For over 20 years now whenever I bought a brand new car I used a formula that I got out of some book. Basically it was subtract 10-15% off the invoice price (not the sticker price) and use that amount as a starting price, never going up more than $600 from that. The difference in the sticker price compared to the invoice determines what percentage I subtract from the invoice. If I couldn’t get the car for 15% off invoice plus 600, I walked. This formula worked well. I always got cars for much less than the sticker price and even less than advertised sale prices.
Until now. 6 months ago I bought my kid a ford ZX-2. Last month I bought myself a new Mustang GT. My formula didn’t work because it actually came up with a price that was higher than the dealer wanted. (by the way, I’m talking about the actual price, NOT the price including rebates. The rebates are between me and the manufacturer, not the dealer). Now my wife wants to trade in her Maxima for an SUV (yeah, she wants to support terrorism:rolleyes: ) Once again my formula is not working when compared to what the dealer is asking.
have they screwed around with hold backs and such that now the invoice is totally worthless or what?
I can think of a couple things, but I’m not sure of either. First, it may be the information you are getting regarding the “invoice” price is wrong. There are many websites that purport to have the standard invoice price, but are, in fact, inflated. This also happens if you ask the dealer what his invoice price is. In both cases, the “invoice” price is inflated. Second, it may be that because of the economy, manufacturers and dealers are making more under the table deals regarding rebates, etc, that are not reflected in even an accurate invoice price.
Not sure which, if either, is what happened in your case.
You should have read a recent autos issue of Consumer Reports. This year’s issue may still be on the newstand. Ivoice price doesn’t mean a thing. For each brand and within a brand, there is a different range of what true dealer cost is compared to invoice. CR publishes some examples and has a service to purchase detailed costs for models you are interested in.