No-Haggle Vehicle Pricing - Yea or Nea?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Pondering something related to the recent Tesla debates over manufacturer direct no-haggle pricing, the success of Carmax, and how my cars tend to sell. The most common question that I get when selling a car is, “what is your bottom line”. Because I’m not a lying car salesman I will toss out the price that I need to get, and the typical response is either a purchase or not. The interesting thing is that there’s almost never any negotiation beyond that price, I can’t recall anyone trying to haggle me below my bottom line price. The takeaway seems to be that most people don’t really like negotiating for a car, and would prefer not to. They either take my price or walk away.

The poll is very simple, does no-haggle pricing appeal to you?

[Tervuren]

I look at asking price, more than I'd pay, I walk away.

I'm not into haggling.

My brother on the hand, if he doesn't feel he talked someone down, he isn't buying.

[biosurfer1]

All of the "no haggle" car places make money off the fact that most people don't like doing it and will pay a premium to not have to.

Doesn't bother me one bit

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

All of the "no haggle" car places make money off the fact that most people don't like doing it and will pay a premium to not have to.

Doesn't bother me one bit

Very true, Carmax typically has overpriced mediocre cars. But what if the cars were nice and the prices were fair? Would that be appealing?

[sammyg2]

I'm not a Tijuana street vendor, so I don't act like one.

truecar.com

[ckelly78z]

There is nothing in a car add that turns me completely off on looking at a a car like a Price of $5000 "FIRM". If I can't get a car for 10% less than asking price, I usually pass. I don't think anyone in 30 years of dealing, who has ever bought a car from me paid the asking price.

I don't like going to a dealership and dealing with a salseguy, and then the manager , and invariably several back and forth offers. I just want to talk to someone that can say yes or no, and not take two hours of negotiations to come to a deal (or not).

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Love it. Bought my last car at CarMax and will likely do my next few the same way. I utterly can't stand sales pitches and BS sales games in general. Great model.

[biosurfer1]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Very true, Carmax typically has overpriced mediocre cars. But what if the cars were nice and the prices were fair? Would that be appealing?

Yes, but that's usually an oxymoron in the used car world. The problem is used car sellers see an "apples to oranges" comparison, while the buyer sees and "apples to apples"

"Look, this guy is asking $1000 less for his Honda Civic, why should I pay so much more for yours?"

"Well his has 50,000 more miles, scratches every where, pulls to the right when driving and has 4 spare tires where the wheels should be"

[Norm K]

Dealers love the No Haggle approach ... until it comes to the customer's trade.

[David]

My experience over the last couple years of car shopping is that Carmax and most used car dealers are a huge ripoff using the slogan of no-haggle prices to further gouge customers who don't know better.

I base this on looking for a car that's only 1 or 2 years old so the price is easy to compare to new car pricing and not just Kelly Blue Book or NADA values. It's fishy when they price a car thousands over NADA but really fishy when a 1 year old car is priced a couple hundred dollars less than a brand new car.

[craigster59]

I prefer to haggle a bit, although not so much on pricing, but APR, maintenance, trade in value and any other incentives I can weasel out of them.

As far as CarMax goes, for me they are only good for the fact I can test drive a multitude of makes and models without having to go dealer to dealer. Then I can make my decision Lexus vs Acura vs BMW etc.

[LakeCleElum]

Hate to say it, but it's the American way. I hate it too.

When selling, I usually price 10-15% over what my bottom line is. If I only have to discount 5%, I figure I came out ahead.

When buying, I usually start at 20% under asking.....Sometimes, I put exactly that much cash in one pocket like that's all I have.....If I really want it, I have the rest of the cash in my wallet.........

I've on bought from a dealer 2 or 3 times in my life.....

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

There is nothing in a car add that turns me completely off on looking at a a car like a Price of $5000 "FIRM". If I can't get a car for 10% less than asking price, I usually pass. I don't think anyone in 30 years of dealing, who has ever bought a car from me paid the asking price.

I don't like going to a dealership and dealing with a salseguy, and then the manager , and invariably several back and forth offers. I just want to talk to someone that can say yes or no, and not take two hours of negotiations to come to a deal (or not).

What's that saying, "Everything is worth ONLY what someone is willing to pay for it!"

For me, anything above a certain dollar amount (somewhere around $5k) is "price negotiable." So that would include cars, homes, furniture, services...etc.

That said, I treat buying a car as a game -- if the other side is willing to play the game - great! Everyone wins. I have left a brand-new car on the lot for a difference of $25 between my final offer and the dealer's ask. Wound up buying the same model car (1987 Mustang 4 cyl LX) for less money but more options at a different dealer. When I bought my wife's Beetle Turbo, I low-balled, and since it was a left-over and I happen to be there on their year-end close, they accepted my offer (provided I took the car off the lot that night!).

In the American culture, negotiating a price is not as popular in other countries -- but maybe we should learn the value of the deal...

If you watch Shark Tank - you will see that the investors on the show will always negotiate the deal. They got where they are by doing that - and not by just paying the asking price... Much can be learned and applied from their way of doing business...

By the way - the art of the deal / the art of negotiating applies not just to buying a car or house. Need to add another couple of people last minute to the reservation at the always-full restaurant? You can always persuade the matre-de with 'added value' like asking for their wine list ahead of time, or inquiring about future events. At one restaurant at a resort in Mexico, I managed to adjust a reservation for a table of 4 to two tables of 8 people each! I promised the guy I would do the dishes, wipe the floor...etc. Never had to wipe the floors, but he knew I was willing to deal, and so was he. (Slipped him a tip at the end of the affair). Most people are willing to deal - you just have to know how to influence them.


My $0.42,
-Z-man.

PS: I have willing to drop my $0.42 down to $0.38, if you accept this deal in the next 20 minutes...

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm totally comfortable with the game, it just occurred to me that no-haggle pricing might go well with my no-BS policy of selling cars. It's all really just a game, as Z-man stated, most people/dealers price their cars high with the expectation of negotiating down. I would be very interested to see this poll presented to a larger audience of varied ages. It seems that younger generations have no interest in haggling, while most older folks expect it.

My grandfather was an entrepreneur and a master negotiator. One of his favorite sayings was, "if they don't say no at least once you paid too much".

[Dantilla]

Dealers play mind games. Wanna play games? Deal me in! I can use similar tactics in return.

Sales dudes are very good at controlling the negotiations. I like to throw a stick in their spokes and do it my way.

[Neilk]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

Dealers play mind games. Wanna play games? Deal me in! I can use similar tactics in return.

Sales dudes are very good at controlling the negotiations. I like to throw a stick in their spokes and do it my way.

What sticks? I'm curious to hear them for the next time.

[nota]

never deal with dealers [stealers]
they are pro's and never really underprice anything

joe owner only knows he needs xxx$ sometimes less then market
cars with problems are even cheaper some are eazy quick fixes
and many sellers will tell you what they did [real clues you never get from a dealer]
others you run not walk away from
hunting private sales is a fun hobby
dealing with dealers is never fun

[craigster59]

Last car I bought we reached an agreement and they were drawing up the paperwork. By this time it was noon so I told the salesman I would get some lunch and come back and sign papers. He told me he would add another $500 towards my trade in if I stayed.

Drove it to work Monday and was offered $450 a day for 2 days to use it in a commercial. Cha-ching!

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I have little faith in "no haggle pricing." I think that is just the trend in car sales. Anyone can say "no haggle", but what exactly does it mean? If I pay someone to put synthetic in my car, how do I know they really put in synthetic, not 7-11 brand oil? To me, someone saying "no haggle" is like going to a stripper club and thinking "hey, maybe she's really into ME" as I sneak some $$$ into her perfumed lingerie.

I want something straight up- for example, I knew a guy who had a dealer license. He said "for $1500, you write down exactly what you are looking for make, color, price, mileage, options. When I find it, I call you on the spot, send you the info, and I bid on your behalf to the price you are willing to pay..." To me, that is the ultimate "no haggle" guarantee- I know exactly what his margins are and still have control over the sale.

I Never did it- but I liked the idea. I could see where he'd hit an auction with a number of client request, and bid on their behalf. I never trusted it because I couldn't get my hands on the maintenance history or test drive it to make sure something wasn't amuck, or look under the engine to see the oil leaks, but at least it seemed straightforward.

For me, for someone to say "no haggle" -I'd want them to say, "I bought this car for x." I invested x in detailing it and checking out it's history. It cost me x to store it. I sell it for x+1. Here is my margin after all expenses. Take it or leave it. ... That I would respect.

[ckelly78z]

My best deal at a dealership came when I got a non-soliticited $500 off offer for any car on the dealership's lot. I thought I would go see if anything looked interesting. Back behind the building there was an 20 year old Dodge truck that looked like it had seen better days with a price of $995 on the window. I asked about it and was able to get it started and drive around the lot, and kick the tires a bit. I listed all the issues it had and made an offer of $700 cash after some back and forth. They accepted the offer and paperwork was started....that's when I whipped out the $500 off coupon, and by law, and the way the coupon was written, I walked away with the truck for $200 which I later sold for $850.