Hi, this is only my second post but I cant thank you guys and ladies enough for all the valuable info i have learned here in the past few weeks of finding this forum. Im not sure what im doing wrong maybe I just really suck at negotiating. Ive contacted a few dealers in regards to a red sport im looking for and also a mazda cx5 for my parents. The convo usually begins with me asking for their best numbers on a particular vehicle with a breakdown of RV,MF, MSRP, and selling price before incentives. Theyll get back to me with just a monthly payment and I will have to ask again for the numbers which theyll provide. Then when I ask about the selling price they basically just ghost me from then on out. Is it worth even trying to negotiate by email? Am I doing this wrong? I am polite at all points never demanding, just cant seem to get anywhere.
I force their hand or find another dealer.
I just emailed 5 more dealers so I’m hoping to get a better response from at least some of them.
The selling price is where all the sleight of hand happens, or at least most of it. Keep it simple and ask for that first, and only that. If you start getting into leasing numbers first you run the risk of confusing things. Getting that price first and knowing your rebates and other figures for yourself ahead of time puts them in a box. Once they give you that number you can reply with something like “Thanks for getting back to me, so a X month, Y miles per year lease should be about Z per month using your selling price and the rebates available in my area? (give zip code)”
I was always under the impression of doing email as well. Trying to buy cars these last few months, I’m not sure what the deal is anymore. It’s either the sales reps are just horrible and lack basic skills or they don’t take emails seriously. Most will do whatever they can to get you in the dealership. Just keep going until you find the ones who are willing to email, those are the ones who earn your business.
If you are putting internet quote requests out there, a lot of dealerships still use their “internet department” as nothing more than a lead generator to get you to walk in. I almost always ask to have a sales manager email me with the current selling price of the vehicle before any rebates and incentives are applied. It cannot be made any clearer than that. Either they will do it or they won’t. Saves everyone a lot of time.
Yea this pretty much sums it up. They just want to get to in the door.
Good point about asking for a sales manager that’s something I need to start doing. The email/sales Dept seems to not give a shit. At least so far.
The internet department usually has very little authority in this kind of thing. They exist to generate traffic mostly, outside of management.
Doesn’t hurt to have a phone conversation too. If you get an actual quote from a human with a name and a direct number/cell, make a call. This will give them the idea that your serious and you might be able to get them to send you all the details you’re looking for. You might also get an idea of how straight forward/shady they are.
I am in the process of negotiating 2 leases right now. I only deal using email as my previous experience has proven to me that otherwise the major effort is to get you into the dealership where the games begin. So with an email to the sales manager stating what specific vehicle/equipment you are looking for and then a short concise itemization of your credit score(s), eligibility for specific programs (Friends and family etc.) and what kind of purchase plan or lease you are looking for…also create a deadline by which you will make a decision (and stick to)…you can expect only 1 out of ten of your inquiries to get a reasonable intelligent and meaningful response…Like it or not if you are not willing to be a student and learn the dynamics of the dealer/customer “dance” you are better off using a broker. Don’t kid yourself…no dealer is going to make a deal that is bad for them, if they can they will make a deal that is bad for you and good for them…if you have done your homework and are reasonable you will occasionally get a deal that is a good one for you (and doesn’t injure the dealer)
In email requests, I think it’d be helpful to add something to the effect that you like playing with the numbers in your spreadsheet but, understand that things like rebates and taxes can be treated differently by the dealership’s DMS to match state laws so you know the numbers WON’T match up exactly, WHICH IS OKAY. Doing this may stop the dealership personnel’s eyes from rolling back in their heads because they’re thinking… oh one of THOSE people who’s going to be wasting my time asking me why my numbers don’t match up by $1.98/mo to their spreadsheet. You may find the information to be more forthcoming by doing this.
I just “bought” two cars recently, one purchase one lease. I sent lots of inquiries, many during the feeler stage and many as I narrowed my choices down and got more serious. I tried Costco and Truecar on one of them. I went into a few dealers but most was done via e-mail. I experienced the full spectrum of nutty things a dealership can pull. From one dealership who wouldn’t let me test drive a Charger Scat Pack (because it was too powerful I guess?) to another that changed the price five times but kept asking me when I could come in to sign the papers. I have concluded that, at least in my case, some dealerships want to sell cars and some do not. Maybe it was that they didn’t want to sell the particular car I was looking at at that particular time. I am not sure. If they truly wanted to sell the car, I don’t think it would matter if you put this or that in an e-mail or came in for a test drive dressed like a clown. I am glad it is over for now. It was very tiresome trying to convince people to take my money.
I found the same thing when emailing dealerships. All you need is one dealership to send you an aggressive deal with the breakdown. After you have one offer, when the other dealers start emailing you random BS you can just forward the other offer and ask if they can beat it. Most of the time, they will send back a serious offer with all the information.
Jumping on the phone makes a world of a difference.
Imagine how many leads they get a day from people just “wanting to know” but have no real intention of buying.
Jump on the phone, be straight with them, that you know the xyz incentives are decent this month, looking to buy before the end of the month, want to do stuff via email or fedex paperwork, lets make a deal happen ASAP etc.
I have negotiated all leases by email (four total so far) without stepping foot onto a lot until the deal is finalized by email. These leases have been Honda, Toyota, Buick/GM, and Jaguar. They usually respond at first with BS like “The best payment I can do on that one is $xxx.xx with $xxxx down, why don’t you come in for a test drive?” You have to let them know directly and in no uncertain terms that you will not be making a personal appearance until the details are worked out over email. If they ghost you after that, they are not worth doing business with. This tactic can backfire with dealers of less mainstream vehicles since there will be fewer dealers for you to choose from, but that’s the breaks.
I find that rather than asking them for the best price (which they will always BS you on), I make the first move and propose something specific. I use an Excel spreadsheet to create a line-by-line quote of what I want, including MSRP, dealer discount requested, incentives/rebates that I know apply, the money factor, the residual, and the term (miles/months), and I ask the dealer if they can make my numbers work. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it’s no. But this approach lets them know that you’re serious and you have done your homework, so the standard dealership tricks are less likely to work.
Just like someone else mentioned above, on my most recent transaction I had a much better/easier experience by going on the “Meet our Team” section of a dealer’s website and contacting a Sales Manger directly.
As I worked with them I would make sure that my correspondence showed them that I knew what I was talking about and knew how the numbers worked. Once they knew I hadn’t just fallen off the turnip cart, the straightforward dealers would send good numbers and the other guys would ghost me.
I guess it’s YMMV. I’ve personally never had much luck on the phone.
We completed and took delivery of two 2019 Chev Equinox with the Convenience package. This makes our third and fourth Equinox. We ended up with $445 DAS and $200 a month for 24 months. How did we get this? Visited dealer web sites and looked for “specials” and noted who was being aggressive. Made a connection with internet sales and asked for a quote on the vehicle mentioned and specified that DAS was limited to 1st month plus tax and plate transfer. Some offered ridiculous figures and some were serious and were a pleasure to deal with. Some dealers checked back and offered to make a more aggressive bid. When I arrived at what I thought was a fair deal both ways. We asked for a list of docs needed and sent them in and scheduled a closing and closed. No visits to the dealership until closing. Did have one issue with the F & I guy who offered extra damage protection for $94/month for 24 months. (a truly ridiculous and rip-off offer) It took a couple of polite refusals before the F & I guy got the message and we got down to doing what we were there for…sign doc’s and close. The F & I guy was so intent on trying to sell his “insurance” he didn’t even bother to explain any of the numbers on the contracts…just pointing to where we initial and/or sign. We like the new Equinox’s very much. Dealerships should stick to selling and leasing vehicles and stop trying to be insurance sales people…they do a bad job at insurance sales and it is obvious that they withhold final approval in hopes of conning the unsuspecting into exorbitant junk insurance. This probably nets folks with poor credit that can least afford the added charge. They say “a sucker is born every day”…at some point auto companies will wise up and stop looking the other way and demand honesty from the dealers.Until then “Caveat Emptor”…
I think my most recent post has some good information that can be helpful to those trying to protect their financial future from vultures…I know that being a car fanatic really puts me at risk for paying anything just so I can get the vehicle that I dream about…(at the moment) …thus I am trying to get some sense into the process because I believe that we can help each other out.