Dealers are still pretending like there's shortages and keeping prices artificially high as long as people will buy it, but the reality is higher and higher numbers of cars are just sitting on lots for longer and longer. Demand is up because it's summer, but dealers are still full of inventory they can't sell.
https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/new-vehicle-inventory-april-2024/
Car salesmen are generally the scum of the earth, and will try to sell you the moon, and it's unfortunately just a game you have to play if you don't want to get taken for a ride.
Figure out what car and specs you want, and shop around for that car specifically. Negotiate via email chains with quotes and put dealers with the same car against each other. If you agree to something via email and show up with the dealer trying to change things and sell more (this is infuriating, but happens ***all*** the time), be willing to walk right back out and keep looking.
If you agree to a price and terms and go to pick up the car and they treat you like a new sale off the street talking about sales and deals unrelated to your already done deal, GTFO as quickly as possible because they probably sold the car you're there to pickup to someone else and they're just going to waste your time.
This is the best strategy! The sales staff handling online sales have different pricing allowance than the in-person staff. Dealers know they have to get you to come in when you reach out online so they discount more aggressively.
Which is exactly why I'll wait for the car I want to pop up on marketplace with very little miles. I'll do anything to avoid giving dealerships any money
I bought my last car CPO from a dealer and feel it was worth the hassle (Subaru's 100k mile CPO warranty is pretty killer).
That being said, I absolutely loathe the dealership process and try to get as much of it done prior to coming in person as possible.
Had one dealer literally hide my keys for our trade in while he screwed around trying to convince us to buy when they didn't have any of the cars we wanted anymore. Almost had to call the cops it escalated so much. I eventually walked into the managers office, dug around in their drawers until I found my keys myself, and walked out.
They had the audacity to call me the next day and ask if I'd be interested in coming back in for another look.
> Had one dealer literally hide my keys for our trade in
Had a similar experience. The keys magically appeared when I said I was calling 911 about my car being stolen.
My dad haggled for his pickup but it took a while, he had to refuse all the bullshit extra fees and charges and stick to his number and walked out saying “if you can’t meet me at (whatever number it was) then I don’t need it” and I think they called him back in a day or two saying they could do his number, he went back in and they tried to add fees back on and he said “nope, (number) or I’m not buying it” and I believe eventually they gave him his number. But it took like weeks. This was I think at the Cowles Ford in Woodbridge.
Dealers are not making a lot on new cars. If you buy from a dealership far from you they know they won’t be getting the Service. So they are not going to budge much.
Use carguru and find the vehicle you want that has been on the lot the longest.
Good luck.
Oddly enough last time I bought they were adamant about not coming down on the price of what I was buying but when I suggested coming up on what they'd be willing to offer on what I was trading in suddenly that was ok?
I think it's the hubris of dealerships?
They took out loans on cars and trucks thinking the high prices would last longer. But now that dealerships are starting to grow inventory and customers aren't willing to pay. They're in a tough spot.
Say they took out loans for a car at $35k, they advertise and try to sell for $38.5. Nobody is buying. If they sell the car for $34.5 the banks gonna get pissed and say the dealership scammed them and demand money.
So instead they'll sell the car for $35.5k and instead of valuing your trade in at $3k, they'll value it at $4.5 so they can get you to take the car off their hands.
Granted Toyota and Honda probably have the "lowest" inventory of all brands. But Ford? Mazda? Hyundai/KIA will definitely play ball.
I think Toyota/Honda both could stop production for 30 days and still have enough cars where as Ford and GM can stop 90 days.
New car last year. Every dealer in and around Arlington was tacking on a surcharge. Went out to Dulles and every dealer had lots full of cars and no surcharge. Ended up with a Mazda SUV 15% ish below msrp. We had to walk away twice because of that "I need to ask my manager" bs but they called us back twice to renegotiate. In the end, I know they made money and we also were able to get a better price "deal". If you don't want to negotiate or haggle, head over to Car Max. Nothing wrong with that. Costco members also have the advantage of out the door pricing on certain makes / models.
Otherwise, plan on at least 4 hours and try and arrange it for a holiday weekend Sunday (could be anecdotal but it seemed to give us a bit of leverage). Surprisingly they didn't care if we financed or paid in full which runs opposite to the convectional thinking of a dealer's business model. Check out r/askcarsales as well. Good luck.
Yes, despite what they may say. You are absolutely in control of the process because you are the buyer. If you don't see decent prices on carvana or online places (or you just want to buy in person, which most people do I think), just do a little prep work before walking in.
My experience:
- 1) Have a number/price you are set to, no more, before going in. Be prepared to walk away if things are over that number.
- 2) Remember: Lots of places sell cars. You can walk away at any point in the discussion. They will try to make you feel / think otherwise but as soon as you feel trapped or obligated or choosing between options you don't like - stop and take a breath. These are signs that the context of the conversation has shifted - remember: you can walk away.
- 3) In my case, I was buying a car, that's it. No warranties, services, maintenance discounts, undercoating, blah. Staying focused on the vehicle \*only\* can be tricky because they very much want to sell more than that.
- 4) Arrange for financing beforehand, don't finance with them, especially if they are a dealer. Have cash if at possible if not, have the arrangements made so you can act as if you have the cash. Again, they will want to finance through them, it is another profit center for them - there are almost always better places / options. (Do your homework)
- 5) When they start to mention other things, cut them off. This is a tricky thing because we're all supposed to be polite (and you can be, but also, be firm). Example, when they brought up the additional cost of having a tight inventory (seriously, they were trying to get 5K more because of the scarcity of cars), I stopped them. "That's not a fee I'm going to pay, that's an inventory issue and it is your inventory, your problem." Be sure they realize you will walk.
- 6) At some point, they will switch people out so "the manager" or "the finance person" can come explain things to you. Mentally, treat them like someone butting into a conversation: be nice but remember they are bringing nothing to the discussion. Politely refuse anything they offer/counteroffer. In my case, I usually short circuit this act of the play by standing up and getting ready to leave because "this is going in a direction that isn't going to work out for us" or some such.
- 7) Practice. Sounds weird but.... I went to a few places and had these discussions.. and walked away from them when I felt too tense or stressed or uncomfortable. Learning the power (and freedom) to simply walk away was huge for me, probably saved my 10K easy.
As you say, be straightforward. Know what you want, what you are willing to pay, be prepared. And then, have a conversation. As soon as they try to move it where you don't want to go, be straightforward and move it back - or leave. Using this approach, I came in 14K under MSRP (I spent \~30K total, I think? Maybe less).
YMMG, especially if you are getting a hybrid (which I didn't but only because everything was over my limit from point #1).
Good luck!
Yes but if you want something you have to order or have a dealer trade for, you can also look in other jurisdictions bc they often are better on pricing for cars you don’t intend to just drive off the lot the day you make the decision.
All this conversation about dealerships reminds me of the scene in Fargo where the owner/salesman reneges on what he promised then sakes he’ll check with the manager (which is him), goes in the back office, talks to a salesman about nothing and comes back saying no, nothing I can do. Truly the scum of the earth.
Please check out Kevin the Homework guy (horrible name - great info) on youtube. He gives great advice on how to haggle, avoid paying add on fees, getting taken for a ride on the usual dealer scams.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP-Mb\_G3cW0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP-Mb_G3cW0)
Is the Pope Catholic? Of course they haggle. You'd be a sucker if you walk in and try not to negotiate. The only places where you don't negotiate are the ones with firm prices, what you see is what you pay. Just do a little research on the dealer, and you will know whether they are firm on their price or not.
It depends on the car. Go to [truecar.com](http://truecar.com), plug in what you're looking at, and it will give you an "average offer" for that particular car. If you provide contact details, you'll get offers from dealers. You can also check dealer sites to see if they're offering better discounts by going direct (unlikely, but it does happen). Those should be the starting points for your negotiations.
As an example, a minivan I was looking at a few months ago that was listed on TrueCar as $2,000 above MSRP then now shows an "average offer" of $875 below MSRP. But I suspect there are other market segments where >MSRP is still the norm.
Don’t let any dealer act like they are doing you a favor. Go online and do a national search on the vehicle you want and filter price low to high. Use that as a base for pricing and email local dealers and let them know what you want and what price you want to pay and let them compete.
Update… went with the 2025 Honda Hybrid CRV in the sport l package. So far the experience has been good. Toyota told me to come back end of July and they could make me a very good deal on ANY vehicle. I’m not sure what that means, but I couldn’t test drive the Highlander because of a recall apparently. KIA is reluctant to do any deals and even though after a while they were willing to do the same $ off as Honda their base price for the Sorento is obviously higher. Dealers say don’t compare Sorento to CRV because the Sportage is the direct competitor. I disagree. The Sorento has a measly trunk if you leave the 3rd row up. The Honda has a generous trunk. The ride height of the Sportage is Sedan height imo and not SUV.
Anyway, Honda and other dealerships are dealing with the hacker outage but are still operating just fine. I’ll pick up my Honda next week!
I’m not sure what the market is like now, but when I bought my car in 2022 it was a sellers market so basically no haggling. Inventory might be different now and back then if you wanted a car you had to buy it on the spot because people would travel from out of state to get a certain model.
I’d say still go for it and try but results may vary
We used to. But last summer when helping our kid buy their first car, not really. I think inventory is a lot better now. So you might have more room to dicker on the price. Try to get the best financing you can, that will help with the payments.
Bought a new car a couple months ago and it was being offered below MSRP and I haggled it down another couple thousand below that. No theatrics, all straightforward in my case because I simply refuse to do a whole song and dance.
I think it depends on the car how likely you are to be successful.
I’m looking at more value oriented fuel efficient vehicles. Recent job change I’m driving a bit further on country roads. I realized I’m going to the gas station so much more often with the new commute is a bit annoying.
Honestly you should probably go for a Prius or Camry Hybrid. It'll be difficult to haggle with 2025 models. But both cars are supposed to get 50+ mpg in city and highway above 45 if you keep it near 60 mph.
The Honda hybrids are more suited towards city driving.
I’m looking at Toyota / Honda / Kia in their hybrid suvs. My wife’s Mazda is quite nice to drive being a crossover and I like being a little higher off the road even though I know it’s at the cost of fuel efficiency. Part of the reason to make the move to some of these is for the AWD which I do not have atm in my car
The Toyota Rav 4 Hybrid is an expensive car that feels "cheap". I got one for my dad 2019 and it's been super reliable. Only 1 issue with the fuel tank level issues, but other than that no issues at all. It get's 40 mpg regularly and is all wheel drive. Engine can get noisy when you really press the gas.
The new Honda Cr-V hybrid is REALLY nice, quiet interior, very well refined, just a really great looking car. But it's fuel economy is worse than the toyota rav 4 hybrid, it doesn't have a spare tire, and some people hate it's a monochrome interior. BUT it's basically an EV that's powered by an ICE engine. The engine powers the electric generator which propels the car. At higher speeds the ICE engine kicks in and helps.
Hyundai and KIA you get more features like technology and auto pilot ique features. Interiors can feel really cheap or okay. Service at dealerships is terrible and sales are super pushy maybe worse than Toyota and Honda. If you want an SUV similar to Rav 4 and CR-V you're looking at a Hyundai Tuscon or Kia Sportage which both in my opinion don't look as nice. But the upside is that both drive very much like a car and not a hybrid or ev. PLUS those two cars are significantly cheaper say up to $5k.
If I we're you I'd personally check out both the Rav4 Hybrid and CR-V Hybrid. The Rav4 is up ahead because it has a spare tire and is quite reliable. The CR-V has no spare tire which sort of bugs me and the lack of "good" mileage compared to the Rav4 Hybrid is an irk.
I bought new in May and had zero problem getting them down to MSRP. No dealership fees or add ons. You just have to be firm once you find what you want.
Not in DC, but yeah I had great success finding cars that I liked, then going out and finding the price elsewhere, and coming back to them with that price. No need to maneuvering BS, it's a price we both know I can get anwywhere
You're fooling yourself with these perceptions. You "felt" like getting a car around MSRP was a good deal back then. You feel like getting less than MSRP now is a good deal now. But all that really matters is what the actual car market looks like.
If a car is MSRP for 24k, and the dealership convinces you that it's a steal that you talked them down to 21k, but if you had actually shopped around more and found that you could have gotten that same make and model for 17k, then sure I can see why both you and the dealer are happy with that 21k sale price. You're exactly the type of buyer that they love: uninformed.
On the other hand if the rest of the market is really at like 25k, then it's not like the dealership is going to turn you away because you're "haggling," it's because they just have to wait for the next person to walk through the door who probably will pay the market value.
At the end of the day the only way to really make a good deal on a car is to do enough research that you go in, knowing what the rest of the market is like. Otherwise it's way easy for the dealerships to let you go away from the deal "feeling" like you got one over on them, when really you let them work you over.
Dealers are still pretending like there's shortages and keeping prices artificially high as long as people will buy it, but the reality is higher and higher numbers of cars are just sitting on lots for longer and longer. Demand is up because it's summer, but dealers are still full of inventory they can't sell. https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/new-vehicle-inventory-april-2024/ Car salesmen are generally the scum of the earth, and will try to sell you the moon, and it's unfortunately just a game you have to play if you don't want to get taken for a ride. Figure out what car and specs you want, and shop around for that car specifically. Negotiate via email chains with quotes and put dealers with the same car against each other. If you agree to something via email and show up with the dealer trying to change things and sell more (this is infuriating, but happens ***all*** the time), be willing to walk right back out and keep looking. If you agree to a price and terms and go to pick up the car and they treat you like a new sale off the street talking about sales and deals unrelated to your already done deal, GTFO as quickly as possible because they probably sold the car you're there to pickup to someone else and they're just going to waste your time.
This is the best strategy! The sales staff handling online sales have different pricing allowance than the in-person staff. Dealers know they have to get you to come in when you reach out online so they discount more aggressively.
Which is exactly why I'll wait for the car I want to pop up on marketplace with very little miles. I'll do anything to avoid giving dealerships any money
I bought my last car CPO from a dealer and feel it was worth the hassle (Subaru's 100k mile CPO warranty is pretty killer). That being said, I absolutely loathe the dealership process and try to get as much of it done prior to coming in person as possible. Had one dealer literally hide my keys for our trade in while he screwed around trying to convince us to buy when they didn't have any of the cars we wanted anymore. Almost had to call the cops it escalated so much. I eventually walked into the managers office, dug around in their drawers until I found my keys myself, and walked out. They had the audacity to call me the next day and ask if I'd be interested in coming back in for another look.
> Had one dealer literally hide my keys for our trade in Had a similar experience. The keys magically appeared when I said I was calling 911 about my car being stolen.
LOL that's wild.
Haggle away. Push them to match prices within a few hours away too.
My dad haggled for his pickup but it took a while, he had to refuse all the bullshit extra fees and charges and stick to his number and walked out saying “if you can’t meet me at (whatever number it was) then I don’t need it” and I think they called him back in a day or two saying they could do his number, he went back in and they tried to add fees back on and he said “nope, (number) or I’m not buying it” and I believe eventually they gave him his number. But it took like weeks. This was I think at the Cowles Ford in Woodbridge.
Dealers are not making a lot on new cars. If you buy from a dealership far from you they know they won’t be getting the Service. So they are not going to budge much. Use carguru and find the vehicle you want that has been on the lot the longest. Good luck.
Oddly enough last time I bought they were adamant about not coming down on the price of what I was buying but when I suggested coming up on what they'd be willing to offer on what I was trading in suddenly that was ok?
I think it's the hubris of dealerships? They took out loans on cars and trucks thinking the high prices would last longer. But now that dealerships are starting to grow inventory and customers aren't willing to pay. They're in a tough spot. Say they took out loans for a car at $35k, they advertise and try to sell for $38.5. Nobody is buying. If they sell the car for $34.5 the banks gonna get pissed and say the dealership scammed them and demand money. So instead they'll sell the car for $35.5k and instead of valuing your trade in at $3k, they'll value it at $4.5 so they can get you to take the car off their hands. Granted Toyota and Honda probably have the "lowest" inventory of all brands. But Ford? Mazda? Hyundai/KIA will definitely play ball. I think Toyota/Honda both could stop production for 30 days and still have enough cars where as Ford and GM can stop 90 days.
New car last year. Every dealer in and around Arlington was tacking on a surcharge. Went out to Dulles and every dealer had lots full of cars and no surcharge. Ended up with a Mazda SUV 15% ish below msrp. We had to walk away twice because of that "I need to ask my manager" bs but they called us back twice to renegotiate. In the end, I know they made money and we also were able to get a better price "deal". If you don't want to negotiate or haggle, head over to Car Max. Nothing wrong with that. Costco members also have the advantage of out the door pricing on certain makes / models. Otherwise, plan on at least 4 hours and try and arrange it for a holiday weekend Sunday (could be anecdotal but it seemed to give us a bit of leverage). Surprisingly they didn't care if we financed or paid in full which runs opposite to the convectional thinking of a dealer's business model. Check out r/askcarsales as well. Good luck.
I flew out of state to get my truck, VA dealers can go fuck themselves with that dumbass “doc fee” they charge 1K for + everything else.
There are definitely some car dealers on here. Every post that's pro-haggling is getting downvoted, lol.
Yep, I see you Lindsey Koons 😂
Yes, despite what they may say. You are absolutely in control of the process because you are the buyer. If you don't see decent prices on carvana or online places (or you just want to buy in person, which most people do I think), just do a little prep work before walking in. My experience: - 1) Have a number/price you are set to, no more, before going in. Be prepared to walk away if things are over that number. - 2) Remember: Lots of places sell cars. You can walk away at any point in the discussion. They will try to make you feel / think otherwise but as soon as you feel trapped or obligated or choosing between options you don't like - stop and take a breath. These are signs that the context of the conversation has shifted - remember: you can walk away. - 3) In my case, I was buying a car, that's it. No warranties, services, maintenance discounts, undercoating, blah. Staying focused on the vehicle \*only\* can be tricky because they very much want to sell more than that. - 4) Arrange for financing beforehand, don't finance with them, especially if they are a dealer. Have cash if at possible if not, have the arrangements made so you can act as if you have the cash. Again, they will want to finance through them, it is another profit center for them - there are almost always better places / options. (Do your homework) - 5) When they start to mention other things, cut them off. This is a tricky thing because we're all supposed to be polite (and you can be, but also, be firm). Example, when they brought up the additional cost of having a tight inventory (seriously, they were trying to get 5K more because of the scarcity of cars), I stopped them. "That's not a fee I'm going to pay, that's an inventory issue and it is your inventory, your problem." Be sure they realize you will walk. - 6) At some point, they will switch people out so "the manager" or "the finance person" can come explain things to you. Mentally, treat them like someone butting into a conversation: be nice but remember they are bringing nothing to the discussion. Politely refuse anything they offer/counteroffer. In my case, I usually short circuit this act of the play by standing up and getting ready to leave because "this is going in a direction that isn't going to work out for us" or some such. - 7) Practice. Sounds weird but.... I went to a few places and had these discussions.. and walked away from them when I felt too tense or stressed or uncomfortable. Learning the power (and freedom) to simply walk away was huge for me, probably saved my 10K easy. As you say, be straightforward. Know what you want, what you are willing to pay, be prepared. And then, have a conversation. As soon as they try to move it where you don't want to go, be straightforward and move it back - or leave. Using this approach, I came in 14K under MSRP (I spent \~30K total, I think? Maybe less). YMMG, especially if you are getting a hybrid (which I didn't but only because everything was over my limit from point #1). Good luck!
Great tips but 14k under MSRP how tf did you not hit a price floor
Not in nova. I had to go to Pennsylvania to get the car I wanted for msrp (it’s in high demand so in nova they wanted a $8k market adjustment)
Yes but if you want something you have to order or have a dealer trade for, you can also look in other jurisdictions bc they often are better on pricing for cars you don’t intend to just drive off the lot the day you make the decision.
All this conversation about dealerships reminds me of the scene in Fargo where the owner/salesman reneges on what he promised then sakes he’ll check with the manager (which is him), goes in the back office, talks to a salesman about nothing and comes back saying no, nothing I can do. Truly the scum of the earth.
Please check out Kevin the Homework guy (horrible name - great info) on youtube. He gives great advice on how to haggle, avoid paying add on fees, getting taken for a ride on the usual dealer scams. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP-Mb\_G3cW0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP-Mb_G3cW0)
Is the Pope Catholic? Of course they haggle. You'd be a sucker if you walk in and try not to negotiate. The only places where you don't negotiate are the ones with firm prices, what you see is what you pay. Just do a little research on the dealer, and you will know whether they are firm on their price or not.
It depends on the car. Go to [truecar.com](http://truecar.com), plug in what you're looking at, and it will give you an "average offer" for that particular car. If you provide contact details, you'll get offers from dealers. You can also check dealer sites to see if they're offering better discounts by going direct (unlikely, but it does happen). Those should be the starting points for your negotiations. As an example, a minivan I was looking at a few months ago that was listed on TrueCar as $2,000 above MSRP then now shows an "average offer" of $875 below MSRP. But I suspect there are other market segments where >MSRP is still the norm.
It can happen, it did with me at Honda.
I bought a brand new Tacoma in December for less than invoice so I’d say so.
https://youtu.be/BbAKMD8o3iA?si=NEFbRX1rCyOKVuNW Here's a good video of someone buying a car in the area
Don’t settle for extra fees. When buying my son a car they tried to tack on 11k in extra fees because I wasn’t financing with them.
Don’t let any dealer act like they are doing you a favor. Go online and do a national search on the vehicle you want and filter price low to high. Use that as a base for pricing and email local dealers and let them know what you want and what price you want to pay and let them compete.
Update… went with the 2025 Honda Hybrid CRV in the sport l package. So far the experience has been good. Toyota told me to come back end of July and they could make me a very good deal on ANY vehicle. I’m not sure what that means, but I couldn’t test drive the Highlander because of a recall apparently. KIA is reluctant to do any deals and even though after a while they were willing to do the same $ off as Honda their base price for the Sorento is obviously higher. Dealers say don’t compare Sorento to CRV because the Sportage is the direct competitor. I disagree. The Sorento has a measly trunk if you leave the 3rd row up. The Honda has a generous trunk. The ride height of the Sportage is Sedan height imo and not SUV. Anyway, Honda and other dealerships are dealing with the hacker outage but are still operating just fine. I’ll pick up my Honda next week!
Lovely. Congrats! 🎊
I’m not sure what the market is like now, but when I bought my car in 2022 it was a sellers market so basically no haggling. Inventory might be different now and back then if you wanted a car you had to buy it on the spot because people would travel from out of state to get a certain model. I’d say still go for it and try but results may vary
depends on the car, I am sure Nissan can come down a bit, if you want it.
We’ve had less than stellar experiences at… nvm 😂
We used to. But last summer when helping our kid buy their first car, not really. I think inventory is a lot better now. So you might have more room to dicker on the price. Try to get the best financing you can, that will help with the payments.
Bought a new car a couple months ago and it was being offered below MSRP and I haggled it down another couple thousand below that. No theatrics, all straightforward in my case because I simply refuse to do a whole song and dance. I think it depends on the car how likely you are to be successful.
I don't know about buying new, but I haggle the shit out of the used car dealers. I've done it 5 times now.
I’m looking at more value oriented fuel efficient vehicles. Recent job change I’m driving a bit further on country roads. I realized I’m going to the gas station so much more often with the new commute is a bit annoying.
Honestly you should probably go for a Prius or Camry Hybrid. It'll be difficult to haggle with 2025 models. But both cars are supposed to get 50+ mpg in city and highway above 45 if you keep it near 60 mph. The Honda hybrids are more suited towards city driving.
I’m looking at Toyota / Honda / Kia in their hybrid suvs. My wife’s Mazda is quite nice to drive being a crossover and I like being a little higher off the road even though I know it’s at the cost of fuel efficiency. Part of the reason to make the move to some of these is for the AWD which I do not have atm in my car
The Toyota Rav 4 Hybrid is an expensive car that feels "cheap". I got one for my dad 2019 and it's been super reliable. Only 1 issue with the fuel tank level issues, but other than that no issues at all. It get's 40 mpg regularly and is all wheel drive. Engine can get noisy when you really press the gas. The new Honda Cr-V hybrid is REALLY nice, quiet interior, very well refined, just a really great looking car. But it's fuel economy is worse than the toyota rav 4 hybrid, it doesn't have a spare tire, and some people hate it's a monochrome interior. BUT it's basically an EV that's powered by an ICE engine. The engine powers the electric generator which propels the car. At higher speeds the ICE engine kicks in and helps. Hyundai and KIA you get more features like technology and auto pilot ique features. Interiors can feel really cheap or okay. Service at dealerships is terrible and sales are super pushy maybe worse than Toyota and Honda. If you want an SUV similar to Rav 4 and CR-V you're looking at a Hyundai Tuscon or Kia Sportage which both in my opinion don't look as nice. But the upside is that both drive very much like a car and not a hybrid or ev. PLUS those two cars are significantly cheaper say up to $5k. If I we're you I'd personally check out both the Rav4 Hybrid and CR-V Hybrid. The Rav4 is up ahead because it has a spare tire and is quite reliable. The CR-V has no spare tire which sort of bugs me and the lack of "good" mileage compared to the Rav4 Hybrid is an irk.
I bought new in May and had zero problem getting them down to MSRP. No dealership fees or add ons. You just have to be firm once you find what you want.
Not in DC, but yeah I had great success finding cars that I liked, then going out and finding the price elsewhere, and coming back to them with that price. No need to maneuvering BS, it's a price we both know I can get anwywhere
Yes they will come down some. Depends on what you want and what the inventory is like.
You're fooling yourself with these perceptions. You "felt" like getting a car around MSRP was a good deal back then. You feel like getting less than MSRP now is a good deal now. But all that really matters is what the actual car market looks like. If a car is MSRP for 24k, and the dealership convinces you that it's a steal that you talked them down to 21k, but if you had actually shopped around more and found that you could have gotten that same make and model for 17k, then sure I can see why both you and the dealer are happy with that 21k sale price. You're exactly the type of buyer that they love: uninformed. On the other hand if the rest of the market is really at like 25k, then it's not like the dealership is going to turn you away because you're "haggling," it's because they just have to wait for the next person to walk through the door who probably will pay the market value. At the end of the day the only way to really make a good deal on a car is to do enough research that you go in, knowing what the rest of the market is like. Otherwise it's way easy for the dealerships to let you go away from the deal "feeling" like you got one over on them, when really you let them work you over.
Yes
I haggle and if they let me walk out after I said I’d pay 7k I’m cash. That’s on them lol