What did you pay for your CX-5?

I put 20% down (financed the rest at 0%).
In wondering if I might have been better trying to put less down. If I have an accident now, My car is worth either what I financed it for, or maybe a little more. My insurance will give me the cash value (prior to it getting totaled), plus up to 20 or 25% ... something like that, if needed to pay off the loan.

But since my loan is close to the cash value of the car, that’s all I’ll get.

I’ll loose my down payment entirely.

I’d have been much better off putting less down, and just sticking the cash instead in a savings or investing it. Then, if my car got totaled, I’d still be able to replace my car with a brand new one of the same type.

Stupid advice, “put 20% down”, I think. Sigh.
If the deal was borrowing more at 0% with no offsetting consideration it's pretty much best to borrow more for just about anybody and put the money in savings. Even if somebody is living hand to mouth and wants to keep the monthly payment down, the money kept in savings could make up the difference providing they didn't spend it on something else.

I wouldn't beat yourself up too much. If you put that extra down in a conservative investment, something with guaranteed or reasonable assurance it would not lose principal in the event you need to draw on it in an emergency like a savings account or money market fund, the earnings on those accounts are near 0% anyway (and will be there for some time to come) unless you find a teaser rate on a new account that might not last very long. As an emergency fund, you would surely not want to put it in the stock market since it may not all be there when you need it.

Even if you could find an account that would pay you 2% compounded interest for the next 5 years, and it is liquid and not a CD where you'd forfeit interest if you had to draw on it, and the down payment was 10% on $35,000 vehicle instead of 20%, the earnings over 5 years on the $3,500 in savings would be about $942, or about $16 per week if you want to look at it that way. At more typical 0.10% interest that's a whomping $18 in earnings over 5 years or $0.30 per week.

What maybe doesn't make much sense is putting 20% down and paying extra for gap insurance. With that amount down, expecially with a reasonable amount off MSRP in the purchase price, you should never be underwater on a 5 year loan. The larger down payment means your net after a total is that much larger. If you totaled a 2020 today you'll end up with some cash in your pocket after insurance pays off the loan.

Further, while it's true that a car loses 15% of its value when you drive it off the lot, that's from the perspective of trade value. A decent insurance company will pay out what it costs you to replace that vehicle in kind including the sales tax. You might be surprised at what the insurance company might pay in a total. My wife totaled a $31,000 all-in vehicle including tax and whatnot that was $4,500 off MSRP with a 0% loan after 5 months and and less than 5,000 miles. The insurance payout was only $1,000 less than what I paid, and that was after a $500 deductible, so the depreciation was only $500.

At this juncture I would look into cancelling the gap insurance. If that's a line item in an auto insurance policy you could see what you're paying for it. I would also check reviews of the claim service of your auto carrier. If they are average or above you'll likely get a reasonable payout in a total.
 
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Okay, this hopefully makes you feel better about your choice..

Your math doesn't add up, unless you're talking about getting more because of gap insurance. Otherwise you get the same payout whether you owed more or less than the cars value.

Your total out of pocket is the same whether you finance some, none, or all of the car. If you have a $25k car and put 0 down and get in an accident, you have to come up with $25k to pay off the loan. If you paid cash for the car, you already paid the $25K. Financing any portion only changes whether your money is in the bank or already in the car.

Again, unless you're talking about less money out of pocket due to gap insurance, but you already said your loan is the same as the value so I assume no gap insurance.

Now, it's 6AM ad maybe I mis-understood or my brain isn't up yet
That's the nub of it when eliminating considerations of what you might earn on the money not put down also known as opportunity cost. He did say he has gap insurance which should be worthless with 20% down especially with any reasonable amount off MSRP.
 
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Okay, I missed that he had gap insurance. But the points made on the two above posts pretty much sum it up. The interest paid or earned that 20% that you would have put in the bank or on the car is negligible. Also, some salesmen should be ashamed of yourself, if that's possible, for selling him gap insurance on a car that he put 20% down. But to his closing point, to decide to put 20% down or zero down based on gap insurance should not be a consideration in deciding to finance or not oh, at least that's my thought. I'm not thinking, "hey, if my car gets totaled and I still owe the full amount of the loan I don't have to pay anything".
 
So im looking to buy a 2020 cx5 sport. Started to get some prices and I am not sure if they are trying to give me the run around with these prices. Here is an OTD price for a 2020 sport they quoted me. I am located in NY.
 

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So im looking to buy a 2020 cx5 sport. Started to get some prices and I am not sure if they are trying to give me the run around with these prices. Here is an OTD price for a 2020 sport they quoted me. I am located in NY.
Wow! They are trying to hit you over the head HARD!

Market value? That's way above MSRP. And $200 discount? It's a 2020. 2021's are arriving and they've been panic selling 2020's for months now.

I can't tell you what you should pay. Have to do you're own negotiating. But I wouldn't just walk away from that deal, I'd RUN!
 
Wow! They are trying to hit you over the head HARD!

Market value? That's way above MSRP. And $200 discount? It's a 2020. 2021's are arriving and they've been panic selling 2020's for months now.

I can't tell you what you should pay. Have to do you're own negotiating. But I wouldn't just walk away from that deal, I'd RUN!


I figured this was an insanely bad deal!

Are you able to tell me around what price I should be looking for to pay? I really have no idea how to negotiate with dealers. =/
 
I figured this was an insanely bad deal!

Are you able to tell me around what price I should be looking for to pay? I really have no idea how to negotiate with dealers. =/
If that was on an AWD then their "Market Value" might be close to sticker (MSRP) with destination charge included, if not a little over. If it's on a FWD it's way off. Even in the best of times (for dealer sales), though, I would not pay anywhere close to sticker price.

My advice would be to check inventory online on several Mazda dealers' websites within a reasonable distance to identify a specific vehicle you're interested in from each and use their online contact to request pricing (webform, email, or chat). Tell them what you're putting in the deal, whether it be a trade-in, cash down, or both. Also tell them whether you're financing, leasing, or buying outright. See what comes back.

There may still be some room to successfully counter offer. But, I have found many dealers' Internet departments more willing to get to a reasonable bottom-line offer from the get-go. Basically, they know you're shopping around with their competition and aren't going to win your business trying to rip you off. Floor-sales staff do not necessarily share that same outlook ;)
 
If that was on an AWD then their "Market Value" might be close to sticker (MSRP) with destination charge included, if not a little over. If it's on a FWD it's way off. Even in the best of times (for dealer sales), though, I would not pay anywhere close to sticker price.

My advice would be to check inventory online on several Mazda dealers' websites within a reasonable distance to identify a specific vehicle you're interested in from each and use their online contact to request pricing (webform, email, or chat). Tell them what you're putting in the deal, whether it be a trade-in, cash down, or both. Also tell them whether you're financing, leasing, or buying outright. See what comes back.

There may still be some room to successfully counter offer. But, I have found many dealers' Internet departments more willing to get to a reasonable bottom-line offer from the get-go. Basically, they know you're shopping around with their competition and aren't going to win your business trying to rip you off. Floor-sales staff do not necessarily share that same outlook ;)


So yes this is for AWD version. Basically sticker price. How much should i counter with? 3k less?
 
Read the rest of my post.

So I looked at the dealer I went tos website. The car they are selling me for that price is the sticker price. I looked at other dealers near me online and they are all pretty much the same price. Should I just start contacting dealers trying to get low ball pricing?
 
Should I just start contacting dealers trying to get low ball pricing?
YES! Listed prices don't mean diddly. And don't call; that puts you into floor-sales. Write them through online contact. The online sales departments I've dealt with are not on commission. That changes everything!
 
YES! And don't call; that puts you into floor-sales. Write them through online contact. The online sales departments I've dealt with are not on commission. That changes everything!

My experience is different. The online sale is just a call center. They hand you off to a salesman when you come in.
 
So I looked at the dealer I went tos website. The car they are selling me for that price is the sticker price. I looked at other dealers near me online and they are all pretty much the same price. Should I just start contacting dealers trying to get low ball pricing?
I generally don't 'negotiate'. I simply call and say "I'll come in tomorrow and pay you $xx,xxx" If you accept that, great. If not, I appreciate your position but need a week to think about is" If your firm but polite, and will make money on the deal, they may accept it rather than have you sho around for a week. It literally is a bird-in-the-hand scenario.
 
I generally don't 'negotiate'. I simply call and say "I'll come in tomorrow and pay you $xx,xxx" If you accept that, great. If not, I appreciate your position but need a week to think about is" If your firm but polite, and will make money on the deal, they may accept it rather than have you sho around for a week. It literally is a bird-in-the-hand scenario.

im going to try this! so all my cx5s online pricing seem to be 28k. How much should i be low balling?
 
im going to try this! so all my cx5s online pricing seem to be 28k. How much should i be low balling?

AutoTrader show 44 AWD Sports in NY
So here's the list from one dealer. They seems to be about $27,500. But that will be before their DOC, and expect to see the added "pre-installed" dealer BS like security VIN etching, $600 window tinting and some other overpriced stuff like $15 door edge guard for $300. This is where they make tons. They'll tell you that you have to pay it because "it's already on the car". Everyone here can tell you that they can almost always take those charges off if they know you will walk

I'd call a dealer with a specific stock number in hand, and offer maybe $2,000 under their inventory price and see what they come back with, call a few dealers and you'll get a census if what they are selling for - they all know what the others are selling them for.

If you find a specif dealer/stock number, PM me and I'd love to make a call and feel them out

Good Luck
 
AutoTrader show 44 AWD Sports in NY
So here's the list from one dealer. They seems to be about $27,500. But that will be before their DOC, and expect to see the added "pre-installed" dealer BS like security VIN etching, $600 window tinting and some other overpriced stuff like $15 door edge guard for $300. This is where they make tons. They'll tell you that you have to pay it because "it's already on the car". Everyone here can tell you that they can almost always take those charges off if they know you will walk

I'd call a dealer with a specific stock number in hand, and offer maybe $2,000 under their inventory price and see what they come back with, call a few dealers and you'll get a census if what they are selling for - they all know what the others are selling them for.

If you find a specif dealer/stock number, PM me and I'd love to make a call and feel them out

Good Luck

I sent you a PM. HUGE thanks.
 
Okay, I missed that he had gap insurance. ... Also, some salesmen should be ashamed of yourself, if that's possible, for selling him gap insurance on a car that he put 20% down.

Putting money down, I obviously didn’t buy gap insurance — and I definitely wouldn’t have bought it from the dealer.

My regular auto insurance includes a loan-payoff benefit. As a line item, it’s $1 (on a six-month premium). Perhaps if would have been more if I didn’t put nearly 20% down.

And point wasn’t really about regretting the ability to profit from investing that down payment money instead — my point was regretting not investigating how little I may have needed to put as a down payment and still been offered the 0% financing.

Obviously putting less down would increase my payments, but that wouldn’t bother me since I’d have that down payment money sitting around to pay the difference.

Putting less — or zero — down, however, would mean that it my car was totaled shortly after I drove it off the lot; the insurance I would be carrying to pay off the car loan would pay out $35,500. I would have zero out-of-pocket losses.

Instead, after down payment, loan pay-off would only pay $28,500. Without some sort of ‘new car replacement’ policy, I’d be out $7,000 .... right? Because $28,500 isn’t enough to put me back in a brand new car.

Presumably I’d be paying a higher payment AND a higher insurance premium ... but only the insurance would actually affect my actual out-of-pocket expenses. Would that increased premium have been worth the piece of mind, however, of knowing an early catastrophe wouldn’t make my “prudent” fiscal responsibility come back to bite me in the ass?
 
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... to decide to put 20% down or zero down based on gap insurance should not be a consideration in deciding to finance or not oh, at least that's my thought. I'm not thinking, "hey, if my car gets totaled and I still owe the full amount of the loan I don't have to pay anything".

Yeah, actually, this is what I was wondering.
 
Just purchased a 2020 GTR in eternal blue, boston area. I couldn't wait for 2021 so went in now, I think I got an OK deal but it took going to a few dealers and led to the manager following me to the parking lot to match my offer as I walked out.

Has anyone had much success getting the remaining 2020s for less? There still aren't many GTRs available.

MSRP $36,825
-includes all weather floor mats, wheel locks, roof rails from factory
Purchase price $33,080
Doc fees $495

Cash, no incentives. Got them to throw in a cargo mat as well.
 
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