Paying the sticker price for a car?

Question

This afternoon I went to buy a brand new car.  Now I have always believed that the sticker price is the saleman(woman)s opening gambit and only suckers pay it. Cars are the second most expensive thing a person normally purchases in their lives so you should bargain. I told them I was  interested in the car but I'd like them to move on price somewhat.  Previous experience suggested that I could expect at least 5% off. However, the dealer offered 0.4% (yes 0.4%) and would not  move, at all, not an inch. So I did the right thing, I walked out (btw I had a better deal elsewhere in my pocket). The question here is what happened? Did the dealer miscalculate and assumed I could just accept the offer, do  they for some reason really have no margin or perhaps it was just a poor sales person? thought please?

Dave87gn · Accepted Answer

depends.. Same thing happened to me and I walked off the lot and got the exact thing 3k cheaper at another dealership. Its a calculation on their part..the popularity of the car combined with how many people they have to go through before they find the "sucker" who pays sticker

? · Answer

That the sticker price is the dealers opening gambit is really a false misconception.  In general a dealer is far more aware of the market price attainable for a car than the average hopeful punter.

Whether the dealer will move on price depends very much on what the car is. On popular quick moving cars in a popular colour he has no need to drop in price, if you don't buy it someone else will soon.  If he has a Canary yellow Volvo he would probably be willing to be flexible, if he has a Metallic Red Corsa he probably will not be.

nappa · Answer

you need to do some home work before you ever do to a dealer. I use edmunds ( no charge site that gives you the price you should pay for a car in the area in which you live, they ask no questions or try to sell you anything,
take that price to the dealer and ask them what they wills ell you the car for, they should be right at or near the price you got thru edmunds, if not tell them what price you have and if they don't match it walk out. there is no reason they can't sell you the car for the price you got.they must have had only one like it os a car they felt they could get sticker price for, other wise no reason not to sell you the car.
 you can also use true car.com fill in info after you click on the car you want and they will have dealers call you, it works well also, might have to drive 50 miles or so but worth saving hundreds on dollars.

TiggyWiggy · Answer

It's not wise to walk into a car dealer not having done your own pricing research on the cars you are interested in. Some brands of cars, primarily luxury brands, are typically not discounted by very much, if any at all. Other models that are in high demand and low supply are also not discounted. Knowing the dealer's invoice price is key to knowing how much "wiggle room" he has in which to haggle.

Paying the sticker price for a car?

4 Answers