Dealing With the Dealers
If you choose the traditional route of negotiating a new-car price with a dealer, here are some tips:
* Shop competing dealers. Today’s market is competitive. Try to get dealers to bid for your business through lower prices. Let them know you’re interested but that you’ll go elsewhere--or buy a different car--to get a better price or fairer treatment.
* Size up supply and demand. A good deal on a slow-selling model might be close to dealer invoice, while a popular car may command full suggested retail price. There are no easy formulas for figuring this out. It depends on market conditions for that model in your area and on how much competition exists among dealers.
* Sometimes manufacturers provide cash incentives to dealers to sell a particular model. It may be hard to find out about these incentives, but if you learn one is in effect, try to negotiate the price of the car down by that sum. Remember that incentives come out of the manufacturers’ pockets, not the dealers’.
* Never be pressured into putting a deposit on a car to get a quote. When a deposit is required to order the car, keep it small: $50 to $100 is plenty, and less might suffice.
* Don’t link your trade-in to your purchase. Some dealers lure customers with a high trade-in allowance only to inflate the price of the new vehicle. If you want to trade in your old car, obtain a written trade-in offer only after you get a firm price on the new car.
* Read the all the stickers. The required window sticker on a new car showing the manufacturer’s suggested retail price is often accompanied by a second sticker added by the dealer. This sticker includes accessories installed at the dealership and various other charges.
These may include:
Protection packages: Dealer-applied paint sealers and fabric protectors are of little or no value, or they duplicate substances applied at the factory or those you can apply for a fraction of this cost.
Rustproofing: Most manufacturers advise against extra-cost rustproofing.
Documentation fees: These ostensibly cover the dealer’s “computer costs” and the cost of paperwork and getting the title transferred to your name. “Computer costs” are not your responsibility.
MVA, ADP (or some other abbreviation or code): These sound official but are dealers’ terms. MVA stands for market value adjustment. ADP is added dealer profit.
Dealer prep charge: Domestic manufacturers include this expense in the price of the car. Some imports--but not all--also include prep in the price. Don’t pay it twice. Dealers are supposed to clean the car, install options and fluids (in some cases) and make sure everything works properly. Don’t let them charge you extra for it.
Source: Consumer Guide Automotive Book: All New 1993 Edition.
