the car biz is so sleazy

we've been shopping for cars for weeks since both of our cars come off lease soon. I'm just exhausted..

I've negotiated great deals all over town and now have to decide what we want.

So last night we were at Atlantic Toyota. We put a deposit on a Camry XLE. I can't believe how far down the salesman came in price. A full $3K off the MSRP. I felt like if I sat there some more he would have come farther down.

Went to Toyota in Smithtown/St. James and the guy didn't even know his Camrys, that's why we left.

At Lexus it was the same thing..BMW as well..

Not Mercedes or Acura though. They don't budge.

Infinity was willing to pay the rest of my lease.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

have you narrowed your choices down at all? it sounds like you're indecisive about the kind of car you both want.

eta: i just re-read what you posted and didn't see that you put a deposit down on a Camry. congrats! I test drove 4 different Camry models and liked them a LOT. what I did NOT like was the price!

anyhow, congrats again!

Message edited 11/25/2007 1:35:58 PM.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Message edited 11/25/2007 11:46:16 AM.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

We found that Atlantic Toyota was not willing to budge...I bought a Nissan instead and am very happy

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Stay away from any ATLANTIC stores. I used to work in that business behind the sceens and they are the WORST people to deal with.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

mercedes or bmw should be willing to work with you - just because they are luxury cars doesn't mean they won't come down. i negotiated a deal for my mom a few months back and he was MORE than willing to come down - we went to the mercedes in huntington and dealt with louie (very nice young man with dark hair) - ask for him if you decide you want to go there.

i mean, the car that my mom was looking at was in the 35-40 k range - there are PLENTY of cars out there that are not mercedes and bmw's that go for that so why shouldn't they be flexible?

another thing - coming down off of MSRP is not that big of a deal - that is the "retail" price of the car - you should be dealing above the invoice price of the car. tell them you want to see the invoice of that vehicle and if they tell you that they can't show you that or don't have it they are LYING - it is illegal for them to, upon request, refuse to show you that number - that is what it cost them to make that car so the best deal you could get would be $500 over that price - that means, they are making a profit of $500 on selling that car to you - if they won't come down that much then try for a little over and see what the best deal you can get is...

but always negotiate UP the invoice of the car.

hope that helps - hang in there - i know it is hard - i know it so well b/c i used to sell cars it was NOT fun - i got out of that biz a long time ago.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Posted by DaniRella

mercedes or bmw should be willing to work with you - just because they are luxury cars doesn't mean they won't come down. i negotiated a deal for my mom a few months back and he was MORE than willing to come down - we went to the mercedes in huntington and dealt with louie (very nice young man with dark hair) - ask for him if you decide you want to go there.

i mean, the car that my mom was looking at was in the 35-40 k range - there are PLENTY of cars out there that are not mercedes and bmw's that go for that so why shouldn't they be flexible?

another thing - coming down off of MSRP is not that big of a deal - that is the "retail" price of the car - you should be dealing above the invoice price of the car. tell them you want to see the invoice of that vehicle and if they tell you that they can't show you that or don't have it they are LYING - it is illegal for them to, upon request, refuse to show you that number - that is what it cost them to make that car so the best deal you could get would be $500 over that price - that means, they are making a profit of $500 on selling that car to you - if they won't come down that much then try for a little over and see what the best deal you can get is...

but always negotiate UP the invoice of the car.

hope that helps - hang in there - i know it is hard - i know it so well b/c i used to sell cars it was NOT fun - i got out of that biz a long time ago.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Car salesmen will usually point to a car's "sticker price" as the amount you have to pay. However, the price the dealership is willing to sell a car for is often well below the sticker price. How do you know what to pay? Edmunds.com has created a valuable tool for car buyers called True Market Value (TMV®) pricing. Based on actual sales figures, TMV is the average price buyers are paying (also known as the "transaction price") for a certain type of car in your area. The TMV figures, found on Edmunds.com, are adjusted for many factors including options, geographic region and color.

To calculate TMV, begin by looking up the car you want to buy on Edmunds.com. Follow the prompts to arrive at a final TMV price with options for the exact car you are buying. Keep in mind that this price includes the destination charge, which is levied by all manufacturers. (However, the invoice price might vary in certain regions where advertising costs and other fees are included. Edmunds recommends paying the fees listed on the invoice, but questioning any advertising fees that appear on the purchase contract.)

Now it's time to factor in the incentives and rebates you researched and printed in the previous step. Take the final TMV price and deduct the amount of the cash rebate. In other words, you create your best deal based on TMV, and then lower it by whatever the rebate is. If you are going to use low-interest financing, calculate your final buying price, then use our payment calculator to find your monthly payment.

Print these figures — the TMV, the incentives and the monthly payment — and carry them with you for reference as you continue the car-buying process.




edmunds

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

you just have to deal with the right place/person.

Glad you got something you're happy with.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

i am an educated car buyer. I'm just amazed at how it all works. Also, some websites don't tell the whole story. Edmunds makes it confusing with Lexus. You can't tell what the car is equipped with standard or not.

We are paying $510 above invoice on the Camry. I think that's a fair deal considering it's a lease with $15K/annually. They even bought out the rest of my Accord lease with cash back to me. I brought that up right before accepting their last offer so I know they didn't bury it in the lease. Either way, they have to make a profit but Atlantic is probably more about volume than anything else. We were there for 2 hrs and they must have sold 10 cars in that time to people around us.

The other car companies also came to about $500 over invoice. I was just amazed though how quickly they came down. Lexus was the hardest sell. We opted out of Lexus since the Camry is very much like the ES350..even though not as luxurious.

We are seriously considering the Acura RDX. Island Acura is selling that car at $600 over invoice and won't budge.

The only Mercedes dealer we went to wouldn't budge an inch on the C300. We will see another Mercedes dealer possibly today or next week.

Infinity was the most flexible but I didn't love the car.

So today we pick up our Camry at Atlantic Toyota. We had a very good experience there. I guess you can have a bad experience anywhere. We had one at Smithtown Toyota.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

what color did you get?

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

we got a white one with grey leather interior. The XLE 4 cyl.

It has blue tooth and I am in love!

Nice car and value.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Message edited 11/26/2007 3:41:19 AM.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

we got the second Mercedes dealer down but not far enough. It's just too much for our budget and as nice as the car looks I didn't think it drove as nice for the $$$$$.

I really did love the Lexus but again, is it worth the moolah.

Like I said months ago, we will probably end up with the Camry and an Accord or something like that...

I think I would rather have a vacation than a luxury car.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Also, this time of year is a good time to buy. They want to get their inventory off their lot before it depreciates, which affects next year's beginning bottom line.......

Congrats on your Camry! BTW, if you take Atlantic up on their 1st oil change deal, be VERY CLEAR that you only want an oil change, as they will try to sell you more.....

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

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I will also take them up on their 30 day car wash coupon. I'm going every weekend.

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Congrats on your camry

When Danielle and I were looking for a new truck recently, we went to KIA Autowrold, where we had our lease from that we were returning and they couldnt give us a good ddeal. They only played the games, same goes for Advantage Hyundai, and all the othe dealers we went to. The only dealer we liked was Wantagh Mitsubishi. We dealt with Leo. The service, that we received was incredible. No lying to us, no pressure....very relaxed atmosphere.

We went there 4 times before purchasing. The first time to look at the trucks but they were closing so we left. The second time where we met Leo, to ask his advice on what we could afford. He told us out front that he didnt think we could afford the cars they had with what we wanted to put down. Then the 3rd time we went back with Danielle's parents after we decided to buy instead of lease and the 4th time we test drove our truck and bought it......

I would buy another truck or car there if I was looking, and I recommend everyone that is in the market that doesnt want to be played with or lied to go to there.
Scott

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

Re: the car biz is so sleazy

To be honest, I knew the car I wanted and played two dealers against eachother. They both were eager to get rid of their '07 stock so I kept going for two weeks and finally leased with a price where the dealer made a few hundred bucks on the deal...that's it. Not sure why it worked but I was patient and got my car...and love it!