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Driven5
Driven5 UberDork
6/22/23 5:55 p.m.

In reply to WonkoTheSane :

Some people want the easiest path to an average deal. Things like S-plan pricing are great for that. Others are willing to put in more (some, but not that bad IMHO) to potentially get more in return. It's mostly just the research I've already done combined with a couple of copy-and-paste form letters I type up for it, and replying to a couple of extraneous emails and/or calls. The worst case scenario here is basically just that the best offer still ends up just being S-plan pricing. In my experience, the upshot could be saving maybe a grand or more... Especially when S-plan does nothing for getting the best (or even a good) trade-in offer.

 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

I love when people who haven't succeeded at something tell people who have that it won't work.

codrus (Forum Supporter)
codrus (Forum Supporter) PowerDork
6/22/23 6:07 p.m.
Keith Tanner said:

In reply to Steve_Jones :

I worked at a Ford dealership for a short period in the mid-90s, and the sales guys would laugh at the pre-internet version of this same plan.

A friend of mine made something like that work when buying an E46 3-series in the late 90s.  Faxes every dealer in the area with his offer, breakdown of invoice, charges, line item for dealer profit and total.  Didn't give them a voice number, just a fax number to reply to, so that forced any reply to be in writing.  He got the deal he wanted.

That said, I would definitely go with something like S-plan (we used it to buy my wife's CX-9).  Another similar option is to check out the Costco auto buying program, they have something similar with a good, fixed, no-haggle price.  I used the Costco program to buy my F-250 and it was the least painful way to buy a vehicle I've ever experienced.

 

dyintorace
dyintorace PowerDork
6/22/23 6:14 p.m.
calteg said:

When doing the calculations on a car, don't forget to value your own time. Is there value in spending an additional 6 hours at a dealership to save $500? Some people will happily pay a premium to get in/out of a dealership as quickly as possible...Carmax built their entire business around that idea.

This describes me. I'd rather spend the $500 than go through an excrutiating multi-hour process. So, given that I have a current SCCA membership which gets me access to the S-plan, that sounds like the perfect avenue.

Steve_Jones
Steve_Jones SuperDork
6/22/23 7:42 p.m.

In reply to Driven5 :

It might have worked pre Covid at some stores, but only at the desperate ones. I've owned over 200 cars, pretty sure I've succeeded at buying them well. 

Driven5
Driven5 UberDork
6/22/23 7:54 p.m.

In reply to dyintorace :

Just to be clear: S-plan sets a purchase price without negotiation, not an out-the-door price. Even if you may have no intention of challenging that wiggle room, it also does not actually reduce or simplify your time at the dealership vs walking in with an agreed upon out-the-doo price with no wiggle room behind it. What it does save is some communication time and effort otherwise occurring from the comfort of your living room. But more importantly, S-plan also does nothing to guarantee any minimum value for your trade-in, which would then still have to be negotiated individually back inside the dealership to not do it in advance over email.  *sad trombone*

That's something the dealerships bank on when using these no-haggle deal programs. Most buyers forgetting that they still have a trade-in that also happens to still be a sizable bargaining chip. Perhaps your Jag will be different, but my most recent purchase (2022) saw something like a $4k swing in offers for my ~$20k outgoing minivan... It's not always just about a relatively small $500 difference, but you'll never know how much of a difference unless you take the time to find out. 

Of course, no judging if you want to simplify by sticking with whatever the closest dealership is willing to give you for it... Most people do.

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner MegaDork
6/22/23 9:06 p.m.

We bought our truck with a fleet price, similar to S-plan. It greatly simplified our time at the dealership. Basically walked in, said "that one" and told them I'd get my own bedliner. We did finance with them because their rates were better than we could get at our bank.

Trade-in never entered the negotiation because they were offering about 1/3 of what it was worth. Sold it myself on the open market for the high end of KBB private party value and pocketed the extra $6k over their offer.

dyintorace
dyintorace PowerDork
6/22/23 9:39 p.m.
Driven5 said:

In reply to dyintorace :

Just to be clear: S-plan sets a purchase price without negotiation, not an out-the-door price. Even if you may have no intention of challenging that wiggle room, it also does not actually reduce or simplify your time at the dealership vs walking in with an agreed upon out-the-doo price with no wiggle room behind it. What it does save is some communication time and effort otherwise occurring from the comfort of your living room. But more importantly, S-plan also does nothing to guarantee any minimum value for your trade-in, which would then still have to be negotiated individually back inside the dealership to not do it in advance over email.  *sad trombone*

That's something the dealerships bank on when using these no-haggle deal programs. Most buyers forgetting that they still have a trade-in that also happens to still be a sizable bargaining chip. Perhaps your Jag will be different, but my most recent purchase (2022) saw something like a $4k swing in offers for my ~$20k outgoing minivan... It's not always just about a relatively small $500 difference, but you'll never know how much of a difference unless you take the time to find out. 

Of course, no judging if you want to simplify by sticking with whatever the closest dealership is willing to give you for it... Most people do.

Agreed 100%. I'm sure the value of our trade in will involve some (maybe a lot) of negotiation. I'll also keep in mind that the trade value offsets sales tax. If our trade is valued at $30k, that saves me ~$2k in sales tax I don't have to pay.

Driven5
Driven5 UberDork
6/23/23 4:27 a.m.
dyintorace said:

I'll also keep in mind that the trade value offsets sales tax. If our trade is valued at $30k, that saves me ~$2k in sales tax I don't have to pay.

You won't have to keep it in mind, because they won't let you forget it. That's going to be one of their main arguments pushing you to accept their lowball first offer(s). Like most of their tactics, it's a logically flawed argument meant to misdirect your attention. What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes.

calteg
calteg SuperDork
6/23/23 9:28 a.m.

Another (rare) scenario: If you have funds to buy the car outright, negotiate purchase price down and let them stick you with a sky high interest rate. UCMs are often willing to take a front end loss if they believe they're raking you over the coals on the back end of the deal.

Pay the loan off in full when the first bill comes in. I have yet to see a loan contract that penalizes you for early payment. It's one of the few ways to genuinely "get over" on a dealership. 

z31maniac
z31maniac MegaDork
6/23/23 9:35 a.m.
Steve_Jones said:

In reply to Driven5 :

In this market dealers ignore emails like that.  Most of them ignored them before.

I had luck special ordering my '13 Mustang GT Track Pack like this, but I didn't go through near the work Driven did. There was a Ford dealer right in between my work and my house. I sent them an email and said, "I want to order a '13 Mustang GT. Base, Oxford white, manual, with the Track Pack. Call me back with a price that won't make me bother shopping around and I'll be there 20 minutes later with a $1k deposit to make the order."

He called me back with and said "$30k" on a car with a near $34k MSRP at the time. I went down and placed my deposit. 

 

When I ordered the BRZ last year, there were big markups, nothing on the lots, etc. I figured I needed to go in ready to put down a deposit and order to show them I was serious. 

docwyte
docwyte PowerDork
6/23/23 9:58 a.m.

In reply to Driven5 :

I'd say that depends.  With a car that's still worth a good amount of money, the buyer pool is smaller if you're selling privately as they need to arrange their own financing.  When I bought my land cruiser I listed my Golf R, with all the mods on it for a very good price.  Didn't get one bite on it that wasn't a dealer, and they didn't want the mods.  So I ended up taking it back to stock and trading it in for basically the same amount of money I was asking for it privately.  Then I sold all the mods and got the tax credit, which between those two things were practically another $8-9k. 

If I can trade in a car and get pretty close to what I'd get for it on the open market, selling it myself, I'll trade it in all day long.  If I'm going to take a huge haircut trading it in and it's a car that's easy to sell (worth $10k or less) I'll sell it myself.

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