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teachermom2834
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What was your experience at the dealerships regarding pricing? 
 

We have been looking for a car for awhile and it has been difficult with shortages/high prices, etc. We have put it off for a year but we do need to do something. We have never bought a new car but a few months ago we did test drive a new car and the salesman quoted us $3000 above MSRP citing regional shortages. So we quickly walked on that. 
 

We had another car we were interested in at a dealership a couple hours away. Got there and the car had some issues so we walked away from that. In both instances with the dealerships, they made no effort to make something work for us and clearly couldn’t care less that we were walking. 
 

We don’t love the dealership experience so we looked at Carvana. That ended badly. Was getting the new car towed three hours after we took possession and then had a hard time getting our trade in back. They “lost” it. We finally got out of that deal and got our trade in back. 
 

So we are pretty burned out and frustrated. But we still need a car. We are having a car transferred to our local Carmax. We do like the ease of Carmax amd the price seems fair but realize you can do better haggling at a dealership - so I always feel like I could have gotten a better deal somewhere else. So while we are waiting for the transfer we might check out a couple dealerships. 
 

So back to the original questions- are dealerships even coming down on prices right now or is it such a tight market that buyers are paying the first price just to get the car they want? 
 

We have looked at a variety of cars over the last year. The current target is a Toyota Corolla. They aren’t impossible to find but there aren’t a lot out there locally. Some big dealerships don’t have any on the lot at all. Some have 2-3. So I don’t imagine there is much coming down on the price?
 

Of course, I don’t want to overpay and I want the best deal possible. But at this point I just want some one to take my money and sell me a car and move on. 

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It's a really tight market right now.  Really tight.  You won't see any good deals, most likely.

 

The last car we bought was in December of 2019.  The dealership financing office was an absolute pain to deal with - and we weren't even financing through them!  All they needed to do was receive the check from our bank to theirs and acknowledge receipt. It was such a bad experience, and I mean BAD, that we had to escalate beyond the dealership itself to the main group dealership and then to the car manufacturer.  I finally got my car on Christmas eve, with a formal apology.

Probably an unrelated note, but that dealership is no longer operating.  It ended up folding operation, which is surprising because as my oldest points out, I drive the most popular make and model here, so there was definitely business.  The dealership I now take it to, though, is the same distance away and much better customer service.

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5 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Very little wiggle room on pricing. Basically, take it or leave it. We bought DDs used car last month, cash, still no budging.

This is what I was thinking. Honestly, it takes the pressure off knowing that if we want the car we should just buy it and not mess around. I definitely feel no one cares whether we buy a car from them or not. 

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Just now, teachermom2834 said:

This is what I was thinking. Honestly, it takes the pressure off knowing that if we want the car we should just buy it and not mess around. I definitely feel no one cares whether we buy a car from them or not. 

Pretty much. There are so few cars (new and used) on lots right now. They practically sell themselves. 

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I don't think it's realistic to expect to haggle on price right now.  Take it or leave is pretty much it right now.  Prices are high and product is short.  DD was suppose to buy a car this year but it's just going to be pushed off right now because no one wants to deal with the stress of finding a reliable car right now when there is such slim pickings.

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We just paid the price asked. We don't really know how to haggle and wouldn't walk because we've put off the car buying for so long. 

We did our research to know that the price asked was reasonable. I wasn't as happy about some of the fees (fairly minor, but not optional). They put in some kind of pulsing system for the brakes before we arrived, and of course, that was included in the fees to inspect it and get it ready to sell.

Overall, we are happy with our choice though. 

I would prefer to buy a nicer, well-maintained car from old people who knew or planned for it to be their last than to buy from a dealership, but I haven't run into those scenarios recently (had two very nice older model, low mileage cars in the past). You kind of have to know someone that knows someone in that circumstance, lol! 

ETA: We bought a late model used car, not a new one. We also paid cash.  

Edited by kbutton
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We just bought a used car yesterday after looking for 3 weeks. The market is sooo very tight right now that there is no haggling at all, and expect mark ups over the sticker price on all new cars. One small dealership that we went to last week had only 2 new cars and one of those was electric. 

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My husband is in the industry and the word is that supply will begin to be closer to normal come September.  If you can wait then I would. I suppose he meant on new cars though. But if there are new cars being bought then used cars are often being traded in too.  

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My son sells cars for a living. It's very busy right now. The place he works for can't really come down in price but they are throwing in comps for free maintenance, tire rotation, oil changes, free satellite radio( I can't remember the name,) and they are giving really good trade in values. However this place has a few dealerships that are extremely well known for extremely high customers service and we'll usually go out of their way to help clients even if they don't buy a car from them. I know I sound like I drink the Kool-Aid lol

Eta: punctuation

Edited by MooCow
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My daughter bought a new Corolla last month at asking price. She had to wait two weeks for it to arrive along with two other Corollas which were probably also sold before they actually arrived at dealership. The (large) dealership had no new Corollas (and very few cars in general). 

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OP. Are you still looking for a hybrid? 
 

I have a friend who bought a car from a business that only sells used hybrids and was pleased with the experience. It is in Florida, but my friend bought over the internet after looking at the car (inside and out) via a FaceTime call. The car was then shipped to the friend’s out of state house.

 

Let me know if you want me to find out the name of the business.

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It's definitely a sellers' market.

Someone backed out of their driveway into our son's car and totaled it. It was hard to find a replacement. He looked in his city and we looked in ours (about 5 hours apart) and and it still took a couple weeks to find something. (Time was of the essence since he was paying for a rental.) Insurance only paid value, not replacement, so he received $2,000 below the current price of the car he lost (not that there really were any just like his available anyway).

He paid $250 under the dealership's asking price, and they replaced the battery (had another mechanic inspect the vehicle and say the charge was low), put new weather stripping on the roof, and cleaned the upholstery. (Yeah, the last should have already been done, but there were some stains, and they did come out after he asked them to work on the seats.)

I agree, they did not seem particularly interested in our business (as far as returning phone calls, etc.).

If you need a car now, I think you can buy the one you want with a clear conscience that you probably wouldn't save a lot of money buying elsewhere.

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1 hour ago, NewnameC said:

OP. Are you still looking for a hybrid? 
 

I have a friend who bought a car from a business that only sells used hybrids and was pleased with the experience. It is in Florida, but my friend bought over the internet after looking at the car (inside and out) via a FaceTime call. The car was then shipped to the friend’s out of state house.

 

Let me know if you want me to find out the name of the business.

I actually am no longer looking for a hybrid. But thank you! Not being able to figure out exactly what we want and need has also been an issue. 

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We went car shopping here in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago (looking at new and used) and things were just nuts.

New cars stock was very low, dealers were asking large premiums over sticker (typical $3,000 over list, but $10,000 over for a Kia Telluride) and used prices were likewise insane.

One nice (but weary) salesperson said the same thing I saw mentioned upthread, that it would be better to wait until September. Not sure where the September timeframe emanates from, but hopefully the market stabilizes and returns to normal if/when we get the pandemic fully under control.

Bill

 

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1 minute ago, Spy Car said:

We went car shopping here in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago (looking at new and used) and things were just nuts.

New cars stock was very low, dealers were asking large premiums over sticker (typical $3,000 over list, but $10,000 over for a Kia Telluride) and used prices were likewise insane.

One nice (but weary) salesperson said the same thing I saw mentioned upthread, that it would be better to wait until September. Not sure where the September timeframe emanates from, but hopefully the market stabilizes and returns to normal if/when we get the pandemic fully under control.

Bill

 

Thanks for this info. DD has been driving my mom's old Toyota Corolla in her final years of college and it has almost 300,000 miles on it. She'd planned to buy this summer but since it's in running condition she'll probably hang on. At least with the pandemic she won't be travelling for work like she normally would be.

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2 hours ago, Pippen said:

Thanks for this info. DD has been driving my mom's old Toyota Corolla in her final years of college and it has almost 300,000 miles on it. She'd planned to buy this summer but since it's in running condition she'll probably hang on. At least with the pandemic she won't be travelling for work like she normally would be.

Definitely try to defer car buying now. Knock wood and the supply chain will fill the demand soon, but I was shocked by the current situation locally--which seems reflective of the national situation.

Bill

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Update: We did purchase a car from CarMax. I’m comfortable with it. If we hadn’t bought we would have had some occasions coming up that we would have had to rent a car so waiting would have cost us money and aggravation so I feel good about it.

We also put a refundable deposit down at a dealership to be the first ones to get to see the next Corolla that comes on the lot. (Before we purchased the car at Carmax). We were weighing the low APR new car incentive vs. saving a little by buying used at Carmax. But Carmax gave us the same APR and had the car right there. I was also worried that given the demand, the price we were quoted on the new Corolla coming in at the dealership would end up higher when all was said and done or end up having been sold to a higher bidder or something. 
 

So hopefully we are at the end of our long car buying saga. But there is a 30 day return period so you never know. And being a five car family the next purchase is never far away 😩

Night before last there were three cars stolen out of driveways in my little neighborhood. So I kind of figured our luck would be to finally purchase a car and go out to an empty parking spot in the morning. But it is still there so that is lucky. 🙂

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I’ve been online shopping for the past few days and ultimately decided to dump a nauseating amount of money into my current car instead. If that hadn’t been an option, I think I would have tried to buy a very used car (equivalent to that nauseating amount) just to get through the next 9-12 months.

The inventory I’ve pulled up is SO limited that I just couldn’t justify paying those amounts for vehicles that didn’t even check all my boxes (new OR moderately used.)

We’re spending the cash to ride it out. If I’m going to spend tens of thousands of dollars, it’s going to be on The Perfect vehicle, dang it!

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21 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

I’ve been online shopping for the past few days and ultimately decided to dump a nauseating amount of money into my current car instead. If that hadn’t been an option, I think I would have tried to buy a very used car (equivalent to that nauseating amount) just to get through the next 9-12 months.

The inventory I’ve pulled up is SO limited that I just couldn’t justify paying those amounts for vehicles that didn’t even check all my boxes (new OR moderately used.)

We’re spending the cash to ride it out. If I’m going to spend tens of thousands of dollars, it’s going to be on The Perfect vehicle, dang it!

I feel you. We've been in this situation over and over. And we are so reluctant to make big purchases and do it so seldom that we want all the things when we finally do pull the trigger. It definitely is not the time to buy if you can wait.

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We need another car asap because DS got a job and I don't want to be the ferryman but so far we've had no luck. At first, I was going to let him use my vehicle and get a new one since mine is ok but old, with a ton of miles, and more than a few scratches and dents. DS put most of those scratches and dents in when learning to drive, so it's only fair he keeps it! LOL. But I can't find a new one. I'm not willing to pay these inflated prices and I'm also not willing to wait for a special order that may get delayed. So now we're looking for a very old car for him. I think even if the prices are higher than normal the actual dollars lost would be less with a used car. I found one prospect that the dealer just received and hasn't inspected or priced. I'm crossing my fingers that he calls me back and it's as good as it looks and within the price range that I'm expecting. I don't want to be driving DS until the end of Sept!

I guess I'd keep my car until it dies if we did that and hope that it dies after the market has chilled.

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Some people have been posting their vehicles to sell online locally. I've been shocked at asking prices for cars that don't run and/or need major work, but that's the state of the seller's market here, I guess.

We are hoping dd's older car holds on for another two to three years & dh's for another year. 

Buying a car is way more work than it should be, even from a no haggle place like CarMax -- especially when you pay cash during a pandemic.

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16 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

I’ve been online shopping for the past few days and ultimately decided to dump a nauseating amount of money into my current car instead. If that hadn’t been an option, I think I would have tried to buy a very used car (equivalent to that nauseating amount) just to get through the next 9-12 months.

The inventory I’ve pulled up is SO limited that I just couldn’t justify paying those amounts for vehicles that didn’t even check all my boxes (new OR moderately used.)

We’re spending the cash to ride it out. If I’m going to spend tens of thousands of dollars, it’s going to be on The Perfect vehicle, dang it!

We bought our 2018 a year ago. It does not sound like things have improved over the last year.

 

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