Cars We Drive!

[arced]



Actually, the 2013's won't be out for a few more months. I just worked this one from scratch. If I could have waited I bet it would have been even lower. Gotta love playing these F***ers off each other to further your own needs.

Any tips on picking up a Camry Hybrid? Is it merely a matter of going back and forth between dealers? I was hoping that the 2013 would come out soon and drive down the prices of the 2012.

 

[Rambo]



Trust me, the dealerships are getting factory incentives to move that iron. Same way I got the deal on my new Benz.

Oh I know THAT. I meant in the situation where the 2013's and the 2012's are on the lot at the same time. Then it would have been a bonanza. The dealership is the largest in the tri-county area and they told me that they receive a several hundred thousand per month kickback to meet certain sales targets. DEFINITELY worked to my advantage.

Any tips on picking up a Camry Hybrid? Is it merely a matter of going back and forth between dealers? I was hoping that the 2013 would come out soon and drive down the prices of the 2012.

Well, if you can wait, wait. The 2013's being on the lot will SUBSTANTIALLY improve your bargaining power. If not, then its a matter of playing them off one another. What I did:

Step 1 - do your homework - go to edmunds, kbb, nada, and any other site to get a good idea of what prices you should be seeing.

Step 2 - email every dealership in the area for a good hour radius. Edmunds has a good prompt on their site and will email 4 or 5 of the largest local dealers. If you use that, then email everyone else that comes up via google. Be specific: "hi, this is mr. schmuckity schmuck, and I'm interested in purchasing a 2012 Camry Hybrid in [color] with [color] interior. I'd also be willing to take [blank]. I'm looking to pay invoice and can pay via cash/financing. Please let me know what you have available. Thank you for your time. Mr. Schmuckity Schmuck" The more flexible you are with your color options the better. The fact that you want the hybrid and there are less of them out there will work to your disadvantage, but not by too much.

Step 3 - Take the lowest offer you get (sometimes it'll take several emails going back and forth) and email it back around to EVERYONE. Say: "Hi, I just received this offer from Racists Auto Dealership for (blank). Can you BEAT this?" They're going to want you to come in before they beat it. **** them. Get everything in writing. EVERYTHING. Including a full pricing breakdown. If they won't do it, call and ask for the internet sales manager, or the dealership manager. Tell them "look, is it really worth losing my business because you're not willing to email the offer you supposedly will give to me when I walk in?" Most of the time they'll flex.

Step 4 - Take the lowest offer you get from that round and then email it to the lowest offer from the original round and ask them to beat it. Don't tell them you emailed their quote out to everyone, obviously. So long as you can copy it from an email, usually they'll beat it. Often times, they won't beat it, but they'll come back with extras: tint, floor mats, extras, etc.. Seriously consider these as you're probably going to have to buy this **** anyway. I got tint and a full floor mat package thrown in.

Step 5 - Either rinse and repeat, or go in with the lowest offer.

The biggest thing is financing as that's how they screw most people. Get the price separate of financing and get the financing yourself. Then you have absolutely nothing to negotiate once you get into the dealership. Unless, you're like me, and you can talk them down a few hundred more.

 

[Edgein]

Rambo, I like your style!

 

[JayJay]

Good work, Rambo.

 

[HRoi]

Rambo and I have the same strategy to car buying. only thing I'll add is make sure you know what factory rates and incentives are on offer so you can factor that in - holdbacks, loyalty incentives, money factor and financing rate specials, BMW even had an Olympic rebate for a while.

only drawback is that every dealership has my email now so I get a million spams for Panameras and Cayennes

 

[impolyt_one]

I went to the BMW dealership in Aoyama 1-chome (it's mentioned in a Murakami book where the character is happy driving a 320i in the 80's but kills time by going to the showroom to look at the brand new E28 M5, then decides he's happy with the red 320i) - I went to look at the new 650 vert and I ended up signing up for junk mail forever. I get glossy brochures once a week or more. Feel bad for polluting the earth.


Just saw a Gran Coupe about 10 minutes ago. It looks amazing. Love it. It should be a regular 5 series though.

 

[Piobaire]

As to financing...just know the rates. I mean, if your credit union is willing to give you 5%, tell the dealership if they want your financing business they need to give you 4%. The dealership makes money on the "spread" between what rates its institutions give it and what it can charge you. Ruling out corporate sponsored low rates a guy can still maybe save money if they can get the dealership to give a lower rate than you bank.

One thing you can always do on a buy is ask for the "strip note." That's the payment with the lowest interest rate and no extras added in, i.e. croak and choke (death and disability insurance)

 

[Pilot]

I've discovered that the GLK 350 is the Chinese housewife vehicle of choice in Vancouver. Have seen well over 100 of them cruising around in the 4 days I've been here.

 

[Rambo]



Rambo and I have the same strategy to car buying. only thing I'll add is make sure you know what factory rates and incentives are on offer so you can factor that in - holdbacks, loyalty incentives, money factor and financing rate specials, BMW even had an Olympic rebate for a while.
only drawback is that every dealership has my email now so I get a million spams for Panameras and Cayennes

****, I forgot a step.

Step 0 - sign up for an alternate email address and use a fake name and number if possible (Google is king here).

 

[Steve B.]



damn nice Rouse!!

They'll do pretty much anything to keep you on the lot.

 

[impolyt_one]

grainy pic of the GC I saw; it's nice to see it next to a regular midsize car - that greenhouse is so low. It's a really distinctive BMW sedan, truly brings back some of the elegant aggression of the old sharknose BMWs.

 

[arced]



****, I forgot a step.
Step 0 - sign up for an alternate email address and use a fake name and number if possible (Google is king here).

Wow! Thanks for all of the advice. I guess I have a lot of emailing to do. Quick question about the fake name and number. Fake name/email address is easy, but do I want a number that can receive calls/voicemail (e.g. googlevoice), or do I want just a useless number?

Thanks again!

 

[Find Finn]



grainy pic of the GC I saw; it's nice to see it next to a regular midsize car - that greenhouse is so low. It's a really distinctive BMW sedan, truly brings back some of the elegant aggression of the old sharknose BMWs.

Such a beautiful car.

 

[JunyaYamamoto]

i dont know if it's been mentioned yet, but USAA and ZAG are great ways to purchase as well. It takes out the anxiety of negotiating in the dealership and offers some pretty good discounts. Not sure if ZAG is still the same, but 2 years ago in my car search, I was able to get a really good quote on a new 2010 audi a4 from a local dealership. Then i was able to shave off another thousand through email correspondance. Had i not gotten such a good deal on the infiniti, i would have purchased the audi as that was one of my top choices at the time. it was several thousand below invoice and this was for a brand new audi right when the taillights switched to LEDs, if you can remember.

 

[HRoi]

holy hell that Gran Coupe (should we Murkans pronounce that Grahn Coo-pay, or Grand Coop?) is beautiful. and the 650 has the V8TT for under $90k base.

i'm eagerly awaiting what the M6 Gran Coupe is going to look like and how much it costs