Questions about buying a new car

My wife needs a new vehicle. Her 04' Land Rover is costing more to keep running than I think it's worth these days. She really wants one of the new 4 Runners and that is fine by me. The problem is that the model she wants (limited version with 3rd row seats) is impossible to find in our state. I should also mention that she wants a specific exterior and interior color. Our local dealer has checked and says that they could find one in another state or order one from the factory. My questions are:

1. Do special orders or importing from other dealerships take away your ability to haggle on price?

2. Does paying outright for the vehicle give you any leverage for bargaining?

3. If KBB says the vehicle is worth $***** , will they still give more than that?

I know these sound like stupid questions but I HATE buying cars from dealers. We have always just paid what the window sticker says and accepted the trade values as given. I would just once like to leave the dealership feeling like I got a deal. Is that too much to ask?

 

bump for help

 

With all the resources of the Interwebz, you are in a much better position to buy a car nowadays.
Go to KBB / Edmunds and build your car. Note the Invoice price. Check on Rebates.

Go to dealer and order the car.
The price will be:
Invoice + U$200 - Rebates +/- TradeIn + TT&L = Your Price.

There is no negotiating down from window sticker anymore. If they don't want to accept the price, another dealer will be happy to.

Price should not change for Special Order. It should even be lower since the truck doesn't sit on the lot and cost the dealer money.
There may be a transportation fee if the truck has to be shipped in from out of state.

Dealers make money by financing your purchase. You can make them happy by financing and then paying the loan off a few months later. Unless it's 0% interest then just pay off over time and use the cash to get interest.

Go to KBB / Edmunds and see how much your trade-in is worth. Expect to get the lower end of the price range. There is some room to negotiate.

Fritz

 

Thanks for the advice. I've never tried Edmunds before but I'm glad I just did. It looks like the invoice price is about 3 grands less than the msrp and it also showed what other people are paying for the same vehicle. I put in that her current car is in "fair" condition and am happy with the value it gave me. Now I'll just print this info and carry it with me to the dealer. Thanks again for the help!

 

I SUUUUCCCKKK!!!
Still ended up paying the sticker price after all that crap. I hate buying vehicles just because of BS like this. I thought I had them down to 2500 below sticker but after taxes, fees, etc. etc., it ended up being almost exactly what the sticker price was. When Edmunds says "this is what most others are paying for this vehicle", does that mean after taxes and everything or before?

 

Go to www.fightingchance.com Buy that packet, and follow the instructions. Eliminate the B.S. with the haggling, and you'll end up with the best possible deal you can get. Do NOT talk to the salescreatures sliming around the showroom floor. Deal with fleet and lease people only.

When I bought my Tacoma, they quoted me $22,500 was their "invoice" price. I bought the packet, and went back (wasn't supposed to do that part) armed with information. I walked out with a deal for $21,300 - $200 below cost. Holdback on the truck amounted to $500. Their net income on my deal was $300. Sell the LR to Carmax.

 

No, OP, you did fine.
There are several different 'prices':
MSRP (Window)
MSRP plus Dealer Markup (for really popular cars)
Invoice
Real Double Secret Dealer Invoice (Holdback, factory kickbacks)
Out-the-Door

Since taxes / fees vary among states, Edmunds/KBB don't list them.

Invoice is around U$ 2500 to 3000 below window sticker on a Prerunner.
Then you add taxes, fee, registration, warranty, shipping, ad fees, dealer sticker on back etc and you are back close to what the window sticker reads. That would be the Out-the-Door price.
If you didn't negotiate, the you would pay window sticker Plus all the taxes etc and end up U$3000 more that Window price.

Fritz

 

Plus you can't avoid taxes and certain fees. Imagine if you had just walked in and said "I want that one" and just paid sticker? You would have had paid MSRP PLUS taxes and all those fees. If after all that BS it came close to what it was originally, then you saved some cash!

 

What is that site? This packet looks sketchy... I am not saying it's bad, I am just not sure what makes it so great??