Bogleheads

[msi]

I'm looking to buy something within the next couple of months. There are a few certified pre-owned Acuras I've seen online at local dealerships that are in my price range.

I realize that dealers make money on financing by marking up the rate. So when paying with cash...do you wait until the last possible minute to tell them this after the price has been negotiated? Can you realistically not save as much on the cost if you pay in cash?

[jsl11]

[billb]

[msi]

[bearwolf]

[natureexplorer]

By the way, has anyone ever used the Costo Auto Program (http://www.costcoauto.com/ente....fault.aspx)? I think they advertise it to take the negotiation hazzle out of the car buying process.

Regarding the OP's question, this is what I found online:

[superlight]

If you are a AAA member, call the AAA office and ask for a telephone number for the manufacturer's local fleet agent. The AAA price you get that way will be a lower starting point than "man off the street." You can take that number to other dealers, for them to beat, etc.

The AAA doesn't really advertise this, but it's worked for me with Toyotas and Subarus.
_________________
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

[polaar]

[msi]

[MWCA]

[dm200]

It is my understanding that the dealership (and/or various folks at the dealership) make less on a cash sale than on a financed sale, because the dealer (and/or flks there) get a cut on selling the financing (loan).


So, I would be noncommital about financing, until after the deal is done.

[retcaveman]

Last few new car purchases were done for cash at the end of a quarter. I indicate I want to buy and that I will pay $100 over their cost (not including their dealer incentives paid by the manufacturer) and no trade-in. I research the price beforehand, so I know what the numbers should be. They seem more than happy to have an easy sale and add another unit to their quarterly results.

Good Luck.

[Ricola]

[tc101]

[joe8d]

Always paid cash for cars.Never indicated that during negotiations. When I finally told them,I was always sent to their "Financial Counselors" who tried to to show me the errors of my ways
_________________
All the Best,
Joe

[retcaveman]

I use Kelley Blue Book.com. I believe Edmonds also has this info. Kiplinger lists dealer cost in their annual car issue for vehicles only ie they don't list options/accessories. Also when I go to the dealer, I ask for their invoice. When you look at the window sticker, they have a copy of that with an additional column to the right that shows their cost for the vehicle base model and each accessory package/option. I always ask for a copy of that. This same information, which matches up exactly, is available on Kelley. If there are any manufacturer's rebates or other incentives, we also get that ($500 dollars on our last purchase). Several years ago, I got $200 over but then it went to $150 and last time, $100 but that was literally during the last week of the year so they were happy to log another sale before year's end.

Dealers also compete for various manufacturer incentives eg if they sell so many units, they get better pricing, or better financing or the right to order more units. These incentives are theirs and don't enter into my dealings. This is sometimes why they can afford to sacrifice the profit on a unit to get more in incentives.

Good luck.

[hudson]

Many dealers believe that "cash is trash."

[knowmad]

[Lacrocious]

Last van we bought we did the Sams Club auto-buy program. It was easy. The dealer came back with numbers quickly - told us the % difference from Invoice for options - so we could calculate based on Edmunds numbers. It was quick, easy, no hassle. Did we get the lowest price we could? Probabily not. We were in the low-end of the Edmunds "What did you pay" forums and below the Edmunds "Real Price" on what the cars are going for now. For the hassle reduction, the small premium was worth it to us, as we don't buy new cars that often (6-8 year cycle). We really don't like buying cars - don't like the pressure, car salesmen, etc. Oh yeah - we were cash buyers - type of payment didn't come up until the end.

- L.

[livesoft]

The dealer can find out things about you that you may not want them to know. For example, what cars do you own? Did you pay cash for them or do you have car loans? What is your monthly payment for the car loan?

They may ask to see your insurance card when you take one of their cars out for a drive. Your insurance card may show your other vehicles. If they run a credit check as a prelim to offering financing, they will notice if you have (or ever had) a car payment or not.

Does any of this info help them? I don't know. If you tell them you are going to finance, but they see that you have never financed a car, maybe they will see through the bluff. Conversely, if you tell them you are paying cash, but you show auto loans, maybe that's your bluff. Or suppose you dress impoverished while shopping for a Chevy or Ford, but your insurance card shows a Porsche and a Mercedes are your other vehicles, what does that tell them?

[Ruben1898]

It's my understanding, esp for middle to lower priced new cars, that cash is king. Because most people who finance those cars have lower credit scores and are hard to finance these days. Totally different from 24 months ago.

[flowerbuyer]

We've been paying cash for our vehicles for the past 25 years. And don't let on that we are going to trade-in til after the price has been negotiated. Of course, they will low-ball the trade-in. So we always do the Kelly Blue Book and the NADA pricing on our trade-in first. If we don't like their deal, we walk. And when that happens, they always call us within a day or two, and we get the deal we want.
We could probably get more if we sold our car ourselves, but don't like that hassle. Plus, in our state, if we trade in our current car, the sales tax is paid on the difference between the trade-in and the sale price of the new purchase.

[msi]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

One other thing...we're close to buying, but this particular vehicle is $5k below Kelly Blue Book value. Doesn't that indicate something wrong with it? We're still going to have a mechanic look at any car we decide on, but it seems suspicious to me.

[livesoft]

Is it a Ford? You can't always go by KBB.

[msi]

[livesoft]

Be sure to compare apples-to-apples. There are some 2WD Lexus's that some folks claim are 4WD or AWD.

[3CT_Paddler]

[johnoutk]

Paid cash for our last two new car purchases. I mentioned it upfront and I think they thought I was bluffing initially. I did get a better deal in the end paying with cash, but maybe this was because it wasn't a car they had on the lot, (it was one that came from a neighboring state.) They still asked if I was paying with borrowed cash, (eg from my bank or something), and if there would be a lien on it.

Cash is king. You can buy or you can walk. Be sure to let them know that.

[sailor234]

I usually by two year old cars coming off lease, sometimes Certified used cars. For my purchase this time last year I used www.carfax.com, which will provide whatever public information is available on any car VIN. As I recall, I bought a 30 day pass and ran at least ten cars through it.

It identified a used, upscale car, at a new car dealer, as having been in an accident and repaired, which the dealer did not disclose. for most cars it gave me information on the true mileage as reported during oil changes and other maintenance. (A friend used car fax to identify a fraudulently listed car on Craigslist; it was removed when he challenged the ad.)

Full disclosure, I have no financial interest in car fax.

Ray