Deal-Car Buying Negotiations Tips!

Hello All-

Buying a used vehicle just got a little more tricky in this tight economy. High demand vehicles are priced a bit higher than they were in the past and may be a bit difficult to acquire, dealerships may also be a little bit more challenging to negotiate with.

Here is a tip that worked for me recently when assisting my husband in the negotiations for a used Toyota Tacoma. These vehicles have become a higher demand truck as they are a bit easier on the gas, but serve many purposes of a larger truck, people are hanging on to these and getting top dollar for used.

We found a truck we wanted on a lot, but the dealership was only willing to come down $100 off asking price, ridiculous in my mind. After working with them for over a week and having them tell us the truck had been on the lot for 35 days, we thought negotiations were in our favor, but alas they weren't willing to budge. We knew after looking at several trucks, this was the best pick for us, but we also wanted to get it at the price we wanted.

This truck was at a non-Toyota lot. Usually when a branded vehicle is not on its branded lot you can negotiate a bit more, but this wasn't the case for this deal so we got creative with what we decided to negotiate for. The lot was a Jeep/Volvo/VW dealership and my vehicle is a VW so we were able to bargain in some free upcoming maintenance services for my vehicle at the lot as part of our deal. We ended up shaving a $100 off the asking price (paltry), but we were able to save about $300 in maintenance services on my car...not bad when you consider that this wasn't something my husband would have considered even going for. It worked for me and you might consider trying this too next time you are in negotiations for a vehicle and the dealership refuses to negotiate price.

Dealerships may have a bottom line for their vehicles and as part of the accounting process they may not be willing to budge as much when it comes to the sticker price for some high demand used vehicles, but consider a partial credit back in maintenance or other services that they have some wiggle room on...it never hurts to ask and gives you an opportunity to add some perks into your offer!

Happy Savings!

Summer H.