jbrennen

iTrader: (1)

That's my experience as well. I sent an email to the nearest dealer telling them that I was immediately ready to buy an Evo if they could just give me my color and options choice.

I got a form letter response a few days later and was not otherwise contacted.

A few weeks later, I stopped in the same dealer, intending to put down a deposit, and ended up buying my Evo that afternoon, from the same salesman who had sent me the form letter response.

My guess is that the dealers probably only see about 1% or so of the email requests lead to actual purchases of a car, and they don't have the time to deal with the other 99%.

N/A

I sent out a copy faxes already and even those got no response. I think the dealerships here in MD just don't want to make a sale or think they can screw people around. I'll probably end up buying mine outside MD.

Johng316

This won't work with used cars because there is so much that is "negotiable" about the condition and value of a used car.

The reason this works with new cars is that new cars are a commodity. Once you know what color and options you want, they are ALL THE SAME. Why should you pay more in one dealer than another? Go with the lowest bidder or the first to respond to your price offer.

If you order the package from Fightingchance.com, they will also give you a listing of folks in your geography who bought Evos using this strategy, where they bought, and what exactly they paid. It will also include up-to-date info on any secret factory to dealer incentives that might be out there on the Evo (unlikely, but possible is sales are slower than expected), and what other folks are paying nationwide. Excellent and cheap info.

John G

EVO SPECIALIST

Now I understand why the economy is the way it is!

JT-KGY

iTrader: (3)

Not sure what you're commenting on... but car shopping and
people looking for better deal happened long before the economy
plunged...

I bought my 94 Supra TT back in 94 at invoice... it was 10k off
from MSRP...

Thoe99

iTrader: (25)

The way I did it at the time (month and a half ago)was I emailed about 30 dealers in TX and Louisiana (closest state to me) on my offer, while breaking it down into individual fees and incentives, with a profit for them.

About 15 dealers emailed back, 10 called me, 5 were around my offer, 4 were persistent in negotiating over the phone, and one took my offer (but I didn't buy that one cuz apr% was too high). You gotta factor in apr% when dealing too, or else they'll rape you in that department.

At this time, there are still dealers emailing me back about an Evo , heh.

ExoByte

iTrader: (1)

I took the same approach... mass email. Why use an old technology like fax when you can email the same information? I worked directly with their "Internet Sales" person, who was dedicated to the job. He was an out of work IT professional who was not a pushy person.

I ended up paying $29,057 (plus TT+L) for a black Evo with CF spoiler and sunroof, and they bettered my pre-approved financing at 3.59% interest. I would highly recommend using email. (Hiley Mitsubishi in McKinney, TX)

Johng316

Congrats on the great deals! I love e-mail too, but the reason to NOT use e-mail is this: as you found, you get bounced to the "internet sales guy," who is another layer of commission you'll have to pay. He doesn't have the direct authority to approve a low-profit deal either. He'll take your offer to the Sales Manager for approval anyway. Might as well jump to the top. If the manager doesn't have to pay a commission, the chances of getting a good deal increase for you.

As a result, you'll pay less if you use a fax and address it to the sales manager BY NAME. A fax will usually receive attention before an e-mail, and there is no risk of you being bounced to another layer of commission (which you will pay for). You might have to work a bit harder this way, but if you saved $500-$1000 by investing a couple of hours of legwork, that translates into a nice exhaust system.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion. Do what works for you, and score a good deal. Its amazing to me that some folks are still marking up the Evo $5K, but I guess there must be some people out there willing to pay the premium.

Caveat Emptor.

John G

4wd4me

bump for a good thread

Barnabas

I have a question...How did you know how much holdback the dealer was making? Is that disclosed someplace on the net or do you just happen to know? How would we go about finding out all those little incentives dealers get?

Barnabas

Oops, I just read fightingchance.com and figured you got the information from there.

Johng316

Barnabas,

Excellent question. If you order the fightingchance package (http://www.fightingchance.com), you will get exact holdback figures as well as all current factory-to-dealer incentives.

There are some incentives published on Edmunds (free), but it's sometimes not up to date or not complete.

Http://carbuyingtips.com has some information also on how to find holdback and incentive data on each car model and manufacturer.

Arm thyself with good information, and you can not only save hundreds or thousands of bucks, but you can also have a relatively enjoyable car buying experience.

You in the market for an EVO or something else?

Good luck!

John