How to pay LESS THAN INVOICE pricing!

freaky370Z

FYI:

It is a buyers market. Keep that in mind.

This is just my opinion and it may not work for everyone. Though, I don't see why not.

I only paid $27,999 (**they actually listed it as $27,699 on the contract and the rest in dealer fees. This might be the magic number) for my Base Model 2011 370Z with illuminated kick plates, carpets, and I got a free gas for the Z (obviously) and my Camry that I drove to pick up the car (a full tank due to the drive). Everything was $30,500 Out the Door after taxes and fees. And to be honest, I could have probably gotten $30,000 OTD if I wasn't as impatient as I was. I want everyone to get the best deal, so here is how I did it:

First, I found the car I wanted (obviously the 370Z) with the exact color etc.

Then, I emailed 15-20 dealers (also using edmunds.com and other sites to send contact emails). The dealers you contact do not have to be in your area, contact every dealer you are willing to deal with (you know how dealers are... once they know you are interested, they call and call and call). Let them know you are interested in buying the 370Z for the best price they can offer you. Tell them to give their best price off the bat because thats who is going to sell you a new car.

Every dealer I emailed, I let them know that I have already test driven the car, know exactly what I want, and I am ready to buy. I let them know that the dealer that would win my business would be the dealer that gave me the best price Out the Door (not the best monthly price, thats a BS dealer trick). I also let them know I wasn't trading in a car and I was probably buying the car with cash. Even if you are doing either of those things, they don't need to know that until you have agreed upon a price. Then you work out the financing and trade-in.

Then I waited for responses. I recommend emailing towards the end of the month with about a week or two to spare. Dealers are looking to get their numbers up, so you give them a taste and get them to start bidding on you. It is a buyers market and you have the control. They get you to buy too high because they know you are anxious to drive that sweet ride off their lot. Let them know you are NOT in a hurry to buy and you will only be stepping your foot in their dealership when you have found the best price. You will probably end up getting your best deal negotiated towards the last day of the month. This is because dealerships have to meet a quota etc and they also get incentives for how many cars they sell etc etc. USE THIS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!

Let them bid back and forth. You will get dealers that give you a ridiculously high price. Let them know you aren't joking around and that you received way better offers, and let them know what they are. Start using the lowest price over and over till you hit your magic number (what you are willing to pay).
For Example: "I received a price from Mike Erdman Nissan of $28,999 and $31,999 out the door. What can you do to beat that?"

**The dealers will try calling you over and over. Make sure you have a pen and paper ready, because most of the dealers that quote you lower numbers will not want to email you in writing. They know you will take that number to another dealer and get a lower quote. Write down the dealerships name, salesman you spoke with, and prices. My advice is to ALWAYS get everything in writing. I had many dealers ask for proof because "they are losing money if they sell it for that price." Never fall for that trick as a salesman will never sell a car they lose on. I told them I preferred contact through email, but most try and get you on the phone and work their sales tricks.

***Always get the price of the car and more importantly the Out the Door price, as dealers will quote you a low price and tag on dealer fees and other total nonsense.

**** And dont forget to negotiate the other things that you may want, like illuminated kick plates, free gas for driving there. Use your sales skills to work in your favor. And by letting them know another dealer could give you all you wanted and they need to beat that, if they can they will!

Pretty much all you have to do is go back and forth with all the dealers letting them know the awesome deals and incentives a previous dealer offered you. Give them specifics and let them know you are strictly looking for the best price. STAND YOUR GROUND! These dealers are not going to be happy that your a smart buyer. They will make you feel like you are being difficult. They will try all kinds of tricks to get you to accept an offer; don't do it until you are truly satisfied with the price. Don't get anxious, there are plenty of the type and color of car you want out there. Even if it takes time, you will find it for the right price. Your goal should be below invoice pricing. If I can do it, I don't see why anyone else cannot (this was my first new car purchase). It does take a lot more time and effort, but for a $1000 or more, it is worth your time.

Finally, when you find the dealer that gives you the BEST price for the car, and the best OUT THE DOOR price. Get it in writing. They will most likely try to avoid putting it in writing, but let them know you are NOT heading to their dealership until you have everything in writing. Tell him he has a deal and start negotiate financing etc. Once you have that negotiated, get them to pre-approve you before you go to the dealership. That way you can find the best financing possible.

Then head to the dealership and check your new car out. Ensure its everything you hoped for with no damage etc. (shouldn't be an issue) and seal the deal. I recommended not to take the BS they try and offer you, but thats just my opinion. I just took the car for everything we agreed on (and boy did it piss off the finance person that was trying to make more money off of me).

Just hold your ground and put the dealerships against each other. Your work will pay off.

Please ask any questions as I might have left something out. +rep if you like this or it helped.

Good luck

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MyZ4U2C

Good information. I will be following a similar path, I did get a offer of 29,300 for a 10 base + sport, blue...but I prefer black and should be a lot less, I offered 26,000. I been testing the waters and the dealers here are high balling me offers, $29,000 is always how it starts for a 2011 base. I still need to save a few thousand for when I'm ready as I'm trying to lower my eventual debt

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40th Anniversary Fairlady Z - Tommy Kaira - FI CF CBE - Stillen Gen 3

freaky370Z

thanks.

Now your getting a quote for a sport package at $29,000? I doubt you can get $26,000 for even just the base. The sports package will be a little more as well. Just keep getting the best deals from each dealer and letting the other know. When they all stop going down, and after you triple check with them. That will probably be the lowest price. Don't forget to talk Out the door prices.

Good luck!

MyZ4U2C

Well that is for a 2010, Wont be able to get that low on a 11...but I'm open to the idea of a 10 and may just wait till the end of the year while I save a bit more and maybe land a good deal towards then. I read that dealers don't want to carry the vehicle over into the new year with taxes, So they are more inclined to deal. I got one dealer who ripped back at me on a e-mail...I suppose I should share it, in it he actually gives a idea of the invoice price, but all the while trying to give me the run-a-round...here it is


MyZ4U2C,
Sorry this is a little long, but I didn't want to miss any of your points.
How exactly is it that you would qualify for VPP D-Plan if you work for ( my company )? By the way, VPP D-Plan, is actually about $100-$200 ABOVE INVOICE depending on the car.

I'm not sure why you would think Nissan would incentivize something that is low in supply? Supply and Demand? Supply goes down, Demand goes up, Prices go up. Not down. i.e. oil, veggies, etc.

I had no idea that you were looking for one with a Sports Package? A Sports Package Base 370 Z has an MSRP of about $34,700. It "MIGHT" have about $3000 in markup and about $800 in dealer holdback (which no consumer has any right to) Thus making the invoice price around $31,000. You are completely off base thinking that you have any shot at getting anywhere near even $28,000 out the door. Sales tax is 6.5%, that alone on this car would be almost $2000 not even taking into consideration lic, reg, doc fee etc. which would be about another $500. So basically the sale price would need to be about $25,500 to get there. If invoice is around $31,000, why would we lose over $5000 to sell you a car. Do the math, if invoice is $31K and holdback is $900, the dealership owns that car for $30,100. I understand that some people like to downplay what they may have or haven't paid for their cars. But it's just that. Hey, I could be wrong though I guess, this is only what I do for a living.

I honestly think that it's funny that people still think there are such things as "Fake Invoices" or $10,000 in markup on cars. It is what it is. If you choose to ignore my honesty with you, that's fine with me, I won't be the one chasing a phantom price. What are you going to do after you go through every single Nissan Dealer and they all tell you the exact same thing I'm telling you now? (All Nissan Dealers pay the exact amount for every car, so another dealer wouldn't have bought one from Nissan at a lower amount)

Trust me, if it were possible, I would make it happen. I don't get paid to shoot off these e-mails or to entertain offers all day. I only get paid once a deal is done and the car is sold.
I'm simply spending all this time sending you this e-mail because it truly bothers me to no end when someone calls me a liar or doesn't believe what I'm saying simply because of what they've heard from people that don't do what I do for a living either. It takes professionals like myself to give you accurate information. That's why you can't buy a car from a vending machine. Just like your home, your boat, RV, stocks, or any other "big ticket" item you might buy in your lifetime.

I realize that I probably won't be selling you a car at this point. However, if I can help educate you about the truth, then less people will be affected by inacurate information like this. Thus making my job a whole lot easier in the future.

Thanks,

-------------------

So as you can see he isn't to happy with me, All I did was send a original e-mail with my intentions of price, I low balled him with a base offer of $25,000 to counter there asking offer of $34,000 base model. He basically responded what makes you think you can get a car for $25,000? I replied with information from American Express car buying program that lists the base a little over $28,000 and that I was in no hurry to buy and that the cars are not selling that well, using there tactics; ie: you need to buy now! I don't think I will get a car as low as I am asking, but I' was just testing the waters to see how it plays out, never bought a new car myself, Just thought I would share the crazy response lol, and I did give you some Rep!

__________________
40th Anniversary Fairlady Z - Tommy Kaira - FI CF CBE - Stillen Gen 3

tsolin01

Yea he's pretty much right that you're not going to get a base+sport for anywhere near 25k lol probably not even a base, but I don't see them losing that much for a base+sport unless it's slightly used like high miles but never titled, or a demo car. His price of 31k is actually fairly accurate for the published invoice. You can realistically get to 28k on a base+sport 2010 if you're lucky.

I think there's a point where you can lowball all you want but it still has to be realistic enough for a dealer to actually accept. That email's pretty entertaining though, looks like you caught him on a bad day lol

TrueCar is a nice site that can give you an idea of how much people are paying.

2011 Nissan 370Z 2dr Coupe Manual - New Car Price Report

Also if you plan to finance, make sure you come in already pre-approved from your bank or credit union and you know your credit score, along with the current rates. That way you know if the rate they're offering is good or not. Some dealers love to say you can lower the rate by purchasing some extended warranty or some other BS extra, don't fall for that.

Half the battle is just getting the sales guy to agree to your price, the other half is getting through the finance department without getting ripped off.

__________________
SOLD 12/30/2011 2010 370Z Coupe Monterey Blue 6MT/Touring/Sport/Nav
F.I. CBE CF w/ 12" Res | V1 | SecondSkin | Stillen G3 | EVO-R CF B-Pillars | Volk GT-S Ti Gunmetal 19x9.5 +30 F, 19x10.5 +8 R | Swift Spec-R Springs

MyZ4U2C

Yeah, I know I wont get pricing where I would like, but I thought I would test the waters and see what I'm looking at, While I save ( trying to be under $20,000 when I purchase with cash down ) It cant hurt to see if a dealer would throw a good number up, when I'm serious about buying I will go at it again. Good advise though, I will say cash, no trade and work the OTD at the time and planned to decline all the add-ons in financing..I'm planning to get a pre-approved loan from my bank at a low rate ( hopefully ) once a deal finally finalizes. Thought that email response was pretty hilarious though lol

__________________
40th Anniversary Fairlady Z - Tommy Kaira - FI CF CBE - Stillen Gen 3

Niche79

Great info here. I was at the dealer last year when I first got the idea in my head I was starting to look for a new car, told him im only here to look and compared. Told him I just got done test driving a camaro SS and I always wanted to see what the Z had etc. He was very cool and gave me a 30 min test drive, he knew I loved it but then tried to push me into his manager to get a sale that day. I said look man, Im tellin ya I only came to look and see if I liked it first, I didnt even ask to drive. He was very polite and said ok please let me know, hes called only 3 times since then and said hows the gf etc, do you have that ring on her hand so I can get you a Z yet? Im sure though once I would use the tactics and the prices ive seen on this forum, he would change his tune real quick!

Still great tactics and useful tips!

TonyD

My negotiations were easy. I found the car I wanted at a local dealer in the showroom. It was marked "$4000 off!!" when I got there. I came back 2 days later and it was marked $5000 off!!!" which placed it at about invoice price. I made a crazy offer OTD for about $7k off and they came back $6.5k which was almost $1800 UNDER invoice price. Easy enough.

I know that dealing with dollars off the MSRP is stupid, but I'm just using that as a way to talk about the prices. In my head I was doing the math and I had the invoice vs mrsp info printed and in my pocket.

Like G.I. Joe says, "Knowing is half the battle!"

I want a Z

The no haggle price at White Marsh CarMax in MD is usually under invoice

DRFTR

YES... White Marsh CarMax in MD is the WAY TO GO...... GREAT DEALS.

birdmanx1

Umm good points, here is my buying experience. I bought mine off season last November in CT. I found the process to be extremely funny and easy. I let the dealer know from the getgo that he wasn't the only one selling those cars and that it was a leisure car so there wasn't any rush for me to get it if I didn't get it at the desired price. My money, my choice Negotiations took an entire day.

Salesman & manager tried about every tactic in the book to no avail:

• They played the waiting game - I didn't call them back till 2 hours after their 3rd call.

• They tried sneaking 2K of additional fees in Purchase Order in 3 different emails - Told them not to bother calling if numbers weren't what I wanted, as simple as that.

• They tried the "They only make 500 of these and you may not get another brand new one for a long time" - I simply told let them know that I could still get one of the other 499 Nismo Nissan made in 2010 and would also have access to one of the next 500 Nismo for 2011 elsewhere

• Sales manager lied about a customer offering to pay more than me but that since I called first, he wanted to give me priority - I simply told him that it would make perfect business sense to sell to the one offering the highest amount and that I was happy for the other customer.

They called an hour later saying the car is yours; flew in the same day to pick the new "coche" No dealer fees, no any other fees associated with transaction and I got the car at a pricing lower than anticipated, DUH WINNING

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mark_taba85

awesome information guys...I will remember this thread when I do decide to get one.

I am looking at a BASE w/ Sport. Maybe if I am lucky I can get it for under $30000 and use the extra money for some electronics!

MyZ4U2C: I agree...that's a good deal you are getting...but try $29K OTD

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"Once you go ASIAN, there is no other persuASIAN"

MyZ4U2C

mark_taba85, Its not a bad price, I would put more of a pursuit in on it if it was a black model, its a blue one. Its not a bad color either, just would rather get the color I want and my ideal loan is $18,000 or less. I'm saving a few thousand up, $2-4 K more to go on down to get my ideal loan figure and then the real shopping begins and by then it may be November where might be lucky to get a better number. Got another response from my angry dealer guy, basically offered about $30k OTD 11 base and $32.5K OTD 11 sport all the while again criticizing me as a rude, hard to please, possibly bad survey on sale and where he only would make $100 on the sale type of speech..this dealer is something else lol

__________________
40th Anniversary Fairlady Z - Tommy Kaira - FI CF CBE - Stillen Gen 3

freaky370Z

Good information on how to stand your ground. These dealers thrive on the fact that you want to drive these sweet rides off the lot. You are 100% on the ball when you say that there are 499 other Nismos out there etc.

Good info

freaky370Z

I figured I could have gotten $30,000 OTD. Good thing I wont cry over $500.00 hahaha!

Even though he is a weird salesman (I mean who makes the potential customer feel like that, oh yeah, car salesmen) keep him on the hook while you are saving your $$. Try and get the offer in writing when you are ready to deal, then show it to another dealer that can get you that color and possibly some add ons to sweeten the deal. Give him your business haha.