When I was looking at used cars decades ago, my friend’s uncle was a salesman. He was really honest and said that people want a low price, low interest and a high trade-in for their car. It ain’t gonna happen.
Not from the dealer, anyway. If it wasn’t clear, that’s why I was pleased when the dealer said he couldn’t offer much for my trade-in: it was an indication that I really had gotten a good deal on purchase price of the new vehicle—which was my primary goal.
That’s why I always try to narrow things down to the one thing I can only get from the dealer: a good price on the new vehicle.
I can get a low-interest loan from my own credit union, and I can usually get a much better price on my trade-in by selling it myself.
It could also be an indication that the dealer says that to everyone.
True, but I also walked in armed with the wholesale invoice price of the vehicle, so I knew I was getting a good deal on the purchase price. I also knew what my trade-in was worth.
A dealer in the habit of lowballing all trade-ins is not going to get very many trade-ins. Surely someone gets what they think is a great price on their trade-in, but only because they are paying too much for the new vehicle, or getting a bad deal on the financing, or both. I suppose there could be someone who gets screwed on all three—which is why you need to be able to independently verify the dealer’s figures.
Can you ask for all the add-on fees ahead of time? For instance, point to a random car in your price range and ask for an itemized list of the fees above the purchase price that they add on.
I concur (also with the advice in your post). Read it the other month. Great read.
I have a relative who works for an auto dealership. When I needed a new car, she looked at my local dealer’s inventory, told me what they’d paid for one that was on the lot, told me how much to offer above that so the salesperson would get an okay commission, and which extras to decline. I walked in with this info in hand, said I’d spoken with a relative who worked for this make in another state, and that I was making a flat offer. The salesman agreed, then when writing it up, started adding extras. I said no. He argued, I left, and the manager ran out of the building after me. He was surly, but I bought the car at the price we’d agreed on initially. That was 15 years ago and I’m still driving that car (with some repairs, of course).
My relative started at Saturn, and now has a sales position that doesn’t haggle or deceive.
When we bought our first CRV (in 2006) we had a similar experience. It didn’t help that the dealership we were at did not sell Dodge vehicles at all, and we were getting rid of a Caravan.
When we bought the second CRV, we did the deal, then I asked if they might be interested in the ancient Civic for parts or whatever. They didn’t even want to look at it (and honestly, I cannot blame them given its age and necessary repairs).
I think the only time we included the tradein as part of the whole deal was when we went from the Dodge Omni to the Mazda 626. It was just so much less hassle.
The only time I traded in a vehicle was when I wasn’t even planning to buy one in the first place. We went into the Subaru dealership to look at cars for my son as well as drop off our 6-year old (at the time) 2013 Subaru Outback for service. It quickly became apparent that there were serious issues because the Outback had gotten water inside due to a bad seal in the sunroof and shorted out the amplifier which was inexplicably located on the floor under the front passenger seat. We were looking at $1,500 in repairs right off the bat.
Anyway my wife was checking out a new 2019 Subaru Outback which we ended up purchasing after they offered to give us the full trade-in value for the old one with no deduction for the needed repairs. They said they could fix it for a lot less than we could with their markup. I checked out all the figures and agreed it was a great deal, so we took it. What piqued our interest in the 2019 Outback was the fact that it was the last year with their excellent 6-cylinder engine. It was being replaced with a 4-cylinder turbo, and I despise turbos after many, many bad experiences with them.
Ditto. I’d heard about it on some podcast, and I was about to negotiate a raise, so I read it. And then happened to need a new car a few months later (5 months ago), so the timing was very good.
Honestly, IMO that would be a waste of time. Your position of strength, as many others have said, is to have a good idea of the total amount the car is worth and make it clear that is the price you will pay, rather than dick around with a bunch of phony fees…
When I bought my current car, I told the salesman “This is what I am willing to pay for this model with these features, including my trade-in. I don’t care how you get there, as long as that’s the out-the door amount.” He did try to charge me for Lojack and car mats but I told him I didn’t want that stuff and they could take it off the car. I walked, but 5 minutes later the salesman called and quoted me a price $500 less than what I specified. They begged me to take a loan even though I wanted to pay cash. I’m not sure how it benefited them, since the loan quoted was 0% interest, no prepayment penalty. So I borrowed the minimum amount and paid it off at the first installment. I guess the salesman got to put a +1 on his loan stats.
I think COVID actually helped me. It was the first day of lockdown and I shouldn’t have been meeting with the salesman at all. I think they realized they weren’t going to be selling many cars for a while, so they’d better get rid of this one.
It is hard to tell what this number really is.
As it happens I put my car in for service yesterday at an Audi service center (not known for being inexpensive).
The oil change and checkup was $230.
Brake Fluid: $260
Belts: $355
Alignment: $260
Coolant Service: $260
Fuel Service (Fuel injection and things): $260
With tax and a few other fiddly bits it was $1640 total.
Did they do all that? More, is it warrantied and documented? Many of the things are 2-3 year service items. If they are charging for that now make sure you have a warranty to fix any of it later if something goes wrong within a specified timeframe.
Wow, I don’t know what to say. Replacing a serpentine belt is $355? 
FWIW here is part of the bill they sent. It is Audi so that is part of the expense:
And $260 for coolant service? As far as I know, Audi anti-freeze isn’t anything special. Unless there is an unusual amount of labor involved (which is always possible but not likely), this is why I don’t use dealers for service. Ditto for brake fluid.“Well, its a (fill-in-the -blank)” luxury car is mostly BS.
To be fair, the dealer - despite the tricks enumerated in this thread - does have to make a profit. If they aren’t making much on the sale, they have to make it on the sale of the trade-in, so they have to offer below market value.
But - can’t hurt to negotiate. You know they’re making some money on the deal however it shakes out.
Slimiest trick I saw was the guys using a laminated sheet with dry erase markers for each offer. He came back with the next offer and the trade-in for the old car had dropped $500 without him mentioning it. Since I was spending $70,000 and nowhere else to go, I wasn’t going to haggle over that. I just made sure to mention to others how slimy the dealer was.
Favourite line - “we have other buyers waiting with cash offers.” I thought only real estate agents pulled that trick.
I thought I read someplace that even if the dealer sells at or below the wholesale invoice, the dealer gets money from the manufacturer. Plus they’re going to make money on service, at least from those who return to the same dealer for the service visits.
“Then why are you talking to me?”
When I traded in my minivan - deluxe interior and sound system, body in excellent shape, only in the mid-range of mileage - the dealer offered what I thought was a very lowball price. I took it because the total price on the new car was low enough and I didn’t want the hassle of selling the minivan myself.
Two days later I realized that I had left my I-Pass transponder in the minivan and went back to the dealer to get it. The used car manager told me they had already bundled up the minivan with a bunch of other cars and sold the whole lot to a wholesaler. What I thought was a real peach of a trade-in wasn’t even worth the dealer to keep on the lot for a few days to see if someone might be interested.
I try to keep things simple. I handle my own financing. I sell my own car. I don’t want trade-in value, dealer financing or any of that four square horseshit. Here’s my price, I’ll work a little around it. I’ve got time, and I don’t fall in love with cars. There’s always another car at another dealer; I don’t care. The attitude has served me well, and I’ve always gotten cars at prices I’m happy with. The trick md-2000’s dealer would’ve pissed me off that I’d either haggle down that last $500 or just gotten another car at another dealer. (Actually, I doubt I would even haggle that $500. I just don’t have any tolerance for that kind of bullshittery.) But, like I said, I’m not picky, so I have choices. The best attitude, at least for me, in entering a negotiation is if I don’t care in the least whether you make the deal or not.