Can/should I negotiate for a used car before it is "ready"?

March 11, 2013 8:52 PM

Looking for advice on buying a used vehicle in limited supply. More inside.

There is a used car offered by a dealership that I'm interested in. I generally buy from private parties but in this case, there are only about 30 of them for sale in the style/trim I'm interested in in the US. That said, the manufacturer discontinued this body due to lack of sales...

The car isn't cheap and I have been pre-approved for financing. It will take about a week for the bank to send me a check once I submit the VIN and price.

I went to the dealership last week to test drive it but it wasn't quite ready yet since they were still had to remove some minor scratches and also finalize the CPO certification. The sales rep claimed it need 5 more days and offered to hold it for me, unobligated, for $1000 which I declined.

The question is - should I try to negotiate in advance over the phone? I would ask for a buyers order, put down a deposit with a pre-purchase inspection as contingencies. Or would it be more prudent just to wait.

posted by ngn01 to shopping (7 answers total)

Well, if you are dealing one on one with a salesperson you have significantly more leverage in person than you do over the phone, as over the phone you lose the ability to physically walk away from the sale person/dealership. That long, slow walk out the door is a heck of a tool to give up. IMO, any deal you could negotiate over the phone could likely be bettered if it were negotiated face to face. The exception to this rule would be if you had a lot of real world experience negotiating deals over the phone...but if that were the case you probably wouldn't need to ask us our opinion.

I guess the other considerations are a) just how rare is this vehicle, and b) just how badly do you want it? To me, if this were a vehicle I had been searching for for a while and I knew it was both rare and the one I wanted, I'd have jumped at the $1k/no obligation hold, even if that meant tipping my hand a bit. Especially if there were only 30 of these for sale in the whole US. And is that "30 for sale now", or "only 30 for sale ever"? Rarity + demand = a steeper price. If the salesperson knows this vehicle is as rare as you do, you are going to only have a limited amount of negotiating room anyway, so I'd focus on striking a deal quickly, rather than risk losing this one and having to wait for a other to come on the market. But that's sort of the crux of it: can you wait for a better one to come along if this one slips away?
posted by mosk at 10:54 PM on March 11

I think the major risk you take with not waiting is letting the dealer think you're desperate to buy the car, which is in their advantage, and makes them less likely to bargain. They're a dealer, and they're good at this sort of thing, a lot better at it than most private sellers. They likely have no intention to come down on price on the first day the car is actually listed for sale. It might be useful to know what sort of car you're looking at. Only 30 for sale seems remarkably rare, which is bad for you, if you really want this car, because you have little leverage, but also bad for the dealer, because such a rare car is probably so rare because there isn't a lot of demand for it. They'll want to unload it, but they're probably not in a hurry to unload it tomorrow, and they'll be skeptical that you're going to walk and find another one somewhere else if the car is so scarce.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 10:56 PM on March 11

The car is for my wife. A 2009-2010 BMW 5-series wagon with relatively low miles (< 40k). Lets assume there are other requirements (nav, hate the new gran turismo, etc) and we're into 30 for sale range at any one time. Not a collectors item by any stretch, I'm willing to pay a fair price but not overpay for a quickly depreciating asset.
posted by ngn01 at 2:40 AM on March 12

CPO Beemer Family Trucksters are not in as much demand as you believe - they're rare because the enthusiasts who bought new all wanted sport sedans. Audi and Volvo are going to get the lion's share of wagon lovers. I think you're in a good position to negotiate.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:31 AM on March 12

Negotiate the price at once, then make the deposit with a contingency that the car is repaired to your satisfaction.
posted by randomkeystrike at 4:33 AM on March 12

CPO Beemer Family Trucksters are not in as much demand as you believe - they're rare because the enthusiasts who bought new all wanted sport sedans. Audi and Volvo are going to get the lion's share of wagon lovers. I think you're in a good position to negotiate.

This is spot on. Don't let the dealer know you are too excited/desperate.
posted by TinWhistle at 7:00 AM on March 12

I may be a little confused, if you really want the thing, you know what it's worth +/- 10% or so and it's worth 30, presumably you offer 27 and you're willing to go to 33. About 3k isn't pocket change, tho it's not that much over the years you plan to drive the car and relatively insignificant if it's what you want and will enjoy a lot for at least a few years.
posted by ambient2 at 11:50 AM on March 12