New Car

[Ericka xoxo]

Thinking about getting a new car soon, do you think is a good time to buy?
What are your secret tips when you visit the dealers to get the best price?

[DEAR_JOHN]

Originally Posted by Ericka xoxo

Thinking about getting a new car soon, do you think is a good time to buy?
What are your secret tips when you visit the dealers to get the best price?

Do not buy nor allow a salesman to aim you toward an EV (electric vehicle) unless you want to help out China. When adults get back in the white house and things get back toward normality, all of this EV push will just be a bad joke at a Washington DC party.


Right now, interest rates are through the roof and I wouldn't even dream of buying a car right now, unless you have to have one. Unless there is a falling of interest rates, again, wait until next November.


There are a ton of videos on youtube with people giving hints about buying a new car, so I would invest some time watching youtube. Maybe try 'hints to buying a new car' and seeing what they have to say. Some are BS artists, but some can also help you out.


Good luck whatever you do.

[bigwill832]

I learned this from one of my clients who is a sales manager at a car dealership here in town: Look for any vehicle that has been on the lot longer than 120 days. When a vehicle sits on the lot that long, they start losing money on it. Those are vehicles they are willing to do more to get moved off the lot.

I'll chime in with Dear on the EV/Hybrid thing. Great ideas, in general, but the technology and infrastructure just isn't quite there yet.

[Uomo]

Here's what's worked for me.

Do your homework ahead of time. What do you need vs what can you live without. IE: I don't care about built in Nav as I use my phone so a car with Carplay is more important to me than Nav. Act like you know exactly what you want when you walk in. Heck, you can even start with "I saw on your website you have a blah blah model, this color and this trim.. here's the stock #, what's your best price..."

Shop between Xmas and NY, the absolute best time as everyone wants to meet their quota for the end of the year.

Don't be afraid to walk away. Probably the most important advice. The salesperson and manager will make it seem like you are getting the best deal ever - you aren't. Take their info and go to another dealer and say - can you do better than this

Start with the overall price and negotiate that down.

Do you have a trade-in, don't tell them. Overall price is key. Negotiate trade in after or sell privately or get a price from Carmax first and have that ready for the final part of the negotiation.

Check this lady out
https://www.cowartautoconsulting.com/
I catch her tiktoks now and then, she's got some amazing advice and personally, I could listen to her drawl all day.


That is what has worked for me, others will have different (probably better) advice, some will say CJ's voice is awful and then folks will start to get political and defend Ford or Dodge an the troll will weigh in with his stupidity.

Good luck!

[targaman85]

Good grief, DJ. See attached growth in EVs from 2016-2020. Hmmm...who was in the White House? They're not going anywhere, anytime soon. I have 7 cars, none are EV.

I was recently in a circle jerk of a conversation with Biden bashers talking about forced fuel alternatives, solar subsidies, etc. I looked around the circle and said "Who here owns a Tesla?" More than 50% of them had one and I'm sure they all enjoyed their $7500 tax credit. One guy had 5 cars and 4 were Teslas. I had nothing more to say. Mic drop and walk...

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...icles-by-type/

[targaman85]

On a positive note: inventory has risen and prices of some cars have dropped. I've watched the value of some of mine drop.

Still not buying, but getting close. Probably in 2024.

[DEAR_JOHN]

Originally Posted by targaman85

On a positive note: inventory has risen and prices of some cars have dropped. I've watched the value of some of mine drop.

Still not buying, but getting close. Probably in 2024.

Hey ole buddy, there was something on either facebook videos or tictok videos about which model cars have the biggest backup. For example the Ram 2500 had something like a 750 day backup.


I found this, perhaps someone like Ericka can use this to save herself some money. https://www.realcartips.com/news/143...nventory.shtml



My last new car was a C8 Corvette and I had to buy it from a dealership in New Hampshire to get it at MSRP while most dealerships were charging $5,000 to $25,000 for 'market' adjustment, All the dealership in New Hampshire did was basically handle the paperwork. The new car was delivered from the factory in Bowling Green Ky. directly to my local dealership in Houston. The charge at the local dealership was around $350 to transfer all the paperwork, put on a couple of dealer options that I chose such as mudflaps, and clean up the car.

[Bowser98]

Originally Posted by targaman85

On a positive note: inventory has risen…

Ha…try buying a 3/4 or 1-ton pickup right now.

[Brooke Wilde]

I've heard that buying at the end of the year is always best. Try to find a brand-new model 22, those should have the lowest price compared to 23 & 24s.

[Ericka xoxo]

Not in to EV's right now. Great info going to give it a try this weekend and see how it goes. If a good offer appear I'll take it if not I can wait another year.

[Brooke Wilde]

I bought a brand-new car last year, it had been sitting on the lot for a while. It was priced 20k under what they were asking for 23's with all the same options/trim.

[Unique_Carpenter]

Never ever for an EV unless you're a city commuter with a short driving distance. And, always know the cost of installing a recharge install for home, which rules out rentals. And by the way, numerous owned homes simply do not have a sufficient electric panel for that in the first place.

But, and I can't resist....
I thought Texas cowgirls drove pickup trucks.

Erica's second question though, about tricks dealing with auto dealers....
Well....
You're dealing with azzhats. So....
I have seen my guy (owner) do the smoke and mirrors show to folks he went to high school with.
At lunch he would ask me what I thought of his stage presence.
I won't go into the specifics which would be ROS material but I'll say I did mention azzhat just above.
Remember, the floor folks are almost always commission. So.... just be prepared to run into that.

Last, Brooke is correct that something that has been sitting on the lot a while may have a lower actual price than the window sticker. Just anticipate the salesman smoke and mirrors show (which includes running back and fourth to the GM where they are not discussing giving you a break on the price, but are discussing the weekend fishing trip, poker game, pub dart game, or other stuff).

[Michael8219]

If you have to buy a car, try Dec 28, 29, or 30 of this year. I would say Jan 2 but only a third of the dealers will book that Jan 2 sale in 4Q 2023 business. Don’t show excitement or gush over the car. In fact after you’ve spent some time with the salesman, if you can get a spouse sibling child to interrupt you and the salesman every 5 minutes and say “let’s go, you don’t need a new car!” that helps a little.

A few years ago I went in on Monday Jan 6 when everyone was watching NCAA football championship bowl game. Virtually no one in the showroom and they booked at as a 12/31 sale. I did well.