Efforts (frustration) with attempting to purchase

I am from Chicago FYI...I asked what is the OTD price for the two eco and they gave me 29K until I told them I dont want added security and permaplate on there but they didnt want to lower the price so I asked for the GM and that is when I got an OTD price with TTL for the 2016 prius two eco for $27,200 and they didnt even have it in stock. I am trying to get this car for my gal since I already have the 3rd gen. I found out about the price for Costco on the forums here and they knocked in down to $26,363 OTD at another dealership(2nd dealer), then I went to test drive it with my gal at another dealership( 3rd one so far) she loved it and they told me $26,263 OTD for the two eco, then me and my gal went to another dealership(4th one) right after and they gave us a price OTD for $26K even! I am planing to go to two more dealerships and get the price down to $25,700 OTD then Ill be happy : ) What do you guys think? Is it a fair price so far and how much lower you think I can go?? I am a good talker lol

 

Vince.. Please let me know how it goes with the Costco price and your experience.

For whatever reason, it just hasn't worked for me - I don't even remember seeing a price come thru when I tried it this time. Perhaps I'm not doing it correctly?

Good luck and keep me posted Vince!

Richey

 

Okay.. here is a negotiations technique that I read somewhere a long time ago the "guaranteed" best price. It has truly worked for me and truly worked for any of my friends who have followed it. It's very similar to PriusBull's explanation but will save you a lot of time. It's never failed me infect - I just didn't want to work this hard for the 2016 Prius knowing it was brand new and probably wouldn't work as well. But here it goes.

2 things to prepare:
a. You have to be willing to travel to a somewhat non-local dealership for this to work (and do a "fly out-drive back" trip). I once bought a MINI in Minneapolis (I lived in the Bay Area), and once bought Lexus in Boise, ID (while living in Seattle) to do this. But.. play it right and yo won't have to go to that extreme.

b. Have what you want pretty much defined and specified with your "must have" requirements and "nice to have" requirements ready. Be flexible on colors but give your preferences.

INITIAL EMAIL:
Write to EVERY dealer (and I mean every dealer) you are willing to travel to to get the car and ensure you get the best deal. Give them the information above and let them know you are "making your decision in X days" and will be purchasing from a dealership in the region that provides the most competitive price.

All you need... is for ONE sales person to be "desperate" for a sale that day or week that comes in very low. JUST one.

Now that you have that 1 person willing to give you a great deal, you respond to all the others and "thank them" for their generous offer, but another dealer in the region offered a more competitive price and you will be going with that other dealer. GUARANTEED every dealer will ask you what that price is (either "out of curiosity" or "to give them a chance to earn your business". GAME ON!

At this point you can just let each know what that price is and watch the entertainment ensue. However, I like to put a little spin on this and will maybe say something like, "i'm sorry Jim, but another dealer offered a more competitive price. I'd rather work with you guys since you are more local to me (or you can say, "but you have the car color I prefer that the other dealer doesn't have...., but as I originally said, this is purely about getting the best price this time around. I wish you were able to be more competitive than them so I can work with you instead." You get the idea. You would rather work with them, but you can't unless they beat the other price. However you want to put it.

Some will straight tell you , "sorry, I can't compete with that" and that's fine - you know they truly can't do anymore. But atleast 1 will be able to do more and will come back with a more competitive price.

Lather... rinse... repeat. It will be clear when you've reached the true bottom price at each dealer and can now choose which to go with. Maybe you pay more for the car at the local dealership b/c the hassle of traveling farther away to drive back doesn't appeal to you. Maybe you decide a road trip will be fun to help enjoy/break-in the new car. Doesn't matter - you know you're getting the lowest price each dealer can muster whomever you go with. And it feels great to know they were working to win you over - instead of you working to try and win them over.

This method has never failed. And obviously it saves a lot of time, travel, and expense to get there. It also ends up giving you a complete different perspective of dealerships and negotiating with them and actually makes it fun to watch the process work and know you are in control instead of them.

Hope this was helpful or IS helpful to more people down the road.

P.S. The real beauty of this method is - if there is nobody that is all that desperate to give you your hook, no problem. You just try it again another day, another week until you do find that one sales person in your region who is needing a sale badly to get the ball rolling for you. (And all you did was sit at home sending tons of emails out).