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car monkies..... how do I find invoice?

moff_quigley

Why don't you have a seat over there?
Jan 27, 2005
4,402
2
Poseurville
geargrrl to shady dealer/salesperson: "Would you kindly show me the factory invoice on this particular vehicle?"

or Edmonds
 

Arkayne

I come bearing GIFs
May 10, 2005
3,738
15
SoCal
This was advice given to me. Here's what I would do if it is a new car.

1. Write down the VIN of the precise vehicle that you want that is on a dealer's lot. Don't give your name to any salesperson.

2. Research. You 100% must research the name of a real local auto broker company and the name of a real employee there.

1. Call up and tell the salesperson that "I am (insert real person's name) with (insert real auto brokerage company name)".

2. Tell the salesperson this exact phrase (substitute the type of vehicle you want) :

"I've got a girl on a '08 Mazda 3 that's on your lot. She test drove it last weekend. I've got the VIN and the the buyer wants to buy this vehicle tomorrow." (be prepared to give this, and possibly your cellphone number.) "I need to know what your I & M are and where you need to be on it. "

I = Invoice
M = MSRP
Where you need to be on it = He will tell you "$1,000 over" or "$500 over" or whatever, over the invoice price.

Tell him that you'll confer with the buyer and will contact the dealer salesperson before 2pm tomorrow. Get off the phone smoothly.

Now that you know the Dealer's Invoice price for that specific vehicle, go to the lot, test drive it and buy it.


 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
From my experience, unless this is a very high demand car, you shouldn't pay anything over invoice.
I bought my truck last year for $500 under. It was exactly what I wanted and the exact color I wanted. It's not a high demand truck, but you don't ever see rebates or interest under 5% on them either. That should tell you how much they sit.


My strategy that worked for me:
Check local dealers websites for the exact car you want. Call them and ask if they have it in stock. They will try and get you to come in. You can go to look, but go alone and don't have any intention of buying. Tell them your wife/husband hasn't approved it yet. That shuts them up quick.
Give them a week to cool off. They will call every day. Blow them off.
If you do this at several dealers, you will find one that is close to what you want to pay. If you act nonchalant, you can talk them down $500-$1000 more. Without trying, I got them down to $300 over. With a little asking, I got more.

Oh yeah, edmunds will give you an exact invoice and what other people in your area are paying.
 

Bixxle

Chimp
Dec 29, 2007
60
0
I don't know much about the Mazda, but 500 over doesn't seem like the greatest deal.

I bought a 2007 tacoma double cab TRD offroad 2wd with tow package blah blah blah.

MSRP was 28000
I paid 22300 before TTL
Invoice was 24,000 almost exactly

Which puts it at 1,700 below invoice.


We fooled around with different thing like Costco. Costco price was 500 over invoice. Which put the price at 25,XXX. I said thats too high, and made up a fake quote from another dealer(22300). He said, I'd get it from them.

So we went to another dealer. Told them right off the bat what we wanted to pay. He said it seemed a bit low but he would see. Went for a test drive and went inside. He started with the whole "we can give you this other one that is worth a lot less, with less options for that price."

We told him if we can't get it for our price we will wait. He said he would go talk to the sales manager, then came back and said ok. Out the door price was about 25k

If I were you, I would call as many dealers as possible and ask for a qoute. When they give you X price, tell them it's too much. They will either say well what price are you looking for, or let me take to so and so and call you back. See what the lowest price you can get to is. Then figure out your offer from there.

I'm sure this book I just wrote is not legible. Hopefully it helps a bit.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
as noted in post #5 it's edmUnds, not edmonds. edmonds is a small city near seattle :D .

www.edmunds.com
LOL! I was thinking the same thing (well not about the city).

GG--are you getting a good interest rate and any other perks? I got a great rate, free oil changes for a year and a bunch of car washes too. One dealership around here was even offering free tires for some of their vehicles too (I can't remember how many sets you were allotted though) It can't hurt to ask. Good luck!
 

geargrrl

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2002
2,379
1
pnw -dry side
good input everyone... I have a gut feeling that I'm going to get much less of a deal on a car that's getting 30 mpg than a TRUCK!!! If I was selling a Tacoma double cab right night, I'd do anything to get it off the lot, too!

gg
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,862
4,159
Copenhagen, Denmark
What is invoice? I can't be what the dealer buys the car for? To me it just seems like some arbitrary number the dealer gets to confuse buyers and not sell anything to low so they can say the famous like "I can't sell it below invoice".
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
What is invoice? I can't be what the dealer buys the car for? To me it just seems like some arbitrary number the dealer gets to confuse buyers and not sell anything to low so they can say the famous like "I can't sell it below invoice".
No it isn't. There are various sites that explain it, here is a quick googled site that goes over it:

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/car4.htm
 

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
Just be direct about what you will pay and spare everyone the drama of playing games.

I recently bought a 08 WRX (new model, no incentives, limited regional inventory etc) for my younger brother. When the conversation turned to price I simply said we're paying cash and won't pay over invoice. That's what we paid, after they showed me the invoice for the car.

Do a little research on edmunds, figure out a number you're comfortable with and give the dealer a yes/no proposition. A low margin sale is always better then a walk-away in their eyes, especially in this market.
 

Willy Vanilly

Monkey
Jul 27, 2003
194
0
San Jose
I'm not sure if this help you out but I've had great luck buying cars through the Costco program (if you happen to be a member). You'll work with a specific salesperson at a specific dealership that has agreed to honor the Costco pricing. They show you invoice and unless the car is in really high demand, the Costco price is ~ invoice if not a bit less (significantly less on certain cars). There is no haggling involved, which I think is nice. For my sister, it was worth more than the price of the Costco membership alone to get a great price and not have to negotiate and deal with pushy salespeople. Since the price is locked in you either take it or leave it and there is no pressure.

Both my gf and sister have gotten cars that way and it was much more pleasant than when I bought my car and sat there for hours between "rounds" of negotiations.

Also, I believe kbb.com has invoice prices as well.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
Well that and also the fact that cars are never an investment. Preowned cars are best as far as cost/benefit but new and shiny has its attractions...
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,941
13,135
Portland, OR
Well that and also the fact that cars are never an investment. Preowned cars are best as far as cost/benefit but new and shiny has its attractions...
:stupid:

I would rather get a car that's a year old.

When I bought the wifes car, it was a year old, had 12k miles on it and I got it covered for 100k bumper to bumper. Paid well bellow new and were covered.

New is cool, but I would rather get a demo or a lease return with additional warranty.
 

Bixxle

Chimp
Dec 29, 2007
60
0
I'm not sure if this help you out but I've had great luck buying cars through the Costco program (if you happen to be a member). You'll work with a specific salesperson at a specific dealership that has agreed to honor the Costco pricing. They show you invoice and unless the car is in really high demand, the Costco price is ~ invoice if not a bit less (significantly less on certain cars). There is no haggling involved, which I think is nice. For my sister, it was worth more than the price of the Costco membership alone to get a great price and not have to negotiate and deal with pushy salespeople. Since the price is locked in you either take it or leave it and there is no pressure.

Both my gf and sister have gotten cars that way and it was much more pleasant than when I bought my car and sat there for hours between "rounds" of negotiations.

Also, I believe kbb.com has invoice prices as well.
Honestly, you can do better than Costco.
 

Bixxle

Chimp
Dec 29, 2007
60
0
good input everyone... I have a gut feeling that I'm going to get much less of a deal on a car that's getting 30 mpg than a TRUCK!!! If I was selling a Tacoma double cab right night, I'd do anything to get it off the lot, too!

gg
I don't think the dealer I bought from was really dieing to get it off the lot. It seems like half the population over here owns tacomas or frontiers. Gas mileage seems to be of low concern on most peoples minds.

If I were you, I would call 10 dealers if possible, spend an hours or so doing this. Haggle with everyone and throw out something like 1k under "invoice". See what kind of reaction you get. When your done you will either know that 500 over invoice is a good deal, or if you can do better.

I get an astonishing 21 MPG combined BTW...
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
I don't know much about the Mazda, but 500 over doesn't seem like the greatest deal.

I bought a 2007 tacoma double cab TRD offroad 2wd with tow package blah blah blah.

MSRP was 28000
I paid 22300 before TTL
Invoice was 24,000 almost exactly
That's funny. I bought the same truck but in a TRD sport.
You got a better deal but I didn't work as hard as you either.

And GG, the Taco is fuel effecient for a truck. They easily get 20+. When I bought mine, gas was $2.80.
Some people need a truck so they are considered a high demand vehicle.
 

tacklespore

Monkey
Feb 3, 2008
102
0
Texas
once you find out invoice. Go to the bank and get a loan prior to purchasing the vehicle. Tell the dealer, "This is my loan take or leave it." It always worked for me.
 

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
stupid to say that you will pay 'invoice'... do a little home work and come up with a real dollar figure first. Then stick to it in the negoitations.

'Invoice' can be minipulated.

Naming your price cant be.
 

Bixxle

Chimp
Dec 29, 2007
60
0
stupid to say that you will pay 'invoice'... do a little home work and come up with a real dollar figure first. Then stick to it in the negoitations.

'Invoice' can be minipulated.

Naming your price cant be.
Then again, I believe only fairy money can be exchanged for and FJ.
 

maddog17

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2008
2,815
105
Methuen, Mass. U.S.A.
well, you have edmunds.com and kbb.com which is the kelly blue book site, and try carbuyingtips.com. i used those 2 because they did differ a bit, especially on the options page. i got my 07 Altima for $300 over invoice and i didn't think that was all that bad. one thing to remember is dealer hold back. dealer hold back is an automatic profit for the dealer as long as they sell it within a specific time. it's like a rebate from the manufacturer to the dealer. and each maker has a different amount, usually 2-4% of the msrp. i remember seeing a list online but forget where it is. so figure that mazda probably has a 3% holdback. that's extra money you get to use when dealing. in my case it was $600 and i split it with the dealer. where they made more was on my trade in, which was fine because it needed quite a bit of mechanical work and i didn't want to deal with selling it privately. i got close to what i wanted for it so i was ok with it. i wouldn't say a Mazda 3 is a 'hot' car, but it has gained some popularity so they may hold that against you when dealing on price. just do your research, find other dealers in your area and check their inventory. i did that, and had 5 other dealers within a 40 mile radius and had a HUGE list of cars that i would be ok with buying. so i knew going to the first dealer that if i wasn't happy with the price, i'm walking and going to the next dealer on the list. you should be prepared to do that, and if you do, don't change your mind or look wimpy on the decision. believe me, if they want to make a sale, you'll see the price start to drop. just as an example, my gf a bunch of years ago wanted to buy a Durango, and this was when they were first out. we go to the dealer, talk prices and so forth. she had all her research, prices, dealer hold back #'s, everything. so they pretty much agreed on a price for the truck, but couldnt get the trade in #'s to work. twice the salesman went to his boss and both times the trade in price went up, not a lot, but it went up. and the second time it was the old, " this is our final offer" bit. so she said no good and we got up to leave. we get in her car which was parked right in front of the sales mgr's office. we see the salesman in there talking and he starts to leave the office. i tell her to go, he's coming out probably with a better offer, but let's go. she starts to ask why and i just say go i'll explain on the way home. well she didn't, he offered a little higher price and she went for it. so later she asked what was up, i told her that he was going to offer another price but if you left he would have had to call you tomorrow. at that point you could have used that as a further bargaining chip and get even more for the trade in. i reminded her that he told us that the second offer was his final offer, so why is it that he's running thru the dealership to offer you more money? obviously they could go higher, so make them do it by leaving and forcing them to call you. one thing to remember is that you have the power to make the deal. if you don't like the price, you walk. it's that simple. force them to get to your price or as close to it as possible or your comfortable with. they'll make their money on someone else, and tell them that. in not so direct of a statement you can say, "sell me the car for what i want to pay and i'll sign the paperwork right now, you can make money on the next person" my gf's father pays msrp!!! he never haggles and he buys from the same dealership all the time!! you'd think they'd throw him a deal but they dont. that's where they balance the deals where they loose a bit of money. don't fall for the salesman or his mgr telling you "we got overhead to pay for, the lights blah blah blah" if they say that, get up and leave. their just pressuring you, trying to make you feel guilty. you can come back with, "hey i'm buying a car i need to put gas in at $3 a gallon, needs oil changes every 3-4 thousand miles, tires, washes, maintenance. and i got other bills to pay too" i think i've probably walked out of at least 6 dealers when they pulled that **** on me. that tells me they won't care thru the whole process, and it could be a good indicator about the rest of the place too, especially the repair shop. good luck with your choice, do your homework and remember if you don't feel comfortable with the price, just walk away.