[mereksteele]

Hello all!

I am currently in the market for a new 2011 Equinox LTZ AWD V6. I am in VA and have been talking to the dealer about pricing. I priced my vehicle on the Chevy website and it was 33,315 (MSRP w/ freight). The dealers first offer was low 35K MSRP plus V.T.T and about 32K +V.T.T after my dads employee discount. There are none in the area that match what I want so its gonna be a factory order. I went on consumer reports and got the invoice price and checked the truecar prices for my area. What price should I be looking around for this vehicle? Also, I am paying cash, and no trade in (I wanna keep my car ;D). I mean the way it looks I would be paying the Chevy website MSRP even after my dad's discount! This cant be correct.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[RIT333]

Hello all!

I am currently in the market for a new 2011 Equinox LTZ AWD V6. I am in VA and have been talking to the dealer about pricing. I priced my vehicle on the Chevy website and it was 33,315 (MSRP w/ freight). The dealers first offer was low 35K MSRP plus V.T.T and about 32K +V.T.T after my dads employee discount. There are none in the area that match what I want so its gonna be a factory order. I went on consumer reports and got the invoice price and checked the truecar prices for my area. What price should I be looking around for this vehicle? Also, I am paying cash, and no trade in (I wanna keep my car ;D). I mean the way it looks I would be paying the Chevy website MSRP even after my dad's discount! This cant be correct.

Any advice would be appreciated.

CarsDirect.com gives an expected price to pay. Another source is Truecar.com I would think those should be the starting point depending on why your Dad is getting a discount (GM Employee, or GM Parts Supplier ?) Also, what is VTT ? If it is a tax, then remove it from the equation, and add it in AFTER negotiation.

 

[NoobNox]

My best advice is this..
Overeager salesmen tend to assume that you are going to finance and trade in whatever vehicle you drove to the dealership. Knowing that, you can let them belive that is the case without ever saying for sure if that is your intention, and certainly not telling them that you want to pay cash and don't have a trade-in. Whenever such qestions come up, just be vague and say something to the effect of "I want to look around at some other dealerships before I get to that point".....that should get them into high gear trying to get you into something on the lot before you leave. If an agreeable price is thrown out there then shake on it....and when they take you to the financing office you can tell the guy behind the desk that you're going to write a check for the agreed on price. If they balk at this then you can walk....no harm, no foul.

edit- this has worked for me twice in the past....but saving up enough to pay outright can be painful sometimes.

 

[mereksteele]

My dads discount is employee and vtt is Virginia tag and taxes.

Noob I will take your advice. I am currently out of the area and all my negotiating has been via email and phone. I need to have the vehicle ordered before I leave again. But they don't know I'm in a rush nor will they. Why do they like trade in's so much?

 

[NoobNox]

My dads discount is employee and vtt is Virginia tag and taxes.

Noob I will take your advice. I am currently out of the area and all my negotiating has been via email and phone. I need to have the vehicle ordered before I leave again. But they don't know I'm in a rush nor will they. Why do they like trade in's so much?

They like trade-in's because they will never give you anywhere close to what you would get selling it yourself...no matter what number they give you. If it were otherwise, then why do they insist on knowing if you have a trade-in or plan to finance on site before they want to talk bottom line, out the door price of the vehicle you're looking at? The dealership is looking for maximum profit, and you are looking for a good deal...the trick is meeting somewhere in the middle and then tipping the scales slightly in your favor.

In simple terms....you should get 2 figures, the first being the selling price of the new vehicle and the second being how much they will give for the trade-in which is then subtracted from the earlier price. Dealerships do this in reverse, so they can figure the trade-in into their bottom line price. Same with financing...they give you a lower upfront price based on profit from the APR.

 

[lucky19]

Let me know and I can send you what I used to get my 2011 terrain $100 off invoice. Its called a fighting chance, you can see another method of dealing with dealerships without even setting foot in one. I paid for it but I can send you the files if you wish no charge.