Please give me some tips on buying a vehicle cash. Please :)

[PinkInTheBlue]

So I'm looking at several 2012 Toyota Siennas our local Toyota place just moved over from the leasing department. I am going to pay cash and I've always heard paying cash can give you a different negotiating situation. No financing fees and whatever other fees are usually tacked onto every other vehicle I've always bought with payments. However, I don't know exactly how much difference I can hope for it to make.

 

If you have any experience or knowledge or advice, I'd be extremely grateful. I'm looking to take care of this this week. Here's the link to our dealer and the vans: http://www.toyotaofdothan.com/searchused.aspx PLEASE don't reply by copying that because I want to delete it later since it pinpoints where I am. :)

 

Thank you!!

 

(I'm willing to beg for advice. I DESPISE the buying-a-car game and want to get it over with. I need to do this on my own but the better prepared I am, the more confident I am. Thank you again!)

[Dad 4 Boys]

I've never understood the theory that paying cash gets you a better price, especially on vehicles. Ideally, the dealer can get you to finance the purchase through them and make money on the money you borrow. I guess the only advantage may be that the dealer doesn't have to worry about you getting qualified for a loan if you have cash.

 

Assuming you're not in some circumstance where you must buy it right now, I would pick the van you want and use some online source, such as www.edmunds.com, to determine its value. From there, I would make them a fair offer. If they take it, you have a van. If they don't, make sure they know how to contact you and then turn and leave.

 

I would also watch craigslist and autotrader for vehicles like the one you want.

[MIch elle]

If you can look at all the prices advertised for that model/yr. in the paper. Then use that to have them match or beat the best advertised price. Usually they only have a few of the model/yr advertised for that low price but try to get them to give you that price on YOUR vehicle not just the ad. one.

 

Edmunds.com will give you a bell curve on the price for that vehicle if you plug in the vehicle stats.

[Trish]

Cash is not helpful because then the dealer doesn't get a cut of the financing deal.

 

At least that's my impression!

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Dealerships make money on financing. There is no advantage for them if you pay in cash.

 

We were prepared to pay cash for our last car, but decided it was better to finance it at the super low rate (0.9%) and take the cash and invest it in some dividend-producing stocks. I think the total finance charge is something like $400 over 5 years.

[Crimson Wife]

If you are going to pay with cash, my advice is to use Costco or another volume discount purchasing program (we use USAA). You pick out the vehicle you want and you get the negotiated price from the Fleet manager at a participating dealership. No haggle, no hassle :thumbup:

[Just Another Jen]

We just bought our first new car in 13 years. We paid for the consumer reports price on the model we wanted. They gave us 3 local dealers who quoted us dealer invoice pricing. We went with the dealer who was closest and financed through ford to save even more money. We can pay off the loan early with no penalty. We ended up very happy and because I negotiated through their internet dept it was hassle free when we signed the papers.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

We just bought our first new car in 13 years. We paid for the consumer reports price on the model we wanted. They gave us 3 local dealers who quoted us dealer invoice pricing. We went with the dealer who was closest and financed through ford to save even more money. We can pay off the loan early with no penalty. We ended up very happy and because I negotiated through their internet dept it was hassle free when we signed the papers.

 

We purchased our last new car through the internet sales department. I solicited offers via email from 4 or 5 dealerships. I set up a google email different from my normal one because I knew I'd be inundated with spam from the dealerships. Once I received the offers, I went down to the dealer with the lowest price and the honored the internet offer. No haggling.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

We just bought our first new car in 13 years. We paid for the consumer reports price on the model we wanted. They gave us 3 local dealers who quoted us dealer invoice pricing. We went with the dealer who was closest and financed through ford to save even more money. We can pay off the loan early with no penalty. We ended up very happy and because I negotiated through their internet dept it was hassle free when we signed the papers.

 

We purchased our last new car through the internet sales department. I solicited offers via email from 4 or 5 dealerships. I set up a google email different from my normal one because I knew I'd be inundated with spam from the dealerships. Once I received the offers, I went down to the dealer with the lowest price and the honored the internet offer. No haggling.

[Swimtaxi234]

We just paid cash for a new car and there were no financial benefits to paying cash for the car.

 

Years ago when we financed our cars, once we paid off the car, we kept the same amount going into a saving's account so we have been able to pay cash for every car since then.

[Swimtaxi234]

sorry - double post

[DawnM]

That is a nice looking car!

 

Oh wait, just looked at your OP. I think when I clicked on that link one of their cars just popped up, not the car you are looking to get.

 

What are you getting?

[zoobie]

We've used Costco and negotiated via email. Costco's program is so easy!

 

You could always finance it and pay it off immediately. It can boost your credit rating. :)

[Zebra]

I thought the only way you saved money by paying in cash was not paying the interest on the car loan. Or with a private sale on an older vehicle, someone might be willing to take less if you literally hand them cash.

 

What we have done successfully is gone in at the middle of the month, not gotten the price we wanted, and walked away. Then, we got a phone call at the end of the month because they needed to make their quotas. I've heard of a lot of people doing this. In this scenario if you don't have to go through all the paperwork associated with financing your vehicle and can buy it at the last minute, paying cash could save you money. I think it saved us between $500 and $1000 just by waiting for 2 weeks.

[Unicorn.]

You save money paying cash, because you aren't paying for high interest rates on loans. Financing through the dealer is almost always way more expensive, even if they offer 0% financing-there are hidden fees.

 

I do have to say, those prices on the sienna's are really expensive! Go to Kelly Blue Book, and look up how much you should expect to pay for the vehicle you want. I would shop around. We bought our Sienna a few years ago, it was the previous year model, w/ only 6,000 miles, and it was waaay cheaper than those.

[gardenmom5]

first you need to get what is a good price for the car you're interested in. features/mileage and condition all affect that. (my enter key has stopped working for a paragraph break. grrr!) cash means you don't have to depend upon them be willing to finance. My biggest tip is: be willing to walk out that door with no car. THAT attitude is what puts you in the driver's seat. They give you what you want (even if it's one last $100 off the price) or you walk. (then they make nothing.)

[gardenmom5]

If you are going to pay with cash, my advice is to use Costco or another volume discount purchasing program (we use USAA). You pick out the vehicle you want and you get the negotiated price from the Fleet manager at a participating dealership. No haggle, no hassle :thumbup:

 

I will not buy through Costco. Costco is a deal for dealers, and they are still getting a very comfortable markup. (does that give you a hint on the mark up?) my last car I purchased new, I paid far far less than if I'd purchased through Costco.

[LMA]

I would rather hang on to the cash and finance it at a low rate or no rate. With good credit, there are offers for 0%. I have financed four vehicles with 0% through the dealers and there are no hidden fees. To check it, all you have to do is multiply your payment amount by the number of months and see if it comes out to your purchase price. It came out exact for us all four times. We financed a Suburban and an Odyssey this way.

[TKDmom]

I haven't used this yet to actually make a purchase, but you may want to look at CarWoo. Supposedly, you can do all your bargaining online with multiple dealerships to find the best price.

 

I despise buying cars, too. While I was fiddling around with CarWoo several weeks ago, I discovered that I can get much better offers from dealerships that are little farther away. You may want to broaden your search beyond the one, closest dealer.

[sgo95]

We purchased our last new car through the internet sales department. I solicited offers via email from 4 or 5 dealerships. I set up a google email different from my normal one because I knew I'd be inundated with spam from the dealerships. Once I received the offers, I went down to the dealer with the lowest price and the honored the internet offer. No haggling.

 

:iagree: We did the same thing. We were in a large metro area and used the car maker's website to contact the internet sales dept of 6-7 dealers within a 100 miles. We told them the exact car we wanted (model and options) and asked for their best out-the-door price (which is supposed to include all taxes and fees). We didn't actually say we were paying cash; I think we said we didn't require financing. The best price was over $1000 less than the Costco price. It was such a pleasant process--no haggling and we felt we got a great deal.

[laundrycrisis]

So I'm looking at several 2012 Toyota Siennas our local Toyota place just moved over from the leasing department. I am going to pay cash and I've always heard paying cash can give you a different negotiating situation. No financing fees and whatever other fees are usually tacked onto every other vehicle I've always bought with payments. However, I don't know exactly how much difference I can hope for it to make.

 

If you have any experience or knowledge or advice, I'd be extremely grateful. I'm looking to take care of this this week. Here's the link to our dealer and the vans: http://www.toyotaofd...archused.aspx�� PLEASE don't reply by copying that because I want to delete it later since it pinpoints where I am. :)

 

Thank you!!

 

(I'm willing to beg for advice. I DESPISE the buying-a-car game and want to get it over with. I need to do this on my own but the better prepared I am, the more confident I am. Thank you again!)

 

I do not know if Toyota has changed their pricing game or not, but if it has not changed in 20 years.....here is how you do this. When they ask you at the beginning about a trade in or financing, be very vague. Let them think you *might* trade in. Let them look at your car. Let them think you *might* be interested in their loan. Get all the numbers from them. Soak up their sales pitch. Nod and smile. Act very impressed. Go all the way through to the end like this. Keep it up until the salesperson has brought you a written offer. Then say you would like to think about it and prepare to leave. Resist all pressure. Pick up your purse. Start to go. The salesperson will probably want you to wait while he/she talks to the manager. Reluctantly agree. Wait a few minutes. Salesperson will come back with a sweeter offer. Get that written down. Then get them to break it down to trade in value, vehicle price,and financing. In writing !!!!!!! If they resist doing this, act confused and bewildered, and keep saying you don't understand and need to see it broken down. Ponder. Once they write it, if you like the vehicle price, sigh heavily, and say you aren't sure about trading in after all. Since you already have the price with a trade-in value and financing in writing, at this point, they pretty much have to give you that vehicle price. They were planning to make their $$ off the trade-in and financing, so they already gave you a low-margin vehicle price. They won't like it, but hey. Then - after they have agreed to the vehicle price again - tell them you don't need the financing either. And shake hands.

 

I did this when I bought a brand-new Toyota truck many years ago. The sales guy was not happy with me !!!! But I got a great price on the truck.

[Halftime Hope]

You can get car prices estimates based on year, model, condition, and mileage at NADA, Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds. If you pay for an unlimited AccuChek ($49 yearly sub) you can pull records based on VIN numbers for any car you want to look at. It's tremendously helpful. Over the years, we've found that for used cars, if we need financing, we do best (by far) at a local credit union. Dealers usually offer 0% on new cars but not on used cars there days, since the used car market is so hot. If the CU price is good, it can be half of what the dealer is offering. Often times the CU will also offer extneded warranties that are very competitive.

[PinkInTheBlue]

Thank you all VERY much!

 

You are completely right that the savings is actually mine in saving the interest over the years of paying off the loan. I've thought for years that I had always heard that car places want to have cash transactions because it saves them so much. I didn't realize they make money on loans. Goes to show HOW MUCH I didn't know about the car business.

 

A low or 0% loan is out of the question thanks to being back in a rebuilding stage of credit. You live, you learn. Right? A loan would have to be a high % loan and I don't know anything about them. If I could get one and then turn around and pay it off immediately to help my credit, I'd be willing to check that out. I do not want a long term loan and I know some loans penalize you for paying them early. Would higher percent loans be likely to be those?

 

I don't have a Costco anywhere near me. I do love the idea of having this communication with multiple lots over email. My town has only 1 Toyota dealership but I'm willing to stretch that conversation to towns within 2 hours and other dealerships (Honda, etc) in town that might have a Sienna. Great idea! Thanks!

 

Thank you all again!

[Mama Geek]

We were ready to pay cash for our last new car. We did our homework and knew what a good price on it was. We went to the first dealer and they started playing games. They did things like tell us a price which was reasonable and then wanted to add on every little thing they could think of after telling us there were no add ons. We walked off the lot without the car. We went to another dealer, let them know that we had left another dealership over the games and said if they could find us a vehicle that had the same features we were looking at in the first one for the same price we would by it. They called the next day, they found one and they said if we take out a loan and pay on it for 6 months we would be able to get a rebate because of that as well. It was low interest and we paid it off after 6 months. I think we paid a good chunk on it the first month leaving only the amount necessary for the remaining 5 months. We had put down a pretty big down payment so the loan was not for the full amount.

 

it worked well for us and you don't have to play the games that dealers want you to play.

[kroe1]

Kelley Blue Book will help. Get the lowest retail price in the lowest category, because the car has been a rental, and deduct 20%. Start negotiations there, but do not exceed the lowest amount in Kelley as you would pay too much.

[Annie]

 

:iagree: We did the same thing. We were in a large metro area and used the car maker's website to contact the internet sales dept of 6-7 dealers within a 100 miles. We told them the exact car we wanted (model and options) and asked for their best out-the-door price (which is supposed to include all taxes and fees). We didn't actually say we were paying cash; I think we said we didn't require financing. The best price was over $1000 less than the Costco price. It was such a pleasant process--no haggling and we felt we got a great deal.

 

 

We used this strategy when we bought our last car, and it was quite pain free. I didn't step on to the lot until I had a firm out the door price in my hand. My husband had gone to test drive it just acting like a casual shopper. It was really nice just to go, write a check, and leave. I think I was out of there in 15 minutes. Even if I could have saved a couple hundred of dollars by haggling in person (which I don't think is the case), it would have been worth it not to have to deal with it all.