Trade-In Value?

[H3.007]

Dealership sales people are trained to low-ball. Shop around for different offers if you have a variety of dealers at hand or in nearby cities. Carrying your cell phone and having the other dealerships' numbers handy is an excellent way to get dealers to be fair with their negotiations. I did this a few years ago with a buy decision between an S10 Blazer and a Ford Explorer Sport. First dealer wanted only to negotiate $350 from $10,000 - and the rear window squeaked badly which they would not fix. I then went to a nearby Ford dealer and checked out the Explorer. They initially told me they were selling it for $9,000. When I gave them a run down on several things that would need to be repaired - some items were even questionable when it would come to inspection - they came down about $1,500. I then got on my cell phone to the other dealership and told them where I was and I what I was negotiating. The first dealership dropped another $250 - an insult. At about that point the Ford salesperson asked what I needed to see as far as price. I asked him to wait at which time I called my insurance company for the KBB value. They told me $6,000 based upon my evaluation. I told the Ford salesperson the number and he stated he' have to check with the assistant manager. Said assistant manager appeared and asked me what I wanted for a price so I again repeated the figure, including that I expected the tax and title to be included as I would be paying with a certified check. I left the lot with the approved sales contract for the Explorer in hand and picked it up two days later after they had fixed the items that were questionable from an inspection perspective (at no cost).

A day later, the first dealer called me and when I told him I had bought the Explorer, he actually had the gall to decrease his price another $2,000 and practically begged me not to take delivery of the Explorer. I politely declined and wished him the best of luck *click*.

So, the moral of the story is if you are not financing the purchase and/or can play your cards right, these low-balling dealers will find that they will not be moving vehicles- except around their lots out of boredom or to the occassional, underinformed consumer who is not a savvy negotiator.