Buying a new car--how much of a discount MUST you get before you buy?

Ha! I guess you don't live in NYS... (where it's much higher - not the state tax, but State plus local taxes)

I'll pay up to approx. $500 over dealer cost. I don't do it percentage-wise. OTOH, I've been buying cars which cost under $20K all along - am on my 4th Corolla, for ex. And, *if* my next car is a Prius - as I'd like it to be (we'll see....) , I'll prob. have to pay MRSP, or close to it...

Cathy

Only a fool bases his acceptable price on the "discount from list"--or even from the "markup from invoice".

Those numbers are purely arbitrary. If the dealer sets a sticker price high enough, then he tricks the idiots who are looking for a "good discount" into paying what's still a high price.

So what do you base your decisions on?

Generally speaking, the dealer doesn't set the sticker---the manufacturer does. You can check the sticker for a certain combination of features on the manufacturer's website.

I do agree about those dealer add on stickers----they mean nothing to me.

Nothing?

I don't like Chevys. I like Rangers. They are based on a Mazda platform (sort of...the platform was designed by Mazda, rearranged by Ford, Ford builds B2000s for Mazda...Mazda engine reengineered by Ford...the distinction becomes blurry...)

I don't even know what GM offers for small trucks anymore. I know when I was working for CarQuest we kept a set of ball joints on the shelf for almost every car on the road, except for S-10s...we kept TWO sets for those!

As a general rule, Ford and Chevy dealers tend to offer bigger discounts off of MSRP than Toyota dealers, but since dealers are free to sell at whatever price they choose, one should visit several dealerships and negotiate their best deal.

If discount from MSRP is your primary criteria, go to a Ford, Chevy, or GMC dealer. On the other hand, if the bottom line that you are going to pay for your truck is your primary criteria, then visit several dealerships of each make and negotiate to find out their price for the Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado, or Canyon truck with the equipment you want. Automakers' factory-to-dealer and factory-to-consumer incentive programs usually last two or three months, and they are often tiered or stepped so that incentives go up with larger sales volume. If Toyota and Ford happen to be at the end of their program while Chevy/GMC are at the beginning, then you may get a better deal from Toyota or Ford, or vice versa.

Besides price, I would recommend that you test drive the vehicles you are interested in on local and highway roads, to see how you like their ride comfort, handling, seat comfort, controls, interior noise, performance, getting in and out of the cab, features, etc.

In addition, do your homework about how to buy a vehicle. It is important to separate the financing and trade-ins from the purchase of a vehicle. These are three separate transactions. In addition, you may get a better price with the internet representative of the dealers (going over the internet). In any case, you need to do your homework.

Jeff

Mfr sets the sticker, the dealer sets the final sticker price that shows on the car.

Many dealers throw on their own sticker afterward, showing all kinds of crap, including additional dealer markup. In the end, the dealer sets the final bottom line sticker price.

Their hope is to find a fool like you whose hot button is "percentage off of sticker" instead of "is this the right price for this car". With a high sticker, they still end up charging a high price, while simultaneously catering to the fool who thinks that "high percentage of sticker" equals "good deal".

What *I* think I should pay for the car.

You're not smart enough to compare the dealer's marked up sticker to what the sticker was when it left the factory? And you're calling ME a fool? Did you not learn how to subtract?

As I replied earlier, the dealer add on sticker is worthless and should be ignored. The MSRP, however, is the only real pricing info that's available. The many sources purporting to tell the invoice price are often just bunk, as evidenced by the fact that I bought my last vehicle on the road cheaper than the pre-tax "invoice" price.

You, unfortunately are like far too many posters to this newsgroup... you enjoy calling people names but don't provide any useful information in your reply.

I'll ask again...what do you base your decision on? Try to come up with a better answer than "what I think" this time.

Why should I come up with a better answer than the best one there is?

GMs and Fords sell for ridiculous amounts "off sticker", while Hondas and Toyotas can sell for sticker plus.

The sticker is meaningless.

I figure out what the car is worth to me. Not based on some random figure on a piece of paper, made up by the guy who wants us to think his GM truck is really worth $45,000.

This is a highly emotional thing. Ego massage and A** kissing are the primary factors that MOST (99.7%) people use in their decision making. That is the only way to explain the conduct of 99.9% of car dealers.

If you are out to save money for quality then it is LOWEST NET COST EXCLUDING GOVERNMENT FEES for the item you actually need. Listen to nothing else or you will become part of the 99.7% group...

Good Luck

That's a much better and more meaningful answer, and for the most part I agree, but I wouldn't go so far as calling the sticker meaningless. It does have some meaning if for nothing else than that's where the dealer will attempt to start negotiating from.

So given that different mfg. vehicles are stickered differently a comparison to their perceived value, would you venture a generic opinion as to this question: how much room does a Chevy/GMC dealer have to cut prices as opposed to Toyota or Honda?

My gut feeling is that you could bargain a GM dealer down to almost in the 80% range on most stickers, while most Toyota dealers know they don't have to drop below 90-92% Does this jive with your impressions?