This blog is a way for me to share hard learned lessons about money with those who are just starting out on their own. I hope it's a way for you to avoid making the mistakes I made, and to benefit from my experiences

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Car Buying experience part 1

It's been about 28 years since I last bought a new car. Since then I've always bought used. Anyway, you go into these things expecting all the stereotypes you like you saw on Fargo, or see in the news and magazines. High Pressure, smarmy sales guys ready to pounce on you and sell you a bunch of extras you don't want, etc.

So today I went down to the local Chevy dealer during lunch time to take a look at some Impalas and get some info. A very pleasant experience. This particular dealership told me up front they are a no haggle dealership, and the experience was very low pressure. The sales guy was helpful, asking what I was looking for in the car, trying to show me what they had in stock that might be helpful. I had to look at 4 different Impalas to see various features I was interested in, as they had not 1 even close to what I wanted.

Still, I spent some time talking with Medy, the sales rep, and he said they could always get one from somewhere else or even order one from the factory if I chose to. He gave me a quote on my ideal Impala based on the options I wanted. I matched what they quoted vs. Edmunds.com. Edmunds was spot on! The MSRP was exactly what Edmunds quoted, the dealer invoice was what Edmunds said it was, and the average selling price that Edmunds had was very close to what the dealer offered me, with the dealer beating it by a hair. The deal had a tag in the front window with how much they were discounting off of MSRP. That amount left them about $650 $560 in dealer profit on a car they sell for $22,500. I think that's a fair deal, if not an outstanding one.

Still researching. Need to check out the Ford Five Hundred and also Chevy's at another dealership not too far away.

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