How do you go about negotiating?

[tryingforgoals]

How would you negotiate a price that is below invoice already?

I am looking at a 2013 Chevrolet Cruze LS model. The car is $18,000+ at invoice price (according to edmunds.com). But the dealership is offering it for $16,031.89 out the door (taxes and fees are included in that price). I don't know how to negotiate the price even though it's already below the invoice.

[simi_go]

When you can get a price that far below invoice the only real things to negotiate IMO should be the trade in value if you are trading a vehicle, and the interest rate. You can always try to get a better price and if you have another dealer that will beat that price in your area maybe you can try to get them even lower but it is not too likely at that price.

[tryingforgoals]

That's what I thought, but I'll see what I can do at the dealership. I don't have a trade in because this will be my first car.  I want to see the actual invoice from the dealer myself.

[GatorGuy]

You can always just simply ask for a couple hundred off the price. But if its a good deal then its a good deal so if you are happy with the price, take it and be glad you didn't have to go through the trouble of haggling for it. Just don't forget that financing and your trade in are also ways to get a better deal.

[StartingOver10]

Remember there are 3 legs to this deal when you purchase a vehicle:

1) the purchase price of the current vehicle (make sure you bring in the written info showing the price includes taxes and fees because they may try to add them in again)

2) your trade - which you don't have now (thankfully). If you had a trade I would advise selling it separately prior to negotiating anyway because this is another area that dealerships tend to under value.

3) financing. This is the big one. They make more money off of your financing than the actual vehicle. Go in with financing from a CU (pre-approved). If you don't they are going to hit you hard in the rate. You are at risk for that anyway because it is your first vehicle. If you can get a pre-approval from a CU then you don't have to worry about the rate.  The other thing the F&I guy does is try to pack your loan with a bunch of things like gap insurance and warranty. They will charge you a lot for those items. Some even add on other ridiculous fees for other items.

Good luck. I hope you end up with the car at the price that they advertise and at a decent interest rate.

[freerunningmn]

If invoice is 18k and there's 2k in rebates, that means that 16k is an average selling price, the dealership is still making money because there is also about 1k in hold back that is already built into the invoice price.

9-yrs in a dealership

[tryingforgoals]

@startingover10, I already have my approval from NFCU, luckily. I literally just want the car and that's it. I already have my insurance quote from USAA.

@freerunninmn, So should I not negotiate the price at all even thought it's the average price? I was thinking about negotiating a couple of hundred dollars off.

[C7LT1]

I think that 16031.89 OTD is a great price and you should get your pre approval and jump on this deal before someone steals it from under you. Chevy is only offering a $1500 in customer rebates on the Cruze. Lets say your sales tax is 6% that is about $950 in tax and lets say the deal has no dealer fees. That means the dealer is selling the car around 15.1K. That is well under invoice and market valve. It won't hurt to try and get some more knocked off but I highly doubt they will move much if any.

When I brought the DW car at !6k OTD I jumped on that deal faster then I can type this, why? Because most places I looked at wanted at least $20k OTD. I find what I like to call a steal of a deal!

[freerunningmn]

Talking about it being under invoice is totally objective...every new car is sold under invoice...take what you are buying the car for, add the rebate back in, that will show you how much you are really getting off of invoice...plus, remember there is hold back that is built into the vehicle, so if they sold you it at invoice, minus rebates, they are still making over 1k from you. i've been a sales consultant for a dealership for over 9 years...you should also make sure they have the vehicle in stock, and it's not a price leader that they can get by dealer trading, then the dealer they find that has one won't trade so they try to sell you on a few extra options...remember this, you can work a better deal on a vehicle in stock than one that the dealership has to write as a locate, because if they have to locate one, there is a chance you will shop while waiting, the other dealer already sold that unit, the dealer won't trade or you could decide to back out of the deal. My advice is to treat the price as a starting point not an end point. Also be aware that one some vehicle prices that are advertised they include all rebates like loyatly cash(meaning you currently own their brand of vehilce), lease conquest cash(you currently lease a vehicle of a competitior), fincancing through the manufacturer which usually has higher rates like 4.9% for 48-60 mo and 6.9% for 72 mo.

[StartingOver10]

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@freerunningmn wrote:

Talking about it being under invoice is totally objective...every new car is sold under invoice...take what you are buying the car for, add the rebate back in, that will show you how much you are really getting off of invoice...plus, remember there is hold back that is built into the vehicle, so if they sold you it at invoice, minus rebates, they are still making over 1k from you. i've been a sales consultant for a dealership for over 9 years...you should also make sure they have the vehicle in stock, and it's not a price leader that they can get by dealer trading, then the dealer they find that has one won't trade so they try to sell you on a few extra options...remember this, you can work a better deal on a vehicle in stock than one that the dealership has to write as a locate, because if they have to locate one, there is a chance you will shop while waiting, the other dealer already sold that unit, the dealer won't trade or you could decide to back out of the deal. My advice is to treat the price as a starting point not an end point. Also be aware that one some vehicle prices that are advertised they include all rebates like loyatly cash(meaning you currently own their brand of vehilce), lease conquest cash(you currently lease a vehicle of a competitior), fincancing through the manufacturer which usually has higher rates like 4.9% for 48-60 mo and 6.9% for 72 mo.

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^^^ All true. But especially the highlighted part. I have bought many vehicles and it seems that this is a common trick. Even if you ask, Do you have it in stock? They say yes, you get there in 30 minutes and its gone...Leads me to believe it was never there. So, personally, when that happens I leave immediately.

Freerunningmn, do you have a better way to make sure the vehicle is in stock other than asking? Naturally, this is after all the online research is finished and you actually go to the dealership that the vehicle is gone (within minutes, not days).

PS: I leave because now its a trust issue: I don't trust the dealership. This is especially prevelant with internet sales reps.