I don’t really create new topics, so forgive me if this is in the wrong place. But I think this is worth sharing (for new people) because when it comes to understanding how to negotiate with dealers successfully, it appears a lot of people new to this forum are entering negotiations with the idea that turning the screws on dealers (when it comes to money factors) is a good idea. Sometimes it’s not.
I think the point of using this forum (as a resource) is to create informed buyers so that they can negotiate the payments they want for the vehicles they are pursuing. And when you are looking for well below market deals, sometimes we actually begin to sell the dealers on why they should give us the car at the price we want, not they other way around. To this point, there is an incredible amount of nuance there in terms the best way to go about this, but sometimes going into MF’s with the dealer is just simply the wrong way to go about it.
The strongest example I can give here is a new 65k MSRP c43 coupe I recently negotiated for $599.00/month (tax inclusive), first DAS. A unicorn to be sure; but unicorn or not, I didn’t get into MF’s with this particular dealer because I already knew what a below market payment looked like on this car, and I knew if I achieved anything sub 650/month, it was already a good deal, and whatever the dealer did to achieve these numbers was enough for me. I also could tell by how the conversation was going that if I started to get into things the dealer didn’t want to talk about, I could have very well turned them off and lost an opportunity.
The point here is to educate yourself before you even start to shop, and also understand the best way to talk to people to get what you want. Some dealers simply do not want to deal with a pompous @ss who thinks they know their business better than they do, and that’s how it comes across sometimes when getting into MF’s, program support and inventory with them. Of course, this is not always the case, and there are times when showing them how well informed you are is a good idea.
Bottom line: be humble, polite, direct, and know what you’re looking for and what you’re trying to achieve with payments (by doing research ahead of time) before you ever send an email or make a phone call. And if you don’t feel comfortable doing this and essentially flipping the script/actually being the one selling, HIRE A BROKER! Different broker deals are better than others; but if you don’t want to put in the time, they will likely pay for themselves.
This has been my personal experience over 20 years of leasing. I’d welcome a discussion if you have a different opinion, or can add constructively. This is obviously directed at new people…
Have some chocolate brother.