OT: Paying cash for a new car, tips?

[PaMtbRider]

Congrats on the new Subaru. We picked up a new Subaru Outback Touring XT yesterday. The price was negotiated over the phone. We ended up agreeing on a little below invoice.

The big snag came with the trade value of our 2017 Outback. Dealer offered $14,950. I laughed and showed them the offer from Carvana for $19000 Carmax had also offered $18000. They wouldn't budge. We ended up selling our 2017 Outback to Carvana and bought the new car outright.

Dealing with Carvana was super easy. After accepting their offer we did all the paperwork electronically online. We dropped the car off at a location about 10 miles from our house. They did a 5 minute visual inspection and hooked up a scan tool to check for faults. Once they were satisfied they did an electronic transfer of funds. We were on our way in 10 minutes time total.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by Baron Blubba

My process went something like this:

This is the way to go, negotiating everything up front before you set foot in a dealership. Nice work.

[mdeth1313]

Holy crap - looking for a used car for my daughter. Living in NY, but close to the CT border and still have proximity to NJ. NY limits the fees dealers can charge, CT and NJ do not.

The NY dealers I've been in touch with have the same price, cash or finance (we'll be paying cash). CT dealers have all kinds of different prices, then tack on 1000-3000 in "prep, paperwork and general bullsh-t" fees. They're prices are not that much lower than the NY prices.

Then I contacted a NJ dealer and they wouldn't negotiate unless I came in, but she ran off the $795 destination fee, $1495 repair fee (they check the car and make any repairs necessary), $738 upcharge for paying cash and the paperwork fee was $750 - in NY the max is $175. For fun, I almost asked if they were going to charge me bend me over and...

I'm looking at a few cars in NY over the next few days. All gave me an "out the door" price. This will be fun.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by mdeth1313

All gave me an "out the door" price. This will be fun.

Did they all include taxes when you register in her state of residence, or do you have to cover that separately?

[mdeth1313]

Originally Posted by Louis

Did they all include taxes when you register in her state of residence, or do you have to cover that separately?

Same state - they listed their price and then when I asked they calculated the sales tax and fees.

[CAAD]

Originally Posted by mdeth1313

Holy crap - looking for a used car for my daughter. Living in NY, but close to the CT border and still have proximity to NJ. NY limits the fees dealers can charge, CT and NJ do not.

The NY dealers I've been in touch with have the same price, cash or finance (we'll be paying cash). CT dealers have all kinds of different prices, then tack on 1000-3000 in "prep, paperwork and general bullsh-t" fees. They're prices are not that much lower than the NY prices.

Then I contacted a NJ dealer and they wouldn't negotiate unless I came in, but she ran off the $795 destination fee, $1495 repair fee (they check the car and make any repairs necessary), $738 upcharge for paying cash and the paperwork fee was $750 - in NY the max is $175. For fun, I almost asked if they were going to charge me bend me over and...

I'm looking at a few cars in NY over the next few days. All gave me an "out the door" price. This will be fun.

It's their job to repair the vehicles they bring in. You are not there to pay for their vehicle reconditioning. The price should be the price. Run.

[mdeth1313]

Originally Posted by CAAD

It's their job to repair the vehicles they bring in. You are not there to pay for their vehicle reconditioning. The price should be the price. Run.

Never had to. Stopped her there and we were done. Until the next morning when I received a follow-up email. My response was to offer their asking price plus sales tax plus what I was willing to pay (the NY paperwork charge) and I haven't heard back!

[Mr. Pink]

Originally Posted by mdeth1313

Holy crap - looking for a used car for my daughter. Living in NY, but close to the CT border and still have proximity to NJ. NY limits the fees dealers can charge, CT and NJ do not.

The NY dealers I've been in touch with have the same price, cash or finance (we'll be paying cash). CT dealers have all kinds of different prices, then tack on 1000-3000 in "prep, paperwork and general bullsh-t" fees. They're prices are not that much lower than the NY prices.

Then I contacted a NJ dealer and they wouldn't negotiate unless I came in, but she ran off the $795 destination fee, $1495 repair fee (they check the car and make any repairs necessary), $738 upcharge for paying cash and the paperwork fee was $750 - in NY the max is $175. For fun, I almost asked if they were going to charge me bend me over and...

I'm looking at a few cars in NY over the next few days. All gave me an "out the door" price. This will be fun.

Wow. Repair fee. That's a new one. And that much for paying cash. Is that for counting it?
Did she have a pair of brass you know what on her desk?

[zap]

Recently purchased a new vehicle. Price with the local dealer negotiated via email. I was pleasantly surprised by their offer but wanted to see if we could do better.

We only have one dealer (Lexus) in our metro area. So I tried negotiating with out of town dealers. Two problems. One, dealers north of us (D.C. area w multiple dealers) had awd models that we did not want. Second, not one dealer up to 200 miles west or south of us offered a discount off msrp.

So we purchased from our local dealer. Did manage to remove Toyota/Lexus dealer add on nonsense when we were at the dealer.

We sold our 2013 Mercedes privately.

A good friend is wanting to purchase a BMW X5 with a specific package. Found one up in metro D.C. but the dealer refused to sell it to her.

[AngryScientist]

It’s certainly disappointing how sleazy the car business is. Some of these stories here are ridiculous.

[Mr. Pink]

Originally Posted by zap

Recently purchased a new vehicle. Price with the local dealer negotiated via email. I was pleasantly surprised by their offer but wanted to see if we could do better.

We only have one dealer (Lexus) in our metro area. So I tried negotiating with out of town dealers. Two problems. One, dealers north of us (D.C. area w multiple dealers) had awd models that we did not want. Second, not one dealer up to 200 miles west or south of us offered a discount off msrp.

So we purchased from our local dealer. Did manage to remove Toyota/Lexus dealer add on nonsense when we were at the dealer.

We sold our 2013 Mercedes privately.

A good friend is wanting to purchase a BMW X5 with a specific package. Found one up in metro D.C. but the dealer refused to sell it to her.

About ten years ago I negotiated for a new Subaru that was advertised on a fairly local dealer's website over a month by phone and email. When I was ready to write the check, I was informed that the car did not exist. You bet I was mad.

[PaMtbRider]

Outside of buying a home, a car is the most expensive purchase many people make. It's a shame the current business model for buying a car is so miserable.

On a more positive note I was pleasantly surprised by Subaru USA. After purchasing our Outback I reached out to Subaru USA and asked about any loyalty perks they could offer. After verifying the vin of our previous and new Outback they emailed a $350 coupon good for service or accessories at any Subaru dealer in the US.

[Nomadmax]

Originally Posted by mdeth1313

Never had to. Stopped her there and we were done. Until the next morning when I received a follow-up email. My response was to offer their asking price plus sales tax plus what I was willing to pay (the NY paperwork charge) and I haven't heard back!

You should tell the salesperson there's "I have to take time to drive back fee" of $500.00. A salesperson gets one chance and one chance only to quote me a price, it's when I ask for it the first time and I let them know the terms up front. I tell them they can call ten minutes after I leave the lot and tell me the car is free; but I'll never be back.

[buddybikes]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pink

Wow. Repair fee. That's a new one. And that much for paying cash. Is that for counting it?
Did she have a pair of brass you know what on her desk?

What they didn't add the paint sealant for another $800.

[pwgoode]

Originally Posted by PaMtbRider

Outside of buying a home, a car is the most expensive purchase many people make. It's a shame the current business model for buying a car is so miserable.

On a more positive note I was pleasantly surprised by Subaru USA. After purchasing our Outback I reached out to Subaru USA and asked about any loyalty perks they could offer. After verifying the vin of our previous and new Outback they emailed a $350 coupon good for service or accessories at any Subaru dealer in the US.

Subaru is good about this. I did the same thing back in 2017 and received a $500 loyalty reward toward our new Crosstrek.