A while ago they were offering zero percent on Mazda 3s. That's a good little car.
A while ago they were offering zero percent on Mazda 3s. That's a good little car.
Evil requires the sanction of the victim. - Ayn Rand
If you decide to go buy a new car, try to do some research and figure out what the factory kickback to the dealership is.
You can buy a car for under the dealers invoice by doing this. Lots of people think getting the car at a couple hundred over the invoice is a steal, but it's not. The dealership gets a kickback from the factory on the cars MSRP when they sell it.....usually between 2%-5% throughout the industry when I worked at a dealership in 2005. If you walk in knowing this and simply state, "I know your invoice is X, but I also know your factory kickback is Y. So if we go for B, yes I know it's below your invoice but you'll still be making C amount." They can still make money on a car sold under invoice because of this kickback. Moreover, if you come in with this knowledge they might just agree right off the bat because they know they don't have any edges on you, everyone is on the same page. It's easier to just save time and sell the car and earn minimum and get another customer pay regular, than it is to use that same amount of time convincing you to pay a little more.
Another tactic is to try and buy the car online through the areas fleet manager. Some even designate someone an online sales representative. This way you can state that in an email and avoid any human interaction if you're not good at bartering (Not saying you aren't, just saying to be honest with yourself). Mama' taught me how to barter on the streets of Nogales, Mexico when I was in 4th grade, so to me it's fun. I realize a lot of people don't enjoy it and get pissed off at the salesmen thinking it helps their stance.....it only hurts. Getting "aggressive" will never work with a decent salesman. So, consider the email route. If you reach an agreement, he'll tell the dealership to sell the car to you at the agreed price and they can't say shit.
Of course, this isn't going to work for a high demand car. They'll just tell you no and sell it to someone at a regular price (or over sticker if it's high enough demand) the next day.
Even still, they can try to get you on accessories and extended warranties. That's where a lot of people get completely raped after they think they got a good deal. Do LOTS of research about the specific extended warranties they'll try to sell you. A lot of them are near worthless and just jack the price back up to what you would've paid without bartering.
Let us know what you get! My vote is still for the used car route, but I hope this helps if you decide to go new (and as pointed out by littlejerry, might make sense).
Last edited by TGS; 09-14-2012 at 03:37 PM.
I know a couple people who have had great success taking what would seem to be the laziest route possible: they emailed multiple dealers, all cc'd on the same email, and basically said "I'm serious about buying X car. I've done the research and this is what I know. What's the best you can do for me?" Some dealers didn't respond, some responded privately, and some actually used reply-all. From there, it was just a matter of emailing back and forth a little.Originally Posted by TGS
Like you say, it seemed a number of dealers simply decided "why spend my time fighting for a large profit, rather than achieve a smaller profit with no effort whatsoever?"
It certainly can't hurt to try.
I was on an on/off search for quite a while, as I'm kind of a driving enthusiast with a long commute and live in a place with chaotic weather. I also wanted a responsive car with a manual. I had some time, as I have a 2000 Accord that just kept going, but one morning after it went over 200K miles, it didn't start for the first time. It's since been fixed, but I realized it was time to make a decision.
Like many, I've nearly always bought used. The used market has shot up, however. Remember how bad the auto market was in three to five years ago? There aren't a lot of those cars turning up used. Also, people are holding onto cars for much longer, so there aren't quite the number of cars under 42K miles there once were.
So, I decided to look at both new and used cars and test drove 2006-2008 Acura TSXs, BMW 3-series, Infiniti G37, Subaru Legacy GT, Hyundai Sonata, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 6 and Mazda 3. Basically, any car I could find that looked remotely fun, had a manual transmission and wouldn't make a middle-aged man driving it look like a complete idiot.
I can go into details on any of these if you like, but I wound up buying a Mazda 3 iTouring with the new engine. The car is fun, nimble, responsive and fuel efficient. According to the in-car computer, I've averaged 36MPG over 3K miles, and that's with a considerable amount of enthusiast driving. Mazda must also have great incentives, as the price was surprisingly low, as in far below the price of a 2008 TSX with 50K miles and an accident. I decided that it will be my fun commuter car and am watching for something that's more of a true sports car--such as an S2000 or an older BMW--for occasional drives. (I may watch for a Toyota FR-S / Subaru BRZ as well).
Edit - With both the Mazda and helping my parents find a Tacoma, I found the best prices simply by e-mailing dealers, telling them exactly what I want and asking for a price. For me, the dealer with the best reputation for honesty and customer service also had the best internet prices. A couple of the more questionable dealers tried to pull stereotypical car sales tricks, so I didn't bother.
Last edited by Carraway; 09-15-2012 at 09:01 AM.
The new Mazda 3 is a great car. Drives like a Japanese 3 series. My mom has an 04, wife has an 08. With a stick they are wicked fun. We bought a 2 with a 5 speed recently because it reminded us of the miata we used to have. It's a fun car that rewards you for driving the piss out of it.
Agreed. I don't know how reliable/durable they are compared to Honda and Toyota but they are a helluva lot of fun to drive.
I've worked on a couple of ancient Mazdas that were still going strong- an 86 B2000 pickup and an 89 Miata.
Of those cars, the only one I've driven is the Ford Fiesta. Not bad for the price. The other car you might want to take a look at is the Hyundai Elantra. I drove one about six months ago and it was a pretty nice car. You might be able to find a 2012 model that the dealer will sell to you for a good price. I tend to like faster cars, but the Fiesta was fine and the Elantra was actually nice.
I would say the best bang for the buck is the Toyota Corolla.
Thanks to all who replied.
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