Costco , AAA and Truecar are where you should *start*. I had a number of dealers with initial offers better than the Costco price--those dealers are banking on people who don't like to negotiate. Buyer feels he/she got a good deal without a hassle; dealer still makes a fair profit without much work. Use the Costco price to get another dealer to come down.
2014 Mazda CX-9
- Thread starter nlm74
- Start date
Costco , AAA and Truecar are where you should *start*. I had a number of dealers with initial offers better than the Costco price--those dealers are banking on people who don't like to negotiate. Buyer feels he/she got a good deal without a hassle; dealer still makes a fair profit without much work. Use the Costco price to get another dealer to come down.
Greytraveler
Member
- :
- 2008 MX-5 Touring
Tex,
I agree that CostCo is not necessarily going to be the best price but as you say, a place to start. Another thing to consider is if you are thinking of a trade-in be sure and know what it is worth before heading to a dealer. From what I have read recently the trade-in is where the dealer can make plenty if the customer is unaware of its true value. And be ready to walk away if they get too annoying.
I agree that CostCo is not necessarily going to be the best price but as you say, a place to start. Another thing to consider is if you are thinking of a trade-in be sure and know what it is worth before heading to a dealer. From what I have read recently the trade-in is where the dealer can make plenty if the customer is unaware of its true value. And be ready to walk away if they get too annoying.
Greytraveler
Member
- :
- 2008 MX-5 Touring
I read this even though it is long. Wished I had known some of this stuff a long time ago. The section on a trade-in is what I was referring to earlier.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/confessions-of-a-car-salesman.phtml
And one more thing, check the service department since some are much better than others. I may end up paying a tad more at the dealer I am considering because their service department treats me right.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/confessions-of-a-car-salesman.phtml
And one more thing, check the service department since some are much better than others. I may end up paying a tad more at the dealer I am considering because their service department treats me right.
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SUPER LONG, but such a great article, thanks again Grey. I'm going in Saturday to make a deal or walk. I've gotten the price down by $500 more, and another dealership is trying to go lower so we shall see.....
Also trying to sell my current mazda3 on craigslist. So sad to see it go
Also trying to sell my current mazda3 on craigslist. So sad to see it go
So, I went in to make the purchase and low and behold the car wasn't there (even though I emailed a head of time to make sure it was). Then come to find out that the manager was driving because it was a demo and had 2600 miles on it. I'm fine with that because in my head I'm thinking I can get a better deal. But I was so turned off by their failure to relay all info. I thought I was coming in to buy a new car, and even though it hasn't left the lot yet, a new car to me does not have 2600 miles on it. I asked for extended warranty and for them to knock off at least $2000 for depreciation. They said they couldn't make that kind of decision and the manager wasn't in so I left.
Contacted the other dealer who had the $500 higher price and unfortunately that white vehicle was sold, but they offered me a 2013 GT meteor gray/sand with tech package, automatic car starter, mats, cargo, and wheel locks for $34079. This was the same price as the white but the white only had the tech package and wheel locks. NEXT negotiating my trade in. KBB values trade in at $6100 and private at $7600. They first offered me $6k. I absolutely rejected and whipped out past craigslist sales and comparable mazda3's that were on sale at dealers now, but pointing out these for sales or base and mine had all the bells and whistles, PLUS in some cases 1/2 the mileage of these. After going back and forth we finally settled on $7400. I'm thinking I might have been able to get $8k privately, but for piece of mind and to just be done with it, I agreed. NEXT financing. I had gotten pre-approved at a lower rate but didn't tell them. I know that to qualify for the $3000 incentives you have to finance through Mazda. When they came back with a 4% rate I whipped out my approval from Capitol One and said if you can't even match this then I'm sorry we're going to have to go (I was counting on that $3k incentive). Low and behold they were able to! So there we go.
It's funny I was so keen on the white and decided if it doesn't pan out then I'll just walk and wait until 2014's come out to see if I could get a better price on the 13's. I came to terms that I might not get what I want, but really a Tech package was a must for me. This car just had everything and compared to the white I was willing to commit to, I felt I couldn't pass this grey one up. The real part where I feel we potentially got scammed was on the trade in, but to me it was just worth my time. There's always going to be coulda, shoulda, woulda but because I researched, was prepared I felt I was taken advantage of less....perhaps. I feel like I could lead a lecture now on the subject. Thanks everyone for your help!
Contacted the other dealer who had the $500 higher price and unfortunately that white vehicle was sold, but they offered me a 2013 GT meteor gray/sand with tech package, automatic car starter, mats, cargo, and wheel locks for $34079. This was the same price as the white but the white only had the tech package and wheel locks. NEXT negotiating my trade in. KBB values trade in at $6100 and private at $7600. They first offered me $6k. I absolutely rejected and whipped out past craigslist sales and comparable mazda3's that were on sale at dealers now, but pointing out these for sales or base and mine had all the bells and whistles, PLUS in some cases 1/2 the mileage of these. After going back and forth we finally settled on $7400. I'm thinking I might have been able to get $8k privately, but for piece of mind and to just be done with it, I agreed. NEXT financing. I had gotten pre-approved at a lower rate but didn't tell them. I know that to qualify for the $3000 incentives you have to finance through Mazda. When they came back with a 4% rate I whipped out my approval from Capitol One and said if you can't even match this then I'm sorry we're going to have to go (I was counting on that $3k incentive). Low and behold they were able to! So there we go.
It's funny I was so keen on the white and decided if it doesn't pan out then I'll just walk and wait until 2014's come out to see if I could get a better price on the 13's. I came to terms that I might not get what I want, but really a Tech package was a must for me. This car just had everything and compared to the white I was willing to commit to, I felt I couldn't pass this grey one up. The real part where I feel we potentially got scammed was on the trade in, but to me it was just worth my time. There's always going to be coulda, shoulda, woulda but because I researched, was prepared I felt I was taken advantage of less....perhaps. I feel like I could lead a lecture now on the subject. Thanks everyone for your help!
Greytraveler
Member
- :
- 2008 MX-5 Touring
If I read your post correctly, you got more car for the money so it in a way offsets any small difference between what you got on the trade-in. What a pain of a process to go through though. My plan, when I do get around to it, is work with the sales manager I know because of belonging to the Miata club. If his price is not what I find agreeable the I will go through a broker. No more screwing around for me.
And to top it off, I have decided to hold off for a while. Our current vehicle is in good shape and there is nothing wrong with it besides my wife thinking it is as boring as dirt. Rumors of a CX-9 diesel in 2015 or 2016 is part of what is making me hold off.
Enjoy your new ride.
And to top it off, I have decided to hold off for a while. Our current vehicle is in good shape and there is nothing wrong with it besides my wife thinking it is as boring as dirt. Rumors of a CX-9 diesel in 2015 or 2016 is part of what is making me hold off.
Enjoy your new ride.
Grey
Yes, I guess I got a bang for my buck. Also the convenience thing of the trade in vs. trying to sell it on my own was worth it to me. Just wanted to be done with it.
It really wasn't that bad, and I did ALL of my correspondence through email so I walked in with a negotiated price on the vehicle. That was all done through a sales manager so I didn't have to deal with middle man. I just did a lot of research and was prepared. I knew how much I wanted to pay for the vehicle. I knew what my interest rate and payments would be through pre-approval. I knew it was a possibility that I wouldn't use their incentives because their interest rate wasn't good, so I calculated every possible scenario to make sure in the long run I wasn't being too shafted by interest. I posted my current car on craigslist to see what kind of interest was out there and even got a few offers so when the dealer gave me a WAY low ball price I was prepared to say nah ah. That being said I heard using brokers can be very beneficial. I don't think there are many in my area though.
If you're in no need then I think that's smart. I'm curious to see what the future holds for the CX-9. I read that 2015/16 will be redone, I bet it's closer to 2016. If I was in your position I would have waited, I just need something now and want to get rid of the 3 before I rack up more miles, plus it will be awesome to FINALLY have AWD this winter! I am not thrilled about going from my Mazda3 that gets great mileage to this gas guzzler. And I'm toting the kids around everywhere!
