[Everdeen]

Different brands have different business models. A friend of mine purchase a new Volvo and told me that she did not experience the high-pressure techniques that you would get and many dealerships. The clientele of a Volvo dealer is less likely to tolerate that type of behavior from a salesperson; they tend to not be impulse buyers.

My husband and I have both worked in dealerships. From our experiences, we no will longer purchase cars from dealerships.

To be fair, dealerships do have high overhead and a decent profit is reasonable. They provide a showroom and lot where you can view a variety of makes and models without having to do a bunch of driving around. That convenience comes at a premium price and as long as you understand that and the hard sell tactics that come with it, then it's up to you which type of car buying experience you prefer.

Personally, I prefer to purchase a used car that is five or six years old from its original owner whom I can meet and personally judge how well they maintained it. I also purchase a make/model that has a good long-term track record. It's a bit of a hassle, but I save many thousands of dollars doing it that way.

[MediocreButArrogant]

The easiest and least painful way to get a good price on a new car is to force the dealerships to compete for your business through a competitive bidding process. This process is documented on dozens of personal finance sites, and there are also services that will do this for you for a fee.

Every new car I've bought in the last twenty years was bought this way (except one). The service I use actually beats the bids I get by enough to cover the cost of service, so the net is it doesn't cost me anything extra to use the service. I believe this is because the dealerships know they are representing serious buyers, as opposed to some bozo off the street who read about this method on the Internet, so they knock a couple hundred more off the price.

If you walk onto the lot and talk to a salesman, you've already lost, by signalling that you are an uneducated buyer.

[skugelstadt]

When buying a new car, you should easily be able to get it for MSRP out the door ( all taxes registration, delivery, documentation fees etc. included) The exception is a popular model that the dealer does not have to negotiate on. This has been my personal experience in the Southern California auto market, could be different in the Vegas area.

[airics]

Problem is that a lot of dealers have a separate sticker with add ons. Planet for example, will install wheels, tint, and cloth protection and hit you for $1595. You have to fight to not buy it. Some dealers add for nitrogen in the tires.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by skugelstadt

When buying a new car, you should easily be able to get it for MSRP out the door ( all taxes registration, delivery, documentation fees etc. included) The exception is a popular model that the dealer does not have to negotiate on. This has been my personal experience in the Southern California auto market, could be different in the Vegas area.

That's not a terrible rule of thumb, but there are more precise sources of pricing information out there that will insure you don't leave money on the table. A couple years ago I bought my dad a Prius, and I thought paying a couple hundred under invoice would probably be the best price I could get. Through a competitive bidding process, I found a dealer willing to sell for a $1000 under invoice.

The rule of thumb above comes from tax, license and doc fees adding up to around 10%, and invoice prices around 10-12% less than MSRP. So if you can offset the difference between invoice and MSRP with all those other costs, you've probably paid invoice + 2%, which is not a horrible price, but typically not the best price available, especially for cars with no unmet demand.

[Everdeen]

I have a friend who purchased a car from a wholesale auction via a licensed bidder (dealer?). He paid the wholesale price for the car plus $500 (I think) to the bidder. He feels he saved a lot of money that way. He had to know exactly the make, model, and year that he wanted and pay cash for the car up front so that the bidder could not be left holding the bag.

[winter-rabbit]

They are cracking down on this method.

It is really hard to get dealer license if you got suspended.

Originally Posted by Everdeen

I have a friend who purchased a car from a wholesale auction via a licensed bidder (dealer?). He paid the wholesale price for the car plus $500 (I think) to the bidder. He feels he saved a lot of money that way. He had to know exactly the make, model, and year that he wanted and pay cash for the car up front so that the bidder could not be left holding the bag.

[airics]

Originally Posted by Everdeen

I have a friend who purchased a car from a wholesale auction via a licensed bidder (dealer?). He paid the wholesale price for the car plus $500 (I think) to the bidder. He feels he saved a lot of money that way. He had to know exactly the make, model, and year that he wanted and pay cash for the car up front so that the bidder could not be left holding the bag.

Both he and the dealer broke the law.

[SportyandMisty]

A friend deals with a German-only independent auto mechanic in the Bay Area, who in turn procures a used car at auction on his behalf. It is typically about a 6 year old Mercedes. In return the friend only has it serviced by this guy. Over 20 years it has worked well.

[airics]

If the guest entered the auction in anyway it's illegal.