I plan on paying cash to a dealer for a used 350Z next week. (I have terrible credit, but a lot of cash.) My question is, I'm not sure what the dealer is looking for. Is telling him I plan on paying cash up front going to help in the negotiations? Or maybe hurt? I would think that getting all the money up front has its benefits, but then again, they're missing out on a sizable finance charge. Any car dealers out there wanna share their secrets?

 

dealers would much rather you finance cause then they get the profit from the car and a kickback from the finance company. if you are using just cash and don't have a trade in you are in pretty good shape cause that takes a lot of BS away from the dealer. (It keeps them honest) i would figure out what the car is worth via bluebook or edmunds or whatever, figure out your state taxes and add that figure to it, and be open to up to about a 200$ processing fee and this should be your total cost. compare that to what they are asking for the car. make an OTD offer that you think is fair, and let them know that your offer is firm and you are buying the car today!!

Good luck, i'm sure some other guys on here can give you some great advice so wait a little bit and see what all you get, in the meantime, do your homework!

 

dugas has it right.

Don't mention the cash buy & negociate price first. THEN tell'em its an all cash transaction.

If you have to lie (saying you will finance) during price negociations, that's fine; salesman at dealers lie hourly.

 

Tell him you want to buy the car then leave. Simple i don't know why yall make stuff hard. You should be able to get the price you want regardless if you have any clue of what your doing

 

if you have cash for the entire car, i suggest you just finance it, put up w/ the high *** APR and pay it for a year, and after just pay it off all in a lump sum. you'll pay a some extra money but it'll better your credit and you'll have the car paid off after a year, its a little to pay to up your credit record. good luck

my suggestion

 

+1. There is no advance for the dealer if you pay cash. Negotiate the price first. After the contract is signed - pay the man.

 

How do you plan on driving away in the car if you leave?

 

That's pretty much what I did this weekend. I took a test drive, said I liked it and was interested, but wasn't going to be making a decision until next Friday. When he realized he wasn't going to sell it to me today, he lost all interest in me. He layed all that speil on me like "I can't promise it will be here later in the week...I can't keep these things in stock! That's why we only have one!" etc. etc.

I'll go in on Friday with a bag full of cash and try to hammer something out.

 

I did exactly what you're planning on doing. My credit wasn't good enough at the time to get these 2.x% interest offers that are out there, so it was more advantageous for me to pay cash. I really did my homework first. I found out what the dealer actually paid for the car (taking out dealer holdback and all that crap), then I worked up the taxes, tags, title, licensing, etc, added in a reasonable profit (they don't give 'em away, you know), and called the dealer that happened to have the exact car I wanted on the phone. I made them a cash offer, which they accepted and I went and picked the car up that night after writing them a check. It was a GREAT feeling, and the "no haggle" process was the best buying experience ever.

 

Did you get the 350Z?

 

see this.

 

Cool