New vehicle - MSRP?

[pasusan]

OK guys - just want to know what to expect with prices - we've never (I mean never) bought a brand new vehicle, so want to get ideas on how it works.

As we're getting older we are thinking of buying a new SUV - mainly for reliability and ease of someone else servicing it.

So - when I see the MSRP on a website - is that the real price? Can I expect them to go down 30% like I hear they do with RVs?

Help us figure out how it works before we go shopping. 🙂

[pasusan]

OP here... Just want to thank everyone for chiming in. Looks like we can make a plan of action.

We will have to see how things are next summer, but what I've been seeing is used models that we're looking at are outrageously priced, which is making us look at new for the first time ever.

The last time we bought from a dealer was our used 1978 F150 that was 9 months old. It was a horrible experience and we never did it again.

[goducks10]

MSRP for my 2019 Ram 3500 6.7 was $54,890
NADA for average trade in is $57,225.
Clean trade in is $58,875.
I paid way less than MSRP.
Even if I wanted to trade it in there's nothing I want and chances are the dealer won't give me as much of a discount as I got last time.

[way2roll]

Bumpyroad wrote:
just remember that if you buy a year old model, it will be worth that much less when you go to sell/trade it in. a lot depends on how long you intend to keep it.
bumpy

The truck in my signature is worth more today than what I paid for it last year - even on a trade.

[Grit_dog]

While some of this is (no surprise) getting off topic for the OP's question...
OP, in past years, right time, right deal, right vehicle, you could get maybe up to 20-25% off MSRP.
Standard good deals 15% ish off MSRP.
Gotta have it and/or don't know how to negotiate, 0-10% off MSRP.

Right now is not that time, but since you're asking about a year from now, ask a year from now. Seriously. The market has been super inflated for about a year. I've sold a couple vehicles for stupid money in the last year-ish. Granted they were very sought after vehicles and in better shape than most comparable rigs.
Have no desire to buy one in this market. In fact, planning on liquidating one truck, the camper and possibly boat, based on the inflated prices.

[mkirsch]

RetiredRealtorRick wrote:
The "because we can" attitude might work just fine if they're dealing strictly with cash buyers, but think about it -- no bank or CU is going to finance a new vehicle for substantially over MSRP. The buyer is instantly in the bucket (or, a negative equity situation). The lender doesn't want to chance having to repo a vehicle that has a balance owed of substantially greater than it's worth.

Yet, they are handing out car loans like candy and everything is selling at over MSRP.

Right now the value of ALL vehicles is inflated above "retail" so at least in the short term an auto loan is no more of a risk than it would be during normal times.

[BurbMan]

USAA also has a car buying program like Costco's or Sam's club and you can usually do pretty good with a "no-haggle" price. Right now the chip shortage has brought manufacturing to a crawl, and dealers are selling new vehicles ABOVE sticker price IF you can find one. I have seen many cases personally where dealers are selling 2-3 year old models with 10-20k miles on them for more than they stickered for when new.

Also know that "sticker prices" on RVs are not federally regulated like vehicles, and because their more fiction than fact, 30% discounts are common.

In cars and trucks, normally you will pay below sticker depending on demand for a given make/model. If a new model comes out and starts selling like hotcakes, don't expect much from dealer in terms of price concessions. What you get discounts and rebates/incentive on are the older models that are near the end of their cycle and sitting around on dealer lots.

[BenK]

MSRP & the label it is printed on is a federally mandated because of the uneducated (ignorant on HOW2 find the pricing and options pricing) buyers being fleeced by sale folks.

Levels the playing field to an official price for everyone...that also requires the selling dealer to list EVERYTHING and the associated price for those line items

You can do better in most cases and even more so today with internet purchasing sites.

[jdc1]

Are you a credit union member? They have set pricing, as does (as mentioned) Costco and Sam's.

[Grit_dog]

Bumpyroad wrote:
just remember that if you buy a year old model, it will be worth that much less when you go to sell/trade it in. a lot depends on how long you intend to keep it.
bumpy

Literally only in the scenario of flipping a new vehicle every year or 2. For the rest of the people and quite likely the op. (Doubt they’re buying their first new vehicle ever to sell it a year later), the value of a used vehicle is based much more so on the market, condition and miles than the model year.)

[p220sigman]

I agree that I don't think you can look for a standard percent off of MSRP as it will vary widely depending on the dealer, time of year, time of month, inventory availability (like now), etc. At the end of the day, it is a business transaction. The dealer wants to sell vehicles and you want to buy a vehicle. They will not sell the vehicle if the price is below what they determine they need to get for it and you should have a price established that is the maximum you will pay for the particular vehicle. That is where you will need to do your research to determine what a reasonable price that you are comfortable with. It is a little easier to research new vehicle values as opposed to used vehicles because you will likely never know how much a dealer is into a used vehicle.

Personally, when I negotiate with a dealer, I only talk out-the-door price that includes tax, tag, title, fees, etc (I don't typically trade so I'm not dealing with trade values and allowances). My simple reasoning is that it is the final price I'm concerned with and have to pay. I don't really care what number goes in which category. I start at or below invoice depending on incentives/promotions and have a number that I will not go above. If the dealer won't deal, I go somewhere else. They aren't selling unicorns; someone else will have what you want and will deal. I bought a car one time that the first dealer didn't want to deal on and the second dealer did. The second dealer did a dealer trade to get the actual vehicle I had looked at and driven at the first dealership. The last vehicle we purchased was negotiated completely via email. I didn't set foot in the dealership until we had a number agreed on and I went to test drive and sign the papers. I was in and out in less than an hour. I've never had to go to or contact more than three dealerships to get a price I was happy with.

Of course, as you know, now is probably the worst possible time to buy a vehicle (new or used) because of the market. We are currently looking at cars, but are making due with what we have until the market correction occurs. Hopefully it will ease in the next few months and certainly by next summer.

[JALLEN4]

I am a retired new car dealer. I have sold tens of thousands of cars and trucks. You can do it one of two ways. You can spend hours and hours on-line researching prices, hours in showrooms haggling, and listening to hundreds of amateurs all of whom bought the car or truck much cheaper than you ever will. Or, you can go to Costco and get their list of participating dealers of the make you wish to purchase after you have looked at a variety of them. They will give you a reasonable price that will not be the cheapest in history but will be very competitive. It very much depends on what your time is worth!

Remember...many people will always tell you they got a much better price even if the dealer decides to give it to you!

[valhalla360]

There seems to be a whole field of study on new car buying techniques and different people will swear by different approaches and others who will swear they don't work.

If you are waiting until next summer, hopefully things will be back to a more normal situation...because right now, things are crazy with the chip shortages.

Assuming you aren't set on a particular brand, look up what rebates are available from each brand. If nothing else, you can use that as a negotiating point if you want an extra grand or two off a brand that doesn't have a rebate.

Used to be you could look up the invoice price to give you a starting point (haven't bought new in a long time as it doesn't make financial sense, so not sure if it's still easy to pull up). Keep in mind, the invoice price ignores what is usually a 3% kickback to the dealer, so it is possible to get it at invoice price and the dealer still makes some money. You aren't stealing the food out of the salesman's kids mouths...if your offer is too low, they won't sell.

Assuming you live in a reasonably populated area, I wouldn't worry about being taken seriously. If they don't like your offer they will counter. The biggest thing you can do is if you don't like their counter offer, is walk away. They will try to play head games with you and they most likely will chase you out the door if you get up and walk away. Be prepared to walk away if you don't get the deal you want. If you are in a reasonably populated area, worst case, you go 10 miles over to the next town and talk to that dealer with a much better understanding of what the first one was willing to accept.

[BB_TX]

I have been looking to buy a new F150. Local dealer who normally has 100 or more trucks on the lot now has less than 10. On what few higher trim models they have they will not budge off MSRP sticker price. Some dealers are charging a premium over sticker. Negotiating trying to order what I want, but again they are holding to sticker. And 3-6 month delivery.
Not a good time for buyers. Next summer production should be back closer to normal, but will take time for it to smooth back out for buyers.

[Bumpyroad]

just remember that if you buy a year old model, it will be worth that much less when you go to sell/trade it in. a lot depends on how long you intend to keep it.
bumpy