Car Dealership Negotiations - Help?

[usuallylurking]

Up until now, H and I have never financed anything.  When we finally did, we financed a 2008 Toyota 4Runner last December.  It's awesome; we love it.  Only one problem: we have two kids and were surprised with not only a pregnancy, but twins, this past week.  We are going to legitimately outgrow the vehicle we just bought.

We went to the car lot this evening.  We need to trade in our current vehicle for the best price possible, as well as purchase a Suburban-esque vehicle for the best price possible.  We found a 2007 Suburban that fits the bill for everything we need.  Web price was 23,500.  They told us their price was 25,200.  They offered us 20,000 for our 4Runner initially.  When we told them the web price, they said the best they could do was 18,000 for the trade in.  When we kind of called them out on basically not changing the price at all but instead just moving the numbers around they stated that that is the best they can do - that if they are "taking a hit" on the Suburban then they can't "be generous" on the trade in value.  Yeah, whatever, nice lip service.  But it worked.  The salesman was good at his job, H and I were on a time crunch with a babysitter, we're green as far as this kind of negotiating works, etc.

We got them to drop the price to 22,200 on the Suburban.  Then they ran the loan, etc.  Because we were crunched for time they told us to take the new car for the night; we moved all of our stuff into it and drove it away.  Before doing this we tried to say we'd just leave in the 4Runner and we could come right back after relieving our babysitter or be right back in the morning once they heard on the loan.  They wanted us in the Suburban.

Now that we're home we recognize just how much they stiff armed us.  Sure, we NEED a bigger car - but not today, and not from that car lot.  We could've walked.  Also, we realize we should have treated the trade in and the purchase as two separate negotiating points rather than all together.  Ideally, we wish we could rewind 5 hours and not divulge anything about the trade in until after we had settled on a purchase price.  But now we are sitting here feeling like 1, we're overpaying for the Suburban, and 2, they aren't giving us any sort of deal on our Toyota.

Knowing all of this - what should we do tomorrow when they call us and tell us the loan was approved?  We will be approved - no questions there.  Right now, obviously, nothing is set in stone - we don't own the Suburban and the Toyota is still ours, so obviously we could say thanks but no thanks.  But we do like (love) the new car and would love to buy it - but only if they come up on the trade-in/down on the price.  Are these things still negotiable at this point in time?

Sorry, I know this is long, but it is too late to call my family (different time zone) and H's family doesn't even know about the pregnancy (much less the twins) and would really give us shit for buying a Suburban.  We need some additional adult input and advice!

[nursewife]

I have no car advice, except for I love having a van ( except for dude, it's a van, and its not cool yo!). We have twins and its wonderful. It's fun watching them grow up together.

[usuallylurking]

Thanks for the reply! My H refuses to own/drive a van. This will be our only car, too, and need to be able to haul big things - trailer with snow machines, 4wheelers, boat, etc. I grew up in a van and totally appreciate them and all of their features (sliding doors!) but I think right now, mostly because of the towing aspect, they are out of the running.

[azurely]

I think you should tell them you changed your mind and that you will be back to pick up the 4-Runner. Make them think you don't like the Suburban so they drop the price on it.

Realistically, I'm not sure how pg you are, but you probably have a few months before you need something different, so don't let them rush you into anything.

[nursewife]

That makes sense if its your only vehicle. We have a truck as well as the van. Once we don't need the stroller anymore, I really want to get an Acadia or Explorer.

[usuallylurking]

Mar 31, 2013 2:07:47 GMT -5 azurely said:

I think you should tell them you changed your mind and that you will be back to pick up the 4-Runner. Make them think you don't like the Suburban so they drop the price on it.

Realistically, I'm not sure how pg you are, but you probably have a few months before you need something different, so don't let them rush you into anything.

That's kind of what we're thinking, too.  They want to sell us the Suburban, so if we communicate that we're just fine leaving without it they will be more apt to make a deal.  And yes, you're right, we have quite a few months so no sense in rushing immediately into it.  Thanks!

[usuallylurking]

Mar 31, 2013 2:15:18 GMT -5 nursewife said:

That makes sense if its your only vehicle. We have a truck as well as the van. Once we don't need the stroller anymore, I really want to get an Acadia or Explorer.

Both of those look nice - have you seen the new Escapes?  I was really impressed looking at them today (keeping myself occupied while H was chatting with the salesman).  I also really love the new 4Runners

[nursewife]

Mar 31, 2013 2:26:45 GMT -5 usuallylurking said:

Mar 31, 2013 2:15:18 GMT -5 nursewife said:

That makes sense if its your only vehicle. We have a truck as well as the van. Once we don't need the stroller anymore, I really want to get an Acadia or Explorer.

Both of those look nice - have you seen the new Escapes?  I was really impressed looking at them today (keeping myself occupied while H was chatting with the salesman).  I also really love the new 4Runners

My DH is a Ford mechanic, and had also worked for Toyota. He is really loving what ford has brought out lately. It must be nice since he swore he would only buy Chevrolet when we were dating.

[usuallylurking]

Mar 31, 2013 2:32:59 GMT -5 nursewife said:

Mar 31, 2013 2:26:45 GMT -5 usuallylurking said:

Both of those look nice - have you seen the new Escapes?  I was really impressed looking at them today (keeping myself occupied while H was chatting with the salesman).  I also really love the new 4Runners

My DH is a Ford mechanic, and had also worked for Toyota. He is really loving what ford has brought out lately. It must be nice since he swore he would only buy Chevrolet when we were dating.

Haha, this is really funny!  I know my H is really impressed with everything that Ford has done lately, too.

[nursewife]

I'm really leaning towards the explorer. DH had a brand new loaded one at his shop. I had to move it and couldn't figure out for the life of me how to drive it with the push button start.

[snipsnsnails]

Walk away from the Suburban. You can find a better deal.

[Deleted]

Have you signed a contract of any kind? What state are you in? Price depends on mileage. Before negotiating any car deal you should look up the value of your trade in on kbb.com. They will give you a trade in value and private party value. The trade in value is always less as dealerships have to absorb the cost of getting the trade in back to sell able condition. If there is a large gap between trade in value and private party value then I would recommend selling the Toyota yourselves on Craigslist and taking the time to find the car you really want and can afford. DH has sold cars for 20 years and I worked in dealerships for 5. We never trade our cars in and sell them ourselves, it just makes more financial sense. This will also give you time to shop for a car loan that has the best interest rates. I always recommend trying your local credit union as their rates are typically one of the best. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions. Also, go back first thing and return the car, don't call just show up. Don't leave until you have your vehicle back in your possession. Take all the kids with you. It will help to move things along. :-)

[vanillacourage]

Did you sign anything?

I would also recommend waiting a bit on a major purchase like this.

[softspot]

If you feel jilted walk away. There are plenty of car dealerships. When we bought my new car the first dealership was really pressuring us to get into an Escape when I wanted an Explorer. The jackass just kept trying to convince me why I needed his new to the lot '13 Escape. We left, waited a few days & found a place that gave us a great trade-in price & purchase price.

Ditto on not rushing, you have time. Just don't wait too long, we finalized our licensing paperwork the day before I went into labor. Whoops.

[jssymom14]

My brother is in love with his nissan armada if you are looking for something that large. The local car dealerships pull that take it home shit here all the time hoping you get the "can't live without" feeling. The minute they open back up, bring it back and get your vehicle.

[usuallylurking]

Mar 31, 2013 7:16:50 GMT -5 tarzanswife said:

Have you signed a contract of any kind? What state are you in? Price depends on mileage. Before negotiating any car deal you should look up the value of your trade in on kbb.com. They will give you a trade in value and private party value. The trade in value is always less as dealerships have to absorb the cost of getting the trade in back to sell able condition. If there is a large gap between trade in value and private party value then I would recommend selling the Toyota yourselves on Craigslist and taking the time to find the car you really want and can afford. DH has sold cars for 20 years and I worked in dealerships for 5. We never trade our cars in and sell them ourselves, it just makes more financial sense. This will also give you time to shop for a car loan that has the best interest rates. I always recommend trying your local credit union as their rates are typically one of the best. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions. Also, go back first thing and return the car, don't call just show up. Don't leave until you have your vehicle back in your possession. Take all the kids with you. It will help to move things along. :-)

Thanks everyone! We have not signed anything other than the standard insurance and other stuff necessary to take their Suburban off the lot last night.

After reading responses here as well as sleeping on it we've decided to go in this morning with all intents and purposes of returning the Suburban. Yes, it's perfect, but we don't like the deal. 1, the price of the Suburban doesn't negate the value of our trade-in (which they will easily get $25k for on the lot, so them paying us $20k for it is still a good profit - there is very little they need to do to turn it around - detail it and change the oil), 2, we don't like not having any warranty coverage whatsoever especially because we're moving to a small town where mechanics cost a fortune for even the tiniest thing, never mind the cost of parts, and 3, we were under the impression yesterday that they would seal the 3 rock chips in the windshield as well as touch-up paint some rock chips on the front/hood area (these will rust out, we live on the coast). When we were getting ready to leave the lot and again brought them up to the salesman he acted as though "too bad, so sad" - well, if that's the case then we need to renegotiate the price of the Suburban. They may seem small, but they aren't cheap to fix, especially if one of the chips turns into a crack across the entire windshield. Right now we feel as though they're getting a great deal and we aren't - we'd feel much better if we at all felt like we were getting a deal too instead of feeling jilted as another poster put it. We're not sure what kind of response they'll have for us, but we are more than willing to walk. I think if that is clearly communicated, they may be more open to work with us. If not, no big deal - we have time.

Also, we are in Alaska. We put 3,000 miles on the Toyota, otherwise it is in exactly the same condition that H originally purchased it for. Oh, and we are financed through a local credit union

[usuallylurking]

Mar 31, 2013 8:41:01 GMT -5 jssymom14 said:

My brother is in love with his nissan armada if you are looking for something that large. The local car dealerships pull that take it home shit here all the time hoping you get the "can't live without" feeling. The minute they open back up, bring it back and get your vehicle.

Thanks for this! We actually didn't consider this vehicle at all so maybe a trip to Nissan is in order. We were pissed they pushed us into the Suburban, too - we had to move all of our stuff (carseats, winter clothes, everything that accumulates in a car over 6 months) and then leave even though we told them we were on a time crunch and wanted to just take our 4Runner. They said they would "feel more vested" if we took the Suburban so rather than waste more time we just said fine. We are much better prepared this morning

[cheeseandcrackers]

Good luck! Sounds like you can get a better deal.

[game blouses]

If you have good credit, it's not impossible to get the exact deal you want, especially with a trade in. Just keep repeating the numbers you want, and if they can't deliver, walk away. They can usually deliver. Make them feel the pressure, not you.

[Jalapeñomel]

You are way over thinking this. Take the car back and say you aren't interested in it any more.

[angelaa73]

not exactly sure what you signed... but here in CA there is no cooling off period. One good thing you have going for you is that it is their end of month, so they will make whatever deal you want.

just tell them that you want to sell your car on your own and use the cash as a down pmt if you feel you're not getting enough for it. HOpe they don't "lose" your keys!

[blackcat]

Agree with PP's, go back and get your car and keep looking around, you have time before your twins are here. I also second the suggestion to sell your 4runner privately, you'll get much more for it than if you trade it in. We sold DH's Mazda 6 privately last year because we knew we'd get peanuts if we traded it in. I put it on Craigslist on a Sunday and by Wednesday, it was sold. Plus, this way, when you go to the dealership you are just working on negotiations for one vehicle, not two (a purchase and a trade-in). Also, make sure to always check Kelly Blue Book for what you should be paying for a used car. Good luck!

[usuallylurking]

Mar 31, 2013 11:10:21 GMT -5 angelaa73 said:

not exactly sure what you signed... but here in CA there is no cooling off period. One good thing you have going for you is that it is their end of month, so they will make whatever deal you want.

just tell them that you want to sell your car on your own and use the cash as a down pmt if you feel you're not getting enough for it. HOpe they don't "lose" your keys!

We're in AK. The banks were closed last night (and still not open when we went back this morning) so technically they did nothing but loan is the car last night. They very reluctantly put us back in our 4Runner this morning and will call us after the banks open.

[moolarkey]

I think our cooling off period in Ohio is 3 days. I know it was for the refi on our house last week.