I sold cars for several years before i joined the army. i thought i would share my secret with the members of this forum, since ive given this advice to several people and i hate to re-type it 
This is dependent on you either having cash down, positive equity on your trade, or both. The example here was given to Micah whos looking to buy a STi, so just replace the numbers within reason...
First, dont let them know you have a trade or cash down (or that you are buying the car outright). Tell them you have zero down, and no trade. Figure for example the list on the STi is 30k for example purposes. Expect to pay (depending on interest and term) about $20 per 1,000 in car payment, so about $600-625 depending on interest. Tell them you are looking for a $500 x 60months payment. That is ridiculous (probably) because most places wont knock off 5 grand on a car like that, but anyways. So theyre gonna come back with like $600 with 2k downpayment as their offer. Dont get pissed, this is just the way they work. Stress that you want a $500 payment with ZERO down again. They will come back probably with like $575 with 1K down. Keep going through this process until they will not budge, and then keep trying for a little longer. tell them you might just look around at the mitsubishi dealership for the EVO8. let them sweat, dont give in. then finally give in at whatever price is the lowest they will possibly go, prolly around $520-540 i would guess, maybe $550.
Now is where you slam dunk them. Tell them the car you have sitting outside is paid off and you want to use it as a trade (or tell them you have the car and the cash to pay off the vehicle and buy it). this will FLOOR them. The reason being is they just spent ALL that time going as low as possible and not making very much money, and now you are giving them a trade and cash, which really isnt a big deal NOW that theyve negotiated a price, but they could have hammered you if they had known about it at first...why?
because most dealerships deal with PAYMENTS, not interest rate, term, or final price, and even if you ask them about it they try to steer away from it. the reason being, is, because you were to tell them you wanted a 500 dollar payment they are going to give you a term of like 72 or 84 and not really give you s*** for your trade. but most people will get the payment they want, and be happy not realizing they just got whooped.
by waiting until the last minute to bring in a trade or cash down, the dealer is trying to win your money as best as they can, and they have no where to hide the fact of your payment term or any other slick tricks. when you introduce the trade or cash they are beaten mostly because they are already as low as possible and they cant go back on their word. they cant suddenly go from 550 without a trade and then only to 525 with a 10k dollar paid off trade (for example).
at this point youll have to worry about them lowballing you on your trade because they have no other way to make money since youve gotten them so low on your payments. go to www.nadaguides.com and find the value of your vehicle. you have to be honest with yourself, and take that price that website gives you and factor in scratches, small dings, worn tires, etc, and maybe subtract a bit. so if they offer you 7k and NADA says 7995 or something, if you have anything i listed above, that maybe a good trade for you. just keep in mind KBB sucks and no one uses it. Dealers use National Automobile Dealers Association guides.
Let me know if you have any questions.
This is dependent on you either having cash down, positive equity on your trade, or both. The example here was given to Micah whos looking to buy a STi, so just replace the numbers within reason...
First, dont let them know you have a trade or cash down (or that you are buying the car outright). Tell them you have zero down, and no trade. Figure for example the list on the STi is 30k for example purposes. Expect to pay (depending on interest and term) about $20 per 1,000 in car payment, so about $600-625 depending on interest. Tell them you are looking for a $500 x 60months payment. That is ridiculous (probably) because most places wont knock off 5 grand on a car like that, but anyways. So theyre gonna come back with like $600 with 2k downpayment as their offer. Dont get pissed, this is just the way they work. Stress that you want a $500 payment with ZERO down again. They will come back probably with like $575 with 1K down. Keep going through this process until they will not budge, and then keep trying for a little longer. tell them you might just look around at the mitsubishi dealership for the EVO8. let them sweat, dont give in. then finally give in at whatever price is the lowest they will possibly go, prolly around $520-540 i would guess, maybe $550.
Now is where you slam dunk them. Tell them the car you have sitting outside is paid off and you want to use it as a trade (or tell them you have the car and the cash to pay off the vehicle and buy it). this will FLOOR them. The reason being is they just spent ALL that time going as low as possible and not making very much money, and now you are giving them a trade and cash, which really isnt a big deal NOW that theyve negotiated a price, but they could have hammered you if they had known about it at first...why?
because most dealerships deal with PAYMENTS, not interest rate, term, or final price, and even if you ask them about it they try to steer away from it. the reason being, is, because you were to tell them you wanted a 500 dollar payment they are going to give you a term of like 72 or 84 and not really give you s*** for your trade. but most people will get the payment they want, and be happy not realizing they just got whooped.
by waiting until the last minute to bring in a trade or cash down, the dealer is trying to win your money as best as they can, and they have no where to hide the fact of your payment term or any other slick tricks. when you introduce the trade or cash they are beaten mostly because they are already as low as possible and they cant go back on their word. they cant suddenly go from 550 without a trade and then only to 525 with a 10k dollar paid off trade (for example).
at this point youll have to worry about them lowballing you on your trade because they have no other way to make money since youve gotten them so low on your payments. go to www.nadaguides.com and find the value of your vehicle. you have to be honest with yourself, and take that price that website gives you and factor in scratches, small dings, worn tires, etc, and maybe subtract a bit. so if they offer you 7k and NADA says 7995 or something, if you have anything i listed above, that maybe a good trade for you. just keep in mind KBB sucks and no one uses it. Dealers use National Automobile Dealers Association guides.
Let me know if you have any questions.
