It definitely is a game of giving and receiving!
My previous post on the topic was about my negotiations on getting a new car. The salesman promised me that he'll keep me posted on when the car gets to Portland and then to Anchorage (I needed that information so that I could have the time to look for a good loan). He also said that the car would arrive in 60 to 120 days.
I was coming back to work from lunch one afternoon when I got a call: "Your car is here." Apparently, they did not notify him ... blah-blah. I thought that he wanted that time to sign me up for the loan from the dealership, but now I think that he just does not care much, he probably did get notified and just forgot to tell me. It took me less than 24 hours to get three offers for a loan, I chose one of them (the lowest interest rate, of course), and went in to get the car.
Of course the car "looks very nice," and it was "so hard to get it," and other good things to my ears. Yeah. The car arrived in about 8 weeks, and that is very quick considering the 60-day-minimum estimate. Also, they had to have time to ship it to Portland and install additional little things, that takes time too, so the dealer made it all up. Moreover, this time of year is considered the "dead" season for car sales (I heard that on NPR, so I did not make this up :)).
First, I came in to the dealership and sat down with the guy that I dealt with before. He showed me the financial breakdown for different terms and down payments, that were offered through the financial company of the car manufacturer. The offered rates easily beat the offer that I came with (and I thought I had a good one!), so I went with that. Then I called the insurance to put the new car on (without seeing it yet -- it was being washed), and then I went into the office of the finance officer.
The officer printed out my payment plan (I selected what I wanted with the dealer and he brought the documents over), and then we went on to the additional options. Now I understand that this is where the financial officers make their money (most likely besides the salary). We chatted nicely, he asked me about my job, I asked him about his family, we exchanged little anecdotes, but it was a game, -- only the second part of it. He printed out a sheet which had the price on the warranty, car alarm, some spraying of the bottom of the vehicle, anti-rust things and other fun stuff. I honestly don't know how much one needs any of that stuff, but I have no experience with that, and the finance officer was definitely not the right person to ask. He told me the prices for the "goodies" separately and then offered a deal on all of them if I get all of them. I knew I needed the warranty just for the peace of my mind. I also went for the alarm and the pre-paid oil changes. I looked at the price of the warranty and smiled to myself. This IS where the finance officers make their money.
See, when I was reading reviews on the car, I noted that one person looked at the manufacturer's web site for warranty prices and when he went into the dealership, he surprised them because the price on the web site was substantially lower than the price that he was offered. So I went to the manufacturer's web site to check on the prices on the warranty and just printed that page, just in case I need it. Yup, I needed it. The price on the sheet that the finance officer printed for me was almost twice as high as the one on the web site. Before flashing the page, I asked the officer whether he offers me the same warranty as the manufacturer, and he confirmed it. Then I pulled the page and asked him about "why is the price on this sheet is so much lower?" He said he needed to talk to his "manager." See part 1 here -- he may have been drinking coffee saying good-bye to the extra money. He came back and said that he'll respect the price listed on the site, he just needed to "keep the page in case someone asks why the price is so low." I had two copies :) Oh, and because of that, the price on pre-paid maintenance went down by a third. We kept smiling at each other and parted as "buddies," but at least I felt that I won something. I hope he thought so too, because I have no idea how much those things really cost. I am pretty sure though that he made his cut. But I still feel good about the overall experience. It was very interesting and educative.
Then I went on to the car, the dealer showed me the features, explained how things worked, and before I drove off the lot, the dealer told me how "jealous" he was. Yeah, uh-huh :)
Things to remember for the future:
1. Do homework. Know the MSRP, invoice price, what others are paying, costs of warranty and pre-paid mantenance. The first three can be found on edmunds.com, while the warranty and maintenance prices -- on manufacturer's web site.
2. Come with a plenty of free time, eat before, it can take hours (it took me almost two hours each time!)
3. Know your highs and lows
4. Make a very low initial offer (no mercy for them, they will come back with a counteroffer).
5. Feel free to ask questions
6. Enjoy! It was sort of fun! I'd have to do it a thousand times more to get a feel though :)
I was coming back to work from lunch one afternoon when I got a call: "Your car is here." Apparently, they did not notify him ... blah-blah. I thought that he wanted that time to sign me up for the loan from the dealership, but now I think that he just does not care much, he probably did get notified and just forgot to tell me. It took me less than 24 hours to get three offers for a loan, I chose one of them (the lowest interest rate, of course), and went in to get the car.
Of course the car "looks very nice," and it was "so hard to get it," and other good things to my ears. Yeah. The car arrived in about 8 weeks, and that is very quick considering the 60-day-minimum estimate. Also, they had to have time to ship it to Portland and install additional little things, that takes time too, so the dealer made it all up. Moreover, this time of year is considered the "dead" season for car sales (I heard that on NPR, so I did not make this up :)).
First, I came in to the dealership and sat down with the guy that I dealt with before. He showed me the financial breakdown for different terms and down payments, that were offered through the financial company of the car manufacturer. The offered rates easily beat the offer that I came with (and I thought I had a good one!), so I went with that. Then I called the insurance to put the new car on (without seeing it yet -- it was being washed), and then I went into the office of the finance officer.
The officer printed out my payment plan (I selected what I wanted with the dealer and he brought the documents over), and then we went on to the additional options. Now I understand that this is where the financial officers make their money (most likely besides the salary). We chatted nicely, he asked me about my job, I asked him about his family, we exchanged little anecdotes, but it was a game, -- only the second part of it. He printed out a sheet which had the price on the warranty, car alarm, some spraying of the bottom of the vehicle, anti-rust things and other fun stuff. I honestly don't know how much one needs any of that stuff, but I have no experience with that, and the finance officer was definitely not the right person to ask. He told me the prices for the "goodies" separately and then offered a deal on all of them if I get all of them. I knew I needed the warranty just for the peace of my mind. I also went for the alarm and the pre-paid oil changes. I looked at the price of the warranty and smiled to myself. This IS where the finance officers make their money.
See, when I was reading reviews on the car, I noted that one person looked at the manufacturer's web site for warranty prices and when he went into the dealership, he surprised them because the price on the web site was substantially lower than the price that he was offered. So I went to the manufacturer's web site to check on the prices on the warranty and just printed that page, just in case I need it. Yup, I needed it. The price on the sheet that the finance officer printed for me was almost twice as high as the one on the web site. Before flashing the page, I asked the officer whether he offers me the same warranty as the manufacturer, and he confirmed it. Then I pulled the page and asked him about "why is the price on this sheet is so much lower?" He said he needed to talk to his "manager." See part 1 here -- he may have been drinking coffee saying good-bye to the extra money. He came back and said that he'll respect the price listed on the site, he just needed to "keep the page in case someone asks why the price is so low." I had two copies :) Oh, and because of that, the price on pre-paid maintenance went down by a third. We kept smiling at each other and parted as "buddies," but at least I felt that I won something. I hope he thought so too, because I have no idea how much those things really cost. I am pretty sure though that he made his cut. But I still feel good about the overall experience. It was very interesting and educative.
Then I went on to the car, the dealer showed me the features, explained how things worked, and before I drove off the lot, the dealer told me how "jealous" he was. Yeah, uh-huh :)
Things to remember for the future:
1. Do homework. Know the MSRP, invoice price, what others are paying, costs of warranty and pre-paid mantenance. The first three can be found on edmunds.com, while the warranty and maintenance prices -- on manufacturer's web site.
2. Come with a plenty of free time, eat before, it can take hours (it took me almost two hours each time!)
3. Know your highs and lows
4. Make a very low initial offer (no mercy for them, they will come back with a counteroffer).
5. Feel free to ask questions
6. Enjoy! It was sort of fun! I'd have to do it a thousand times more to get a feel though :)
posted by Eugene at
8:58 PM
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