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Re: Negotiating an Aero sale Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Wed, 1 Sep 2004 13:12:27
In Reply to: Negotiating an Aero sale, Carolyn, Wed, 1 Sep 2004 09:29:21 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
The $26K one sounds a bit high. The $22K is probably about right.
Mileage is pretty close - condition is everything. Which one looks in better shape? Do they drive the same?
I assume that these are Saab Certified cars, so they come with a warranty. A more important number than mileage is In Service Date. The warranty is 100K miles, OR 6 years from In-service date, whichever comes first. An '01 could have been sold in July of 2000, or well into 2001, or even later. Assuming around a year left on the regular warranty, that's 1 +2 = 3 years warranty remaining. You've got 52-57K miles before 100K, so unless you drive more than average, you'll run out of time before you run out of mileage. The later the In-Service date, the longer the warranty.
If they are Certified, try going online to
http://www.saabcertified.com/search/default.asp
And see if you can find the cars. You can pull the Carfax for free, and it'll give you an estimate of the In-service date. The only one that counts is the one the dealer can substantiate.
I wouldn't pay an extra $4K to add a few months on the warranty. However, it's a way to help decide.
How much can you negotiate? EVERYTHING is negotiable. Step one is to decide on how much you want to spend. Figure that out now. Remember, the dealer doesn't have to sell you the car. And you don't have to buy it. Figure out your bottom line, and go see the car. Decide if you want the car, and if you do, it's worth the money you want to spend. Just because a car is a good deal doesn't mean that you should buy it if it's too much money. A Ferrari F40 for $60K is cheap, but if you don't have $60K to spend on a car, it's not a good deal for you.
Then offer the dealer a little less than your price. Yes, it may be lower than his asking price. The dealer will either come back with a different price, or he'll tell you to leave. I've NEVER seen a dealer do the latter. The idea is not to reach a midpoint between your starting point, but to get to your comfort price, or less.
For example, say you feel that $21K is how much you want to spend for a car. You go look at the $26K car. You offer $20K. The dealer can tell you to hike, or come back with $24K. You can go to 21K. Maybe he says 23.5K. You say, "$21K is my limit". No matter what, don't go higher. It is his right not to sell the car for less, feeling that he can sell it to someone else. That's fine. Let him sell it to someone else- it's more than you want to spend. If he wants to get the car off the lot and $21K is acceptable, he'll sell it. Whatever you do, don't buy the car for more than you want to spend. There will always be another car.
Right around $20K seems to be a fair price for '01 sedans right now. A small premium for Aeros. Of course, it all assumes a good car in good shape. Don't buy it if it's a beater.
If you can set a price that you're comfortable with, before you see the car, and are willing to walk away, you can't lose. Either you get the car or you don't and avoid a bad deal for you. Don't worry about the dealer - he won't starve, and he can always say no.
There are a ton of '01 Aeros out there, more every day. There was a big slug of cars sold in August '01 due to incentives, and most were leased, so they're coming off lease now. The sales curve was still pretty high through October '01. And '02s will start showing up, which will depress the price of '01s. So if you don't get that killer deal, just wait. Heck, if this deal falls through, it'll give you some fine experience.
Good luck!
posted by 192.249....
, Wed, 1 Sep 2004 14:01:44, Wed, 1 Sep 2004 13:12:27 <-- Viewing This Message, Wed, 1 Sep 2004 13:53:08
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