Who has bought a new car in cash?

What kind of deal did you get? What was the difference in price of what you paid vs. sticker price?

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

I honestly can't remember because it was 6 years ago but are you a AAA member? They have some program where if you mention it to the dealer they have to charge you only 500 over cost. Check the AAA website. That's where I found the info.

ETA: Here is the link to the info Link

Message edited 2/3/2012 8:30:39 AM.

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

In 2004 I purchased a Toyota Corolla for cash. I think the list price was about 17,500 and I purchased it for about 13,000 including taxes and all fees. HTH

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

We've done it twice, but both times we had friends and family discounts so we paid under invoice. but that was unrelated to the cash.


I'm not sure if cash deals are more attractive to dealers. They make money if you finance with them. We just financed a car this summer, but through our CU and as soon as we had the check, they stopped bothering us with all the number mumbo jumbo. But we had the deal before we told them about getting our own financing. We actually let them run our credit, knowing we wouldn't go through them (we were curious to see if they really could get lower)

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

my father never financed a car, he always paid cash up front and used to get some amazing deals...

it also depends on the car you are getting.. the more expensive the car the better deals they can make for you.

he used to get up to $10-15K off his mercedes, and every 4 years he was going back for an upgrade...

i say was because he is now deceased..

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

Cash deals are less attractive to dealers. They make money on the back end when they sell you financing. Even with all cash or your own financing, they will still try to talk you into financing through them for that reason. Ditto for things like extended warranties, aftermarket products, credit insurance etc. They make money on all of that stuff.

We did a cash-like deal (we had our own financing which is treated like cash) and went in with Zag pricing (which gives you a quote from a dealer) and went with who gave us the best deal.

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

I did and I was treated horribly for it! Like everyone else said they make more money for you if you finance.

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

Posted by robynfs

Posted by tarabelle99

Cash deals are less attractive to dealers. They make money on the back end when they sell you financing. Even with all cash or your own financing, they will still try to talk you into financing through them for that reason. Ditto for things like extended warranties, aftermarket products, credit insurance etc. They make money on all of that stuff.

We did a cash-like deal (we had our own financing which is treated like cash) and went in with Zag pricing (which gives you a quote from a dealer) and went with who gave us the best deal.

This! We paid cash for our last SUV. We visited several dealerships and were not treated well. It was so bad that we went with a dealership out of state that we happened to have a connection with. We didn't get a better deal because of the connection but we were treated fairly and knew we weren't getting ripped off. They also let us pick up the vehicle at the factory which was only a couple of hours away. I was shocked at the treatment....one guy told us right to our face that we are not a customer he wants anything to do with and most won't!

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

I have a friend who has been in the industry for over 30 years, managing the finance end. He walked me through our purchase. I was able to send him text pics of paperwork etc and he looked it over.

He said the biggest thing was not to let them know how you were paying for it until you got to the end. Never let them know you NEED it, and be prepared to walk (we walked out TWICE on the car we bought). Do not talk trades until the end either. And even if you were going to finance, still go on the basic idea of total cost not monthly payment. Basically, do all your price negotiations for the price of the car before you get to how you're paying or trade in or anything.

And he said don't let them do the 4 square math with you. Four Square shell game

We had a dealership in Smithtown attempt to use fuzzy math on the P&S agreement. They did this on the final paperwork, after we had a written quote stating less and paid a small deposit. If we hadn't been paying attention, the discounted price we negotiated would have been erased. So, even when you have a price you agree upon, watch their math. In our case, they took the discount and then added it back in at the end thinking they could trick us by telling us they had to add it back in for tax purposes (no). We walked out needless to say and had to do a chargeback to get the deposit back (we had put $50, I'd never do more)

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

Thanks for all the info! Perhaps we should sign up to finance then just pay off the balance right away?

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

When I purchased my car, I told them I was not going to finance through them because they were giving me over a 5% APR, then A LOT of the "discounts" they were offering they said they were taking away... Finally I financed with them at 2.9% and they only took away some of the discounts.... its kinda like they have to make out somehow, whether they get your money now or later... so if you want to finance and pay it off quickly that would be great!

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

I got a good deal because I went from dealer to dealer comparing pricing. They don't like when you pay cash so don't tell them until the end.

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

I always give the dealer the option to match the interest rate on the financing I am bringing in. Usually they can do this.

Paying cash really won't make much of a difference, unless you are literally bringing in a suitcase full of GREEN. Then they may give you the really good deals. But that can get insane bringing that kind of cash.

I have a client that once told me a story how he brought 50k worth of GREEN in to a dealer to buy a BMW. He got a REALLY good deal on it if you know what I mean.

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

Dealerships do not like cash deals. We paid in cash last year and many places wanted nothing to do with us once we said we were not financing. The place we did buy said to never tell them you are paying cash until all paperwork is signed....

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

i guess it depends on where you go.

my father NEVER got a bad deal or was treated rudely.

I just asked my Aunt this question as well, and they bought both of their Mercedes cash. the dealer knocked off close to $12K for the 2 door and $8k for the truck.

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

Just want to add. Get internet pricing from the dealers rather than going in. They will give you their lowest price that way.

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

when i tried to buy my car cash the dealer only lowered the price 500. from the sticker, they want you to finaince is what im told, i actully wound up finding the car i wanted with all the extras on ebay from a dealer CT, was soo worth the drive to pay cash.

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

Not much better than when I financed honestly. I do agree if you literally bring a suitcase of cash and not a bank check it might be a good deal!

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

I just bought a car & they didn't deal AT ALL. I think it more has to do with what car you're buying. I was ordering my car, not buying one off the lot. I think they're more willing to deal with a car on the lot that maybe is a new last year's model left over

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

my parents purchased a mercedes (used) in cash and realized it would of been cheaper if they got the car load, then paid it off for the first payment.

They sold the mercedes after 8 months at a loss LoL was such a waste of money and pointless to buy and i have to say i hated the car LoL

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?

Re: Who has bought a new car in cash?