over a cup of coffee and told the salesman $42k in cash upfront. After he confided with the manager, they agreed and I drove off with the car. Took me about four hours and most of that was a test drive and getting the car out of the building. They both told me it was because of the cash. It had nothing to do with my readiness. I wasn't even fully ready to commit to it. Hence, my test drive in it. When I was ready to buy I told him what I will do. Again, it is the priorities of the dealership. Have you interviews most dealerships?
They didn't care about filing a CTR. They didn't bother with the commission. They saw $42K and did not let me walk. They wanted $42K in cash. Maybe the trouble of dealing with financing wasn't worth them when they could sit there and take cash, file a CTR and do the title work and get another car off the lot (or in this case out of the building). It took them about 2 hours while people are still working and doing business to move the car out of the lobby and onto the parking lot to be driven away. Don't know or care what their motive was to prefer cash over pushing financing. The salesman suggested financing once and I quickly rejected it. No reason to bother with financing when I can get the title straightaway. The MSRP for was $45K. Saab dealerships that I was familiar with (whether in Europe or the US) are very stringent with their pricing. So $5k may seem typical for you but it was a great deal.
Also, my small chat with the manager of the multi-brand dealership. The dealership also sold GMC, Buick and Cadillac (this is one of those "Which one is the black sheep?" moments). He mentioned that Saabs don't sell too far under sticker and many sold at sticker (which was quite inflated to try to recoup costs for making them which was very expensive) which led to the eventual demise of the brand. Saab (or maybe GM) were very bull headed about pricing and that led to people not wanting them in the first place until they hit rock bottom and dropped their prices outstandingly but it was too late by then. Most people who buy Saabs he explained are Saab fans or very "quirky" people. Hence the market was small for them which also led to inflated pricing because those who would buy a Saab really wanted a Saab and they would pay a premium for it.
It is worth their time and they prefer to make the extra money on a loan. sometimes they can make as much commission on the loan as they do on the sale of the car (they make surprisingly little commission per car). However if you are a cash buyer and they cannot get you to take a loan through them, they will tell you they are giving you a discount because you have cash, so you feel good about the deal you are getting and do not leave. While they are happy to get the sale, they are disappointed to miss out on the loan commission. Last time I went to buy a new car I was just going to write a check. They showed me how they could get me a loan and discount the purchase price because of the commission, I could pay off the loan in three months (no penalty for paying off after three months) and even after putting in the interest and all the costs of the loan, I would still net out about a thousand cheaper, so I took the loan. It took about half an hour to fill out the loan papers and get approved. It took about twenty minutes more the make the three payments. They made a few hundred dollars extra, I saved about $980.00. I am not sure how the bank and/or dealership can afford to do that , but I did not care, I liked the salesman, he won, I won, it was a good deal for everyone I cared about in that situation.
^ I had a similar experience. They really wanted me to take the loan, and they didn't care if I paid it off the very next month or over 5 years, it didn't matter to them.
It is worth their time and they prefer to make the extra money on a loan. sometimes they can make as much commission on the loan as they do on the sale of the car (they make surprisingly little commission per car). However if you are a cash buyer and they cannot get you to take a loan through them, they will tell you they are giving you a discount because you have cash, so you feel good about the deal you are getting and do not leave. While they are happy to get the sale, they are disappointed to miss out on the loan commission. Last time I went to buy a new car I was just going to write a check. They showed me how they could get me a loan and discount the purchase price because of the commission, I could pay off the loan in three months (no penalty for paying off after three months) and even after putting in the interest and all the costs of the loan, I would still net out about a thousand cheaper, so I took the loan. It took about half an hour to fill out the loan papers and get approved. It took about twenty minutes more the make the three payments. They made a few hundred dollars extra, I saved about $980.00. I am not sure how the bank and/or dealership can afford to do that , but I did not care, I liked the salesman, he won, I won, it was a good deal for everyone I cared about in that situation.
They explained the loan option to me and how I could have saved money but I declined it. The savings by going with the loan instead of paying cash was just over $150. Yeah, my time is worth more than that so instead of going through the process of getting the loan approved. I swiped my card and saved time. If it was truly worth their time they would have pushed it. Mind you it was a limited edition model and the wagon version they had in stock had a waiting list (which I learned ended up being sold for ($48K). So I don't think the car was destined to rot at the dealer.
The car I bought wasn't published on the website before I bought it. So, it wasn't out there that the car is for sale yet. I just happened to see it in the dealership driving by a week earlier. It was just put in the building probably to be a demo. I was the first to have a crack at buying it and I did. Maybe they wanted to get it off the floor or maybe because it was manual they didn't think it would sell quickly. Again, I didn't know their motive. I let them lecture me on the benefits of financing one time and I quickly declined. If it was that much worth their time then they would have let me walk. I'm not sure how much they would have made through me financing it but apparently it wasn't worth their time to make sure they get it. I've had deals fall through before trying to buy new because I said no to financing. Again, it goes by an individual dealership and their priorities. I got a discount of probably about $2k off the actual price minus basic dealer markups and other BS fees. The MSRP for the car was $45k.
^ I had a similar experience. They really wanted me to take the loan, and they didn't care if I paid it off the very next month or over 5 years, it didn't matter to them.
Truth. Where I live, most of the dealerships have a "Must finance through dealer" clause in order to buy vehicles at a certain price.
I bought my car from a similar MB dealer. got a great discount and the price I wanted. The catch?
He gave me a interest rate of 4.9% for 72 months.
I signed on the paper, and refinanced it from credit union at 0.9% for 36 months.
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If I had agreed, I would have said "I agree."
