New Car Price Guide

[Yelcamino]

Does anyone know a web page that shows how much wiggle room there is on new car prices? I thought Consumer Reports had something like that but you have to buy a membership to access any of their features. Thanks.

[PARKERRS]

Not sure about the publication Herb, but there is a lot of wiggle room right now on most all makes and models due to the economy and slow sales. It depends on what your looking at as to how much. Trucks are getting rediculous discounts right now. I've been looking at a new Pontiac G8 which are selling fairly well right now and there is almost 8K off sticker. A comparably equipped Dodge charger daytona is also being discounted this heavily. Pick what you are interested in and go online to the manufacturers site. You wil find deep discounts there which you can carry to the dealer and also remember that there is also dealer cash out there to help move inventory. Finance rates are also extremely low now on new cars ranging from 0% to around 2.9% for up to 60 months if that is a concern.

[69TAPoser]

I don't know of a current publication, but I do like to use Edmunds and/or MSN Autos (http://autos.msn.com/default.aspx ) as buyer's guides. If you hone in a few cars that you like, through some searching you can find blogs/customer reviews/forums where people are sharing the deals that they are getting. I found this to be helpful.

As a level-set on "general discount" I have purchased 2 GM products in the past year (a Tahoe for me and a Saab 9-3 'vert for my wife...hey, it's what SHE wanted!). Both vehicles stickered in the $42K-$52K range and I was able to get 20-25% off the retail. Both were purchased, not leased. One thing that has changed is the financing deals are now better. I financed both though my credit union for about 5% and I think you can now get closer to 0% throgh the dealer on many models.

Hope this helps,

Phil

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Herb, it's never been more of a buyer's market than right now. If you're looking to buy a new car, I suggest LOWBALLING the hell out of any dealership you walk into. You should be able to get yourself a steal. Drop a ridiculously low number on the sales guy, and if he balks, leave him your number and walk away. He'll likely call you back, looking to maybe negoitate the number a little higher, but if you do this to enough dealerships, you should eventually get your price. This is how I do it, even when the economy is good. With the economy this bad, I'd be asking for at least $8 - 10k off of sticker for most cars (more on trucks). Car dealerships are desperate for sales right now. If you're looking for a new car, take advantage!

[bigvegan]

kbb.com and edmunds.com and a grain of salt. YMMV.

[Yelcamino]

Thanks for the info guys. I was thinking about trading in my F150 but with all the deals on new trucks, mine is pretty much worthless as a trade and not much better in a private sale when you can get a new truck for the same money as a used one these days. It's not a big deal, I'll keep the F150.