Hey Mango,
I used to be a car salesperson so maybe I can give you some inside information.
As Calf says, all car prices are negotiable. A good rule of thumb for the low end vehicles is try to get at least 10% of the sticker price off. 15% is usually a good target to aim for. You are right about the imports, there is usually a little less profit built into them so sometimes they won't budge as much, but always ALWAYS try to get 10% off. Higher priced cars you can negotiate even more off of, and if you have the luxury of buying the car outright without going through the bank or their financing, you can save even more.
To really put a little pressure on the sales person, there are better times and days to buy cars. When you find a car and are pretty sure that you know the person you want to deal with, try to come in 30 mins before closing to close the deal. If you can get them closing up the shop around you, chances are they will be eager to go home and will sell for less. The same goes for quotas. Salespeople have targets and sometimes even quotas. As the end of the month gets closer, salespeople are harder pressed to roll the last few cars out. You'll have more bargaining power at the end of the week and the end of the month. (Sometimes the months go by on the 15ths though, so sometimes it's hard to know exactly when this is)
But with all these things, the most important thing is to treat the dealer with respect. Don't not show up for a scheduled meeting cause 90% of the dealers don't get paid being there, so that's money they lose not selling to other people and time the lose in general. Also dealers hate it when you go back and forth between dealers of the same type of car trying to get an extra 100 off here, 50 off there. Just ask for the price you want for near the beginning. If they won't give it to you, try someone else. But a happy dealer will give you a better deal. If you aren't wasting their time and they can make another sale, they are more willing to give up more.
Of course, this all goes if they are treating with you with respect. If not, don't waste your time with them. You'll have the car for a long time and I guarantee you will see the person again. You want to have at least a okay relationship with them. If you do, it will make any warantee work, tune ups, problems etc you may have or need a lot easier and smoother and cheaper.
Above all, don't buy the undercoating or fabric care! The undercoating is a joke and the fabric care you can do for yourself at like 20% of the price. Get an extended warantee if you feel you should, but most imports have long ones anyway.
Happy driving! PM me if you want to ask anything.
|