Why won't the dealership do this?

[TimC]

if you're going to set the cruise at 55, you may as well be driving a honda fit.

 

If I'm ever driving a Honda Fit, my tears and shame will propel the car.

[policyvote]

Okay, first, we're talking about a Honda Fit. Honda literally cannot make enough of these to satisfy demand. The dealer is asking $2K over sticker because they know that if you don't bite, someone will be in tomorrow, and maybe they'll bite. Second, they are lowballing you on trade because if they 'give up' the opportunity to net a $2K profit they think they can get (by 'only' charging you sticker) they're going to 'make it back' when they flip your car. Third, KBB is typically quite high; banks use KBB 'excellent retail' to justify loaning out big money on cars, despite the fact that 'excellent condition' (just slap a price sticker on it, no reconditioning needed) on a used car is a physical impossibility. NADA's 'trade-in' price is probably closest to accurate, but the REAL 'value' is in the Manhiem website--it's a national average of what your car will sell for at auction. Mini Coopers, for example, fetch about 90-98% of their sticker price after three years--but the 'book value' shows merely better-than-average resale value.

 

If you read nothing else, read this: cars are worth what someone will pay for them, period.

 

Also, H8er is right on all counts here. If the OP has decent-but-not great credit and is hoping to keep his payments the same or less, he's probably looking at the wrong car.

 

Peace

policy

[Egret]

I will drive my family truckster until it falls apart just to avoid buying a new car.

[H8tank]

Also, H8er is right on all counts here.

 

There is even a movie out, "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

 

Eat that Atomic you f0khole!!

[policyvote]

There is even a movie out, "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

 

Eat that Atomic you f0khole!!

 

Seriously. I guess Hell is located directly beneath the great plains, because it's obviously frozen over.

 

Peace

policy

[I Like Soup]

Hey, there is a new Mercedes E63 for sale 30% off in San Francisco...

[Skippy]

Someone up there said that those Honda Fits are in hugh demand and they are very right. I have a friend that works at a Honda dealer and he says that they are sold the same day that they know that they are going to be shipped to his dealer. He said that there is no room to work a deal on those cars and that people are very willing to pay over MSRP on them.

 

I hate to admit this but I will. We have a Scion that is basically a Toyota that is in the same vain as that Fit. That car belongs to my 20 year old boy as I was just the one to finance and pay, a lot of the payments, but in 2006 when he went car shopping he was only willing to buy what he thought he could afford. That ended up having him look at the Scion and other cars like it. When we went to "deal" with the dealer he told us there was no dealing. The car costs just what the sticker says. He said it is the same here as it is at any Toyota/Scion dealer and he was right. That was about two months before small cars became all the rage due to oil. Since that day that dealer has tried to purchase that car back off of us because they can not keep up with demand. I have seen the exact same car in the want ads for more than we paid for the car brand new.

 

Point is that it is all about supply and demand.

 

Oh and H8 does not say it is a very nice way but he is speaking the truth. He also said that he was in the car sales business at one time. I have been in the car business but never with new cars and never would I have called it my real job but there are all sorts of games upon games played when a car is being purchased.

[westvirginia]

The simple answer to your original question is: "Because they think they would be leaving money on the table to do what you're asking." If you're stuck on a fit, prepare to bend over. If you can live with something else, you really need to look elsewhere. There are deals to be had, but not on that car. It doesn't sound like a payment issue from your description.

[wirehairman]

And, NEVER discuss trade-in until the price is decided on. Don't even mention it.

 

Good info here.

 

I go a step or two further and walk in pre-approved for a loan and don't discuss how much $ I'm going to put down until a final price is agreed upon.

[JoJoTheWebToedBoy]

It's been said several times already.... You are trying to buy the flavor of the month. They don't need to deal with you because there is already a line forming behind you that will pay more then you are offering.

 

And if you want top dollar for your current car, don't take it to a dealership because they have to resell it. Why should they give you top dollar, it just cuts into their profits.

[detlef]

You'll rarely get full price or even 3/4 the price for your trade-in. The only way you're going to get blue book is if you sell it on your own.

 

And, NEVER discuss trade-in until the price is decided on. Don't even mention it.

Werd.

 

Once we were trying to get a dealer to come a few grand off his price for a car. He tried to change the subject by talking about us how much the trade in was going to bridge the gap. I reminded him that we weren't interested in trying to figure out how we could come up with the price he wanted but rather that we had no intention of paying it.

 

He wanted $16,900, we wanted to pay $12K. Eventually, we gave in at $12,300. Of course, we could pat ourselves on the back all we wanted but if we were really getting over on them, they wouldn't have sold it. All we really did was mitigate the degree to which we were being taken. We don't buy cars for a living.

 

What H8tank seems to be getting at, even if he's being a d!ck in the manner that he points it out is that dealers want to sell cars. The economy is tough. They're not going to stay in business if they make a point of refusing fair offers for their goods and paying far less than what is commonly understood to be the value of used cars. Obviously they're going to take their shot and hope that you'll take a worse deal. However, if you have what it takes to hang out 2 hours after close and dude is not budging at all? Me thinks that you're leaving something out of the story. For instance, if dude refused to go below $2 grand over MSRP, what the hell were you doing there for 2 hours?

 

Here's the line you use at that point (assuming you want to be polite). "Hell, for all I know, you're selling them all day every day for that price. Maybe I'll figure that out once I go to the other dealers. If that's the case, then that's the case. But it's not the case for me tonight. So, before we waste each others time here, understand that this deal is not going to be made right now for anything over MSRP (or whatever actually real price you have). With that in mind, do we have something to talk about or should I just walk?"

 

If you want some great advice, go to the Motley Fool and look up their car buying guide.

 

Also, remember, being a good negotiator doesn't mean that you refuse to budge off an unreal stance. It means you can determine what is actually fair, aim a bit to your side of that, and not allow the deal to go any further in their direction from that fair spot. Demanding Boardwalk and Park Place for Water Works and Baltic is just silly.

[detlef]

Good info here.

 

I go a step or two further and walk in pre-approved for a loan and don't discuss how much $ I'm going to put down until a final price is agreed upon.

That as well. Both your trade in and how you're gong to finance it are the two ways they distract you. Figure out what the car costs, then figure out where the money is going to come from.

[westvirginia]

Also, remember, being a good negotiator doesn't mean that you refuse to budge off an unreal stance. It means you can determine what is actually fair, aim a bit to your side of that, and not allow the deal to go any further in their direction from that fair spot. Demanding Boardwalk and Park Place for Water Works and Baltic is just silly.

 

 

Troof.

 

Remember, tell her you want to do her and her roommate at the same time and bargain down from there.

[twiley]

Troof.

 

Remember, tell her you want to do her and her roommate at the same time and bargain down from there.

And if all else fails, duct tape and chloroform will do wonders.

 

Wait...I thought we were talking about cars?

[BS Miscreant]

Addressing as many pertinent points as possible here without paying credence to any in particular...

 

2001 V6 Nissan Xterra 2WD power everything, CD player, roofrack, running boards, 114,000 miles, no mechanical issues, paint in good condition, interior in good condition, no frame damage and probably most importantly it's fully PAID OFF.

NADA

"Rough Trade-In" = $3,650

"Avg Trade-In" = $4,600

"Clean Trade-In = $5,375

"Clean Retail" = $7,050

 

My goal is MSRP(their sticker price) and I asked for $3,000 ballpark for trade, they offered $1,200. During negotiation they offered $800 more. That's better but when they come to the table $2,100 over sticker and internet price ($17,580), it's not better enough. Granted, now I'm back at MSRP but showing nothing for my trade. The lowest we get, trade included, is like $16,900 (about invoice) then I'm told tax, tag and title will put it at $18,900. This puts me off even further because that's about $500 high for t,t,&t. I know what I'm willing to pay but more importantly I don't want to be jerked around. This is where I balk and they, manager and finance guy, quit. They can't screw me so they don't have time for me.

 

Down payment would be approximately 57% of MSRP. By the end they are aware of this number.

 

Goal is around $100/month payment. I can afford more, just don't want it.

 

Credit Score is around 700 (high 6s / low 7s)

 

We weren't talking for an hour and a half. I arrived at the dealership about 5 minutes before they closed(they posted incorrect hours on website) and test drove the car, they got all my info, yada yada yada

 

 

Someone said this and after some thought I believe this to be the case... they feel they can move the Fit at a good, very blatant mark up and aren't really budging because of the current demand. I also think the fact that this particular dealership is relatively small and that most of their trades are shipped out to auction has an effect on their willingness to spend for them. If the latter is true I'll have better luck elsewhere. If the former is true, I'll be looking at another car.

 

After even more thought on this matter, it really boils down to this. I was willing to pay the sticker price, which a lot of people won't even consider doing, and was told after sitting down that the price was much higher. I've purchased 4 new cars and this has never happened to me before. Given that tactic, I suppose I expected greater flexibility on their part. Oh, well.

Edited December 17, 2008 by BS Miscreant

[TimC]

It's a blessing in disguise, Miscreant. Time and time again, you find the "hot" cars of today are not so hot a couple of years down the road when trading them in. The worst thing you can do is pay more than it's worth today PLUS get hit more at trade-in time as well.

 

Stick with something normal for about the same price that will hold it's value much better...like a used Accord or Camry (if you must go foreign).

 

Otherwise, you may be back here in 3 years saying your $16,000 Hot Honda Fit in 2009 is only worth $3,000 in 2012.

[H8tank]

Sounds like you did everything right, and it is unfortunate you couldn't get a deal done.

 

Put your xterra on cragis list for $3000 CASH and sell it, go to your bank and get financed, walk into a dealership with money in hand and you'll be outa there in one hour. GAYROWNTEED!

[BS Miscreant]

It's a blessing in disguise, Miscreant. Time and time again, you find the "hot" cars of today are not so hot a couple of years down the road when trading them in. The worst thing you can do is pay more than it's worth today PLUS get hit more at trade-in time as well.

 

Stick with something normal for about the same price that will hold it's value much better...like a used Accord or Camry (if you must go foreign).

 

Otherwise, you may be back here in 3 years saying your $16,000 Hot Honda Fit in 2009 is only worth $3,000 in 2012.

Along with other helpful stuff in the thread, this may well be an excellent perspective on this whole situation.

 

Sounds like you did everything right, and it is unfortunate you couldn't get a deal done.

 

Put your xterra on cragis list for $3000 CASH and sell it, go to your bank and get financed, walk into a dealership with money in hand and you'll be outa there in one hour. GAYROWNTEED!

Wow. Thanks for the clear and unbiased viewpoint, not to mention the advice. Next time I'll give more details up front so as not to get thrown into the briar patch unnecessarily. My bad I suppose.

[BS Miscreant]

And one more thing...

I'll be sure to let ya'll know what ultimately happens with my search.

 

Thanks again for the words of wisdom.

[Azazello1313]

Sounds like you did everything right, and it is unfortunate you couldn't get a deal done.

 

Put your xterra on cragis list for $3000 CASH and sell it, go to your bank and get financed, walk into a dealership with money in hand and you'll be outa there in one hour. GAYROWNTEED!

 

agree, except put it up for $3500, and take your first offer 3K or above.

[Azazello1313]

It's a blessing in disguise, Miscreant. Time and time again, you find the "hot" cars of today are not so hot a couple of years down the road when trading them in. The worst thing you can do is pay more than it's worth today PLUS get hit more at trade-in time as well.

 

Stick with something normal for about the same price that will hold it's value much better...like a used Accord or Camry (if you must go foreign).

 

Otherwise, you may be back here in 3 years saying your $16,000 Hot Honda Fit in 2009 is only worth $3,000 in 2012.

 

well, I agree that a car selling for OVER MSRP is maybe not the one you want. but the fit is going to hold it's value just fine.

[Atlanta Cracker]

Sell car on craigslist. Get online quotes from all the local dealers on exactly the car you want. Walk-in and buy from the best offer.

 

At least call a couple of other dealers within driving distance and see what their offer is on the car. If you live in an area where they are the only dealer this may be the problem. Call 2-3 in the nearest big city and see what they say.

[BS Miscreant]

Amazing! A few days later and I get a call from the salesman. "There's another manager in tonight and I'm gonna go talk to him about your situation. Is there anything I can help you with?" I say yes, two things... Are the Fits really selling so well that you can expect $2000+ over MSRP for them? and I'm not taking less than $3000 for my trade.

 

45 minutes later he calls and says he has a great deal for me. They are offering me $18,000($400 > MSRP) and $3000 for my trade.

 

I'm now driving a Blackberry Pearl Honda Fit.

 

For what it's worth I'll post my full review later. As of now my mpg are in the high 30s. Will update.

 

Thanks again for all the help.

Edited December 21, 2008 by BS Miscreant

[H8tank]

Amazing! A few days later and I get a call from the salesman. "There's another manager in tonight and I'm gonna go talk to him about your situation. Is there anything I can help you with?" I say yes, two things... Are the Fits really selling so well that you can expect $2000+ over MSRP for them? and I'm not taking less than $3000 for my trade.

 

45 minutes later he calls and says he has a great deal for me. They are offering me $18,000($400 > MSRP) and $3000 for my trade.

 

I'm now driving a Blackberry Pearl Honda Fit.

 

For what it's worth I'll post my full review later. As of now my mpg are in the high 30s. Will update.

 

Thanks again for all the help.

 

Human beings are funny.

 

 

Not you, the nuts at the dealership, I could tell you story's.

[BS Miscreant]

I'm sure they're getting at least a bit of what they need to get out of all this but what's important is I'm getting what I want for what I'm willing to give.