Fighting Chance’s “Fax Attack†Buying Method Works

Free, if this weren't your post #1 I'd recommend people look at your website. But I suspect this is just SPAM...

EDIT: Ok, if you were a spammer I guess you wouldn't have come back!

 

It's the same strategy advocated by Consumers' Checkbook (www.checkbook.org), so regardless of whether the OP was shilling for his own website (which I don't believe he is, even without looking at it), it's good advice.

If you buy a car by talking to a salesman on the lot, you're clueless about car buying strategies, and should not be giving out advice about how to get a good price on a car. Period.

 

Welcome to the site. I'm happy you found what you wanted so close to home. Just demonstrates the value of research.

 

edmunds.com basically does the same thing, without you having to fax to all the dealers.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Free One @ Mar 28 2007, 09:42 PM) [snapback]413974[/snapback]</div>

In my experience, the same is true of the free programs offered by AAA, Costco, various websites, your credit union, etc. Their quotes were always several hundred ($300 or more) above the best price available by a competitive bid process. I believe there are two reasons for this: 1) they consider the buyers to be more serious, closer to making a purchase, and 2) they believe the buyers have more pricing information and are more savvy, and therefore less likely to fall for their negotiating tactics.

I've even had auto brokers tell me that the competitive bids I received couldn't possibly be valid since they were for the same price as they would have to pay, and then they'd have to mark the price up some more for their cut. They were wrong, the bids were valid, and I bought the car for the same price as the broker paid.

 

I can corroborate the OP's positive experience with the author of that website. I've read his book--it's got a lot of really useful information on how to buy a car without getting ripped off.

 

Only $400 below invoice? Things must be very different in the US. Over here, I got $3100 below msrp, and I only visited two dealers. Then again, cars are ordered from the factory here, I had to wait 3 months for delivery.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Free One @ Mar 28 2007, 09:42 PM) [snapback]413974[/snapback]</div>

I actually used Edmunds as recommended by that site. Basically you put in what you want, and then Edmunds will email 5 or 6 dealers close to your address. All the dealers will call and email you with a quote-that's when you say, "Oh X dealer quoted me this price." Then they start underbidding each other. Of course, they'll want a deposit or want you to come in immediately, but I waited 2 weeks until I got a bid that I liked. The dealer that I ended up with said, "Truthfully, that's the lowest I can go, but I guarantee you that there will be no running to the manager or such." He was true to his word. The Finance Manager however...bleh. That site did have terrific advice on combating the FM.

I got a 2007, package 5/c with cargo mats, cargo net & first aid kit for $26500. MSRP-$28,103, invoice-$25172. So I paid roughly a 5% over invoice, which the website says is a good deal. BTW, I live in L.A., where buying Prii at a discount is more difficult, I'm a first time new car buyer and I didn't want to sit through a marathon session at the dealer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pkittie @ Mar 29 2007, 06:18 PM) [snapback]414499[/snapback]</div>

We live in LA. Bought 2 pkg#2 cars last month. At that time they had many 5&6 but few #2.
Both were bought at $22K plus t/l which is 300 under "LA dealer Invoice" but exactly invoice per edmunds.
Two different dealers. Both times EASILY had price agreed on the phone--just went to dealer and completed paperwork under a hour.
With the internet and follow up phone call it appears that buying the Prius is very easy ALMOST ENJOYABLE not like "the bad old days".
Will give you dealer/salesperson info if you PM me.
Realistically its nice to get every penny you can-but over the long run does not mean too much it seams to me. With the great financing much money is saved.
The cars are WONDERFUL.
Carl

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lowlander @ Mar 29 2007, 06:15 PM) [snapback]414497[/snapback]</div>

MSRP is not the same thing as "invoice." I don't know what the (numerical) difference is on the Prius, but "Invoice" is supposed to be the cost of the car to the dealer (before any incentives). If there are incentives from the Corporate headquarters of the car company, the dealer can afford to sell below invoice. On a high-demand car like the Prius (it still is in pretty high demand, no matter what your local TV station is telling you ), it's somewhat surprising to be able to get it under Invoice. When we got our car (way back in 2005), it was pretty difficult to find a Prius under MSRP, much less under Invoice.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malibucarl @ Mar 29 2007, 06:46 PM) [snapback]414510[/snapback]</div>

seems

 

E-mail works pretty well too; I hit Edmunds invoice simply by swapping e-mails with a few dealerships. I suspect, though, if I'd simply been playing them against each other, it would've taken longer. As it was I counteroffered 25k to all of them and waited to see what came back.