Kidd Wikkid

Hello all,

I've been searching for an auto '04 w/touring package in south central Indiana. I finally found one in Louisville and requested a quote and they came back with 26988. It is black with no extras other than the package. This is my first time buying a new car so I have no experience with negotiating. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for a counter offer? I'm not quite sure how low I can go or if I don't even stand a chance... i can afford up to 25750.

Any help or advice would be tremendously appreciated...

dmp

Tell them exactly that. Tell them you want the car for $25750 out the door (or plus tax). Remdind them that SOMEBODY will sell you a car - you'd just as soon buy theirs.

- a quick search from Edmunds.com shows invoice on an 05 at $27,253.

if the 1500 cash back is still being offered on 2004s, their 26988 becomes 25488...

jsh1120

The www.carsdirect.com price for the 04 you're considering is $26,191 in the Seattle area. I suspect it might be a couple of hundred $$ less in the Louisville area. You can check. In any event, I paid about $800 less than the CarsDirect "target price" a couple of months ago. You should be able to get your car at the $25,750 plus ttl price you've set.

BTW, the invoice price is $26,891. You should be able to get the a/t for $1000 or so less than that.

Good luck.

G-ReX

Look up the list price, invoice and rebates at Edmunds.com. Look at some of the postings here regarding current rebates, too. Double check if the dealer has documentation or processing fees and include those in the math. I assume their quotes include any rebates, but make sure. Print up copies of everything you look up and take them to the negotiation so they know that you know what the numbers are. See if there are other similar cars around at the Mazdausa.com site and print those out for leverage (even if they're not quite what you want).
I'd start at invoice minus rebates minus $1500 or $1000 and negotiate from there. You should be able to go under invoice by $500-$1000 before the rebates since it's a leftover 2004.
Be polite but stubborn.
Turn down all the extra paint protection, undercoating and whatnot. An extended warrenty is up to you; they seem to be going at just over a grand for a 7 year bumper to bumper.
Good luck!

AvatarQAZ

When I bought my 04, I got it loaded with everything but moonroof, power seats, sat nav, and rotary accent. Out the door for 26500 (listed at 31,000... or close to that). You have to know what their overhead is. I knew that going in, they could sell me the car for 26.5k and still make marginal profit and move a car off the lot. A lot of factors come into play. I bought my car in PA when the weather was bad and their movement on that car was slow. Being in IN, you might have luck with that route. I would guess you can get the car for 24500 out the door (taxes title, etc). But you can walk away with the car for 'free advertising' around 23,500. Remember, always go lower than what they want. Force them into you. When I first started haggling, I asked for 26k, they said 'have a nice day' because they would be making NO money on that. Start off at or around the break even point for them, see what they say. And work from there.

Also, I dont know how old you are, but if you are under 25, take an adult with you. I took my 64 year old father with me and he helped me rake the dealer through the mud... so to say. They will not take you seriously if you are young and looking to buy a new, expensive car. If a parent or older adult is with you, they assume you have the capital to do this... as well as knowing the older person will smell their ****.

jaedcem

I just bought an 04 MT with the Grand Touring package (no other extras) for $27,000 not including tax, title, etc. That did include the rebate ($1500) and the dealer add-on extras like doc. fees and prep. I bought on 12-31-04 in Chicago, and I could have gotten a better deal. (I didn't try too hard because I wanted the color combo, and couldn't find any others around.) I only dealt with them for about a week before I bought the car.

One suggestion, I would recommend NOT talking to a salesman at all. Do the research, and decide what your price is, then call the dealer and ask for the fleet manager. As you may have heard before, the salesmen cannot sell a car. They act as the middleman between you and the manager. They also take a cut of your money. Talk to the manager first, and tell him about your research. Then tell him the price you want to pay. He's much more likely to sell the car for a smaller profit. Also, (and this is what really angered me about my purchase) you won't have to ALWAYS hear "I'll check with my manager and get back to you." You can offer the manager a price and he can actually discuss it with you.

I wish I had started this way. As I did things, I started dealing with a salesman via email, and the manager insisted on starting with his offer, not my original price. I'm sure I would have had better luck if I had started with him.

Good luck.

MikeMaj82

you could probably steal that car. You have to remember they want to get the '04s out the door. Whenever my parents buy a car, or when they came with me when I bought my car, my dad always makes it difficult for the salesman. We end up walking out of the dealership all the time with the managers following us out the door and into the parking lot. The result? A call from the dealership a few hours later offering the price we had asked for. Everytime.

Mike