Negotiation Strategies

I am in the budget planning stage for a purchase early next year (still up in the air about WHAT to get though). For those of you who have purchased a used car in the past couple of years, what level of discount did you receive from the asking price? I know this can vary widely with the motivation of the seller, but I'm looking for a general rule of thumb. Currently I am budgeting for a discount of 5% from on-line sites such as autotrader, dupont, and cars. Any other tips are cool too..... The cars still being investigated are: '02 996 Cab '01 996 TT '03 Maserati Spyder '95 Ferrari F355 Spider '03 Viper Thanks

Shark, Tip from me: make sure that the car you negociate on is for sure the one you want most, rather than simply the best deal going. In the end, a larger discount over others doesn't mean much if you keep pining after brand x or if you figure out later that maintenance turns out to be a real nightmare. I'm sure you have thought of this, but it is worth mentioning. Best of luck--exciting prospects--and let us know eventually what you went with. Geert

One can't generalize the discount achievable thru negotiation. The strength of the economy, availability of similar cars, interest rates, new car incentives are market variables. The reality testing of the seller is unknown. The last used car I purchased came down about 15% and it was ultra-low miles. Best rule of thumb is to review the asking prices of all cars available (now easy to do via net) and compare mileage and condition to the car you are looking at. Sometimes sellers with low mileage cars overvalue that in creating an asking price. Then start at the low end for higher mileage cars as the figure you want to achieve. Remember to try to get the seller to start lowering price before you offer. That way he is bidding against himself. A hard cash offer is generally hard to turn down, so your position is strongest when you know you can close. Good luck. AS

Thanks guys, There are a couple of reasons why I need to quantify this. One aspect is the budget planning exercise itself. I want to have enough money to go after the car I want without exceeding my financing goals. The second reason is, even though I live in a big market (Houston), several of these cars ( F355, Maserati, Twin Turbo) are rare to the point that I will have to travel for a purchase. Therefore, I will have to get some sort of agreement on price before boarding a plane. So is a 5% discount from asking price fair or too conservative?

I'd shoot between 5-10%...no less... There are plenty of 996TTs far more than any previous year turbos.

On a car around $50-60k, you'll probly look at a profit margin of $7-12k between the wholesale/trade-in and dealer ask prices. You can probly get as much as $3-5k off of asking but not more. If you want $5-7k lower than dealer asking price, you should get it from an auction with a dealer or buy it private party. Private party may go for just a little more than trade in which is probly as low as you'll find. Classifieds, web boards etc are good places to search for deals but search may take longer as selection is fewer. When bargaining, if you know the car has been in a lot for a while (as most are), make a low ball offer and leave. The dealer will contact you w counter offer. If you keep doing this over the phone, you'll get a better deal than spending an afternoon at dealership bc you can leave the deal anytime negotiating over the phone. I negotiated well over phone every time. Sometimes I paid what they counter offered which is pretty reasonable compared to the asking price. You have to keep in mind that dealer has to make $3-5k on each used car. They spend $$ on reconditioning the car (new tires, brakes, partial repaint, detail, certification costs). Doing some history research on the car also helps. Know where it came from (which city & state), previous owner/condition of car, lease return, service records.

Thanks. This is very helpful as I will be in the same boat a year from now and looking in the $70,000 range.