It's new car time. And I'm no arab trader.

February 08, 2021, 05:49:19 AM
My first new car, my trusty old 2005 Mazda 3, is finally, after about 170,000 miles, is sounding worse everyday and I don't know how much more the old gal has in her.  God that thing has been a great car.  But anyway.

I've always wanted a Mercedes and these days we can comfortably afford one.  But, and this doesn't feel very manly to say, but... I don't know shit about buying a car.  It seems like prices are just posted now like that's what you're expected to pay.  Is negotiating still a thing?  If so, what's a good way to determine what you should knock off the asking price as a starting point.  In example:  I really love this sexy machine right here, and I'm gonna go drive it later.

https://www.jackiecoopermercedes.com/new/Mercedes-Benz/2021-Mercedes-Benz-A-Class-tulsa-ok-b3a7fb890a0e0ae72e36961c9d2b31c1.htm

Asking $38,730.  Looking at KBB.com, and guessing at the options I wasn't 100% sure about, they say a fair price is $36,311.  That doesn't sound like a big difference to me.  Is that reasonable?  It gives $34,952 on the low end.  Would that be a good place to start and refusing to go over $36k?  Or is starting at $34k to high?  How does this shit work?

Is buying a brand new car online a thing now?  What's that process like?  Better or worse than real life?  Can you get better deals that way?  It's been so long since I've bought a car I don't even really know what all options are out there these days.

I'll shut up now.  Thanks, Woopig.

February 08, 2021, 08:36:09 AM
Haggling is pretty much gone now but you still need to make sure you pay the right price. Use sites like truecar and autotrader to find what you want is going for around you. Refuse all the packages and warranty bullshit and you will be fine. You are going to take a bath on buying a high end new car so better to pay for what you want and take care of it than save a few bucks upfront.

February 08, 2021, 08:58:30 PM
Right on.  Thanks for the pointers.

February 08, 2021, 10:16:34 PM
Bought a car last may, I looked online, cars.com and autotrader, for months at the specific car I wanted. Blew out the miles to 500, sorted by price. I found the best deals in dfw.  It sucks to go that far to get your car, but I saved easily $3k... $8k below sticker price... And I paid exactly what they had it listed for.

February 09, 2021, 08:35:33 AM

Right on.  Thanks for the pointers.

look at autotrader at Mercedes around your area. You actually might find one with a thousand miles of less that’s a 2021 or 2020 that cuts off a few thousand. I’m actually looking at the Mercedes GLA or Lexus UX and auto trader has new ans used dealers in my area and gives me a good basis on where a good price point is for what I’m looking for. I’m looking at getting a year old to knock off some dollars and still get all the bells and whistles I want on it. This is what I did for my last car. The dealerships really try to price cars at the best price position now rather than haggle. The negotiation comes with what you can get them to give you for your current car

February 09, 2021, 10:18:44 AM

Haggling is pretty much gone now but you still need to make sure you pay the right price. Use sites like truecar and autotrader to find what you want is going for around you. Refuse all the packages and warranty bullshit and you will be fine. You are going to take a bath on buying a high end new car so better to pay for what you want and take care of it than save a few bucks upfront.

Pretty much this. Last one I bought (4-runner 2019) I looked around at prices on line for the same trim model, figured out what I thought was a reasonable number, and gave that to the hostage negotiator at the dealership. A couple of hours later we signed the paper for that price.

February 09, 2021, 06:04:52 PM
I'm taking all of this under consideration.

The one I had signed up to drive was sold when I got there.  I drove another one in white (my last car was white, I really want to go black this time) that had all kinds of upgrades that, don't get me wrong, were awesome, but they jacked the price up past what I'm wanting to pay.  The guy damn sure keeps calling me and leaving me messages, though.

I'm definitely not above driving to Dallas (or somewhere else) if the savings would be worth it.  I'll check out their inventory down there... 

February 10, 2021, 04:42:14 AM
Bought my ride online. Never set foot in a dealer. If I have any say, I'll never set foot in one again neither.

February 10, 2021, 10:52:40 AM

Bought a car last may, I looked online, cars.com and autotrader, for months at the specific car I wanted. Blew out the miles to 500, sorted by price. I found the best deals in dfw.  It sucks to go that far to get your car, but I saved easily $3k... $8k below sticker price... And I paid exactly what they had it listed for.

Same with us.  I bought one in Dallas and one in St Louis and got much better deals than they were offering in NWA.  The St Louis one they delivered it for a few hundred and I had to drive Dallas to get the other.

I've always had luck getting pricing info on forums such as Edmunds or forum that focuses on the specific car you are looking for such as mdxers.org for an MDX.    You will get real buyers posting what they paid for a specific model. 

February 10, 2021, 11:36:05 AM
Forgot to mention cargurus.com but it's my favorite car search site/app

February 10, 2021, 03:14:37 PM
I don’t know how I feel buying online unless it’s brand new and having it delivered. I might do this eventually but will they collect your old car snd take it too

February 10, 2021, 03:37:13 PM
I've bought a lot of cars over the years. I hate it. I've had better experiences buying out of state than I've had buying in AR.

February 10, 2021, 03:45:51 PM

I really want to go black this time

Once you go black...

February 10, 2021, 03:50:37 PM

Once you go black...

I don’t think I ever wanna a black or super dark colored car again. I hated the black car I had...seems to show dirt so badly and the sheen just doesn’t stay like other colors. I’m debating going to white next or a blue. Right now I have a dark metallic green. Thought I’d hate it but I got a great deal. The color doesn’t show dirt like I thought and it retains its color quite nicely

February 13, 2021, 12:36:32 AM
A few thoughts

1.  Don’t fall in live with a car without playing the field.  Drive competitive cars so you have knowledge to use even if you are lasered in on the MB. 

2.  Keep you old car out of the discussion unless you know you are paying for the convenience.  You are buying retail on the new one, selling wholesale to the dealer.  Keep the transactions separate , or even better sell it yourself.  Get it detailed and emptied before driving on a lot.

3.  Don’t work down work up.  Meaning you find out the dealer’s invoice cost and then see how close you can get to that.  He gets a holdback from the mfr that is his profit. Say 3%.  (This works on many cars. On cars that sell above sticker you’re just fucked..  )

4.  There are several transactions you’re dealing with.  Price of the car.  Your trade or lack thereof.  Financing.  Warranty.  Service income.  With a Benz they count on a certain amount of dealer service bay income fucking your ass on simple shit.  Does it come with a factory free maintenance plan?  Have your finance plans ready, tell them you’re probably paying cash but are open to looking if they have any special deals.

5.  Dealers gotta turn inventory and make sales.  It’s hard to find out when their monthly finance floor plan is due cos it gives you leverage.  BUT weather plays a key.  This is going to be a fucked weekend and week due to weather.  I’d get on the web and phone tomorrow and work it, NWA, Tulsa, DFW, KC, OKC.  Put this snow to work for you now if this is truly the car you want.  They will cut to minimum to move the iron.

6.  Ask for the internet sales manager and work with them.  MB probably has no fleet manager which is who to talk to on trucks.

7.  As has been said avoid all treatments and aftermarket shit. They’ll want to sell you aftermarket mats and shit.  You should get a cool hat or key ring or something on the way out.

February 13, 2021, 07:29:30 AM
Will I get fucked if I pay cash in full for it rather than ducking around with financing? I’ve always financed but have the money to just pay for a new car or a car with 10k or less miles. What is this fuckery about the Mercedes ans service? Do you have to go to them and pay extra for the servicing?

I’m going to drive the Lexus and the Volvo suvs next week to make sure. I’m between the xc40x, UX, or the GLA/GLC. I finally saw the new bronco on the road...it looks weird

February 13, 2021, 08:50:32 AM
Don't mention anything about cash or financing till after you agreed on a price. If they ask say you're not sure but probably gonna finance. They likely won't give you as good a price if they think you're paying cash.

February 13, 2021, 09:01:31 AM
RE financing, i usually go to the lot with a number in my pocket from a credit union.  You can get them to quote you on a vehicle for a certain mileage and they always have good rates.   That way you can make them work ahead of time - tell them you have x% when you get there and let them start working while you test drive junk - or cut that crap out and save yourself 30 min of BS. 

February 13, 2021, 09:04:20 AM

Will I get fucked if I pay cash in full for it rather than ducking around with financing? I’ve always financed but have the money to just pay for a new car or a car with 10k or less miles. What is this fuckery about the Mercedes ans service? Do you have to go to them and pay extra for the servicing?

I’m going to drive the Lexus and the Volvo suvs next week to make sure. I’m between the xc40x, UX, or the GLA/GLC. I finally saw the new bronco on the road...it looks weird

I would never buy new.  Let someone else eat that depreciation and market adjustment.    If you pay cash you’ll get a good deal just have to fill out more paperwork to make sure you’re not a drug dealer or terrorist.

February 13, 2021, 09:11:07 AM

I would never buy new.  Let someone else eat that depreciation and market adjustment.    If you pay cash you’ll get a good deal just have to fill out more paperwork to make sure you’re not a drug dealer or terrorist.

yeah I’ve never bought new...always gotten exactly what I want a year or two old with less 20k miles.

February 13, 2021, 10:09:33 AM

Don't mention anything about cash or financing till after you agreed on a price. If they ask say you're not sure but probably gonna finance. They likely won't give you as good a price if they think you're paying cash.

Correct - every penny they think they will squeeze out of you down the road, the better price you can get. Finance it and pay it off the first month if you want.

February 13, 2021, 10:20:29 AM

Correct - every penny they think they will squeeze out of you down the road, the better price you can get. Finance it and pay it off the first month if you want.

good idea. I just don’t wanna really bother with financing. But I guess better to get the better price by financing than upfront cash

February 13, 2021, 10:23:54 AM

Will I get fucked if I pay cash in full for it rather than ducking around with financing? I’ve always financed but have the money to just pay for a new car or a car with 10k or less miles. What is this fuckery about the Mercedes ans service? Do you have to go to them and pay extra for the servicing?

I’m going to drive the Lexus and the Volvo suvs next week to make sure. I’m between the xc40x, UX, or the GLA/GLC. I finally saw the new bronco on the road...it looks weird

The kids 2016 c300 is still under warranty and she took to the local dealer for recall work and to get the software updated. They fixed her up and did some extra work for no charge. Our course they quoted her $800 to put on two $200 tires on the front after alignment and all the other bullshit fees.
Hello, discount tire.

February 13, 2021, 10:26:47 AM

good idea. I just don’t wanna really bother with financing. But I guess better to get the better price by financing than upfront cash

The other way you have to hammer out a final price and then go get a cashier's check. Signing the loan paperwork is the easier option and now it's mostly electronic.

Temporary credit hit is the only possible downside I can think of.