Thought I’d share my experience trying to hack a deal in today’s market, vehicle shortage and all. I helped a friend find and negotiate a CX-30, and this is what we were able to get:
2021 Mazda CX-30 Premium FWD
MSRP: $30,125
Selling Price: $29,825
Monthly Payment: $348 including 9.5% tax
Drive-Off Amount: $900
Months: 36
Annual Mileage: 10,000
MF: .00001
Residual: 61%
Incentives: $750 Mazda Loyalty
Region: Southern California
Leasehackr Calculator Link: CALCULATOR | LEASEHACKR
I first used the LH calculator to create a target deal based on this month’s programs and incentives. My initial target was $800 off MSRP, which is right around invoice and something I’ve seen from data points a few months ago.
I used Autotrader to identify inventory, as well as dealer websites to confirm. Each dealer had at most one or two CX-30 Premiums in stock; few had the color we wanted. Then I called and/or emailed various dealers for quotes and provided my counteroffer. I soon realized that my goal was MSRP and buy rate, and it wasn’t easy finding that.
One dealer advertised $800 off MSRP but had a $2,000 alarm on the car and wouldn’t give a final price without going in person. A few were quite candid and said the best they could do, without markups, was $1,000 over MSRP. I got the impression that most dealers believe they could sell to someone else for more and weren’t too hungry.
The selling dealer, for whatever reason, was a little more eager. Maybe they had a quiet day; who knows. They initially offered a slim discount ($300 off) but required $1,400 in prepaid maintenance and excess wear/tear. I told them we’d take delivery immediately if the F&I products were waived, and the dealer obliged. We made an appointment for the following day, first thing in the morning.
The dealer was 60+ miles away, but we were out in less than an hour. The contract was printed in advance and we signed with just the salesperson, no F&I manager present.
The car itself is nice. Not the highest LH score, but it’ll give an X2 or GLA a run for its money. The Premium trim has a heads-up display, power tailgate, memory seats, real leather, Bose audio, and other niceties. Hope this is a useful datapoint for those in the market right now!
