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manwiches · 05-14-2013, 08:38 AM

Hi guys

I didn't want to hijack the other threads, so I thought I'd share my car buying experience. I've bought several cars over my life, but this was by far the most unique and relaxing time I've had buying one ever. I absolutely hate haggling, however this negotiation was incredibly easy despite my initial anxiety. On to the details.

My wife and I got in a huge car accident (not our fault) a month ago and needed to buy a new car. We decided that buying a crossover SUV was what was best for our family. So after test driving all the crossovers in the class we were looking at, and I mean every single one, we decided on getting the Mazda CX5.

Doing some research, I found that there was a site, www.carcostcanada.com. For a fee of 40 bucks, you could get the wholesale price of any vehicle in Canada, less tax (up to 10 searches). Not only that, it also provides you with any incentives the factory is offering at the time, so they aren't thrown in at the last minute by a dealer to make it seem like you are getting a better deal. Basically, I had the dealer invoice to the car before even going in to negotiate for the car itself.

I discussed with a few friends who are car salesmen and who also work in the industry, and they told me that a dealer would typically consider anything at cost + 3% to be a fair deal. The wholesale price on the car was 33326 (+ tax), the MSRP was 36140 (+ tax). Armed with this information, I crunched some numbers and came up with a value of 35000 all in as a starting point. There was also a 500 dollar factory rebate, in this as well. Essentially, I offered cost+tax, knowing that the dealer had a 500 dollar kickback anyways from the incentive. Dealers also get holdback amount from the manufacturer, which accounts for +/-2% (again, my friend is a sales manager also), to subsidize for the advertising and interest costs (about $700 for my car). My high point on price was 36000 all in.

Upon sitting down with the sales manager, he came in at a price of 39500 all in, which I replied with my 35000 initial offer. He scoffed and told me that I was looking at the wrong car. I proceeded to tell him I had discussed with dealer and industry friends, and that what I offered was a fair deal. I told him I had a car cost report and showed him, and he said that there's no way he could do that price, so I asked him to see his dealer invoice. His attitude changed almost instantaneously. He started working with my numbers off my sheet, which gave me the impression that the car cost report was in fact correct. He came back at 36500 (3000 different from his initial), to which I replied I would go 35500, and he said he would be making no money on it. Going back to the holdback and 500 incentive from previous, I brought that up and said that he would still be getting at least 1200 back, in addition to any percentage above cost we were dealing with (500 more in this case). After a bit more number crunching, he came back with 36000 all in, and held firm.

Since we were within 500, I stated that we were obviously within a range to get a deal done, so I asked him to kick in accessories or perks. I ended up getting 3M for the full car (fenders, hood, bumper, side mirror, dog legs) for 250, plus all weather floor mats. I have a cousin who works in autobody, and he said he wouldn't be able to do 3M for less than 650-700, so plus the cost of the floor mats, we made up that 500 pretty quick.

We ended up settling at 36000 all in plus the 3M and free floor mats, which is exactly where I wanted to be on my high point.

Anyhow, after hammering out a deal, we ended up at the finance managers desk, which they try to sell you on protection packages etc. I declined all. I have been told by many people in the autobody industry that protection packages are useless for the most part. With the exception of maybe undercoating (which can be done by a 3rd party for a fraction of the cost), everything else is redundant. Leather protection is a bottle you can buy for 25 bucks, the car is already clear coated from factory, and it's also rust protected from factory. Unfortunately living in Calgary, salts and debris will degrade any car faster than other parts of the world. Not to mention that these lifetime protection packages they offer do not cover things such as rust from a rock chip.

All in all, my experience with buying a car was actually quite pleasant. I went in with a ton of anxiety about being guilted etc (I'm a pretty easily swayed). After showing the car cost report, the attitude seemed to change right away from them thinking they could turn a huge profit from me, to one of getting at least their minimum profit from me. I must stress though, throughout the whole process, despite the how the dialogue above comes across, I was extremely polite and courteous, just firm in what I wanted. I never once had to employ the 'walk away', and neither I or the dealer employed any hard negotiating tactics since I came in as an educated buyer.

Sorry for the long write up. Just thought I'd share my experience.

05-14-2013, 08:38 AM	#1
manwiches Powerplay Quarterback Join Date: Oct 2009 Exp:	My experience on buying a new car Hi guys I didn't want to hijack the other threads, so I thought I'd share my car buying experience. I've bought several cars over my life, but this was by far the most unique and relaxing time I've had buying one ever. I absolutely hate haggling, however this negotiation was incredibly easy despite my initial anxiety. On to the details. My wife and I got in a huge car accident (not our fault) a month ago and needed to buy a new car. We decided that buying a crossover SUV was what was best for our family. So after test driving all the crossovers in the class we were looking at, and I mean every single one, we decided on getting the Mazda CX5. Doing some research, I found that there was a site, www.carcostcanada.com. For a fee of 40 bucks, you could get the wholesale price of any vehicle in Canada, less tax (up to 10 searches). Not only that, it also provides you with any incentives the factory is offering at the time, so they aren't thrown in at the last minute by a dealer to make it seem like you are getting a better deal. Basically, I had the dealer invoice to the car before even going in to negotiate for the car itself. I discussed with a few friends who are car salesmen and who also work in the industry, and they told me that a dealer would typically consider anything at cost + 3% to be a fair deal. The wholesale price on the car was 33326 (+ tax), the MSRP was 36140 (+ tax). Armed with this information, I crunched some numbers and came up with a value of 35000 all in as a starting point. There was also a 500 dollar factory rebate, in this as well. Essentially, I offered cost+tax, knowing that the dealer had a 500 dollar kickback anyways from the incentive. Dealers also get holdback amount from the manufacturer, which accounts for +/-2% (again, my friend is a sales manager also), to subsidize for the advertising and interest costs (about $700 for my car). My high point on price was 36000 all in. Upon sitting down with the sales manager, he came in at a price of 39500 all in, which I replied with my 35000 initial offer. He scoffed and told me that I was looking at the wrong car. I proceeded to tell him I had discussed with dealer and industry friends, and that what I offered was a fair deal. I told him I had a car cost report and showed him, and he said that there's no way he could do that price, so I asked him to see his dealer invoice. His attitude changed almost instantaneously. He started working with my numbers off my sheet, which gave me the impression that the car cost report was in fact correct. He came back at 36500 (3000 different from his initial), to which I replied I would go 35500, and he said he would be making no money on it. Going back to the holdback and 500 incentive from previous, I brought that up and said that he would still be getting at least 1200 back, in addition to any percentage above cost we were dealing with (500 more in this case). After a bit more number crunching, he came back with 36000 all in, and held firm. Since we were within 500, I stated that we were obviously within a range to get a deal done, so I asked him to kick in accessories or perks. I ended up getting 3M for the full car (fenders, hood, bumper, side mirror, dog legs) for 250, plus all weather floor mats. I have a cousin who works in autobody, and he said he wouldn't be able to do 3M for less than 650-700, so plus the cost of the floor mats, we made up that 500 pretty quick. We ended up settling at 36000 all in plus the 3M and free floor mats, which is exactly where I wanted to be on my high point. Anyhow, after hammering out a deal, we ended up at the finance managers desk, which they try to sell you on protection packages etc. I declined all. I have been told by many people in the autobody industry that protection packages are useless for the most part. With the exception of maybe undercoating (which can be done by a 3rd party for a fraction of the cost), everything else is redundant. Leather protection is a bottle you can buy for 25 bucks, the car is already clear coated from factory, and it's also rust protected from factory. Unfortunately living in Calgary, salts and debris will degrade any car faster than other parts of the world. Not to mention that these lifetime protection packages they offer do not cover things such as rust from a rock chip. All in all, my experience with buying a car was actually quite pleasant. I went in with a ton of anxiety about being guilted etc (I'm a pretty easily swayed). After showing the car cost report, the attitude seemed to change right away from them thinking they could turn a huge profit from me, to one of getting at least their minimum profit from me. I must stress though, throughout the whole process, despite the how the dialogue above comes across, I was extremely polite and courteous, just firm in what I wanted. I never once had to employ the 'walk away', and neither I or the dealer employed any hard negotiating tactics since I came in as an educated buyer. Sorry for the long write up. Just thought I'd share my experience. Last edited by manwiches; 05-14-2013 at 08:41 AM.