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Who refuses to give you the out the door price? Like flat out says they are not giving it to you. I ended up walking away from the deal entirely because I got such a bad feeling, but I was wondering if me asking for the out the door price was a taboo question to ask.
That is another thing, they asked me about a payment and I told them I was not concerned about my payment. They kept trying to turn the conversation to a monthly payment, and I reiterated that I would worry about that later. Then the finance (?) guy said that I was not working with them, and they needed to know what I wanted. But all I wanted at that point was the price of the car!
Oh God, thank you guys!! I really was questioning myself. I only know as much about negotiating with dealers as I read on the internet and I should have taken the number one advice spouted: negotiate from email. Instead, I did so much reading I think I got cocky, and went straight to the dealers. There are other things to this story:
This dealership was doing a "cash for clunkers" incentive. The salesman quoted me a price but then said that would include my trade in. When I asked him to factor the trade in out he said he would have to rework the entire deal, and could not give me that answer. He said the number would be much different (obviously higher). At the price they gave me (that they said they were firm on) I would have paid over 21k for a new Honda Civic LX.
He said he knew that I was taking the price that they were giving me, and going to run and compare it with another dealership and that they were not going to play the "take a $100 off here and there" game for days on end. He was very condescending! I mean... isn't comparing prices standard fare?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Some Honda and Toyota sales people believe that their cars sell themselves, and are not willing to negotiate because when you walk out, someone else will come in and pay their price. I don't ask for the "out the door" price, I tell them what I am willing to pay out the door. Yes, you walk out a few times, but there are plenty of other dealers. I wouldn't drive 50-100 miles to save a few dollars on a TV or vacuum cleaner, but for a $20k+ car the time and gas is worth it.
That is another thing, they asked me about a payment and I told them I was not concerned about my payment. They kept trying to turn the conversation to a monthly payment, and I reiterated that I would worry about that later. Then the finance (?) guy said that I was not working with them, and they needed to know what I wanted. But all I wanted at that point was the price of the car!
That's an old (and rapidly becoming antiquated) sales tactic in the car business. Selling on payment diverts focus away from the bottom line.
Smarter dealers know that customers have far more knowledge at their fingertips these days and treat them with a little more respect. It isn't weird to ask the price of the car, the trade value, and the interest rate separate. Might the dealer not know the total Tax, title, and license til he puts the deal together in Reynolds or ADP? Yes, but that's about it.
OP, since you are buying new, run away from the dealer as fast as you can. There are plenty of other dealers from whom to buy a Honda Civic and it doesn't matter if the sales guys are jerks, you can still have warranty work done at the dealer. [If looking for a very specific not highly produced used model, you may be stuck dealing with the dealer if you have to have that car]
That's an old (and rapidly becoming antiquated) sales tactic in the car business. Selling on payment diverts focus away from the bottom line.
Smarter dealers know that customers have far more knowledge at their fingertips these days and treat them with a little more respect. It isn't weird to ask the price of the car, the trade value, and the interest rate separate. Might the dealer not know the total Tax, title, and license til he puts the deal together in Reynolds or ADP? Yes, but that's about it.
You can pretty easily ballpark TT&L. I know it wouldn't bother me if a quote was +/- $250 because everything wasn't plugged into the system to get a number down the penny.
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