Buying a Vehicle

[Northendzone]

do you love the process or hate it? Do you enjoy going from place to place to find your next vehicle? going back and fourth to settle on a price? making multiple trips to the dealership to sort everything out?

personally i do not enjoy it. i always feel that no matter how much i tried, i left a lot of money on the table. although i will say that doing the majority of it based on dealers posted on line prices makes it easier to narrow down the search.

[ZedMan]

I love going around and comparing cars, test-drives, etc. But I'm a horrible bargainer and I know it, so I hate that part as well.

[Rubicant]

Knowing the price the dealer paid for the vehicle can take a lot of the stress out of the bargaining part.

You can negotiate a price where the dealer still makes a profit, yet you aren't getting bent over.

[3 Justin 3]

Depends on the vehicle. If it is a an old beater than I just need to use to get from point A to B I think the task would be tedious. When I bought my car (my first one) I was excited to go to the dealer.

If I were to buy an Audi A6, or Mercedez S-Class I'd be excited. If I was going around house to house buying a Chevrolet Cavalier/Ford Taurus/Buick I wouldn't be excited at all.

[TopChed]

Originally Posted by Rubicant

Knowing the price the dealer paid for the vehicle can take a lot of the stress out of the bargaining part.

You can negotiate a price where the dealer still makes a profit, yet you aren't getting bent over.

How do you find out how much a dealer paid?

From a quick search, I found edmunds.com. Are there any other (Canadian) sites with invoice prices?

[GoinAllTheWay]

nm....same question already asked

[Rubicant]

Originally Posted by TopChed

How do you find out how much a dealer paid?

From a quick search, I found edmunds.com. Are there any other (Canadian) sites with invoice prices?

I use Car Cost Canada.

http://www.carcostcanada.com/1/en/

[billybob123]

Originally Posted by Rubicant

I use Car Cost Canada.

http://www.carcostcanada.com/1/en/

^^^^^ This x 1,000

It costs money but easily takes a few thousand off the ripoff price dealers try to charge. I highly recommend it. The second you show them you have the ACTUAL invoice (not the one they give you) and all the incentives that are available, the process changes completely. Sometimes you'll get lucky and get an honest salesman (I have no doubt they exist) however I love the look on the scuzzy ones faces that you're there to play ball.

I am a good bargainer, but I hate it. I hate nothing more than the stupid game -- honestly, just give me what the best price you're going to give me right at the beginning, otherwise we're BOTH wasting our time. I'm not buying the car for $1 over the price I have in my mind, so let's do it. Also, have to remember that the guy selling you the car isn't your friend. Who cares if he thinks you're a fataing @$$hole after the process? It's your money, not his/hers. (well, I guess it is his commission, but fata him - he can scam the next guy).

CCC reports eliminate the game - show it to them, say I'll give you $x over invoice (last one I gave 3% but with rebates to dealer my cost was below "invoice") and if you don't want to give it to me, I'll leave and find someone who will. This, of course, doesn't work on cars that are really popular and in low quantities (e.g. Minis the last few years). Works great at the end of the model year too.