car buying: last year's model?

So I'm looking at getting a new car in a month or two. I'm considering the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Freedom Edition, with automatic transmission and hard top. According to NADA, the invoice is $32,400, and I know that the Jeep dealer hold back is 3%, which means that the "true" dealer cost is about $31,300, give or take a little.

But it's last year's model. As soon as I drive it off the lot, last year's model is worth less than the current model, even with the same mileage. So I'm wondering if anyone has any tips about whether it's good to buy last year's model, and how much lower I can/should get it for. I've gotten a true car price about a month ago at $31,700, and since true car charges dealers $300 per lead I already know that the dealer is readily willing to sell for $31,400. I'm thinking to offer $30,000 firm. Is that a reasonable offer?

I've bought two cars before, but never new.

 

You can find the value of last year's model on KBB.com easily enough. The problem with purchasing a new car is that it becomes a used car the moment you drive it off of the lot.

 

A ex auto dealer told me the dealers can sell at their cost and they still make money as the factory gives them a bonus for each car sold...so I would think this becomes possible when the new models roll out and last year's model is still on the lot...someone has to pay the interest on that old car, better to get the factory kickback then lose interest...

I find the best way to get a low price is to pit two or three dealers against each other...or if you really hate dealing with car salesmen hire an auto broker, for a fee(about $500)they'll find the lowest price...

 

True enough. Still, just because a car on a lot is last year's model doesn't automatically imply that it has been on the lot for a long time. New models almost always have price increases, even if there is no difference at all between this year's and last year's models. Of course, prices typically increase at intervals during the model year as well.

 

Pricing aside, check consumer reports. You might be surprised at some of the more popular models that have some pretty poor ratings(I've bought 3 cars due to their info and haven't gotten a bad one yet). And isn't there a big Jeep recall going on?
Enjoy!

 

There are recalls going on all the time, but most of them don't garner much attention in the media. I drive a Jeep, but it is a company vehicle. I enjoy driving it, but I wouldn't buy one. They aren't terribly reliable and the gas mileage on most models leaves much to be desired.

 

Never could figure our Jeep's "Unlimited" brand. Now to me if a car is a "Limited" model, it would be more limited in its production which usually merits a higher sticker price. Jeep on the other hand offers "Unlimited" models which tells me that these are a dime a dozen vehicles. After all, who would want a "limited" high dollar bag like Chanel or MK? Everyone that's who! But what numbskull would buy an unlimited bag by MK or others that is flooding the market? No one.

 

Yes, but the KBB is pretty much useless. In the OP I provided the invoice and dealer holdback, so I know what the true dealer cost is, and I plan on getting the vehicle for less than that, I'm just checking to see if any experienced aggressive car buyers know how much lower I can go with that on an old model.

Yes, that's called dealer holdback, which I mentioned in the op. Pitting them against each other is a good way to go.

I've looked, but the ratings most sites give seem to be geared only to one kind of buyer. I'm aware that if I buy a Jeep it won't feel like a luxury ride in a Land Rover, and it will need more maintenance or repairs than a Honda Civic, but no one buys a Jeep Wrangler looking for that.

Jeeps are an odd thing. They never seem to have been able to get a city car with above average reliability. Jeep seems online to shine in off road capability, namely with the Wrangler, which is actually fairly reliable. It's not the most reliable, but then most replacement parts on it are fairly inexpensive and can easily be DITY jobs.

It's called unlimited because the idea is that what you can do with it and where you can go with it is "unlimited". "Unlimited" isn't the edition, "Wrangler Unlimited" is to Camry, or Civic. For example, the vehicle I'm looking at is the "Wrangler Unlimited Freedom Edition". Unlimited Freedom - that's kind of what Jeep was going for with the "unlimited" title. If it was an "edition", you'd have a point.

 

Offer them list price x .8, give them your number, and then walk away. Don't call back. You may or may not get a call sometime within the next month. The last time I did this it only took two weeks. Had they sold the car to someone else during that time, I would have lost it, but that's what you've got to be willing to do if you want the best deal that you can get. Make this offer at a few different dealerships. You won't get professional car dealers into a bidding war these days, so there's no point in even trying that tactic. Just make your offer and walk away. Even if none of them will sell to you on a .8 multiplier, one of them will probably call back and make a reasonable counter-offer.

 

every new purchase I've made resulted in a bidding war...my last work truck was either going to be a toyota tundra or chevy avalanche, toyota came through with the best offer after I told they needed make me a better offer or I go over to the chevy dealer...
I purchased a mazda3 3 months ago for my daughter and had dealers counter bidding...and again this month I'm negotiating another deal for another daughter with three dealers, two said they wont be underbid and the third said he would try but one of dealers is a cut throat operator in another nearby city and he didnt think he could match their price...

I'll give the price quoted by the cut throat operation to the local dealers, they beat it or I walk...simple and it works...

They will deal...if you find some that don't, be prepared to walk away...

 

Always browse the vehicles on the last few days of a given month, the dealership will be quota driven and management as well as sales folk will bend over to sell.

 

Don't be fooled by the "sale ends tomorrow" trick...if they offer 1,500 off today that isnt going to suddenly disappear, its a pressure tactic that encourages impulse buying...unless you've already done your research and made your decision, walk away...recently i went shopping with my daughter at toyota and they offered a trip anywhere in north america, about $1500 value "that deal ends tomorrow!"...came back two weeks later it was no longer a trip but "we'll pay the sales tax!", which as it turns out was about $1500...

 

I disagree. I know a few people in the automotive sales business. A dealer invoice hides the fact that about 20 to 30 percent of the "dealer cost" can often be recouped from the manufacturer through rebates and bonuses. There are also various incentives at the dealership level. For instance, the new car that I purchased on a .8 multiplier was only available to me at that price because the salesman needed just one more sale that month to be awarded an all-expenses-paid vacation as Salesman of the Month.

As for bidding wars, most of the salesmen within a particular area tend to know one another and they will not be snookered into competing on prices. That's why I never even bother to ask a salesman to make an initial offer. Instead, I just make my offer and then wait for a response.

 

wait 10 days...it's almost clearance time.

- - - Updated - - -

if you can sneak by the sales manager's office, there's a tally board with all the sales people and who hasn't had a sale in 3 days.

 

I have never bought a new car... just not worth it.... too many used cars that are 'like' new


....

 

Personally, I'll only buy cars more than 5 years old, unless something of really exceptional value comes around, or I suddenly become rich

New cars just depreciate in value too quick. Slightly older cars are significantly cheaper and have most modern features anyway. So you might have to use a 3.5mm cable instead of bluetooth. Meh.

Your goal as a consumer should be to purchase things when your estimation of value > the market price. So ask yourself: are a few extra features worth throwing away a good $10,000 after only a few years use? $10,000 is a lot of money to burn for slightly newer furnishings. What do you value?

 

I usually would agree - except I really like bluetooth! Haha just kidding.

Generally I agree, but the make and model km looking for - Jeep Wrangler Unlimited - holds its value really well. The other side of the coin is just the nature of what I'm buying. What I'm getting is a vehicle renowned for off roading capability, and so you can't make the assumptions about it that you would about most other vehicles. There's a good chance with any used wrangler that they were beaten in ways that most cars just couldn't be beaten, and I intend to take mine off roading, but I don't want to beat it. I want to love it, and cherish it, like our precious.

 

are you financing or do you have a check? There are a lot of manufacture's incentives when you buy new, but you can do the most negotiating when you are paying cash. Credit Unions usually have pretty good rates compared to banks, but some dealerships have competitive rates when you have a decent score.

Just some food for thought.

 

I'm only buying what I can afford in cash, but what I've heard is there I'd actually more wiggle room when financing. There are usually national incentives (like 500 cash), and dealers make at least a few hundred, so they're more willing to accept a low offer that is financed. But, generally you can just pay it off quickly.

 

It's a numbers game to dealerships. I found out that when you "refer" a friend and they cut you a check, what actually happens is they charge the amount of the check on your "friend's" invoice. I've also learned that the only number you should focus on is the final cost after "tag, title, and tax". That is the number you should try and get as low as possible. Most dealers also like to add misc. stuff like floor mats ($900), nitrogen filled tires ($100), tint ($400), etc.... to try and recover some cost.

 

sometimes this can just be annoying. This setup came up on Truecar for $28,960, and truecar charges dealership $300 so you can immediately knock that off the "price" if you just pricecheck through truecar, but I like the color on this so I called this other dealership and offered $28,000. They wouldn't even match the other dealership - guys aren't motivated to sell. Sad face.

not motivated to sell

 

last credit deal we we're offered were .49% for 4 yrs or 0% for 3 years, hard to do better than that..

 

I've already posted that, dealers can sell at cost and still make a profit from factory kickback...

yeahthey do, I've done it many times...the exception being when one family owns a number of dealerships, there isnt any competition...out of four mazda dealerships in my city, three are owned by the same family, shopping prices is futile if you dont which dealership doesn't have the same owner...we shopped one of those vs the single owner and another in a nearby city, prices came came down...out of town dealer won, they were motivated any sale is better than no sale...out of town dealers are often the way to go, they'll make profit on volume, although i ncountered a honda dealer who wouldn't because they wanted the return service work...

Ive done the same with toyota vs chevy, the salesmen don't give a crap about another unrelated dealership, its drop the price or lose the sale...they need to know your serious about walking away...the toyota sales manager stepped in when it looked like the sale was lost...

 

correct but it's not for everyone, some like my daughters want the security of a good factory warranty...as a car buyer you're an amatuer when dealing with sales people, for a young woman buying a used car from a salesmen is all the more an intimidating experience...

 

I like buying from those that do the upgrade every two years regardless, some put less then 5000 miles on their cars if you can believe that