[timmerk]

I've been researching car buying and car price negotiation over the last few months since I am getting read to buy a new car.

While I understand I can get a new car at or below invoice price for the particular car I'm looking at, I'm not sure if I can negotiate a price on a custom built car at the factory. Anyone have an experience on this? I want to negotiate a price on a custom built car that will still give the dealer between 3-5% profit on what they actually had to pay.

Also, do you negotiate the price before the dealer sends the custom order to the factory, or after? Do you have to buy the car first before the order is sent? If not, do you have to buy the car once it is built? What are average build times?

Thanks!

[RAILhead]

Tell them what you want to pay, make them agree in writing, then you pay when the car is delivered after giving collateral or downpayment.

[awaspaas]

I've always just gotten quotes from all the dealers around town, making it known that you're asking several dealers for the best price. Then show the best quote to the dealer you want to buy from.

Might not be applicable for a custom order, but it has always worked well for me.

[scottiB]

I'm sure you know this, but in case you don't--if there are any factory or dealer incentives on your car, they won't be applied to a custom order since the stipulation of these is "from dealer inventory".

How "custom" is your order (rhetorically speaking)? Usually a specific model with specific options can be found at a dealer within a couple of hundred miles, and they'll ship it to the dealer of your choice (at a cost, perhaps).

[mduell]

Mandatory reading: how to negotiate a great deal on a new car? Reloaded!!!

[timmerk]

Originally Posted by scottiB 

How "custom" is your order (rhetorically speaking)? Usually a specific model with specific options can be found at a dealer within a couple of hundred miles, and they'll ship it to the dealer of your choice (at a cost, perhaps).

Not too custom - just specific color (inside and out) and certain options with certain options not on it. Maybe I could find it somewhere in my state though, I just have to have certain ones and don't want the unneeded ones to keep the price down.

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally Posted by timmerk 

Not too custom - just specific color (inside and out) and certain options with certain options not on it. Maybe I could find it somewhere in my state though, I just have to have certain ones and don't want the unneeded ones to keep the price down.

you're not going to get that under invoice. but you might be able to work from the invoice price.

[imitchellg5]

It is a bit hard to negotiate prices down to invoice when you're ordering a car. It works a lot better if a dealer actually has one in stock. For example, when my parents bought the Xterra, we had found one on a dealer's online inventory. It had a few custom options and an MSRP of $28k, which my dad negotiated down to $24k. Essentially we got the options for free. But that was also at the end of the model year (November 2006) when the were trying to get rid of 2006 models to get a bunch of 2007s.

[abe]

I worked in the business for about 10 years.

Get a list of the options and color and everything you want.

Call the dealer closest to home or work (making it easier to get it serviced) call the sales manager and tell him you want to give them a 3 - 5% profit deal on a factory order. They will say yes or no. You can tell them they will get your service business. That will be an inducement for them to say yes. Tell them that if they can give you the APR and terms you want they can finance you, too. That is another reason for them to say yes. Then be ready to do the deal right then, before the order is placed. Of course the final papers are only possible when the car is there and ready for delivery.

Then, depending on where the car is being built, when the model year starts and stops, any labor stoppages and how popular the car is and the dealer's allotment (popular cars sometimes are rationed out to dealers) the car will be there in about two months.

They will ask for a deposit before placing the order. If it is an 'oddball' unit (one that most people wouldn't want to buy, such as a luxury car with crank instead of power windows) and you decide for some reason not to go through with the sale, they will keep your deposit until the car is sold.

[abe]

Originally Posted by timmerk 

Not too custom - just specific color (inside and out) and certain options with certain options not on it. Maybe I could find it somewhere in my state though, I just have to have certain ones and don't want the unneeded ones to keep the price down.

The dealer will do a "locate" for you. They will go on the computer and see if there is a model that is close to what you want somewhere else in the state (they won't go too far...nmt a four hour drive MAXIMUM) and they will present you a list of the color and equipment of that car and what price they could sell it to you for. If you say yes then the car will be yours in a day or so.

Sometimes they will do a better deal on a trade than on a factory order because the price of the cars DO go up throughout the model year. For example, a 2008 car built last October may be less expensive than the same car built today. So, they MIGHT be able to find the model and color you want but with MORE equipment than you want and give it to you for a certain price that they couldn't do on a factory order with ONLY the equipment you want.

[Doofy]

By far the easiest way to negotiate such a thing is to let your wife do it for you and tell her that she can spend half of what she saves on shoes.

(oh, and Abe, your sig needs a bit of a diet mate. )

[abe]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

By far the easiest way to negotiate such a thing is to let your wife do it for you and tell her that she can spend half of what she saves on shoes.

(oh, and Abe, your sig needs a bit of a diet mate. )

They are slyders.

White Castle (restaurant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)