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@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:Mazda's have very little room to haggle. I paid cost for mine and after taxes, docs,etc., I paid something like $40 below sticker, and that was after adding gap at employee price. That also included a $1000 incentive.
A trick I used to use for getting them to spit out quotes was emailing a dealership in a nearby city. Tell them the locals don't want to play ball and you're willing to travel, but only if the pricing is done. They come with their final offer and you email it to the locals telling them to beat it. Someone will answer, and someone will beat it.
Well, I know that after fees, taxes, etc. the final price is obviously higher. My goal is just to get the car price as low as I can. But the incentives are coming from the manufacturer and dealers have wiggle room from the MSRP, so there's no way I'd pay sticker AND fees, taxes, etc. on TOP of that. In fact, there's wiggle room from the "factory invoice," because the dealer actually pays less than that. US Car News and TrueCar says I should be able to pay $3,410 below MSRP (which includes incentives, before taxes & fees), or $18,716 in my case.
What rates are you being offered by your credit union and CapOne? I see that Mazda is offering a 1.9% on your model. That's what you want. And assuming your scores, auto enhanced included, are like your EX8, you shouldn't have any problem getting it. Though to double down on your odds of success have you considered paying off your cards and employing AZEO?
I'm glad you got email responses back and I'm not trying to be a debbie downer but as I mentioned up-thread, those are likely just canned responses. But, that 1,500 off gives you a baseline to haggle from and lets you know you can do better in person. You can always do better in person -- with the right dealer that is.
As for your trade-in, sorry, I can't be of any specific help there. I'd just research the car value sites and see what the tiers are for yours. What you'd get as a trade-in and what you'd get private party, factoring the car's condition, mileage, etc. Decide the minimum amount you're willing to take for it. Then, work the trade-in angle and see if the dealer can meet it.
@KLEXH25 wrote:Just after I posted the above, another dealer emailed me an offer of $1,500 off MSRP in addition to the $2,000 cash back incentive! So apparently it's very possible to get pricing by email. I think the original dealer wasn't playing ball because he's a salesman from the floor (not internet sales), so he's used to doing it in person.
- - Hope you took them up on their offer. $1500 dealer discount is a net loser for them on that car. - especially with outside financing and no trade in.
It feels dirty 'doesn't it? You know it is wrong, but it's the game that is played. I suggest getting your auto financing arranged directly with a lender online before talking to a dealer about price. Once you have been approved for up to a certain amount of cash for your car purchase, you become like a "cash buyer" to a dealer and the real negotiations begin and you can manage the process better. You can get lending directly through banks online or through an online source like FiWize and it will get much easier with the dealers. Good luck!
I am currently having this issue. They are great at repsonding when talking about trim levels, options, rebates and what not. The minute I ask for an invoice showing all fees (tax/reg/rebates/dealer fees) they ghost me. Makes me not want to even go to your dealership.
@Asilomar wrote:It's not just you, OP. I've also seen the advice to start with written quotes via email but it's never worked for me and I've tried with 2 different cars. I also know people who've tried and gotten nowhere. I think Get Written Quotes From the Comfort of Your Own Home! Make Dealers Compete For Your Business! is an urban legend. No one I know well enough to consider credible has pulled it off. And it makes sense why. Why would the dealers, who don't know you, don't know if you're serious, and are well aware that you're just trying to use them to play off other dealers, help you do that by putting a firm number in print??
I've done it. I sent an email to all the dealers within 150 miles of me (I live in a big city, it was about 50). I said "I want this car, this trim line, any color. I have already driven it. I am paying cash. No trade." I got bull**bleep** answers ("call me so we can talk") from 75% of them, no reply at all from a few, msrp from a few, and a few real offers. Bull**bleep** answers got a second email saying "I am not coming into your dealership except to pick up a car. What is the price." That got an offer from about half of them. I'd have done another round, with a 'beat this' wording, but I bought I used car instead. I was not actually paying cash, but I have financing lined up from a third party, and I knew the rate was good.
Success with this probably depends on market. If there aren't a lot of dealers, they don't feel the pressure to compete. If it's a hot or brand new model, they may not care about you. But in a large metro market, they already sell lots of cars they won't see again (why would I drive 20 miles to go to the dealer service shop, when there's one a mile away?). So selling a car to some dude over the internet or phone is easy, they make money on the sale, they get a sale that counts for volume incentives.
Do this from a throwaway email address. You will get added to every marketing list they can think of. Don't give them a phone number, unless you have one you want to throw away.
I did the email dance about a month ago for the car I have now. I shot off emails to a few (8, 9? I lost count) dealers, asked for their best price, broken down. If they didn't give it to me, I told them I had too many other conversations with other dealers in the works to deal with the back-and-forth. More often than not, they came back with a solid number. A good example of this was a new model at a dealer that was their "showroom car." This means god knows how many asses sat in those seats, children sneezing on the interior, etc. etc. It was almost a year old, even though it had 8 miles on it. They had a price on their site. I told them it's not "NEW" if it saw more asses than a donkey farmer and gave them my offer with the asterisk that I was shopping other dealers and I found several others exactly like what I wanted but I want this one because I can't turn down a good deal when I see one. They told me it was too low and gave me their counter. I said no thanks.
A week later (after I bought what I have now), I got an "updated" quote that was a few hundred away from my offer. I think that car's still on their lot as I write this.
I ended up using Car Gurus and contacted the dealer that had the car I wanted through that site, instead. In my case, I got super lucky and found one with the price under book value (slightly used, like 1800 miles, exactly the model/trim/color I wanted), but I told them before I came in that I'll take the car for exactly what the listing said and I have my own financing already lined up. I let them do a credit check anyway (like 4 pulls in total including my financing) and their financing wasn't as good and they knew it (what's up Chase?).
It definitely helps to have the number ahead of time, and don't be afraid to tell them you're marking them off your list for playing games. This was a Honda I bought and there are probably 8 Honda dealers within reasonable distance of my home. You bet they love competing with each other, too.
A dealer that doesn't play games will be up front with you and gie you all the information you need. It might be a pain, but if you're being hassled now, you'll be hassled even more when you go into one of those locations for a 'price' that somehow changes or extras get added on.
Just my thoughts-
I was in the market for purchasing a new/used car in Spring of 2017. (I emailed at least 10 different Nissan Dealerships- only two gave me a meaningful response.) The one dealership low-balled me on my trade, we agreed that we couldn't move forward. Nissan of Keene in NH gave me a quote for my trade in, the new/used car price, and all the fees/taxes included (pending an in-person vehicle inspection). I emailed the salesperson for about a month- she was very patient. I settled on my car and am still very happy with my Sentra. I drove 3 hours to purchase my car, but major purchases like these seem to be worth it.
If a dealer lists "contact us" for the price, save your time and go elsewhere.
I work at a Honda Dealership part-time on the weekends doing new car/used car delivery. They are very clear about all the vehicle prices, but they have ridiculous/unnecessary "add-ons" to increase the price, such as warranties and exterior/interior protective coatings.