# How does one buy a new vehicle nowadays? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960 "2015-04-06T14:47:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960/21 "2015-04-07T23:22:19Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I know there’s probably not a CarMax in the OP’s area, but I’ve found this to be a great way to cut those shenanigans out. Get their price quote on the trade-in, and then do your math on what the dealer offers you as a trade-in if they sweeten the pot with better financing. If not, then just sell the car to CarMax, and take the money and put it as a down payment. Agreed. When we bought a new car in 2013, in addition to having done all the homework on the new vehicle, we’d already had CarMax appraise our trade-in. Granted, CarMax pays out low, too, but we certainly weren’t going to get even less than that from the dealership. And surely enough, the dealership offered quite a bit less than CarMax had. We simply showed them the appraisal form (and they knew us well enough at that point to know we’d walk if we were unhappy), and they matched CarMax’s price for the trade-in. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960/22 "2015-04-08T01:34:47Z")
If you are buying a new car, educate yourself about the concept of prepack or holdback. You can even find info about percent holdback for specific car companies on line. Essentially, with a new car, the dealer pays less than invoice for the car. So, even at invoice, the dealer makes a profit selling the car. You should never, never pay anything close to MSRP. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960/23 "2015-04-08T15:42:43Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Agreed. When we bought a new car in 2013, in addition to having done all the homework on the new vehicle, we’d already had CarMax appraise our trade-in. Granted, CarMax pays out low, too, but we certainly weren’t going to get even less than that from the dealership. And surely enough, the dealership offered quite a bit less than CarMax had. We simply showed them the appraisal form (and they knew us well enough at that point to know we’d walk if we were unhappy), and they matched CarMax’s price for the trade-in. Last time I sold a vehicle (2006), it was a 1995 Ford Ranger with 230,000 miles, a screwed-up manual transmission (wouldn’t go into 2nd), new-ish tires, a beat-up interior, jacked up brakes, and an aftermarket paint job that was just sort of dissolving over time. I figured I’d get $600 for it (that wa; I ended up getting $1400. I almost blurted out “Your guy did check the correct truck, right?” but I managed to hold my tongue. So sometimes they don’t always low-ball that trade-in value. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960/24 "2015-04-09T20:59:15Z")
I was a big fan of TrueCar when we bought my wife’s Jetta SportWagen TDI. I didn’t sign up or use any “certified dealers,” I just used the free portion of the site to figure out what people were paying. I took that price (somewhere around average, I wasn’t trying to get the best deal of all time and make a huge fuss just to save a few hundred bucks more, I just didn’t want to get taken for a ride) and told the dealer that was top dollar. They said they couldn’t do it, I told them that was the offer and that they had my phone number, and the next day they called and agreed. It basically gives you some knowledge going into the negotiation in an easy way. You can dive way into all the numbers and probably save a little bit more if you really wanted to fight the dealer, but in terms of time spent vs. money saved, it was a huge help. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960/25 "2015-04-09T21:14:11Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > You can use [Edmunds.com](http://Edmunds.com) or [cars.com](http://cars.com) to research vehicles. Once you narrow down what you want, use Edmunds new car data to see what they suggest is a fair price - what they call “true market value”… Yeah, Edmunds is good and you can use them to get price quotes from dealers via email. Do not bother with phone quotes, they are worthless. OTOH, the worst dealers will spam you forever afterwards. Never buy from a Toyota dealer. Read some articles: [http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/top-shopping-tips-from-a-former-car-salesman.html](http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/top-shopping-tips-from-a-former-car-salesman.html) > **[5 Insider Tips for Not Getting Screwed by Car Salesmen](https://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1416-5-insider-tips-not-getting-screwed-by-car-salesmen.html)** > > Statistically, most people would rather get stabbed in the eye with a steak knife than talk to a car salesman. [http://www.cheatsheet.com/personal-finance/3-tricks-car-salesmen-use-that-everyone-should-know-how-to-handle.html/?a=viewall](http://www.cheatsheet.com/personal-finance/3-tricks-car-salesmen-use-that-everyone-should-know-how-to-handle.html/?a=viewall) > **[10 Tips For Dealing With Car Salesmen to Make Sure You Don't Get Hosed | Gen...](https://genxfinance.com/10-tips-for-dealing-with-car-salesmen-to-make-sure-you-dont-get-hosed/)** > > Most people are probably familiar with the typical car salesman based on the stereotypical image portrayed on TV and in the movies. They are often shown as sleazy men in horrible outdated suits that will do anything to close a deal. While they may... ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960/26 "2015-04-09T21:18:30Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Last time I sold a vehicle (2006), it was a 1995 Ford Ranger with 230,000 miles, a screwed-up manual transmission (wouldn’t go into 2nd), new-ish tires, a beat-up interior, jacked up brakes, and an aftermarket paint job that was just sort of dissolving over time. > > I figured I’d get $600 for it (that wa; I ended up getting $1400. I almost blurted out “Your guy did check the correct truck, right?” but I managed to hold my tongue. > > So sometimes they don’t always low-ball that trade-in value. They will do the Four Square and if you think you got a good deal on your trade in then they are screwing you on the price, the % or the add ons\*. [http://www.moviequotedb.com/movies/fargo/views.html](http://www.moviequotedb.com/movies/fargo/views.html) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960/27 "2015-04-09T21:20:26Z")
My brother just made use of a cool perk at work. His employer offers a concierge service for buying a car. You give them all your specifics and they work out the best deal they can, which you then can approve. He bought a car without leaving his desk; his old car was gone and the new one in his parking space at the end of the day. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960/28 "2015-04-09T21:51:55Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My brother just made use of a cool perk at work. His employer offers a concierge service for buying a car. You give them all your specifics and they work out the best deal they can, which you then can approve. He bought a car without leaving his desk; his old car was gone and the new one in his parking space at the end of the day. Nice! ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960/29 "2015-04-09T22:20:17Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > They will do the Four Square and if you think you got a good deal on your trade in then they are screwing you on the price, the % or the add ons\*. > > [Fargo quotes ... Movie Quotes Database](http://www.moviequotedb.com/movies/fargo/views.html) CarMax will buy your car outright even if you’re not buying a new one from them. I assume that’s what **bump** was talking about. I think in general they pay near the lower end of the trade-in book value, but it’s definitely worth checking out as a baseline price if there’s one near you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-buy-a-new-vehicle-nowadays/716960.md?page=1)