New car shopping help needed...

[Badd_Katt_00]

2 questions...

Ok, so I'm sad. I've realized that I can't keep the kitty. I've realized that the larger my pregnant belly gets, the harder it's going to be to buckle my son in his car seat. And I'm also realizing how difficult it'll be to have both my son and a new baby in the back. Ugh, I need 4 doors! So, I'm gonna have to get rid of her Hubby hates driving her, so I can't trade with him. Not to mention he gets horrid gas mileage.

So, I was thinking of trading her in. I've been car shopping online. I'd prefer a new car. --Have some sort of thing about having to have what I want as for options and don't like to settle for less. I did the same thing when I bought my car, I ordered it from the dealer so I got all the options I wanted instead of settling for what was on the lot.-- So I've never traded in a car I've owned, so I'm hunting for all of your opinions on what I should ask for, and be firm about. I know some of you out there have been car dealers or are, so hopefully you'll be honest and help me out.

My car - 2000 V6 Sport MTX, Silver, 63,490 miles. No mechanical problems (besides the moosing which I will fix before I trade it), has 1 small dent the total size of a quarter from a freaking pine cone on the front quarter panel. The only mods I've done to it, is the window/lock color change, painted the pillars and headliner black to match the interior. Shaved the rear badges, I custom made the current rear badge. Smoked side markers. The subs will go with the car most likely. Oh and I've got 3M Tint, 30% front, 15 % rear in black that's freaking durable as all hell. And I'm the only owner/driver of this car.


Now the car I'm considering is the Mercury Mariner Hybrid. I didn't negotiate when I bought the cougar, I was 20 and it was my first new car. I didn't know any better. But you can be sure I'm not about to pay sticker for my next car. Not with a new baby on the way that I'm gonna have to pay daycare for. 2 kids in daycare... not a chance I'm not going to trim the fat off of price tags if I can! So, my second question. What price would you start negotiating at? MSRP is $32,720 Invoice is $30,366 with all the options available.

[freednighthawk]

Well, my one piece of advice is find a dealer who does alot of sales with used cars. The dealer's themselves make their money more from the sale of used than new (usualy they only get a set commision of $100 or so for new) which means you'll be able to hagle over the price easier on a new car.

[GR02XR]

Why an SUV? A Fusion or Altima should be plenty big. Going the used route is best if money is a concern....new cars take a bad depreciation hit as soon as you drive them off the lot. If you insist on getting new(er) maybe this link can help you.

http://www.edmunds.com/sedan/2008/recommended.html

[pgtatx]

It shouldn't be too hard to buy a vehicle like that at or around Invoice. Please note that the internet Invoice prices are not usually correct, so the actual invoice price could be a few hundred or so more.

The key issue is that you have a trade vehicle. So obviously the car dealership will need to decide what the vehicle is worth to them.

You could have 1 dealer that offers you $5000 for your trade at $500 off sticker... or have asnother one that offers you $4000 for your trade at $1500 off the sticker price.

Look at it from this perspective... All customers want to buy a new car for Invoice price or under, and get full Trade Value as stated on KBB or Edmunds type sites.

Of course that is a rare occurrence... KBB and Edmunds don't buy or sell cars, their values are not used by Insurance Companies, Wholesales, or Financial institutions... They are consumer based sites that make money off of selling leads to Dealerships, and Via advertising on the site. So, of course the sites will show the customers the best possible pricing for them. This generates traffic, and money for the companies.

To really get a good idea what your trade is worth... Check sites like Autotrader and Cars.com, and see what people and dealers are selling the vehicles for, with similar options and miles. Remember that these numbers are asking prices, and you wshould expect $2000 under this number. Basically enough money for a dealership to service the vehicle, and leave room for negotiation and profit. Look at sites like KBB and Edmunds and see what values they say you "should" expect on a trade. Using this info, you should be able to get an idea what your cart should be worth.

Then contact 3 of your local dealerships via the internet. Hopefully these places have a good internet department. And tell them what your trade is, and the exact vehicle you want. Do some negotiatiating via the net. Then visit the 1 or 2 that seem the most honest and sincere and try to get something working.

If you are a payment shopper... be sure to check with your local bank about rates and terms on a loan for the vehicle. Then you can go online... search Auto finance calculator, and figure out payments.

Remember to add Tax, Registration, Dealer, State, and local fees... If you don't know what they are... ask one of the dealers for a break down...

Then use the online calculator with the rate your bank told you, to figure out payments.



Remember, it's ok for a dealer to make some type of profit. So if each of the 3 places you contact offer you a similar selling price on the vehicle, then go with it. If they are all close on your trade, go with it. There is no need to fight for $100, or drive around wasting gas and time to save another $100. Buying from your local dealer is always a good idea, so keep that in mind.

1 last thing... if any dealer disrespects you for no reason... meaning you didn't cause the problem... just excuse yourself, and go somewhere else.

That's about all...

Really, I could type on this topic for hours... but you get the idea.

I hope it helps a little...