[reeftool]

I usually do the car buying. For several purchases in a row, I bought cars because one had just died and I needed something fast and couldn't really shop around. When I bought a new Civic in 2008, I called my wife and told her they only had 2 in stock. Did she want a blue one or black? I got the blue.

The '14 CRV, she got involved because it was going to be her car. We weren't in desperate need for a ride. It was September, 2013 and there were some very good deals on the lot. She wanted metallic silver paint and heated seats which meant the EXL model and nothing was available. We ordered one and got one of the first 2014's off the line. The factory is just outside Toronto and a week later, we had the car. The dealer sent drivers out to a location near Buffalo and drove it back to Saratoga, along with 4 other 2014 metallic silver CRVs. A very popular color that year and still is. Honda extended the warranty an extra 252 miles, which I got in writing. We also got it for the same price as a similar 2013 on the lot (except that one was black). I can't say anything bad about the Saratoga Honda dealership. I recently had to buy a battery and they installed it for less than I could have bought a battery at NAPA.

While Hondas are great cars, I mostly stay with them because of the dealership. I have considered Toyotas but I had issues with that dealership's service dept. with a previous car and aren't thrilled with going back there. That car was a Ford and that particular dealership is one of those huge mega-complex car dealers and they sell Ford, Mazda, Toyota, Subaru and back in the day, also Dodge and Mitsubishi. High pressure sales tactics are the rule there.

[aslyfox]

I usually do the car buying. For several purchases in a row, I bought cars because one had just died and I needed something fast and couldn't really shop around. When I bought a new Civic in 2008, I called my wife and told her they only had 2 in stock. Did she want a blue one or black? I got the blue.

The '14 CRV, she got involved because it was going to be her car. We weren't in desperate need for a ride. It was September, 2013 and there were some very good deals on the lot. She wanted metallic silver paint and heated seats which meant the EXL model and nothing was available. We ordered one and got one of the first 2014's off the line. The factory is just outside Toronto and a week later, we had the car. The dealer sent drivers out to a location near Buffalo and drove it back to Saratoga, along with 4 other 2014 metallic silver CRVs. A very popular color that year and still is. Honda extended the warranty an extra 252 miles, which I got in writing. We also got it for the same price as a similar 2013 on the lot (except that one was black). I can't say anything bad about the Saratoga Honda dealership. I recently had to buy a battery and they installed it for less than I could have bought a battery at NAPA.

While Hondas are great cars, I mostly stay with them because of the dealership. I have considered Toyotas but I had issues with that dealership's service dept. with a previous car and aren't thrilled with going back there. That car was a Ford and that particular dealership is one of those huge mega-complex car dealers and they sell Ford, Mazda, Toyota, Subaru and back in the day, also Dodge and Mitsubishi. High pressure sales tactics are the rule there.

customer service is great if you can find it

so glad you did

[ChrisPlatt]

For many years Honda dealers in this area charged a premium over sticker.
If this policy continues I would still never consider buying a new Honda.

Chris

[reeftool]

For many years Honda dealers in this area charged a premium over sticker.
If this policy continues I would still never consider buying a new Honda.

Chris

My 2014 was $3000 under the sticker by the time all was done. I guess that technically, I paid close to the sticker price but the dealer threw in the options package. My EXL with all the options and a 100K extended warranty and sales tax totaled $29K while it should have been $32K+. CRV's are an extremely popular vehicle in this area and don't get discounted much but there is also a lot of sales competition with area dealers.

Some models do command higher prices. You won't find any deals on the new Civic hatchback and you'll probably have a long wait for a Type R. For a long time, they couldn't give away the Ridgeline truck and they were offering huge discounts. They finally redesigned it to make it more useful as a real truck but it's still no competition.

There's a lot of good vehicles out there but I will fully admit that car shopping is a miserable experience. When I bought my 07 CRV used, I did a lot of looking because the new car dealers only sell low mileage 2 or 3 year old cars and not that much less than a new one. You would think that with $12K cash in your pocket, you could find something but in NY with their lemon law, used car prices are outrageous. Fortunately, I live very close to Vermont.

[SSGGeezer]

I am amazed at how many bad dealerships there are out there. I sent a few emails and let the salesman know what I wanted to see, made an appointment and even discussed the trade before I drove the hour plus to see the car I was interested in. It was an advertised special, so I just drove it and did the paperwork. That is why I bought my current car from the same guy and gave him top marks on delivery and service. (In many places, the salesperson only makes a small commission on sales so the delivery survey is usually worth double that amount. 50 to 150 USD per sale.)
The guy who does your financing is the guy who makes the money with all that protection package crap and extended warrantees. My guy discounted the extended warrantee over 50% and when I traded in, I got a refund on it towards my current car. I like my guys at Rowe Ford/Hyundai here in Maine. We still have some old school scumbags up here though
so I am sticking with who I am comfortable with.

Tony, If you ever feel annoyed by back and forth or snide comments that are old school sales techniques such as implying that you can't afford the car, tell them to ^$^% off and walk out. Always reserve that one for after screaming at the sales manager about how unprofessional they are where all the other customers can hear you. I prefer the area around the sales cubicles for that one. Saved me 3000 on a used car when they called me three days later and sold it to me for my initial offer.

[aslyfox]

I am amazed at how many bad dealerships there are out there. I sent a few emails and let the salesman know what I wanted to see, made an appointment and even discussed the trade before I drove the hour plus to see the car I was interested in. It was an advertised special, so I just drove it and did the paperwork. That is why I bought my current car from the same guy and gave him top marks on delivery and service. (In many places, the salesperson only makes a small commission on sales so the delivery survey is usually worth double that amount. 50 to 150 USD per sale.)
The guy who does your financing is the guy who makes the money with all that protection package crap and extended warrantees. My guy discounted the extended warrantee over 50% and when I traded in, I got a refund on it towards my current car. I like my guys at Rowe Ford/Hyundai here in Maine. We still have some old school scumbags up here though
so I am sticking with who I am comfortable with.

Tony, If you ever feel annoyed by back and forth or snide comments that are old school sales techniques such as implying that you can't afford the car, tell them to ^$^% off and walk out. Always reserve that one for after screaming at the sales manager about how unprofessional they are where all the other customers can hear you. I prefer the area around the sales cubicles for that one. Saved me 3000 on a used car when they called me three days later and sold it to me for my initial offer.

the stupidest trick a salesman tried to pull on me was this

" I have a great deal for you but you have to accept it now, if you leave the lot, I can't offer it to you. "

I looked at him and said

"you know, the deal may be the world's best deal but I promised myself that if I was ever offered such a deal, I would walk off the lot and never come back

I never thought anyone would be stupid enough to try that with me. "

I walked off the lot and never went back

[timb64]

Calm,rational negotiating is the way to go,remember they need you more than you need them!

[MarkJerling]

I've always used the following technique, usually successfully: I walk in and offer to buy x car for $, having researched, beforehand, the fair price for that car. While the salesman is still shaking his head and as he starts to respond with why he can't sell it for that, I put my hand up and say: "Sorry, I'll stop you right there. Please take that offer to your boss; be sure to tell him its cash and if he says it's OK, you have a sale."

[Tonytee]

I did have one unpleasant experience with a dealer. I initially called the dealer, informed them of my name, what car I was driving and proceeded to tell let them know that I am not ready to purchase yet. I just explained to the dealer that I wanted to scour the lot, check out features, model years and asking prices. When I arrived at the dealership, several sales reps were actually tripping over each other to be the first to get to me. Again, I said please understand I am not ready to purchase at this time.

So the one salesman explained to me that the sales staff work on a rotation basis. Meaning when a salesman sells a vehicle, the salesman next in line gets to assault the next potential customer. He explained this to me twice and finally I said, " I understand what your are saying, you know you aren't going to make any money off of me, so what good am I?". He stood there just dumbfounded, finally turned around (with his tail between his legs) and went into the showroom.

It has been 20 years since my last car buying adventure and I am so sad to say that nothing has changed in that business. If anything, perhaps gotten worse given the attitude and aggressiveness that now exists.

When I was 19 years old, I was trying to decide what type of career I wanted. So I thought, " I like people, I really like meeting people and I love cars." It seemed like a perfect fit, a good marriage. I expressed my desire to a very close relative and he said, "Tony, if you ever go to work for any car dealership, you will end up never forgiving yourself." I thought with all the pushing and shoving, the deceit and underhandedness, the lies and all around B.S., I had better go to college. My point is this: Nothing has changed in the auto business. The crap still continues to flow unimpeded.

Thanks for reading.

Tony

[RookieGuy]

I've always used the following technique, usually successfully: I walk in and offer to buy x car for $, having researched, beforehand, the fair price for that car. While the salesman is still shaking his head and as he starts to respond with why he can't sell it for that, I put my hand up and say: "Sorry, I'll stop you right there. Please take that offer to your boss; be sure to tell him its cash and if he says it's OK, you have a sale."

That's how I bought my Charger. The salesman said the best he could do was $2000 (and then$1500) over what I offered. The manager was out and about on the floor. He came over, pulled the salesman aside and told him not to let 2k blow a good sale.

[arnold]

I've always used the following technique, usually successfully: I walk in and offer to buy x car for $, having researched, beforehand, the fair price for that car. While the salesman is still shaking his head and as he starts to respond with why he can't sell it for that, I put my hand up and say: "Sorry, I'll stop you right there. Please take that offer to your boss; be sure to tell him its cash and if he says it's OK, you have a sale."

That is pretty much what I did. I wrote out a cheque beforehand, for the ("DRIVE AWAY") amount I thought the car was worth to me. Handed it to the salesman, who quickly disappeared to punch some numbers. He returned glum faced, and handed the cheque back to me. I asked him to tear it up in front of me; this caused him to pause and decide to consult the manager when he returned the next day.
My previous purchases had left me feeling that they had got the better of me, and that was not going to happen again. When the manager called, he shook his head saying there was nothing in it for him, but since the car was still owned by the factory, he could benefit from the sales record only. That cheque in his hand did all the talking for me, and I got the car without additional charges.

So, one should do research, decide the total you will outlay (be reasonable, they are a business, not a charity), write your cheque for total owing and be prepared to walk if they start negotiating, as that will destroy your position.

[aslyfox]

That is pretty much what I did. I wrote out a cheque beforehand, for the ("DRIVE AWAY") amount I thought the car was worth to me. Handed it to the salesman, who quickly disappeared to punch some numbers. He returned glum faced, and handed the cheque back to me. I asked him to tear it up in front of me; this caused him to pause and decide to consult the manager when he returned the next day.
My previous purchases had left me feeling that they had got the better of me, and that was not going to happen again. When the manager called, he shook his head saying there was nothing in it for him, but since the car was still owned by the factory, he could benefit from the sales record only. That cheque in his hand did all the talking for me, and I got the car without additional charges.

So, one should do research, decide the total you will outlay (be reasonable, they are a business, not a charity), write your cheque for total owing and be prepared to walk if they start negotiating, as that will destroy your position.

" be prepared to walk "

your ultimate power

there will always be another opportunity to buy a vehicle

[ChrisPlatt]

Buying a car can be a demeaning distasteful process for folks who don't like haggling with salesmen.
Consumer Reports offers a car buying service that can help you get a fair price from a local dealer.

Chris