re: How do y'all negotiate on new cars

They usually get a financial incentive if you finance.

Even if you pay cash, offer to split the incentive to get a lower price.
Then, just pay it off.

I shop online. I use cargurus to find every dealer that has what I want within a 500 mile radius. Shoot them an email for a trade value and their best price. Take the best few and play them against each other. I never step foot into a dealership until I’m picking up my car. I’ve bought 10 cars in the past 10 years and have never had a dealer renege on their price or the trade value. I’ve saved as much as $7,000 over the best local deal - usually buying out of high volume dealers in bigger markets like Dallas, Atlanta, etc.

Walking into a dealership and dealing with all the salesman BS is a joke.

Do everything by email and email several dealers for the exact same car. They will bid against each other. Make them send all paperwork before you go to dealer.

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Donohoo Chevrolet in Fort Payne, AL

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I agree with this. They are absolutely cheaper than any other place I have found. Mainly trucks.

Always be ready to leave the table suddenly if they do not budge. Do not ever focus on what the monthly payment could be afforded. Focus on the actual out the door price.

Their job is to sell you the car based on a reasonable price. Your job is to accept it or not. I find it better to say you cannot do better than that? They will keep bumping it down, then you can finally give them a hard number below that. If they so no we cannot do better, then leave but extend an olive branch. They will contact you by the end of the month.

You just have to look like you are serious about buying the car, as that motivates them to cross the finish line.

Buying a year-old model is a a great way to do it, if you're going to keep it a long time.

Not currently. They were discounting the new 25's so much that it was a better deal than the gently used ones.

Di not be in a position that you have to buy a car
Go end of month
Don’t act interested
State your price, say 25000 for the Camry
Say “that’s all I can do, sorry”
Walk away
Leave your number
Wait for the call
Repeat till they cave

It’s worked for me when I didn’t need a car. I had three counter offers by the time I got home. it was January 30 and the salesman had to hit a number by the 31st.

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Yes it used to be better to buy used, but that depreciation hit is not as bad as it used to be and that’s especially true for trucks.

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True.

Most people citing a depreciation hit are talking about an aggregated number and not necessarily the depreciation of the make and model they are looking for. If looking for a 2025 Toyota Tundra, compare cargurus price to a used price of the same. It can easily come down to whether or not you want to pay an extra $500-$1000 for 15-25000 fewer miles (hypothetical example).

Depreciation also should be compared against how far into the preventive maintenance schedule you want to be. Buying used means you’re closer to having to buy new tires, paying for a brake job, and so on.

It helps to have specific data rather than relying on “old wives tales” from a bygone era that relied on aggregated data.

I’m also reading comments on this thread about a goal of paying off a loan early. I hope people are basing that decision on the loan interest rate compared to their interest gain in investments. I always chose maintaining my low interest loan over the full term of the loan because I was earning 12%-40% interest on other investments.

If you’re making more money in investments, why get rid of potential passive income just to avoid a much lower interest debt?