Learn about negotiating.
Check out a book at the library on how to sell cars.
Yes, SELLING cars, it will help.

It may be a tough time to negotiate on a hybrid, but never pay their first price.

There are hot here, so it's not so easy to negotiate. They know they can move them, so they aren't too willing to work with me. Most of the dealers are out. Maybe I will just have to stick with my Corrolla a bit longer.. :(

Hi Elphaba:

___I don’t know what year your Corolla is but if it performs anything like our 03, you already have one heck of a nice automobile for decent fuel economy and range. It doesn’t have a game gauge of course but with the stronger ICE, you can still travel relatively fast (60 +) and receive what I would call great fuel economy in the process.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Sticker was $20,010. www.hindererhonda.com

Paid $18,010 for it with 1.9% APR for 60 mos. Add $1200 for a top-notch moonroof and taxes and it came to be $21,050.

Paid $2k below sticker for it.

Now, get this. Know how everyone slams hybrids as being more expensive than their counterparts? Well, I also priced an IDENTICAL Civic EX Sedan, loaded. Would have come up to $19,214...so suffice it to say my hybrid cost $2k more than the non-hybrid version.

Well, I'm driving at roughly 25k miles per year. The gas savings alone between the Falcon and a Civic EX will be made up early next year at the current clip. In fact, I'll have saved a couple more thousand in addition by the time I pay the car off in early 2008.

When the media says that hybrids aren't worth it, they always use drivers that drive like 10-12k miles per year. I don't know of many that drive that little, but even if I did, I'd still have savings in the long run.

I just ordered from dealer's incoming allotment 2005 Honda Civic CVT (production date in Japan September 2) for $20,455. Projected delivery date is mid-October. Color: Opal Blue Metallic. Green Bay, Wisconsin dealer

I have been monitoring the dealer lots here in the Valley of the Sun and there are a total of 15 if not more HCH hybrids between all the dealers. All 2004s. I've been trying to get their loswest price (via the Internet) and all of them are telling me the car is in demand so no discounting. I find this interesting since these cars have been sitting on their lots for awhile and the 2005s will be coming out.

I've decided to wait for the 2005s, if I can't get a deal on the 04s. I think I'm going to go through an auto broker. I hate dealing with the dealerships.


Have any of you had luck with an auto broker?

It takes 10 seconds of their time to say that.

Get into a showroom and take up a few hours of a salesperson's time.
Then walk out, let them pull you back in, spend some more of their time and walk out again.
Do this 4 or 5 times to get practice.

Negotiating takes effort.

Hi All:

___In the Chicagoland area, the best Honda dealership is the one with the least expensive prices week after week after week … Grand Honda --> “CLICK HERE for specials”.

2005 HCH w/ 5-speed manual $18,969 including delivery (no TTL however)
2005 HCH w/ CVT $19,969 including delivery (no TTL however)

___They will bargain below these advertised prices when pressed ;)

___As Kenny said, if you are a newbie to car purchase negotiations, go in and practice on a dealership you are not really interested in purchasing from and have at it. Know the MSRP and Invoice of the target automobile, every trim, option, or garbage add-on dead cold and know your local tax laws as well as have some financing or cash in hand when it comes time to “Go for the gold” so to speak ;) Another tip is to see what others are paying in the Edmunds --> “Your target automobile here” --> Prices Paid and Buying Experience forums. You might just come across a dealership with a superior deal that hasn’t been disseminated to the public just yet and gives you a hard target to shoot for.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

I think I will go with a auto broker. I do not enjoy the hassle or the constant going back and forth. One of my best car buying experiences was walk in and out. Though I will admit I had no intentions of buying a car, I was there with a friend helping him buy one. The salesman made two sales that day.

Started at a local dealer and was not satisfied with their quote, $700 below sticker ($500 + $200 since my wife was his friend). I went home and went online at Costco.com - I'm a member at Costco. They have an auto dealer program, no haggle, and they gave me a dealer to call, being the same dealership that I wasn't happy with their price in the first place. Now the price was $600 above invoice, actually $802 less than their initial quote! A total of $1502 below sticker. The $45 I pay per year for membership paid off, finally. We ended up paying around $21500 including taxes, etc. The only extras on the car were the rims, wheel locks and mud guards. My wife then made them throw in a meal at Redlobster (across the street from the dealer) and a Honda commuter cup. The only bad thing was the plastic piece between the front and back windows on the rider side was scratched, and they are going to replace it and I made them reclean the driver floor mat. Oh, I had also went to Edmunds.com to get quotes from other local dealers and those dealers were worthless. One gave me a quote for the wrong car and after telling them again what I wanted still failed to give me a quote on the right car, the other never bothered to even respond. Also, Greenhybrid helped "educate" me!