I recently got around to replacing my old beater and thought I would share my experience buying a new car last month, as I was able to negotiate ~$2k below MSRP on a new 2025 hybrid CR-V. I used the method described in denovos post nearly 10 years ago and it paid off still today. I’m in the Rocky Mountain west fwiw.
I wanted a hybrid and after test driving a couple different styles I decided on a RAV4-esque car. No shock here, but hybrid RAV4s were not in stock in my area and dealers reported a 6-9 month lead times for the trims I had in mind. Lacking that kind of patience, I tried a few other models and the CR-V Hybrid Sport-L felt best to me, so I emailed the local dealer for an out the door (OTD) price.
They quoted $44,083, which was MSRP plus all their dealer fees and taxes, and said I needed to hurry because it was in high demand. That was easy to disprove, when I found every dealer in my area had the exact car I was looking for (even down to the color). I contacted 4 other dealers requesting a quote and received a range of estimates, with the lowest being $41,950. One dealer did refuse to give me a price via email but guaranteed to beat the lowest price if I came in. I ignored them since that wasn’t convenient, but maybe I could have gotten a better deal if I followed up with them and threatened to walk out if they backtracked.
I sent a note to the rest of the dealers to see if they could match. Not as much interest this time, but fortunately the local dealer came back at $41,900 after I sent them the written quote. No one else could do anything but match it. I pulled the trigger and am happy to be in a new car for a fair price.
I wasn’t expecting to be able to negotiate based on the car market of the last few years, but it ended up being an easy and worthwhile effort. It’ll vary by supply of the car you’re looking for, and I doubt you’re going to get below msrp on a hybrid RAV4 at least in my area. However it seems the market is turning a bit to where you can find below msrp pricing relatively easily for certain models.
I wanted a hybrid and after test driving a couple different styles I decided on a RAV4-esque car. No shock here, but hybrid RAV4s were not in stock in my area and dealers reported a 6-9 month lead times for the trims I had in mind. Lacking that kind of patience, I tried a few other models and the CR-V Hybrid Sport-L felt best to me, so I emailed the local dealer for an out the door (OTD) price.
They quoted $44,083, which was MSRP plus all their dealer fees and taxes, and said I needed to hurry because it was in high demand. That was easy to disprove, when I found every dealer in my area had the exact car I was looking for (even down to the color). I contacted 4 other dealers requesting a quote and received a range of estimates, with the lowest being $41,950. One dealer did refuse to give me a price via email but guaranteed to beat the lowest price if I came in. I ignored them since that wasn’t convenient, but maybe I could have gotten a better deal if I followed up with them and threatened to walk out if they backtracked.
I sent a note to the rest of the dealers to see if they could match. Not as much interest this time, but fortunately the local dealer came back at $41,900 after I sent them the written quote. No one else could do anything but match it. I pulled the trigger and am happy to be in a new car for a fair price.
I wasn’t expecting to be able to negotiate based on the car market of the last few years, but it ended up being an easy and worthwhile effort. It’ll vary by supply of the car you’re looking for, and I doubt you’re going to get below msrp on a hybrid RAV4 at least in my area. However it seems the market is turning a bit to where you can find below msrp pricing relatively easily for certain models.
Statistics: Posted by scissorframe — Thu Jun 13, 2024 8:54 pm — Replies 0 — Views 26