New car buying tips

[numbnuts240]

I will be visiting a couple of dealers this weekend in search of a new, fun daily driver. let's skip the bs, i'm going to look at some 2014 focus st's. now, i've never shopped for a brand new car, so i'm here to solicit some advice or tips on things i should, or shouldn't, do to hopefully get a car that i'm happy with at the best deal possible.

[frapjap]

I suggest calling at least 3 dealerships and getting their best price. You can also do this through email so you have a record.
True Car is an option, but isn't always the cheapest option. Read this link: http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/the-truth ... 1559397086

Either way, its a good benchmark for you to see if they're being straight with you.
When you get the emails, you'll see a variety of payments, prices, and such. As a result, be sure to ask if all fees- destination, tax, administrative, etc are included or show to you in the price. DO NOT SKIP THAT STEP.
I was looking for a basic Civic when the Subaru was bothering me. One dealer price looked WAY better than the other, but Andy (smartly) told me to ask if those items were included in the price. They weren't. Ask for that information up front so you can get a better picture and skip some of the BS.
When you're haggling, if they get to where its a $500 difference between you and them, you'll know you're damned close to making a deal. They'll probably bust your balls over with something along the lines of "whats $500 between friends?" speech. Reply that if you're really my friend/want me to buy this right now, you'll drop it and we'll be done.
As always, if you're just not thrilled and have the feeling that the price isn't fair based on your research and dealings with other dealers, be ready to walk away with conviction, telling them that you "don't need it today" and "if they still have it next month, to give you a call."

You could also see what this guy might be able to do for you. He has a flat rate ($250 I think?) and is a professional liaison car buyer. Based in NY, he can help you out since you aren't far away. Check out the website and testimonials. Some guy just got a new FiST through him. Sorts through the BS and has relationships with many dealers due to the customer volume he sends them that yield you a good price.
http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/tag/au ... consulting

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Just know that all dealers are the scum of the earth.
I'm not sure how specialized the Focus ST is, but if they have one on the lot and aren't willing to really budge on the price, there's no reason not to special order EXACTLY what you want. That was the real beauty of the Nissan VPP code. You didn't have to settle for whatever was sitting around for months on end. So, try to find someone that works for ford to hook you up haha.

I think the biggest discount I've ever gotten on a car was for the Miata (and it was like $500 or something tiny), and that's only because it had been around all winter and they were ready to offload it. Everything else I've bought is pretty rare, and there's usually a lot of people wanting to buy it.

[Ace2cool]

On a brand new car, there's not a TON of haggling, but there's still some to be had. Familiarize yourself with what their dealer invoice for a particular vehicle is going to be.

[RicerX]

Here is my two-cents worth.

1) If you're not trading, this makes you more attractive to a dealer because they don't have to acquire a unit to offload a unit. however, if you are trading, know that the trade difference affects the sales tax you pay on the new one. this especially helps if you're trying to figure out OTD/payment numbers.

2) If you're financing, this makes you more attractive to a dealer because they'll get an additional bump from that. That being said, check what you're eligible for with your personal bank/credit union first to get a ballpark on the interest rate you're good for so you know if a dealer is fishing you or not - they're not above doing this.

3) Be willing to drive. I have driven as much as 300 miles for the vehicle I wanted. Familiarize yourself with the inventory in that radius. The more options, the better. You're at a dealer to extract the best offer from them, so you have to acquire as much leverage as possible to play their game better than them this is the internet age - local only works for you if the price does.

4) keep a p0ker face for negotiation. you need them to think you're fairly lukewarm toward a purchase until after the papers are signed.

since I'm completely slow at work today, I did you a favor:

Edmunds offered the following information regarding a 2014 Focus ST (whichever the base without options is):
The MSRP is $24,940 while the average price paid is $23,352. This tells us a few things, the most important of which is that the vehicle isn't WRX status (you're going to have to pay MSRP because the demand is so damn high on a WRX and there's not much supply to curb the demand, meaning dealers don't have to budge on pricing and their profit is max). Dealers are discounting the Focus, which means there's bargaining room for you. The average is $1500 below sticker, apparently.

Cars.com is a great place to search and narrow down results.
New Focus STs in the US, sorted by cheapest to most expensive.

You'll find that the leftover 2014s are pretty deeply discounted across the board. Use that as a reference level, and narrow down the ones closest to you and go from there.

Rock on.

[Ace2cool]

Bruh, he already bought it.

[numbnuts240]

oh, i probably should have said something. my bad.

yeah, i bought one. fully optioned, 0% for 72 months.

[RicerX]

badass! where are the pics? sorry I missed that.

[Kompresshun]

[Ace2cool]

0% for 72 months.

!

[RicerX]

ah. I'll be it was in learned'd then eh?

you guys have to help me out with these things. there are far too many squirrels for my ADHD today.

[numbnuts240]

although i ended up purchasing, those with experience purchasing and bargaining could still chime in. hopefully it can help someone else out in the future

[elwesso]

One thing I learned from my most recent car buying experience- it's WAY more convenient to make offers over the phone. My girlfriend bought a car, and we were stuck for over 4 hours at the dealer haggling back and forth with about 10 other people. I literally told them "I don't need this car right now, and if I can save $1000 I'd gladly drive down the road and do that".

So I guess my approach would be

1. Go drive car, tell them you'll get back to them.
2. Call them back whenever you feel like it, and do all negotiating on the phone. This way you don't have to waste your time sitting at the dealer.
3. Once an offer is accepted, have them get everything together so you just have to take delivery and sign papers...

On this purchase, I was just about ready to leave the dealer because it was taking so long, even though I was confident we could make a deal. I wasted half of a paid vacation day waiting for some dingleberry to go talk to his manager 5 times over $500.

[Buzzman]

oh, i probably should have said something. my bad.

yeah, i bought one. fully optioned, 0% for 72 months.

One thing I've learned over the years is that 0% financing is NEVER 0%.
There are always two prices on new vehicles: Cash price and financing price.
The cash price is what you pay if you actually have the cash, or if you finance it through an outside source (like a bank).
Either way, the dealer gets the full amount up front, and they're done with you and happy.
The second price is the 0% financing price.
This is usually a few thousand dollars more than the cash price.
The difference in the purchase price is what you are paying to finance your vehicle.The two prices are never the same.
0% financing is a scam.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Tito are you going to bring that thing to Carlisle this year?

[RicerX]

oh, i probably should have said something. my bad.

yeah, i bought one. fully optioned, 0% for 72 months.

One thing I've learned over the years is that 0% financing is NEVER 0%.
There are always two prices on new vehicles: Cash price and financing price.
The cash price is what you pay if you actually have the cash, or if you finance it through an outside source (like a bank).
Either way, the dealer gets the full amount up front, and they're done with you and happy.
The second price is the 0% financing price.
This is usually a few thousand dollars more than the cash price.
The difference in the purchase price is what you are paying to finance your vehicle.The two prices are never the same.
0% financing is a scam.

I wholeheartedly disagree with you that it's a scam. Every financing offer has finance charges. (i.e. Valid only when purchased through NMAC $27.78 (36 months) or $16.67 (60 months) per month per $1000 borrowed.) It is absolutely better to pay cash if you have it, but paying 0% interest on a loan is absolutely better than 3.9% interest on a loan.