Negotiating Method - Not % MSRP or Invoice

[agarber5687]

I notice most people on this forum hunt for certain percentages below MSRP or Invoice, but in the past I have negotiated focusing on end out-the-door price comparisons.

I am curious if one is better than another or if the negotiating process is one in the same?

I despise the auto purchasing process, so for our Pacifica purchase last year, we test-drove and determined the exact build we wanted and then completed all negotiating online.

I e-mailed all dealers in our area (we did not want to travel to find a deal) with the exact same e-mail (copied below), asking for their best out-the-door price to get a true apple to apples comparison. I didn't care what they called their "extra" fees or the percentage below invoice or MSRP, I just wanted to know exactly my cost.

After narrowing it down to the top three, I went back one more time for best offers to select the dealer. After we agreed on price, then we introduced the trade-in with the caveat that we could keep it or sell private party if their trade in value was not good enough.

Not all dealerships responded and played ball, but many did. Overall I found this entire process much less stressful and in the end we felt we paid a fair price.

Justin,

My name is Austin Garber and my wife and I have recently test drove the Chrysler Pacifica at another dealership. We have decided to proceed with purchasing a Pacifica and are now shopping for the best quote.

Attached is a build summary from Chrysler's site to show exactly what we are looking for in our purchase. The only package that we would consider without is the trailer tow group, however, it is still preferred to have this included. We would not consider any vehicles with any changes other than the tow package.

We are ready to purchase now and would like to have the purchase completed by August, 12th at the latest. We have outside financing but would consider dealership financing if the rates are competitive and it creates additional rebates or discounts.

Please send us your best out-the-door price including all taxes and add-on fees via e-mail by this Wednesday, July 25th.

We look forward to hearing from you,
​

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[rockadile]

Out-the-door price is probably the best way to do it to see what you'll actually be paying. I think the reason most here focus on % of MSRP/invoice is because that is what others are reporting. In the end the only way to know if you are truly getting a good deal is to gauge by what others are being offered.

 

[Indio]

I notice most people on this forum hunt for certain percentages below MSRP or Invoice, but in the past I have negotiated focusing on end out-the-door price comparisons.

I like that approach rather than getting hit with stuff after agreeing on a price. I'm considering a new JL to replace a car that recently bit the dust, but want to avoid the dealer goofball stuff. Aggravation has a cost. Might try your method.

Price should be the price. Bought my used TJ last spring from a private party and the price was the price, guy didn't start trying to ding me for other charges after we agreed on the price.

It is what it is I guess - but maybe online is better. Last time we stopped in a Jeep dealership to browse, two sales guys raced outside and were on us like white on rice. Friends who were with us from more rural Wisconsin afterward were shell shocked. Maybe it's a Chicago area thing, lol.

 

[cosine]

i did the out the door price on my 07 jeep grand cherokee, which was $25k. i went thru 4 or 5 dealers and those dealers wasn't interested in dealing my way. the dealer i got the 07 from sat down and ran the numbers and got it for $25,960 out the door, thats with all fees. that dealer wanted the sale and worked it. when i did my 19 jl, i had a number in my head and worked with the price they were offering. i countered offer and they came back with a price that good for me and drove it home that day.

i could of traveled 4.5 hours down to criswell and gotten a better deal, but in my case i was in bind and found the jl exactly what i wanted. so i'm happy with it.

years ago cash was king and you could go to any dealer and deal in a price. dealers was willing to make the sale, even it they was going to break even on there end. today deal are tougher to get because dealers are looking for profits vs customer sale. however there are still some dealers that will offer great deals to gain sales.

 

[SleepEatJeepRepeat]

I notice most people on this forum hunt for certain percentages below MSRP or Invoice, but in the past I have negotiated focusing on end out-the-door price comparisons.

I am curious if one is better than another or if the negotiating process is one in the same?

I despise the auto purchasing process, so for our Pacifica purchase last year, we test-drove and determined the exact build we wanted and then completed all negotiating online.

I e-mailed all dealers in our area (we did not want to travel to find a deal) with the exact same e-mail (copied below), asking for their best out-the-door price to get a true apple to apples comparison. I didn't care what they called their "extra" fees or the percentage below invoice or MSRP, I just wanted to know exactly my cost.

After narrowing it down to the top three, I went back one more time for best offers to select the dealer. After we agreed on price, then we introduced the trade-in with the caveat that we could keep it or sell private party if their trade in value was not good enough.

Not all dealerships responded and played ball, but many did. Overall I found this entire process much less stressful and in the end we felt we paid a fair price.

Justin,

My name is Austin Garber and my wife and I have recently test drove the Chrysler Pacifica at another dealership. We have decided to proceed with purchasing a Pacifica and are now shopping for the best quote.

Attached is a build summary from Chrysler's site to show exactly what we are looking for in our purchase. The only package that we would consider without is the trailer tow group, however, it is still preferred to have this included. We would not consider any vehicles with any changes other than the tow package.

We are ready to purchase now and would like to have the purchase completed by August, 12th at the latest. We have outside financing but would consider dealership financing if the rates are competitive and it creates additional rebates or discounts.

Please send us your best out-the-door price including all taxes and add-on fees via e-mail by this Wednesday, July 25th.

We look forward to hearing from you,
​

out the door price is nice, but many will still try to slide in forced accessories or force you to accept their financing and push the rates up thru the roof.. end of the day you have to press them and ask every detail several times and listen for any hesitation or wavering.

 

[SaltyJLUR]

I notice most people on this forum hunt for certain percentages below MSRP or Invoice, but in the past I have negotiated focusing on end out-the-door price comparisons.

I am curious if one is better than another or if the negotiating process is one in the same?

I despise the auto purchasing process, so for our Pacifica purchase last year, we test-drove and determined the exact build we wanted and then completed all negotiating online.

I e-mailed all dealers in our area (we did not want to travel to find a deal) with the exact same e-mail (copied below), asking for their best out-the-door price to get a true apple to apples comparison. I didn't care what they called their "extra" fees or the percentage below invoice or MSRP, I just wanted to know exactly my cost.

After narrowing it down to the top three, I went back one more time for best offers to select the dealer. After we agreed on price, then we introduced the trade-in with the caveat that we could keep it or sell private party if their trade in value was not good enough.

Not all dealerships responded and played ball, but many did. Overall I found this entire process much less stressful and in the end we felt we paid a fair price.

Justin,​

​

My name is Austin Garber and my wife and I have recently test drove the Chrysler Pacifica at another dealership. We have decided to proceed with purchasing a Pacifica and are now shopping for the best quote.​

​

Attached is a build summary from Chrysler's site to show exactly what we are looking for in our purchase. The only package that we would consider without is the trailer tow group, however, it is still preferred to have this included. We would not consider any vehicles with any changes other than the tow package.​

​

We are ready to purchase now and would like to have the purchase completed by August, 12th at the latest. We have outside financing but would consider dealership financing if the rates are competitive and it creates additional rebates or discounts.​

​

Please send us your best out-the-door price including all taxes and add-on fees via e-mail by this Wednesday, July 25th.​

​

We look forward to hearing from you,​

​

Percentage vs Price:
I worked in the "car business" for about 7 years prior to my current career. This was 20 years ago but many of the same principles in the auto industry still apply. Dealerships still make their money the same way, they have just become more creative in their tactics with the innovation of the inter-web and all the wonderful information about financing, invoice pricing, and a host of other services that have evolved to cater to the customer (Costco deals, CarsDirect, KBB online, online auto brokers, etc.). I avoid the Costco deals, auto brokers, and "no-haggle pricing gimmicks." Those are never the best deals (they are decent to good deals, just not the best). I feel the best way to negotiate a deal is based on percentage. It's how I buy my cars.

If you are focused on "out-the-door pricing" only, you could be leaving hundreds of dollars on the table or more. Here's why...it's not always possible to make an "apples-to apples" comparison when shopping one dealership against the other. Why? Because it's not always guaranteed that the exact vehicle you are looking at, with the exact same option packages is available at another dealership, especially during summer and fall months when sales typically increase and inventories are lower. Sure they have very similarly prices vehicles that might look the same at first glance, but if the options are not identical, then you could be looking at a price discrepancy of a few hundred to a thousand dollars when comparing two "similar" vehicles. As such, you should focus on an overall percentage to negotiate on so that you maximize the amount you save. In the end, if you did your homework, you should be able to calculate your out-the-door price on any given car if you use this method.

Best advice would be: spend time researching the vehicle you want. Look up invoice pricing. Look up current manufacturer-to-dealer incentives, customer incentives, and finance rates. If you find a car you want, go online to a site like CarsDirect and build a vehicle with the exact options like the vehicle you found, or that you are ordering. You will be able to see an approximate invoice price. Once you sit down with the dealership, most of them will show you the invoice if you are a serious buyer. My experience is that the dealers invoice price is usually within a few dollars (+/- $20) of what you will find online. ALWAYS negotiate sale price BEFORE any incentives are factored in, not a sale price including incentives.

Also...Some incentives are not available if you take special financing offers, however, I almost always use my credit union to finance since the rates are almost always lower. The only time I think a dealership can beat a credit union rate s when the manufacturer is offering 0%-0.9% financing.

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