I am in the process of trading off my 1997 Chevy Blazer. I’m looking at possibly getting a new car. Better gas mileage, and that sort of thing…
Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on how to get the dealer to come down (price-wise) and if there was any way to find out how much the dealership paid for the vehicle.
Any advice on purchasing new cars, any advice on handling car dealers or any thoughts on the 2004 Pontiac Grand Am GT’s in general would be welcome.
Oh, it’s a 4 door, Fusion Orange Metallic car with a sun roof and leather seats. It also has factory installed XM radio. First 3 months are free, and after that it’s $10 extra per month. I shouldn’t have test driven it, because I LOVE IT now. haha
Go to http://www.edmunds.com and check out their True Market Value (TMV) for your car. Then go and read about what TMV means, and use that information. (In other words, don’t just take the number and expect to get exactly hat. TMV excludes some fees which you may pay, some which you will, and excludes some you should watch out for).
Shop around. Check at every dealer in your area for the car that you want. Playing them off each other can sometimes work, and sometimes not.
Remember to take into consideration the whole deal: Financing, trade-in amount, down payments, everything. Any of these variables changing can affect how good of a deal you get. Bring your own calculator and know how to use it.
Be willing to walk out the door if you feel you’re getting screwed.
Do not lease, unless that is absolutely the right thing for you. Read about lease vs. purchase and th advantages and disadvantages of each.
Do not buy an extended warranty.
Treat the salesperson like a human being, and you will most likely get treated the same. But if you feel you’re being treated unfairly, walk.
As far as the car, meh. Not a big fan of the Grand Ams. How much are you looking to pay? I’d buy a Grand Prix GTP over the Am if you’re stuck on Pontiac. There are definitely others I’d pick over both of them. It all depends on what you want.
Also, I know it’s your car and all, but keep in mind that resale value on an orange car will be less than for other colors.
I wish I got the XM radio on my cavalier. 10 or 20 bucks a month to listen to commercial free radio would have been great.
Anyway, since you own a gm product, you will probably get a 1000 dollar loyalty rebate, plus the (I think it is from a 2-4 thousand dollar rebate sale) should knock you down a bunch of the cost. Also, if you really want to save a few dollars, get the base class and just add what options you want. This could save you another $1,000. Just my 2 cents.
Check Pontiac’s website and make sure you are aware of exactly what rebates and loyalty bonuses are available (the dealer is not required to tell you of these)
Contact the fleet manager of the dealership - often they can beat the price that the salesmen will offer. Just call and ask for him/her, inform them that your looking for a car, etc.
Check several GM dealerships via GM Buy Power:
You tell them the area you live, the car that you’re looking for, and they’ll get a quote from several local dealers. This will often be cheaper than talking directly with each dealer, as they now have to compete against eachother. If you get a good price, be sure to be firm when you visit them in person that you expect to pay only that price.
Go to a dealership in an “economically depressed” area. My parents live in West Palm Beach, where dealership prices were significantly higher than those 35 miles away in Clewiston (small, agricultural growing community in the middle of the state.) They paid $3K less on a basic Chevy S10 pickup than they would have in WPB. Their lot prices will be cheaper, and there is still room to bargain.
Wait until mid-September/early October when the 04 models come in. They’ll be anxious to dump the 03s for cheaper prices to make room, which may suit your needs perfectly fine.
Good luck!
Breezy - The bit Necros said about walking out…here’s a quick anecdote:
I own a 2003 Chevy Avalanche loaded. When I went to buy the car I went to 4 different dealerships. By the time I went to the 4th one I had three different business cards in my wallet. All out front so when I put car-sales-person numer 4’s card in they could see it. I was about 15 minutes away from signing on to a sweet deal. I had been at dealership number 4 for 2 hours. You need to be willing too sit with them and not commit to anything.
Anyway I was 15 minutes away from signing and I said: “you are not giving me everything I am asking for when it comes to payments. This is a large investment and I need to think” I stood up out came the hand, I shook it and I walked away.
I wanted to say YES! YES! YES! YES! I’ll take it!!! but I didn’t. And hour after I left I was in Wal-mart buying some stuff when my cell phone rang.
"Mr. Phlosphr, we’d like to offer you 288 a month no payment’s till December - which was two months away - ** will that work for you, that is not going to change on our end. You will basically be robbing us.**
It’s sitting in my driveway right now. The walk away method works with the right departing sentence.
I know a little bit about cars.
About XM, I don’t have it on my Cadillac (just missed it), but I know many people who do, and pretty much without fail they love it. In fact, I haven’t heard one negative thing about it, outside of the price, which i just one of those things. Everything would, of course, be better if it were free…
The point abou hopping on GMBuypower is good one. Also, you may want to contact the internet sales department of a dealership you are going to buy from (not one you’ve already deal with salesman-wise). They can get you good deals.
The price you’re looking at, $22K-$23K, is full of cool cars, so I would recommend driving a lot of cars, if you haven’t already . The Honda Accord V6, Subaru WRX, Nissan Altima and others are around that price. Some people have to stick with an American car, though, so if you’re one of those, no worries.
If you are set on the Pontiac, there are a few things I can suggest: Get the Loyalty rebate. Use GM Card dollars if you have them. Even better, though, is to find someone who woks for GM. There is a coupon out right now that wil get you GMS/GMO pricing plus four percent, but the GM employee/suppier has to get it for you. It can save you mutiple thousands, though: Maybe enough to afford the supercharged Grand Prix!
Buy a car that you love. Not what independent testers and reviewers say.
I bought a 17,010 dollar car and got it for under 14,000 dollars. of course I took a loan from the bank, so I’m paying more than the 14,000, but oh well.
I’ve purchased three new vehcles in the past five years. A good website (in addition to Edmunds) is www.intellichoice.com for the dealer invoice price for vehicles and optional equipment. FYI, “fleet rate” is about 6-7 points over invoice price. You should try to do better than that, if possible.
You need to communicate to the salesperson first and foremost that you are an informed consumer. Take your information with you in a folder and refer to it during the negotiations (this tends to make salemen nervous). Bring a small calculator also.
Salesmen like to tell you “I can sell this car all day at this price.” My answer is always “Not to me”. When they quote you the MSRP, chuckle dismissively and ignore it. Also, ignore any “area markup”, which is extra profit tacked on because the vehicle is supposedly in high demand.
On my last vehicle, I did all the negotiations by email with several dealers. Tell them honestly what you were quoted by others and challenge them to beat it.
Do NOT discuss trade-in as part of the price negotiations. It will only cloud the issue. If asked, tell them you are thinking of selling your old vehicle privately. Once the negotiations are over, you can ask what they will give you for it.
Lastly, if you don’t like how you’re being treated by a salesperson, ask to talk to someone else. I went through three of them a couple of years ago because I didn’t like the high-pressure tactics and the product ignorance. Remember, they want to close you the same day you come in. If you leave, the chance of a sale goes down dramatically. They will do almost anything to keep you in the showroom and talking. Work it to your advantage.
