Buying/Leasing a Car and Negotiation Tactics

Do you remember the movie Cool Hand Luke? The first person to walks away loses. This is same with buying a car.

1. Allocate ALOT of time, you are going to block out the entire day

2. DO NOT Bring whiny kids or ppl with short attention spans

3. This is a game about patience. What's an extra 1,2,3 hours worth to you? 1000, 2000, 3000 dollars?

4. Do research. There are tons of sites to compare and search prices. Get some quotes online/over the phone. 

However, there's nothing like the human element of face to face showdown.

The car dealership wants to sell you the car and the highest price. You want to buy the car at the lowest price. Clearly these 2 are in conflict. A car is not an emotional purchase, you don't love the car, you don't HAVE to have it right now today. If you do, you just overpaid.

The cost to the dealer is ALWAYS 15-20% below sticker. That's your starting number. How do I know this? I've seen the dealer invoice sheets. The most expensive the car, the higher the markup. 30k list? how about 24k. You need to start low and negotiate up. The first number they give you is always too high. The salesman has to go back to talk to the manager. 20 mins goes by, the price goes down a little more....he's trying to wear you out. But again, what's an hour of your time? 1000/hr? Usually this will go about 3 rounds, hold your price the first 2 round and by round 3 you should give a little bit indicating you are sincere. Else, go home. You need to be ok with not buying a car on that day. Again, if you HAVE to have it, you will over pay. Everytime, I've walked away, the salesman has called me on the drive back. Once I even turned back cuz he said OK I will meet your price. I spent 20mins to drive home and saved 2k because I left the showroom(ok 40 if you count roundtrip for the drive back).

Q: How many cars have you bought to know this? 

A: In the last 15yrs, I have leased 4 cars and I have been with my parents while shopping for another 10 cars or so.