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It occurred to me by going through some other threads, that there are some knowledgeable fellows here on this particular subject. My wife's RAV4 is nearing the end for her. Its a 2014 XLE, no accidents; not even a ticket for her...ever. The engine is a champ. 115K miles. Never an issue. But for her, there is sun damage on the roof paint, and now, there is STARTING to show some sun damage on the sides. I just got lazy with waxing and sealing it the past few years, I guess. It's not like awful, but you can see when you get up close. But I would say the car is in 'good' condition due to the engine.
Car buying is not what it used to be, and I don't think waiting until the absolutely last moment is the way it should be done anymore. Not only that, but with inventories the way they are, the entire process takes much longer than it used to. So even though my wife is more like, 'Lets wait until the end of the year' ... for me that means, I need to probably start prepping now.
Let me give you some of my core caveats that I had been using up and until now.
1) I don't go to the dealership until the price is "settled" via email. Meaning, the expectation for me is that I won't be able to get the price any lower than what I have already tried, and I don't expect them to bait and switch or surprise me when I get there. I would not step foot in a dealership without an agree upon price in hand. Getting you to sit, wait, get frustrated, is the easiest way to break you down.
2) I used to be hard-core "I will NEVER pay any bullsh!t 'dealer fees'". I will admit that I paid I think $500 when I got my Badlands. It was the first time I had probably done so in about 20 years. It was the best price after extensive searching. It seemed like the odds were stacked in the dealers favor. However, I wonder if these might be more negotiable items now that inventory levels are getting 'better'. The way I always see it, and you won't be able to change my mind on this, is dealers make profits on what they paid for the car vs the sale price. That's it. I'm not stuffing a big 'tip' into their pocket too, if I can help it.
3) I've been a big proponent of 'truecar' and the data there about what dealerships are getting 'offered' for a particular vehicle. I feel it used to be MUCH better, like 15 years ago. But I still see it as valuable and is probably my go-to online tool. I'm sure there are better now.
4) My goal used to be UNDER MSRP. Always. I always looked at it as a 'negotiation loss' if I were to pay MSRP. I'm not sure how realistic under MSRP is anymore. However, Im telling you right now, I'm NOT paying more than MSRP. Dealer 'inventory fees' can suck it. Nope. I will go MSRP if I have to, but not over. And I'm willing to give up on a particular model because of it.
5) I know inventory levels are a big driver of price right now. Honda? Toyota? They have no inventory, so they are going to be looking for over MSRP most likely. Its why I like the Ford Explorer right now for my wife. Inventory is stocked with them.
So I've been watching a lot of Youtube on car buying nowadays, and a strategy I see popping up more and more, is to actually GO TO THE DEALERSHIP first. But ONLY to test drive the car. When done, be firm about not wanting to make a decision and wanting to go home to think about it. DO NOT ENTER INTO NEGOTIATION. This supposedly demonstrates that you are an very interested customer vs the hundreds of emails a particular salesmen receives on any given day; and makes it more comfortable for the salesman to negotiate with you via email vs some unknown random.
I also see a lot of you chiming in with dealer incentive and discounts. I don't know if y'all just live in good areas, and I'm stuck with sh!tty dealerships, but I can't find those anywhere around me. Is there an online tool that can help me with that?
Would love to hear more about today's strategies from those of you who are well versed.
The awful thing about car buying is that we do it ONCE every few years or so. Salesmen do this every day. You gotta be on your game if you want to 'save' money.
Car buying is not what it used to be, and I don't think waiting until the absolutely last moment is the way it should be done anymore. Not only that, but with inventories the way they are, the entire process takes much longer than it used to. So even though my wife is more like, 'Lets wait until the end of the year' ... for me that means, I need to probably start prepping now.
Let me give you some of my core caveats that I had been using up and until now.
1) I don't go to the dealership until the price is "settled" via email. Meaning, the expectation for me is that I won't be able to get the price any lower than what I have already tried, and I don't expect them to bait and switch or surprise me when I get there. I would not step foot in a dealership without an agree upon price in hand. Getting you to sit, wait, get frustrated, is the easiest way to break you down.
2) I used to be hard-core "I will NEVER pay any bullsh!t 'dealer fees'". I will admit that I paid I think $500 when I got my Badlands. It was the first time I had probably done so in about 20 years. It was the best price after extensive searching. It seemed like the odds were stacked in the dealers favor. However, I wonder if these might be more negotiable items now that inventory levels are getting 'better'. The way I always see it, and you won't be able to change my mind on this, is dealers make profits on what they paid for the car vs the sale price. That's it. I'm not stuffing a big 'tip' into their pocket too, if I can help it.
3) I've been a big proponent of 'truecar' and the data there about what dealerships are getting 'offered' for a particular vehicle. I feel it used to be MUCH better, like 15 years ago. But I still see it as valuable and is probably my go-to online tool. I'm sure there are better now.
4) My goal used to be UNDER MSRP. Always. I always looked at it as a 'negotiation loss' if I were to pay MSRP. I'm not sure how realistic under MSRP is anymore. However, Im telling you right now, I'm NOT paying more than MSRP. Dealer 'inventory fees' can suck it. Nope. I will go MSRP if I have to, but not over. And I'm willing to give up on a particular model because of it.
5) I know inventory levels are a big driver of price right now. Honda? Toyota? They have no inventory, so they are going to be looking for over MSRP most likely. Its why I like the Ford Explorer right now for my wife. Inventory is stocked with them.
So I've been watching a lot of Youtube on car buying nowadays, and a strategy I see popping up more and more, is to actually GO TO THE DEALERSHIP first. But ONLY to test drive the car. When done, be firm about not wanting to make a decision and wanting to go home to think about it. DO NOT ENTER INTO NEGOTIATION. This supposedly demonstrates that you are an very interested customer vs the hundreds of emails a particular salesmen receives on any given day; and makes it more comfortable for the salesman to negotiate with you via email vs some unknown random.
I also see a lot of you chiming in with dealer incentive and discounts. I don't know if y'all just live in good areas, and I'm stuck with sh!tty dealerships, but I can't find those anywhere around me. Is there an online tool that can help me with that?
Would love to hear more about today's strategies from those of you who are well versed.
The awful thing about car buying is that we do it ONCE every few years or so. Salesmen do this every day. You gotta be on your game if you want to 'save' money.
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