joe@zinfandel.UUCP (03/14/85)
I saved between 2,000$ and 4,000$ on my new car depending on how you interpret this: Oct.1 '84 I decide I want the new IROC Camaro and visit dealer # 1. Sticker with about the right options ~= 17,000$. Dealer adds 2000.00. This is a much sought-after car after all. Oct.3 '84 I visit a second dealer who informally agrees to give me the car ( order for the exact one ) for the sticker. I get the codes for all the options I want and ensure that I can get them. price ~17,000.00$ Jan.5 '85 I read "The Insider's Guide to Buying Your Next Car" by Remar Sutton. I find that Chevy Dealers get ~12% profit on the base car and ~17% on all options at sticker. I find that dealers usually will accept real profits of 250$ to 350$ on a sale if they can't get more. Real cost ~15,000$ + 350.00 ~= 15,350$ Feb.1 '85 I get credit approval from the credit union for 15,500.00$. Mar. 5 '85 I visit a Car Purchasing service, find the true dealer cost of the car and my options to the penny. 14,691.28 including transport and advertising. plus ~200$ profit they will order me the car. = 14,900.00 $ I will give no more than 100.00 $ deposit, and they accept. The actual order will be pre- confirmed by phone when they find a dealer to work through. Mar. 6 '85 I visit dealer #2 with the offer on paper of the broker. He verifies the true costs from his book, except he shows me the broker figured the transport cost into the base price of the car AND added it later. He also shows me I can't get an electric antenna without an AM-FM radio. He throws that in and I offer 300 $ profit. He will accept 450 $. I stop check for the Broker deposit ( 100.00$ ) and inform him that I no longer want his service. I give the dealer 100.00$ deposit. True dealer cost = 14,296.98. including Radio. My price: 14,750.00$ Mar. 7 '85 I find that I could iterate this process at the first dealer that had the ridiculous price at the beginning, with the latest deal, and perhaps whittle the profit from 450.00 to 350.00 or less if I wanted to stop the latest dealer's check and cancel my order with him. I decided against this as he had dealt with me in good faith. Read that book. It's got all the tricks and it helps you with trade-ins too. Let me know if this helps you. " Cogito ergo Spud. " ( I Think, therefore A Yam. ) Joseph Weinstein Zehntel Inc. (ihnp4!zehntel!zinfandel!joe) P.O. Box 8016 (415)932-6900 Walnut Creek California 94596