I'm currently just put an offer on a Honda Accord. I was wondering you guys have any suggestions when trying to haggle for the best price?

5/27/2008 2:16:43 PM

ya gotta give more info

use kbb.com
cars.com
ebay (kinda)

to see how some are going for.

or course your will depend on condition and stuff. but you can see what years with that many miles will typically go for.

5/27/2008 2:30:30 PM

Cash in fist seems to work wonders. If I meet someone who is selling for $5,000, I'll put say $4,300 in a big wad in a pocket/envelope. Tell him that's all you have and that will usually do the trick. If it's low on gas ask to keep $50. I suggest taking a friend if you are carrying that much cash.

This is assuming that the car is actually worth the amount you have in pocket/envelope.

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 2:32 PM. Reason : a]

5/27/2008 2:31:24 PM

Ive always heard the salesmen make more on most used cars than new ones, so they will be fighting you over that extra commision.

5/27/2008 2:31:45 PM

Yeah, if it's from a dealer they have more wiggle wiggle room on used cars.

5/27/2008 2:33:32 PM

Good they want $14,950, but I'm thinking like $12,000

btw, this is at a dealership too. 2005 manual with low miles.

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 2:45 PM. Reason : ]

5/27/2008 2:45:02 PM

tell them you want it for $12000 out the door.

5/27/2008 2:50:05 PM

yeah I made that clear too.

5/27/2008 2:51:32 PM

never going to get it for $12,000..... Most dealerships are going to have about $2000-3000 to gross on a vehicle.... this being said you are asking them to sell a car for at/below what they own the car for and make no profit... UNless its a stale car (which accords are not) or they owe money on it and its due with manheim they're not going to sell for that price

5/27/2008 2:58:57 PM

Great I'm looking for advice on haggling for a car, not the price i should offer. Just some stuff I need to know. And they bought the car at about $10,500

5/27/2008 3:06:35 PM

^They are retarded if they told you the price they paid.

^^I worked finance for 2 years. We just slapped $5,000 flat on top of whatever we paid for them (on the ones we kept).

If you want to make your offer of $12,000 OTD, just tell them exactly that. All they can do is say no and then chase you down in the parking lot to say they'll do it.

5/27/2008 3:13:02 PM

It's generally true that dealerships make more money on used cars both on the front and the back of the deal (initial profit from the sale, then some more from insurance/warranty/etc). A good used car market at a dealership helps improve the new car sales. How? The profit they make on the used cars can help the dealership make smaller/no profit deals on new cars so they can "move metal" and get their projected # of car sales, which leads to bonus money for the dealership. Making slightly less profit on new cars while being able to push more cars out results in greater profits at the end of each month if done properly. The used car sales can help overcome any new car sale short-comings.

Why I explained all this, I can't remember, but the moral of the story is, it'll be harder to haggle with a dealership IMO. They won't lose money on any used car, unless it has to go to an auction or the car sits on the lot for too long.

5/27/2008 3:13:30 PM

^^ I guess this also depends on whether ur buying from a "used dealer" or "new dealer" with used inventory.... I've worked as sales/finance management in both and at a used dealer we never had more than $3k to work with.... $5k is still a little steep for a new dealer selling used but then again we were kind of a no haggle dealer and didn't work a 4 square or anything.

^^^ then your answer is "Don't fucking haggle" figure out how much you want to spend, how much you're willing to pay, how much the car is worth, and make an offer. IF they say "yes" then you win... If not, move on-

It is not (contrary to popular belief) a necessity to "haggle" when buying a car- I used to hate people like you who walked in with a shield up trying banking on a battle-

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 3:18 PM. Reason : .]

5/27/2008 3:16:09 PM

Hence why we marked it up $5,000.... So many people coming in to battle, lop $2,500 off right away and take away their negotiation. That's the price- if you don't like it you can leave. I really don't think most people WANT to battle, so if you give them a firm price right away the ball's in their court.

5/27/2008 3:24:40 PM

There is no reason to b.s. a used car dealer.

Just be straight up...Say you'll put $12k in their pocket tomorrow and be 100% prepared to walk away if they don't accept your offer (which they probably won't.) Give the salesperson your number and tell him to call you if, and only if, they change their mind and want to accept your offer. You'd be surprised how often they might call you back the next day once they realize you are serious.

You'd stand a much better chance if you were making this offer on a Ford Expedition or a brown Saab or something. I doubt they are going to come off the price too much on a car like that. It'll probably sell pretty quick if the price is reasonable regardless of whether you are the buyer. A low mileage Accord is golden right now with gas prices and signs of recession. These people do this for a living and they know what they can get for the car.

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 3:35 PM. Reason : l]

5/27/2008 3:34:56 PM

Quote :

"Most dealerships are going to have about $2000-3000 to gross on a vehicle"

Wow, that is a lot. I dont mark vehicles up so much because I want to build the business quickly and I would rather make money selling a lot of cars for a little profit rather than sitting on a few cars several months for average profits.

Most cars we make $1000 to $1500 on. Once again, if anyone here has a specific vehicle need let me know and I can find it for you.

5/27/2008 4:04:53 PM

When I say $2000-$3000 that is based on sticker price.... We were far more of a volume dealer than a gross dealer in the bigger scheme of things.... Shit- I would rather sell a car for a $500 profit than not sell one at all-

5/27/2008 5:19:28 PM

Anybody have experience with how much used car dealers price up their "piece of shit" model cars? I'm talking cars that they have on the lot with $3800 or $3200 as the sticker price for the car. When it drops below a certain point, do dealerships usually just mark up a percentage so they don't over-inflate the price of the used car?

I'm trying to figure out how much profit my dad probably paid the dealership on a used car he bought a little while back. It's had some amusing and expected problems (like now it doesn't have second gear) and it's pretty clear the car was treated like absolute rancid shit by its previous owners.

5/27/2008 5:38:10 PM

It really depends. I had two years in the biz and it varied with every car. Some people didn't want anything to do with their POS so we'd give them say $500. We'd sell it to whoever for say $1,000 as is, and they'd sell it for whatever, probably the price your dad paid.

If you've ever sold a car on CL for $1,500-$2,500, you've probably got 10 calls from dealers in a 1/2 hour. They are pretty easy for the dealers to flip for an extra grand and defects can be hidden temporarily.

5/27/2008 5:46:50 PM

Yeah. They hid the defects temporarily well enough.

Now we've got quite the little liability that we either need to tow or risk driving on the streets to a garage in the area that'll work on a VW transmission for less than $son of a fucking bitch that's more than i paid for the car.

Whatever, it's not my car so I'm mostly just letting it be a lesson. Pay more attention to the heeeyoooge red flags when you buy a car in that price range, and don't rely upon the fact that you have some built up relationship with this dealer to justify the purchase.

Anyway, that's just my rant. I think that VW he got would've been worth around $2000-2500 at final sale and he paid about a grand more than that, plus the price of a warranty that ran out before anything went wrong.

5/27/2008 6:02:33 PM

Quote :

"It is not (contrary to popular belief) a necessity to "haggle" when buying a car- I used to hate people like you who walked in with a shield up trying banking on a battle-"

yeah i tried this approach while helping my friend buy a used car last weekend and it simply doesnt work sometimes. i argued with the dude for an hour talking about other cars and whatnot and he just wouldnt budge. it was already "discounted" from the sticker for a sale and they wouldnt come down. eventually he gave me 300 off of a 10k car, probably because he was tired of me asking him for shit.

it didnt help that i knew we had 0 bargaining power. the car was in excellent condition and was one of the best priced for the year/miles in the area, but it was what we were looking for. the initial sticker price was the kbb retail price and it was already down about 1300 from that. AND we were trying to finance it. god that was a pain in the ass.

[Edited on May 27, 2008 at 6:16 PM. Reason : ended up getting one 2 years newer, with 10k less miles for 2.5k more cuz of financing issues]

5/27/2008 6:15:29 PM

if you know enough about cars and the market you can do it yourself. if you just walk in and be like heres 12000 they are gonna just laugh at you. look for maint records, take it you a trusted mech. if you dont do work yourself, and ask them to do a pre purchase inspection, it shouldnt be no more than 20 bux or so.

5/27/2008 8:54:44 PM

Quote :

"Now we've got quite the little liability that we either need to tow or risk driving on the streets to a garage in the area that'll work on a VW transmission for less than $son of a fucking bitch that's more than i paid for the car. "

year, model, and manual or auto?

5/28/2008 10:34:50 AM

When haggling for a used car, does the type of model typically matter? I mean, I know that someone is going to haggle over a Ford or Toyota or something, but does it go the same way when a guy is looking at a BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lotus, Maserati, etc? Are they more likely to play hardball with a "more impressive" car?

5/28/2008 12:34:25 PM

^^ 99 vw jetta GL, the older body style, 2.0L NA engine with an automatic transmission.

5/28/2008 2:50:14 PM