Does anyone enjoy shopping for cars?

I don't like shopping for anything, so the whole negotiation aspect makes it even worse. The best was when we bought through costco.

I just bought a car. We negotiated on two. The first car I picked a price and stuck to it until they agreed. I had done my homework so i knew it was reasonable. The second car they had to meet it. I hated how the 2ND guy kept scolding me for asking. I had to explain to him that i could ask for any price i wanted and he was free to say no. He ended up giving me the price i wanted anyway. We ended up with the first because they negotiated with me without the dramatics.
 
We've needed to replace our 2003 Honda Civic for about 5 years now, and we haven't because of how much we hate car shopping. It's got a re-occurring fuel line problem now, so we're going to have to do it this year. I've started researching, but haven't headed to a lot yet. Ugh.

We actually bought DH a Mini Cooper last year, but that was easy. He wanted a 2-door hard top in British Racing Green, and there was only 1 2018 model in the entire US when we were looking, and that dealer wouldn't return our dealer's inquiries. So we ordered a 2019 model, brand new from the factory. It's a pure vanity car, that we agreed DH could buy after his job laid him off in a horrible way (they even told his co-workers that he CHOSE to leave). We didn't need the severance package money; he found a new job quickly. So we spent the money on the car. We had been a 1 car family for 20 years, and it's the only time we have not taken the financially responsible route.

We've bought 2 other cars. And honestly, they weren't that bad either, as far as these things go. The first car we bought from the dealer where DH's best friend's mother was the Asst Manager. So she hooked up us with a nice salesperson. But it was still annoying for the final financing. When we bought the Civic, it was December and the dealership was trying to meet its yearly quota for Pre-certified Used Cars. So even though we went in with the "fleet, no-haggle" price they still took $1000 off when I showed them a similar car from another dealer because they needed to make the sale. But still in the room, with the financing guys is like facing a gauntlet. "No we don't need whatever upgrades you are trying to sell, just to pad your margins. I want the car, nothing but the car, and nothing else."
 
Just as an FYI, dealers don't like it much when you pay cash. So don't feel like walking in and saying that is going to give you the best deal, it actually may be a bit of a hindrance from that perspective.

No, I don't finance all those cars I've owned, most were paid in cash but they were purchased from private owners and not dealers. When I do buy from a dealer, I finance and almost always through them...get a far better deal that way.
 
Ok, I am about to embark on the car hunt again. This time I need some guidance.

So I found the Kelly Blue Book value,
now the place I saw car online wants about a thousand over the kbb value.

Do I go in and say ok I will pay a total of the price listed to include the fees etc?
TIA
 


I love the test driving, looking at the cars, and picking up my new to me car. I loathe the negotiating with the dealer and necessary paperwork part. I have gone and have a dealer come back with something in the deal I didn't like and HAVE just walked away and bought something different somewhere else. It's just a car and I'm not overly attached to it. And as far as to how or where I got the money question from the salesman or dealer, just because I am shopping on a Saturday wearing jeans / t-shirt and not my regular work clothes , don't presume I don't have money or can't afford this car.
 
Ok, I am about to embark on the car hunt again. This time I need some guidance.

So I found the Kelly Blue Book value,
now the place I saw car online wants about a thousand over the kbb value.

Do I go in and say ok I will pay a total of the price listed to include the fees etc?
TIA

Don't bother with KBB. None of those "books" are really spectacular, but KBB is a dealer book...you're not going to do well with using it.

The best way to answer "What is a car worth?" is to see what the local market supports. Do some research using Cars.com, Autotrader, etc...and see what the going prices are. Sort them, analyze them. That will tell you what the car is really worth. If they're asking $1k more than other dealers in a 200 mile radius, that's your negotiating tool, not a book.

KBB or other books can be a VERY general ballpark, but I wouldn't use it for much more than that.
 
Don't bother with KBB. None of those "books" are really spectacular, but KBB is a dealer book...you're not going to do well with using it.

The best way to answer "What is a car worth?" is to see what the local market supports. Do some research using Cars.com, Autotrader, etc...and see what the going prices are. Sort them, analyze them. That will tell you what the car is really worth. If they're asking $1k more than other dealers in a 200 mile radius, that's your negotiating tool, not a book.

KBB or other books can be a VERY general ballpark, but I wouldn't use it for much more than that.


Thanks Klayfish. My last car was from a private owner and I haven't dealt with dealers in years let me go get my research on.
 


I just tell them upfront I'll be paying cash which eliminates all that useless conversation about credit and monthly payments.

Last car I bought (10 years ago) had incentives if you financed. I made a big cash down payment, took a small loan and got an extra $1000 off, made four payments (had to keep the loan for four months) and then paid it off. Before paying cash always check to see if there's a financing incentive and how long you need to keep the loan for. The dealership also let me charge $5000 so I got points on my credit car too.
 
Last car I bought (10 years ago) had incentives if you financed. I made a big cash down payment, took a small loan and got an extra $1000 off, made four payments (had to keep the loan for four months) and then paid it off. Before paying cash always check to see if there's a financing incentive and how long you need to keep the loan for. The dealership also let me charge $5000 so I got points on my credit car too.
This is what my MIL did got a discount and great %rate on the loan kept it for 3 months and paid it off with the cash she had.
 
Not a fan of negotiating a car price, and then having to fight off offers for paint treatment, warranties, credit life insurance, etc.

I am a fan of buying a car from Hertz Car Sales. Fixed price, drive the car, take it or leave it.
 
Last car I bought (10 years ago) had incentives if you financed. I made a big cash down payment, took a small loan and got an extra $1000 off, made four payments (had to keep the loan for four months) and then paid it off. Before paying cash always check to see if there's a financing incentive and how long you need to keep the loan for. The dealership also let me charge $5000 so I got points on my credit car too.

Yup I've been offered those deals before. Personally, and this is just my preference, I'd rather save myself the hassle of having to do that. I like quick and painless transactions, even at the expense of an extra $500-$1,000.
 
Thanks Klayfish. My last car was from a private owner and I haven't dealt with dealers in years let me go get my research on.

If you need help, happy to offer input. Besides loving cars, knowing their value is part of what I do for a living.
 
I ordered my last car custom from the dealership and didn't tell them until after it had been delivered to the US that I was planning on paying in cash. The dealership agreed upon a price when they thought I'd be financing it, and low and behold I magically had enough money to pay for it outright when I finally got it. Dealerships get kickbacks for financing or leasing and would always prefer you go that route. I had a great time with the purchase of this car because I was custom ordering it. I got exactly the color/options/upgrades I wanted and nothing I didn't (except for a factory mixup where they installed a Sport Chrono package that I certainly didn't pay for). In the past when I've purchased off the lot it's been so much more stressful trying to get what you really want because they want to sell you what they have sitting around collecting dust, vs look far and wide for what you're truly interested in. Even though I had to wait almost 6 months for my car to be delivered, I was so happy to have exactly what I wanted, the extra time was worth it. The only thing that I actually missed from the process was getting to do test drives, but that's just because I love cars.
 
I ordered my last car custom from the dealership and didn't tell them until after it had been delivered to the US that I was planning on paying in cash. The dealership agreed upon a price when they thought I'd be financing it, and low and behold I magically had enough money to pay for it outright when I finally got it. Dealerships get kickbacks for financing or leasing and would always prefer you go that route. I had a great time with the purchase of this car because I was custom ordering it. I got exactly the color/options/upgrades I wanted and nothing I didn't (except for a factory mixup where they installed a Sport Chrono package that I certainly didn't pay for). In the past when I've purchased off the lot it's been so much more stressful trying to get what you really want because they want to sell you what they have sitting around collecting dust, vs look far and wide for what you're truly interested in. Even though I had to wait almost 6 months for my car to be delivered, I was so happy to have exactly what I wanted, the extra time was worth it. The only thing that I actually missed from the process was getting to do test drives, but that's just because I love cars.

From the clue you gave (Sport Chrono), I'm presuming you bought a Porsche. The high end Germans do things a bit different so no worries, they made their money from your purchase, finance or not. :D
 
Shopping for cars is one of the few things I enjoy shopping for. However, the negotiation part drives me nuts. My only advice is to figure out what you want, then get pricing for that car from multiple dealers. Share the offers from dealer to dealer - it is kind of fun watching them undercut each other. It is also amazing how much lower they will drop from their original price. My favorite comment, that I have heard every time I have purchased a car is, "I am not supposed to show you this, but this is our cost." I always find that comical and complete BS. Be realistic (the dealer has to make some money), but be ready to walk.
 
just bought a new (to me) car not 3 or 4 weeks ago from Carmax.
I did a ton of research online, knew what i wanted and what i wanted to spend. They had the vehicle transferred from out of state.. i test drove and purchased within a few hours.. easy peasy.
 
From the clue you gave (Sport Chrono), I'm presuming you bought a Porsche. The high end Germans do things a bit different so no worries, they made their money from your purchase, finance or not. :D
Still did manage to knock a few thousand off the price with our negotiations. I didn't expect anything...my husband insisted on bargaining.
You really know your stuff ;).
 
I loved the entire experience buying my Tesla. Ordering is done online. The price is set so no negotiating. I had an appointment to pick up my car and all paperwork was done in less than 30 minutes. Super easy.

Mine should have been easy and paying for the car was no problem as there was no negotiation at all, but I had a huge issue with the delivery of my car. It got so bad, I yelled at one poor soul until she hung up on me and then called my main contact and started yelling at him as well. There were A LOT of issues and I completely lost my patience. My husbands Tesla was no problem - picked a time, picked up the car. Mine took almost a month from when they first told me it was ready until they finally delivered it to my house.
 
I found a book called Don't Get Taken Every Time by Remar Sutton in the 1980's, I think. A fairly updated version is still in print. It educated me so well that I learned to kind of like new car buying. They don't expect a woman to know anything at all, and I can keep them a little off balance by doing what they don't expect.

I do all my research first, and never test drive the cars I think I might want on the day I buy one. On car-buying day I am polite; I stay unemotional about a specific vehicle and say I don't need a test drive; I let the salesperson know I am going to buy a car that day, but it doesn't matter to me at which dealership. I let him know exactly the make, model, version and color I want. (If you're in a large metro area they can always get exactly what you want by exchanging with another dealer - don't let him tell you that you have to compromise. You don't. Worst case, they can order the car and you might need to wait a bit, but that's never happened to me).

I tell the salesman the price I'm willing to pay, he patronizes the little woman by "explaining" that is impossible. I politely say, "that's fine, I understand" and tell him I'm leaving. He says he has to "talk with his manager". which is basically bs. I say ok, but I'm leaving in 10 minutes because I need to get to the next dealership. He stalls, I start to walk out to my car in 12 minutes. That's when the manager and the salesman almost always follow me out to my car and cave. If they don't, it's on to the next dealer where I might raise my target price by $100-$200 or so. Or I might test my original target price again to see if it really is too low, and go up if I need to at the third dealership. In the end I've always gotten exactly what I want at a great price, not just for myself but for relatives and once for a friend.

On the other hand, my husband hates to car shop. He prefers to let me buy his car, or just go to Costco and buy through their program. If the "game" doesn't sound like fun, why bother?
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top