Originally Posted by
Loren
Ugh. I went through this twice last year.
Once while shopping for my Mirage. Once while shopping for a driver's ed car.
Here's what I learned:
The days of effective internet "dealing" are over. It used to be that you could do your homework, learn what the average actual selling price was for a car, and the invoice price, find who had the car you wanted, and make an offer by email and complete the deal by email. It's nearly impossible to do that on a new car these days. (you can almost do it on a used car, though)
Dealers are wise to us, and of course, they're trying to make a buck. We can't fault them for what they do... but, how they do it has become a bit frustrating. They know that every other dealer selling the same car has effectively the same bottom line, and that you already know what that bottom line is, and they're not going to make it easy for you to price-shop just to be undersold by $100. They want you in their showroom.
So, you'll find fantastic prices online for a car like a Mirage. When I was shopping for a 2017 last summer... I was seeing ADVERTISED prices sub $10,000. Will you get the car for that price? In a word, no. The unbelievable advertised price includes every possible discount, which can include discounts for being a student, a veteran, trading a car of the same make, and so on. If you qualify for ALL of those discounts, you can get that price. But... it's still not the full price. They didn't tell you about the $1200 non-negotiable dealer fee. (sometimes they'll call it something else, but it's a good portion of their profit, and they rarely give it up) It's usually somewhere between $800 and $1500.
Bottom line, the car you emailed or called about at $10,000... they're not going to "deal" with you by phone or email. They're going to tell you to come into the showroom. That's the internet sales department's goal these days. Don't answer questions, don't "deal", get the buyer into the showroom. Because they know that seeing and touching that new car that you want has an effect on people, and smooth-talking salesmen work better in person. Anyway, that $10,000 car... probably going to be closer to $11,000 with the handful of discounts that you actually qualify for, PLUS the dealer fee, PLUS tax, tag and title. $10,000 becomes $13,000 or more in the blink of an eye.
I had my eye on a Kia Rio DE car that was ON THE LOT at a local dealer. It was a brand new 2016 model, last of its kind. And it was priced wrong. It was priced more than a new one! I went through a lot of email hurdles trying to get them to discount the price on that damned car. Just sell me the car for $500 less than I can buy a new 2017 for and I'll buy it! Nope. They wouldn't do it. They're ready to write off some expense or something. So, just because some dealer HAS one or two "old stock" cars, doesn't mean they're ready to deal. Maybe they still HAVE the car because they've accepted that they aren't going to make money on it and they have other plans for it? Who knows. They do weird things.
My recommendation? Skip new. Buy used. There's a certain set of people who optimistically buy a Mirage, and quickly realize that they hate it. Low mileage examples are plentiful... and since you can show the used car dealer an ad that says you can buy a brand new one for $10k... they're cheap! I bought my 2015 with 30k miles on it for $6800 (plus dealer fee and tax and all, it was $8000 out the door) when the best price any dealer would give me on a new one was around $11,600. ($12,800 out the door) Aside from a stray door ding here or there, the car is perfect. For our driver's ed car, we bought a 2017 (literally 8 months old from the date in-service) Kia Rio rental car from Hertz with 27,000 miles for $8500. Lots more little door dings, but otherwise mechanically perfect.
Manual cars are a little harder to come by, but they're also harder for the used car dealer to sell. They've got it, they can't get rid of it. You want it? You're their friend.
You can can save 1/3 to 1/2 off the price of your car by shopping for a 2-year-old car rather than a new one. Did the same thing with my wife's Miata. 2015 Miata, 18,000 miles, $21,000. For a fully optioned car that stickers for $32k.
Happy hunting!