What did you pay for your CX-5?

[halfast3]

I wish that was the case. They're also charging me an $80 doc fee.

Ouch! I wonder if there are some municipal fees in there?

I've never heard of paying registration fees for multiple years. Registration is annual in CA, including the initial fee at the dealership. Although it'll be much lower than $277 after the first year.

Job security for DMV workers? Looks like we do have a cheaper deal. Oregon fees are here. After the initial 4-year registration, my 2-year renewal will cost $86 + $21 for Portland Metro area emissions testing.

 

[sonex293]

Does anyone know what the SPLAN price for a 2014.5 Touring CX-5 FWD w/ Bose, Moonroof and Tech packages? I've found a base touring SPLAN price, but not with pre-installed packages.

Thanks!

==
Michael

 

[lwh1993]

They showed me S Plan for AWD GT with tech at $30,690. I imagine it would be at least $1000 less without AWD.

 

[sonex293]

They showed me S Plan for AWD GT with tech at $30,690. I imagine it would be at least $1000 less without AWD.

Hmm, SPLAN pricing is confusing.

MSRP on AWD GT is $29070
MSRP on Tech is $1625
Subtotal of $30695
Add on Destination $795 (no SPLAN discount)
MSRP Total of $31490

So it looks like $800 discount with SPLAN. I was looking at this document http://images.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/musa2/pdf/splan/SPlan_Assets_Pricing_Sheet.pdf trying to figure out pricing, which shows a $837 discount on the 14' GT AWD.

Like I said confusing.

==
Michael

 

[helen_92630]

How much to counter-offer? I don't want to pay for dealer-installed options.

I am looking to buy a new CX-5 Touring, base model (2014.5). So far I have only had contact with the dealer via e-mail and phone; I've test driven at two other dealers, but this particular dealer has much better online reviews across the board, and has a good selection in stock. The dealer offered me $1000 below invoice, which sounds great, but then the offer tacks on an admin fee ($500) and dealer pre-installed "paint protection" and "windshield sealant" ($400 each), not so great. My husband finds this offensive, and says we shouldn't do business with this dealer; my take is, this is their initial offer, and the sensible thing to do is make a counter-offer. I'm just not sure how to go about doing it.
I think the admin fee is too high, and if I were choosing to buy $800 worth of options, it certainly wouldn't be paint protection & windshield sealant.

(2014 CX-5 Touring AWD, in deep crystal blue)
Vehicle price: $25,112.00
Tag/Title/Reg/Other: $27.20 (I assume this is a dealer fee, and that the actual registration costs are included in the state tax estimate?)
Administration Fee: $499.99
Paint Protection: $399.99
Windshield Sealant: $399.99
------------------------------------
TOTAL, not including tax: $26,439.17

We also want to add on cargo cover, rear bumper guard, and 1-1/4" hitch receiver; I understand that it will cost to have the rear bumper guard and hitch receiver installed (we have no interest in doing it ourselves), but I think that we should get the invoice price for the parts, rather than MSRP, since we're buying them at the time of initial purchase. For those items, we were quoted:

Hitch installed, no harness $617.95 ($340 invoice, $425 MSRP)
Rear Bumper Guard, installed $114.95 ($80 invoice, $100 MSRP)
Cargo Cover (no install) $199.95 ($160 invoice, $200 MSRP)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
How would you proceed? We could just wait for the 2015's, but I'm assuming the deals are better now, while they've got 2014's in stock and 2015's on the way. (And waiting for a 2015 won't change dealer sales tactics.) If we go with a 2014, I want to get it sooner rather than later, so we don't get stuck with a color we don't like (gray, black, silver, white), or having to buy a vehicle equipped with an options package we're not interested in.

Thanks.

 

[ErgoZoom]

I am looking to buy a new CX-5 Touring, base model (2014.5). So far I have only had contact with the dealer via e-mail and phone; I've test driven at two other dealers, but this particular dealer has much better online reviews across the board, and has a good selection in stock. The dealer offered me $1000 below invoice, which sounds great, but then the offer tacks on an admin fee ($500) and dealer pre-installed "paint protection" and "windshield sealant" ($400 each), not so great. My husband finds this offensive, and says we shouldn't do business with this dealer; my take is, this is their initial offer, and the sensible thing to do is make a counter-offer. I'm just not sure how to go about doing it.
I think the admin fee is too high, and if I were choosing to buy $800 worth of options, it certainly wouldn't be paint protection & windshield sealant.

(2014 CX-5 Touring AWD, in deep crystal blue)
Vehicle price: $25,112.00
Tag/Title/Reg/Other: $27.20 (I assume this is a dealer fee, and that the actual registration costs are included in the state tax estimate?)
Administration Fee: $499.99
Paint Protection: $399.99
Windshield Sealant: $399.99
------------------------------------
TOTAL, not including tax: $26,439.17

We also want to add on cargo cover, rear bumper guard, and 1-1/4" hitch receiver; I understand that it will cost to have the rear bumper guard and hitch receiver installed (we have no interest in doing it ourselves), but I think that we should get the invoice price for the parts, rather than MSRP, since we're buying them at the time of initial purchase. For those items, we were quoted:

Hitch installed, no harness $617.95 ($340 invoice, $425 MSRP)
Rear Bumper Guard, installed $114.95 ($80 invoice, $100 MSRP)
Cargo Cover (no install) $199.95 ($160 invoice, $200 MSRP)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
How would you proceed? We could just wait for the 2015's, but I'm assuming the deals are better now, while they've got 2014's in stock and 2015's on the way. (And waiting for a 2015 won't change dealer sales tactics.) If we go with a 2014, I want to get it sooner rather than later, so we don't get stuck with a color we don't like (gray, black, silver, white), or having to buy a vehicle equipped with an options package we're not interested in.

Thanks.

Run. That's all a bit of joke with that nonsense. There is no $500 admin fee- $80 to $100 max for document fees. Paint protection (unless it's a 3M film) is also just a scam. Windshield sealant is another scam -- $8 worth of RainX.
I paid $159.96 for the cargo cover from Med Center Mazda shipped from AL to CA. Obviously no installation needed. For the Rear bumper guard (whose install amounts to unpeeling the sticky 3M tape on the back and pressing it down) was $86.65. Your dealer is looking at you and calling you a chump. Expand your search area to other dealers and only deal with their fleet managers over the phone. Fleet managers don't deal with creating this nonsense of useless add ons and up charges and they set the final price (no going to someone else in management.) I wouldn't worry about the price of 2015 vs 2014.5 or color selection. Any dealer worth their salt will make a trade to get the vehicle you want from any dealer and the price difference between the two years' versions is nearly non-existent so you could have either. $1000 under invoice isn't a great bargain on "last year's model" -- all fleet managers were pretty easily offering $1k under invoice for the whole last year. You should have the pick of the litter.

 

[jjw6455]

A couple years ago, in Ohio a law was passed that set the max documentation fee at $250. As a result all dealerships raised their documentation fee to $250 and will not negotiate it claiming it is state "mandated".

 

[cthew0rld]

look at truecar. you will get guaranteed pricing. i can get a 2015 GT AWD for $29,236. i don't qualify for any rebates and that includeds everything except tax and license. prices vary by region, but the service is free.

1000 off is not nearly enough for what is essentially a one-year old car now that the 2015s are out. regarding the dealer - RUN from this crook. 500 admin fee is pure profit for them.

regarding 2014s, the first year depreciation is 5000 - 7000 dollars, depending on which site you look at. just google 'cost of ownership mazda cx-5'. unless the deal is close to that amount, there is no advantage to buying a 2014, in my opinion.

 

[helen_92630]

I did look at Truecar. And Edmunds. And Consumer Reports "car buying service". For this car, with the options I've selected, True Car is saying $27,555.
Edmunds "True Market Value" is saying $27,088. Consumer Reports is saying $26,273, but that includes a $500 "Competitive Bonus Cash," which I don't think is going on right now... so amend Consumer Reports to $26,773.

Even including the admin fee and the bogus "perma plate" option, which I don't want and will fight, the dealership is offering me a price of $27,369.05. Frankly that's pretty much in line with what Truecar and Edmunds think I should be paying.

I don't think this dealership is trying to throw any fees at me that every other dealership won't also try to throw at me. I think the mature, sensible thing to do is to negotiate and make a counter offer. Doing so doesn't obligate me to buy anything. Some of the online reviews for some of the other dealerships in the area have been downright scary, and I don't feel comfortable doing business at these other places.

 

[ErgoZoom]

I did look at Truecar. And Edmunds. And Consumer Reports "car buying service". For this car, with the options I've selected, True Car is saying $27,555.
Edmunds "True Market Value" is saying $27,088. Consumer Reports is saying $26,273, but that includes a $500 "Competitive Bonus Cash," which I don't think is going on right now... so amend Consumer Reports to $26,773.

Even including the admin fee and the bogus "perma plate" option, which I don't want and will fight, the dealership is offering me a price of $27,369.05. Frankly that's pretty much in line with what Truecar and Edmunds think I should be paying.

I don't think this dealership is trying to throw any fees at me that every other dealership won't also try to throw at me. I think the mature, sensible thing to do is to negotiate and make a counter offer. Doing so doesn't obligate me to buy anything. Some of the online reviews for some of the other dealerships in the area have been downright scary, and I don't feel comfortable doing business at these other places.

In this great age of the internet and competitiveness, there's no need to "fight" a cost or even counter-offer. It's not a maturity questions but a "why waste your time" question. Where you buy your car is simply where you pick up the item... you can get it serviced elsewhere. It really only has to be a one-time interaction. Doing the dealership dance is a waste of energy.

I went to Mazda's site and contacted the first four dealerships near me by picking the cars that had everything I wanted (and some with a few more additions) through the online contact form. Within 4 hours, I had emails from all of them. I used the TrueCar price (which is the median price, not the lowest price -- look at the graph) and picked the lowest price from its graph and noticed it was just about $1k under invoice. So I told every dealer exactly what I wanted (required) and said everything on top of that I didn't care about (those extra additions I mentioned earlier.) They all asked how much I'd want to pay. I gave them the number saying it had to be no more than that out the door short tax, title, registration and it'd be an immediate sale. Turns out 3 of the dealers were trying to sell me the same car (VIN #) so I knew they were going to make trades -- there were only 3 cars in all of LA at the time that fit my requirements. 3 out of the 4 immediately agreed to the price and said they'd get it for me. The fourth wanted to haggle and I told him other dealerships already agreed and then he too said he'd do it. By 8pm that night, the dealer who actually had the car called me and threw in a few extras. I told him I'd see him in the morning and sign the papers -- no hidden costs, no attempt to add anything. After I spent weeks selecting the CX-5, the purchase process started at noon and was done by 8pm (noon email, 3-4pm emails from my phone, 6pm two calls, 8pm deal done.)

By contrast, during the test drive process, one dealer tried the whole "how do you expect me to make a profit" line and I pointed out that the CX-5 has sold for that. He went on with the "I have to pay my people and overhead" and I thanked him for his time and walked out. Life is too short.

Mazda is looking for volume sales and are rewarding their dealers; the less time a dealer spends on the sale, the more time he has to make volume sales which is where fleet managers who work by appointment come in verses the people you meet at the dealership. For 2015 sales, the less time the car spends on the lot or in their warehouse, the more profit the dealer is making so they are incentivized to sell those too. BTW, I was not eligible for any of the rebates at the time (no loyalty ownership or competitive rebate -- but it really wasn't my problem how the dealership made the numbers work.)

 

[halfast3]

(iagree) and I couldn't have said it any better.

 

[Floundy]

I purchased my 2014 CX-5 Touring AWD Red Soul Metallic with the Bose/Moon roof package for $26,265

 

[helen_92630]

Thank you for breaking the process down for me, ErgoZoom. I did e-mail the dealership back with my best offer for the car. If they don't want to sell at that out-the-door price, and I send e-mail inquiries to other dealerships, should I tell them the price I'm willing to pay straight out, or wait until they ask?

I agree to a point that where you buy the car is only where you pick it up, but there is at least one dealership we test-drove at that I refuse to do business with based on horrendous reviews of the buying experience there. (Bait & switch, finance guy stole the cash down payment, owner yelled at them on the phone, dealer took them to court, took car back after a week when financing was supposedly approved, etc. ad nauseum.)

 

[ErgoZoom]

Yes, if the dealership is that bad (in the sense you may not actually end up making a proper transaction) I'd avoid them too.

I wouldn't tell the dealers the price straight out. Their internet sales/fleet sales departments should email you a price or call you with a price on specific vehicles. If you have a set number (and you can see how I arrived at mine), when they give you the price tell them you have a price in mind looking at what the current sales price of the CX-5 goes for and it is $XX,XXX.00. And then tell them they can complete the sale today if that is agreed as the out-the-door price less tax, title, registration. Tell the same thing to every dealer who calls/emails. If your price is reasonable (and if it is based on data, it will be) more than one dealer will jump. Not a single dealer said "no" right away -- sometimes they'd try to buy time with "we'll try to find a car that meets your requirements" and will call back. Usually they're looking to see if they can sell that car sooner at a higher price or should make it available immediately for sale to you at the price you gave (internet sales checks with showroom sales if they have a buyer interested.) Also, get the specific VIN# of the vehicle they mention. You can look up more details on Mazda's site with that info -- I had one dealer offer me a much lower price and I kept questioning if it was AWD and they said yes. I looked up the VIN and of course it was FWD. Dealerships sometimes screw up their stock numbers. On top of that, you'll find out if more than one dealer is trying to sell the same car (an acceptable practice.)

One other thing I noticed is I did the TrueCar sales thing too -- sometimes to the same dealership. First off, the "truecar sales price" is not actually the price you pay and the "guaranteed price" certificate isn't important in the least; every single dealer offered lower from first contact. Second, the TrueCar sales dept often doesn't interact with the general Internet sales or Fleet Manager. You can get two very different prices for the same vehicle from the same dealership. Once again, give them the price you want to pay when they give you a price. If they say they can't do it, tell them thank you and that you have other dealers looking for a vehicle for you at the moment at that price. Do not mention that you may be shopping at the same dealership through another sales department.

When you do get your price and they say they have the vehicle, ask them to send an email with the VIN#, the cost of the vehicle, and the cost out-the-door including the tax, title, registration itemized for what it'll be. Tell them you'll be there ASAP (after all they are trying to make a sale quickly) but won't be making the trip until you have it down in writing and you just want to come in, inspect the car (take a test drive in the specific car you are buying and look carefully! my longest test-drive was on the car I was actually purchasing by a lot), and sign the documents and give them money and only the amount that is listed as the out-the-door price (in my state, tax, title, registration is collected at the dealer for new car purchases -- if not in yours, modify.) You can also ask what the mileage on the car currently is to also be written down. You don't want any surprises. In my case, I knew the vehicle was warehoused with the dealer I was purchasing from (not a trade) and had only 3 miles on it when I took it for a test drive the day of pick up. I see other forum members have had cars traded between dealers where they didn't do the right thing and ship them between dealers by truck and instead drove them adding mileage. If, when you look up the VIN# on Mazda's site, you see it in the inventory of a different dealer than who is selling it to you, you can notify them that you do not want it driven over but transported over. Sometimes the sales person will flat out tell you they are making a trade and so you can tell them then. Mazda's inventory on its website does not update throughout the day (I noticed it took 48 hours before my vehicle disappeared from online inventory.)

Finally, some advice my dad gave me long ago when I made my first car purchase, when a dealer agrees to sell at the price you want, don't bother with continuing to haggle down.
It's a massive waste of energy and time for only a hundred or less dollars you could possibly gain. Be happy you got your number. This includes not including dealer-installed accessories or service in the price of the car. If the dealer wants to throw them in, great, but don't make it part of the deal -- get the lowest price on the car first. You can negotiate the accessories later with the money you saved. As for service, modern cars need so little and who knows if you'll even like that service department or you end up moving too far to take advantage of it. With my dealer, as they were prepping the car in the morning and after we had agreed on a price the night before even coming in, I mentioned that I had an ultimate number I was trying to reach on all the cars I was looking at (between different brands) when I first started shopping for a new car and I told him; he simply went "I can do that" and dropped to that price (which was about $200 lower) on the final paperwork. Obviously that means there was even more room to go down (surprisingly to me) but it wouldn't have been worth it and the whole buying experience stayed stress-free; plus it got them a good evaluation with Mazda (which is something all dealers want since they get the better selling cars in-stock.)

 

[vishkyin]

The dealer I went to in Dallas is quoting me $25,122 + ttl for 2014 CX-5 Touring + Navigation (not tech package) + Leather seats.
Is this good price?

 

[helen_92630]

Thank you so much, ErgoZoom. I am printing out and saving your replies, as they are so helpful. We will try the steps you have suggested. Thank you again. It was very kind of you to take the time to type out all that advice, in detailed steps.

 

[cthew0rld]

Thank you so much, ErgoZoom. I am printing out and saving your replies, as they are so helpful. We will try the steps you have suggested. Thank you again. It was very kind of you to take the time to type out all that advice, in detailed steps.

you got good advice. one thing i will add, you'll likely get the best price the last day of the month or last day of their quarter when they are trying to make their numbers.

 

[groovinD]

Hey , I am new here and I have been looking at the base CX 5 with fog lights and front windows tint .
I received a few quotes from dealers in Oklahoma City and the best one i received is 22,347 with (TTL included and excise tax of 3.25% of sale price ). It is priced at 21,599 on the site.

I think it's a good deal as i have been researching this for couple months now and also been reading here about the car for a little over 5 months .
I would be grateful for any comment or thoughts on the deal.

 

[cthew0rld]

take a look at truecar prices differ by area. you can see the low, avg and high prices paid in your area.

are you looking at a 2014? 2015? FWD, AWD?

also, i see you posted the sales tax (helpful), but you might get better comments if you post the prices before any extras like TTL.

 

[groovinD]

take a look at truecar prices differ by area. you can see the low, avg and high prices paid in your area.

are you looking at a 2014? 2015? FWD, AWD?

also, i see you posted the sales tax (helpful), but you might get better comments if you post the prices before any extras like TTL.

Thank you .. I've looked at trueCar and the low price paid for my area is 21,887 , the average 22,102 and the high 22,225 (including destination fee).

I am looking at the 2014 FWD 6spd MT . Sticker price was 21,499 (MSRP is 22,190- 691 discount). Then I guess they threw in another (275).

The price before any extras (TTL) is 21,223. Looking at it without any extras it appears to be a decent deal compared to the numbers on Truecar. Any thoughts ?
Thank you in advance.