Under Construction

A coworker was good enough to document his car buying process. I've been hanging on to it for ever in Outlook but in the spirit of getting it cleaned out I'm going to post the content here. Thanks Tim.

Start here

• Find the car you want (you have to know what you’re looking for, so visit car lots, look at cars on the road, etc.)
• Read all the reviews you can find about the car to make sure it’s the one you want (safety ratings, MPG, etc.)
• Visit Edmunds.com, which offers comprehensive pricing and auto performance data. Price your car (both MSRP and Invoice) and read reviews. Key on Invoice Price throughout your investigation – not MSRP!
• Visit www.nhtsa.gov for safety reports.

How to find car invoice price (validate Edmunds)

FYI - Industry experts recommend that you aim to negotiate a price that is 1% to 3% more than the invoice figure.

• Intellichoice.com offers side-by-side comparisons of invoice prices for all versions of a given model. This link and Edmunds is a great place to start to find all the info you need about your potential car.
• Navy Federal Credit Union – provides a link to find Invoice price. Select the “Pricing - Chrome.com Web Carbook” link.

Get price quotes and other misc:

Shop at year end (September and October) and month end to get best deals. Be willing to accept a car that isn’t exactly what you want in order to get a lower price, but DON’T tell the dealer this. Be specific about the car and options you want and stick to it. Then if they can’t produce it, get upset and listen to other offers from him.

• Visit a few different dealers and see what they have to offer (what are you missing in your research that they will tell you – i.e. dealer incentives, etc.)
• Note that you can have a dealer search inventories across the country. If the dealer doesn’t have the car you want, he can search for it. Use this to your advantage if another dealer has the car you want. Either find out which one it is and go directly there or use it in negotiating with the dealer (make him get the car you want from the other dealer or give you something on his lot for less – it’s better for him to get it off his lot. It’s also a hassle for him to get it off another lot).
• Visit Edmunds.com and “Request a Quote” from your local dealers. They will email you back information/quotes on specific cars.
• Go to the manufacturers web site to get information (including dealer incentives).
• Go directly to the car dealers web site to see if they have any other sales. For example, when I bought the Impala, I used www.vosschevy.com, selected the car I wanted and was quoted an “Internet Price” (in addition to seeing the MSRP and Invoice price). I couldn’t beat that price by using a GM Supplier discount or anything any dealer offered me in person.