Buying new car, I discovered, has similarities to playing a game of poker. There's strategy, skill, a bit of bluffing and playing for value.
This time out I went solo, meaning, I did all the negotiating myself without any assistance. As mentioned before, previous purchases were negotiated for me by an industry friend of my Dad's. An insider savvy on the lingo and well-known locally in the industry, making the negotiations short and sweet.
Four years ago, when I bought my Bug, I did a bit of research online. I wanted to find car buying tips as well as get an idea of the trade-in value on my truck. I found a wealth of information I hadn't counted on.
The most valuable information came from The Motley Fool. There I found a series of articles on how to buy a new car - with a twist. I was prepared to go that route when parental intervention once again linked me up with my Dad's former colleague.
However this time around I was going it alone so I hopped back on the internet to see what I could find out. The Motley Fool article still had some great advice. I found another site, CarBuyingTips.com, that had good advice as well. Plus the site had a handy spreadsheet you could download to calculate your offer. That proved to be a valuable tool.
I scoured Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book, NADA, and burned rubber with Google to fully research the value of the car I wanted to buy and the car I wanted to trade in. I learned about things like dealer holdback, floorplan costs, factory to dealer incentives, dealer incentives - volumes of information that would take me days to post here.
I also researched a couple of other models for comparison. After doing this, I was happy with my choice of a 2007 Nissan Sentra. Fully loaded, it beat the price of comparable models, had other features I wanted, as well as solid safety features.
I then went to a local dealership to take a test drive. Here's where a couple of my friends lost some faith. They were sure I'd walk into the dealership and walk out with a new car. I knew that wasn't going to happen. I'd learned in my research that the test-drive should be just that - a test drive.
I pulled into the dealership, coasting past some salesman passing a football around, and parked my bug. Before I could close the door and take a step toward the building, a salesman was at my side.
"You guys are far too busy," I chided, "I'm not going to buy a car today, I just want to take a test-drive." My salesman said ok and asked what I wanted to drive. I told him and after he retrieved the keys, we were off. He didn't say another word. Which, frankly, disturbed me.
After the test drive, I wanted to check out the trunk and the 60/40 back seat split with the trunk pass through. Unfortunately, this salesman was not up on the features of this model - so he got a grade C from me. He started out an A after not trying to hard sell me on the test drive, but he could have at least pointed out the features of the vehicle. I realize now that most likely the reason he didn't was because he just didn't know what the features were.
The test drive confirmed that this was the car I wanted to purchase, so now it was time to launch the offensive.
Using the spreadsheet from carbuyingtips.com, I landed on an approximate figure to use as a negotiating base. I located three to five dealerships here, in the City and in Tulsa, and sent out e-mails. This article gave a great sample of what to say.
The Motley Fool articles advocate a "fax attack" but those articles originated in 1999 and most dealerships have an "internet sales" department these days. The articles also state to include an offer. I decided to go a different route suggested by some other articles - in my e-mail I asked for a bid:
Dear Mr. Xxxxx:
I am planning to buy a new 2007 Nissan Sentra 2.0-SL within the week with the following specification and trim package (these are firm, please):
Color: Blue Onyx
Power Sunroof
Rockford Fosgate Sound SystemIf it's not currently in your inventory, then I would like to have it factory ordered (unless you can locate a dealer trade elsewhere??).
Please e-mail me with a bid at your earliest convenience. In the next 24 - 48 hours would be ideal. I am getting quotes from multiple dealers, so I'll be considering the lowest bid.
I am aware of the invoice price, MSRP and the destination charge of this car. The only additional costs I am willing to pay are the sales tax and the actual cost of license/title transfer.
If there are documentation fees, dealer extras on the car (e.g.: pinstriping, undercoating, etc.), dealer prep fees, etc. I would request the paperwork to reflect that those fees/charges have been waived or that they are included in the agreed upon offer. Also, please note that I am reluctant to sign an arbitration agreement as a condition of the sale.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank you for your time. I hope we'll be able to buisiness!
Sincerely,
Me
You could say I limped into the pot. It was now on them to call, raise or fold. I sat back and waited.
(stay tuned, the story will continue!!)
