In need of heckling advice!

[krodgers88]

I guess I have a couple of questions so any and all help will be GREATLY appreciated...

So I'm thiiiiis close to buying a 2010 2LT yellow & black camaro this coming weekend. HOWEVER, I'd REALLY like to see the dealer slash off about another thousand dollars from their price. I plan on trading in my 04 Dodge Dakota as well, however, all the other places I've gotten quotes from have seemed to really low ball me. It has a rusted dent on the driver side door from a hit and run but the truck runs great, and only has 58000 miles on it. Its a 2WD regular cab manual transmission, but its a great little work truck, gets good gas mileage, and again, only 58000 miles. Places i've been in the past obviously mention the dent and say "oh thats a 1000 bucks of work" and then offer me around $2000 for it. I've seen identical models of my truck (minus dents obviously) listed online with MANY more miles ranging from 7000-9000 dollars. All im really looking to get out of it is about 4000.

Anyway, the dealer im going to see the camaro at and *hopefully* buy is about a 4 hour drive from my house, so this is the kind of negotiation im really looking to take care of in 1 day and come back. (multiple trips would not be ideal) SO i feel like this dealer may low ball me, because they know that im not close, and that its a sort of "take it or leave it" offer.

Theyve listed the camaro at 25700, and over the phone have told me that they will lower the price to 25300 (which, lets be honest, is nothing).

I'm looking to make this trip and come home driving a new camaro, but if they cant either A. lower their asking price, or B. offer me something substantial for my truck, its going to be tough. Im almost under the mindset that I will buy REGARDLESS, but i know i cant let them know that, or ill never get them to lower the price.

SO with all that said, does anyone have any good angles or bargaining points i should mention and bring up to hopefully drive 4 hours in one vehicle and back 4 hours in a new vehicle in one day?? If they DONT offer me something substantial for my truck, should i try to sell it on my own? Does 4000 sound like im asking too much?

Again, any and ALL help would be greatly appreciated, I really really want THIS camaro, and definitely dont want to see my opportunity slip away!

Thanks in advance guys!

-hopeful soon to be camaro owner

[BlueDragonVT]

First things first, we need to know the options and full details so we can help you. If you know the MSRP that would be helpful. Also, is this a used 2010, or a leftover the dealer never sold?

Help us out with some specifics about the car, and we will try to help you with your purchase.

[BlueDragonVT]

BTW, its "haggling," not "heckling," so I guess that is your first piece of advice.

[The Stig]

I would honestly crunch numbers on the truck. What's the blue book say it's worth? The get a quote from a body shop. That way you spend some coin to fix the dent and that'll up your buy back value. I mean you won't get say all 9 grand, but maybe net like 5 or so. It's still better than W is how I look at it.

[gahammerle]

Yes, I would definitely not heckle the salesperson.

[krodgers88]

No problem. Its a used 2lt yellow with black stripe package with 10600 miles on it. RS package, roof ditch molding, leather interior, Boston acoustics premium sound system, sunroof, manual transmission, heated seats, parking sensors, full steering wheel controls, 4 gauge cluster...

I think I covered most of the extras...

I'm not sure of the MSRP, any suggestions where I could find that?

Thanks in advance!

[krodgers88]

Originally Posted by BlueDragonVT

BTW, its "haggling," not "heckling," so I guess that is your first piece of advice.

totally embarrassing... Im so caught up in this camaro that my vocabulary is slipping. totally blowing it under pressure haha! But yes, thank you, for correcting me. definitely do NOT want to heckle the salesperson...

[krodgers88]

Originally Posted by stieger

I would honestly crunch numbers on the truck. What's the blue book say it's worth? The get a quote from a body shop. That way you spend some coin to fix the dent and that'll up your buy back value. I mean you won't get say all 9 grand, but maybe net like 5 or so. It's still better than W is how I look at it.

I've listed the truck under "fair" condition on KBB and it comes back with at 4500 on the low end. Obviously I understand the dealer needs to make a profit, and frankly, the 9000 ive seen seems a bit much, and by no means am i expecting that much.

[The_Blur]

Your dealer is an idiot. Not addressing this concern demonstrates the priority to sell over the priority to serve. If you're driving 4 hours to your dealer, you need to establish a trade value for your truck before you arrive. They are going to be very confident that you aren't leaving without a Camaro, so they are going to try to take advantage of the fact that you've driven all the way to see them.

If this truck could retail for $7,000, then you need to consider that the dealer is going to try to markup the car $4,000. Keep in mind that the next buyer of your truck is going to haggle, just like you, and ask for discounts. At the end of the day, that $4,000 markup is going to turn into closer to $2,000 by the time a sale takes place, giving the salesperson a $500 commission.

Tell the dealer that you know how this works. They buy low and sell high, and they're going to ask for as much as $4,000 over what they give you and do almost no work to prepare it for the lot. Don't let them tell you your truck needs a lot of work. Your Dakota has too few miles to need a lot of work, and it would cost a fortune to buy a similar Dakota at the auction these days, and it wouldn't be worthwhile because manual trucks take forever to sell. Take advantage of your negotiating position. If you have to drive 4 more hours—there and back again—without a Camaro to get another $1,000, I'd say it's worth it.

[BlueDragonVT]

Looks to me like MSRP would have been $30,600 when it was brand new.

Based on some quick research, it looks like your dealer's asking price is pretty close to average. I would expect if you stay on him, you can get him to come down. You might try contacting the internet sales manager through their web page, or through Autotrader.com or similar, if you can find the listing and haven't done so already. Depending on what the dealership paid for it, $24,700 should be reachable, I would think. If you haven't contacted the internet sales manager yet, I would send him an offer at $24,500.00 and see what he says.

If you have already done something similar, tell the guy you are talking to that if he can do $24,700.00 you will come pick up the car this weekend, but if not you will be forced to keep shopping around. If he agrees, get him to fax you an agreement, or some kind of price offer, in writing before you drive up there. If I were in your shoes, I would nail down a price before you drive up there. Once you've driven four hours to see the car, the dealer knows he has you. You aren't going to drive that far to see a car you aren't serious about buying.

I think that is the best advice I can give you. Anyone else have any pointers to share?

[krodgers88]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

Your dealer is an idiot. Not addressing this concern demonstrates the priority to sell over the priority to serve. If you're driving 4 hours to your dealer, you need to establish a trade value for your truck before you arrive. They are going to be very confident that you aren't leaving without a Camaro, so they are going to try to take advantage of the fact that you've driven all the way to see them.

If this truck could retail for $7,000, then you need to consider that the dealer is going to try to markup the car $4,000. Keep in mind that the next buyer of your truck is going to haggle, just like you, and ask for discounts. At the end of the day, that $4,000 markup is going to turn into closer to $2,000 by the time a sale takes place, giving the salesperson a $500 commission.

Tell the dealer that you know how this works. They buy low and sell high, and they're going to ask for as much as $4,000 over what they give you and do almost no work to prepare it for the lot. Don't let them tell you your truck needs a lot of work. Your Dakota has too few miles to need a lot of work, and it would cost a fortune to buy a similar Dakota at the auction these days, and it wouldn't be worthwhile because manual trucks take forever to sell. Take advantage of your negotiating position. If you have to drive 4 more hours—there and back again—without a Camaro to get another $1,000, I'd say it's worth it.

Thanks for the good advice The_Blur. I agree 100% with what your saying, and understand that the dealer is going to look to make a substantial profit. If they DO low ball me, do you think it would be worth saying "ok well take $1500 off the sticker price of the camaro?" Without fully understanding how it all works, I would think there are ways they can manipulate selling costs while still improving their commission based on what they bought a trade in for? I could be wrong...

Thanks again for the help!

[BlueDragonVT]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

Don't let them tell you your truck needs a lot of work. Your Dakota has too few miles to need a lot of work, and it would cost a fortune to buy a similar Dakota at the auction these days.

I agree with some of what you said, except for the fact that he has unrepaired damage from a previous accident that has rusted a body panel. That will require work to fix.

Also, if manual trucks, "take forever to sell," that is a point against his vehicle's value, not for it.

[krodgers88]

Originally Posted by BlueDragonVT

Looks to me like MSRP would have been $30,600 when it was brand new.

Based on some quick research, it looks like your dealer's asking price is pretty close to average. I would expect if you stay on him, you can get him to come down. You might try contacting the internet sales manager through their web page, or through Autotrader.com or similar, if you can find the website and haven't done so already. Depending on what the dealership paid for it, $24,700 should be reachable, I would think. If you haven't contacted the internet sales manager yet, I would send him an offer at $24,500.00 and see what he says.

If you have already done something similar, tell the guy you are talking to that if he can do $24,700.00 you will come pick up the car this weekend, but if not you will be forced to keep shopping around. If we agrees, get him to fax you an agreement, or some kind of price offer, in writing before you drive up there. If I were in your shoes, I would nail down a price before you drive up there. Once you've driven four hours to see the car, the dealer knows he has you. You aren't going to drive that far to see a car you aren't serious about buying.

I think that is the best advice I can give you. Anyone else have any pointers to share?

Very helpful, thank you BlueDragonVT. I havent contacted the internet manager. Ive only spoken with a salesman over the phone, and HE spoke with the internet manager and called me back and said they could go as low as 25300. But you are right, based on my research, (which has been WEEKS worth) they ARE offering a pretty fair price, but again, ideally i'd obviously like to see it come down a bit.

Even though the salesman has spoken with the internet manager, would you advise me to still contact the manager? I've already told them that I would be there this weekend to check it out.

Thanks again!

[KnightRiderSS]

If you are concerned about how much you can get for your used truck, a private sale would be the best way to go so you end up on top....

In all honesty it is hard for a salesman to haggle on the trade in values of the vehicle your bring them...a lot of factors go into what they can offer you and usually doesn't leave much room for bargaining for the value of it....

If you still wanted to trade in, I would find out what they would give you for it before you drove all the way there...see if that suits your fancy...if it does, haggle on the price of the Camaro...say that you have another one lined up for $2000 less than they are asking?

My brother in law is a car salesman and I was able to get $10,000 off what the vehicle I bought from him would cost new (2010 Silverado with 2,000 miles) and it was still about $3,000 less than what the dealership that had it was asking before he traded for it....I guess it pays to know someone on the inside.....but if you don't, play hardball and don't give up!