I think I am gonna buy the Jaguar XKR in the next 3 months. Retail is 97k I obviously want to get that price as low as possible. I can't imagine people are lining up in this economy to buy these things.

Do you play the dealers against each other? What can I expect them to lower the price to?

Thanks

I've haggled on several cars successfully (to varying degrees) tho none are as $$ as the jag. but here's what I've done that worked well... I don't know how flexible the upper end new cars are, to be honest, but I would guess you might be able to take 10% off that 97k tag at most. and cars with limited runs usually demand a price higher than the retail price. a friend tried to buy a z06 a few years back, and couldn't even get one for 15% OVER retail.

1) come pre-approved, this takes their "finance" plan out of the equation until you WANT to hear it... as far as they need to know, you will pay cash. this immediately gives you leverage.

2) you may not be trading in, or maybe you will, but that is to be negotiated later. don't let them talk about anything BUT the final price.

3) be ready to walk out. you might be back tomorrow, but if they see you headed towards the door, they know you are serious. I set a timer on my phone when we started a negotiation. I told him, if that timer goes off, I walk out. this let him know that I wasn't going to be dragged out all day. he had 1 hour to get it done. make them realize your time is important to you.

4) make them show you line by line where their price is from... if they try to add things like a upholstery treatment for some ungodly price... tell them you won't pay for it... be assertive with what you want to pay, and if they can't do it... someone else WILL.

For my last new car purchase, I did a lot of research on Edmunds.com in addition to test driving all of the candidate models.

When I settled on what I wanted, I "built" it on Edmunds and used their "request a quote" feature to request quotes from four local dealerships.

Three of the four dealerships contacted me with some variation of "come on in and let's talk." The fourth responded with a figure - and a reasonable one at that.

Guess which one got my business?

(When I went in, they tried to screw me by adding on the freight charge, which as we all know, is part of the sticker price and therefore should be part of any quoted price... I negotiated an extra $500 for my trade, which nearly negated the $600 delivery. They also threw in 50K mile scheduled maintenance.)

Go on the last Tuesday of January, 10 minutes before they close and hope its raining.

I worked for dealerships for a couple years (not in sales) and thats my answer when people ask about how to get a good deal...here's why.

January- year end sales are usually over and buyers really thin out

last Tuesday-is usually a very slow day for sales since most people buy on the weekend, especially after a 3 day weekend. plus at the end of the month they are trying to make the sales quota.

10 minutes before close- the manager wont let the salesmen go home with a deal pending, but will make the sales person work faster since he wants out of there

raining-duh, even less people buy when its raining

Add that to all the homework you'll do about price/options, etc and you should get a good deal...good luck!

Thanks for the advice. If I could get %10 off the price that would be great. I don't think I will trade in my solstice because it's not worth much and it's super fun to drive still.

I think with the Z06 there are so many guys that grew up with them and just have to have one no matter the cost. Jaguar XKR has just gotten good and doesn't have the history of the corvette so I doubt they are selling like corvettes do.


off topic but these buys make a 600hp kit for the car.
http://www.paramount-performance.com/acata...onversions.html


Oh also not really any options for the car. They sell it fully loaded. End of January hmmm that is doable I think.

I was a car salesman. Bret makes good points about the end of month, end of day thing.

cash buyers are not better for a dealer. this does not help you, really. Jags have good dealer hold back. I like the timer idea. find out invoice cost. dont be an idiot about invoice though. they are in business to make money so let them make some money just dont be a lay-down.

my point on the "cash-buyer", to be more clear is this: don't let them talk to you about anything other than the price of the car. once that part is settled then move on to any trade-in value, and don't let them negotiate the price again... one thing at a time... the salesman try to confuse buyers and mix the trade-in, financing and price of the car to make it seem like you are getting a good deal, but concentrate on one thing at a time.... if the final price is too high for you, then no amount of trade-in will really fix it.

when we bought my wife's CRV, I told the guy this... still first time he came back with their "quote" it was a COMPLETE waste of time... the price was still the sticker price, but he gave what my trade in should be, and what kind of financing special they could do to get me the "low, low" monthly payment... he did the 4 square thing and everything.... I pull out a sharpie and marked through every line I did not agree with, and wrote down MY offer on the price... and told him he wasted 15 minutes of his hour.... he also had itemized a clear coat protectant(at the cost of $1000) and a upholstery protectant treatment for $800... I marked through both of these and told him I would not be paying for these items... a can of scotch guard is $2...

don't be afraid to tell them no. btw, I got about 3 steps toward the door before he caved, I got my price, which was just below what edmunds had rated as the average purchase price for the vehicle (not much below sticker, but the car at the time was demanding a premium above sticker, because of the new design) I also got more than what I'd planned for on trade-in and they offered a better financing rate than my bank but the trick was one negotiation at a time.

I wonder about that "timer" strategy...I always go into a car negotiation with the mind set that I'll be there for a long while and just deal with it.

I would think if the sales person knows he has an hour, he'll try to get the deal done but if not, its only an hour of his time. On the other hand, if he spends 4 hours going back and forth with you, he doesn't want his day to be wasted.

Who knows, guess it depends on the sales person and who is willing to blink sooner.

The whole car dealership sales interaction was really quite fascinating to me when I worked there...really unlike any other industry.

1 Go on-line Edmonds or Kelley Blue Book and get the Invoice Cost

2 Get pre-approved with your Bank, so you don't have to deal with that backroom crap

3 Get on-line qoutes

4 Use the timeline theory discussed above

5 Stand firm, be a prick if needed ( I don't need no stinkin cars salemen as friends)

Good Luck

Car sales people are not your friends.

After thy make your sale your do not give a shit what happens to you.

You are just buying a piece of metal and you just need to get your best deal and any local Jag. Dealer can service it for you after the sale. If you get it from far away and have it trucked in it would not matter if the price were that much lower.

Never pay for any treatment to the car. Oil changes, Wax, interior or extended warranty. Lo Jack, ECT. You can better that deal on the web. Or you in most cases you do not need them. Even a factory warranty can be had by a dealer in a different state that will work on a lower commission.

Edmunds will show you what the margins are for the dealer so you can see what they make less their kick back for extra sales. It is a tough time for them but if the car you want is in short supply and in some demand they may not give it away and hold out for the last $100.

Use the Internet and always ask for the Internet manager when you call. Tell him you do not want to waste his time but you are beating everyone up so he should not feel bad.

Know the margin so you can figure if a $5,000 for them is what you think is OK. Then tell the next dealer that you have a deal at one price and you want to know if they can beat it.

Remember that they are not your friends.

Sorry if anyone here works as a car salesman

These days...

Best deal: find a Jag dealer that's closing
Better deal: haggle down a price over the internet
Good deal: come in and pay less than invoice
A deal: just go buy it... the dealer you're helping may be the one that services it someday....

they aren't paid by the hour, and unless the lot is just packed with customers, they won't be dismissing you, they want YOUR sell, plus whatever they might get later...

I negotiated with a salesman for a car a few years ago, the car had just got on the lot, but I made him a fair offer, he couldn't do the deal because they hadn't evaluated it yet(the car hadn't even been vacuumed) so I left, but left my cell number... the next day, he called. said the car was mine if I still wanted it... for the price I'd offered.as it turns out, I didn't want the car any more, because we found a similar car later that day somewhere else. your time is valuable... treat it as such, their time is valuable too... when you walk out, don't be MAD... just say "look, if you can get the deal I asked for, let me know..." give them your cell number... the next day when that car is still sitting there and no one is beating down their door for it, they might find the time to re-consider your offer... if they can't get you the car at the price you can afford, then you are wasting both of your time.

oh, one more thing I forgot... try to bring an impartial friend... not someone that WANTS you to buy the car... he can help you by saying "time to give up" it can almost be a "good cop/ bad cop" thing... he can be bad cop and really keep you focused.

My advice.
Speak to the owner of the dealership.
I can put you in touch with one or two owners of Jag dealerships.

Its a high end car. Its a high end purchase. Get a good deal, but deal with the owner...he wont have to share the commission with anyone...and they are very greedy guys.

Rich

oh, one more thing I forgot... try to bring an impartial friend... not someone that WANTS you to buy the car... he can help you by saying "time to give up" it can almost be a "good cop/ bad cop" thing... he can be bad cop and really keep you focused.
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When I sold cars these guys got tossed out of my office. If they aren't the buyer, they have no business in my office when I am working a deal.

From what I have seen from some of these replies, I would have loved to had been the guy selling you cars, I would have made a very nice living and you all would have been happy as hell when you left the dealership with your new car.


Shoe

I play one against the other. I call all the dealers in the area and tell them exactly what I want. I tell them up front there are 5 other dealers working on prices for me. The lowest price gets my money. I keep working them against one another until I get the lowest price. They'll say come on in and we'll work something out. I tell them no. If they win the price war I'll come on in and buy it. I'm not going to waste my day sitting in a chair at a dealership. Work up a low number that's worth my time in that chair.


That technique works with a Toyota not a 97K Jag. They just don't move them in volume. I don't even know if Jag dealers get volume discounts.

Best way to save 20% to 30% or even more would be to find a car that is roughly a year old. My last 2 cars were under a year old, the last one had less then 4000K on it and someone else got to through away the initial depreciation. In today’s market there are a lot of cars people want to unload for all kinds of reasons, unemployment being one of the biggest. Cash is not a big deal to the dealer as they make more when you finance but to a privet individual cash is king.

I would read everything on Edmunds about buying cars:

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/artic...86/article.html
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/artic...62/article.html

The only other thing I'd add to the thread here is that dealers and salesmen really don't like these kinds of tactics because you remove all the chances of them adjusting the deal in their favor without you knowing it, so some sort of "don't waste my time and I won't waste yours" is probably very good. I like the idea of doing the entire negotiation directly and blindly.

You may also want to check out what the carsdirect.com price is as well.

Good luck!

Very similar to what I do. My friends call me the master at car buying and usually take me with them. I decide what I want and call the dealers after first looking in the paper for the best dealer advertisement. Ask for the sales manager because you want someone who can make the best deal. I tell them I am ready to buy a car and ready to write the check today. I give them my phone # and name and ask for the best deal they are willing to give and that you are calling other dealers for price quotes. Tell them you want to come in, write the check and take the car home without a lot of BS. Get the prices from all the dealers and WAIT. They will start calling you back the next day and when they do tell them thanks but you found a better price and you are going down to buy it. When they beat that price, tell them you will come down tomorrow and buy it. WAIT! Other dealers will call and just keep giving them the latest and lowest price quoted and tell them you will be down tomorrow (if they offer a lower price). When they call back just say sorry, I was going to buy it but dealer X called and offered a better deal. They will beat it and when they do again tell them you will be down tomorrow. Eventually someone will throw in the towel and say they can't sell for that low. The process usually takes 3-5 days

I just did this 3 weeks ago on a new Subaru and I was actually still negotiating with another dealer on my cell phone with the paper work sitting in front of me at another dealer. The salesman was watching the notes I was writing and handing me notes back like "I'll give you free oil changes for a year" and continued lowering the "that's as low as I can go price" until I told the other dealer I was not coming.

After I negotiated the price I started on the trade in. I traded in a two year old car with 24k miles for $2000 less than I paid for it. (I bought that car cheap with this same strategy)

The new car wasn't ready to go and I insisted on a free loaner and that they deliver it to my house the next day..... and they did!

I have done this my last 3 cars. I don't feel bad about using this tactic since I tell them to give their best price on the first call and they don't. It's actually fun once you get the hang of it. I never gets stressed buying a new car.

I have bought and sold way too many cars to count. We currently have 12 things with wheels and titles, some vehicles, some trailers bikes etc... The best advise I have for you, as suggested before look used, They have really steep depreciation. If you want to shock yourself look on E-bay or cars.com at dealerships for a 2008 or a 2009. You will cry foul.. Alot of guys buy these things and never really drive them, so you will find many in showroom condition with low low miles. I know the new 2010 XKR has a updated body and interior. But be patient, there will be used ones in no time at all. I have had couple of jags. A S-type R and a older XkR coupe. They are really nice cars. A couple of things I didnt like is that they are heavy, and even with the supercharger, you still know they are heavy. but a very comfy and safe feeling, so with the heavy feeling the brakes never felt "sporty". The interior really felt outdated, for that type of car. If you are looking for a sport luxury have you checked out Maserati? They too have a deep depreciation, so some else takes the big $ hit brand new, And you don't see them hardly at all. Or even a used Lamborghini Gallardo is right in that $ ballpark.

Hey don't confuse me LOL

No I won't deciede anything right away. Trust me I am well aware of the Gallardo and also the V8 Vantage being in that price range. Also looking at vintage cars because I have to take the hit with the depreciation.

Now that you mention it I did get to drive a Gran Turismo this summer. I just looked on Ebay and they are very resonably priced. Dam at this rate I will never buy anything. HAHA