Sounds like that finance manager is about to buy a Buick for twenty-one five.

 

BG - have you tried truecar to find the deal you're looking for? I've never used for a used car but apparently it's possible. I've had great success using it for new cars in 2 occasions, including on the latest purchase of my Ridgeline.

You'll get a pre-approved offer for the actual vehicle, though they do get your contact info so they'll throw other cars at you but I haven't had issue declining and asking to be taken off their call list. I also give them my Google number so I can prescreen the calls.

For the Ridgeline, I found the trim I wanted at one dealership in the neighboring city and received the truecar offer with an attractive price of 42850.

Another dealership in my town had the same trim, but did not participate in truecar. So I emailed/called them back and forth a few times to get the their best out the door price. They said they could do 42k so made an appointment for them.

Went into the 1st dealership and test drove and liked. Truecar offer included how long they had it on the lot. It was several months and backed up by the build date on the door jamb sticker. So I used that to try to negotiate a better deal than the 42k at the 2nd dealership. The best they could do was 42500. So told them no thanks I have appointment with another dealership for 42k otd. They went back and forth with me, even went so far to accuse the 2nd dealership of lying. Also trying to get me to call the 2nd dealership on the phone while I was there, maybe thinking I had made up the offer. I declined saying if the deal wasn't real, then they've lost a customer and I'd keep looking. I walked from the 1st dealership.

Next day got a text confirming my appointment with the 2nd dealership. Responded yup I'll be there as long as the 42k offer was still on the table and the responded that it was. Did the test drive and everything checked out. Got to financing and sure enough the deal was intact so I bought the vehicle from them.

A few days later the 1st dealership called to see if I was still interested in their truck. I said I wasn't because I had bought a truck from the other dealership. They asked the price and I told them the price and they were surprised. They said it was a fantastic deal and they didn't have a clue how the dealer made any money on it, because they couldn't have. I'm assuming their honesty because at that point, they had nothing to gain.

 

I have a hard time believing that the $500 you were negotiating over is the difference between profit and making no money on a new vehicle. That math doesn't work out in terms of supporting the entire dealership business model (acreage, infrastructure, employees, new inventory, etc.).

So, while I have no idea what a dealership actually pays for a new Ridgeline, I can pretty much guarantee that neither dealership was risking the business by giving you the deal of a lifetime.

Now, if you're talking about the $2000-$5000 used vehicles I have shopped for my entire life, then $500 +/- makes a massive difference for both parties.

 

[QUOTE=Drew21;1493162]I have a hard time believing that the $500 you were negotiating over is the difference between profit and making no money on a new vehicle. That math doesn't work out in terms of supporting the entire dealership business model (acreage, infrastructure, employees, new inventory, etc.). QUOTE]

Keep in mind that new car sales don't really support the dealership any more. That all comes from the service $$$$ department. And that assumes that they don't have to do too much non-profit warranty work which is a real problem now a days and the reason why many mechanics are leaving dealerships.

 

[QUOTE=woof;1493163]I will accept that, but still don't think that the whole "this $500 the other dealership is giving you will break us" argument was real. It was a negotiating tactic at best. No dealership is going to give away a car, even one sitting on the lot for "several months," at cost.

To look at it another way, they know that most customers want to negotiate a lower price so that they can feel like the "got a deal," right? So, why would the dealership start that negotiation so close to their break-even point to preclude a negotiation?

 

bobski - You nailed it!! Time to buy the rental!

2Rismo2 - Haven't tried truecar yet, but I'll give it a shot.

 

No clue what their invoice price was, but I got the vehicle below the true car negotiated rate and I was happy with that deal. I have no delusions the dealerships would go bankrupt from the sale.

The 1st dealership had no incentive to tell me a got a great deal after I already bought the vehicle from the 2nd dealership. I hope they didn't think they're buttering me up for the next sale as I tend to keep my vehicles for a long time, my last purchase was 7 years ago.

It's possible the 2nd dealership was trying to move inventory because the following week, they were bought out by the dealership next door. I bought it from Hendrick Honda, and they are now Ourisman Honda.

Window sticker says $48730 including destination. Getting it 42k otd which included taxes, title, tag to registration etc means it was around 14% off. I got a check $31 back from the dealership the following month, I'm assuming for overpayment on a line item. Sale price for just the vehicle was 39256 according to the paperwork. So 19% off MSRP on just the vehicle. No regerts

 

Final chapter to this story.

I was starting to realize that finding a used car in my small town of 30K residents was going to be a long and hard task. So I went new. Trouble is, local dealer didn't have what I want.

So a trip to El Paso was in order. Had to drive 80 mi. each way to get it, but it was worth it.

2026 Buick Encore GX in aquamarine blue metallic, which is a rare color for this car; most are white, gray, red or black. This new car had been sitting on their lot for 5 mo., so here's what I did.

I emailed the dealership right around noon and said, give me your best OTD price.

Of course they tried to sell me some add-ons, which I refused. So in the end, final sale price $25,535 plus doc, title & transfer fees puts the total at just under $26K (without tax - NM charges an excise tax of 4% on vehicles, about another $1000). Retail was $30K and the asking price before I arrived today was $28,539. So I was able to knock $3K off the price just by asking.

For anyone buying a new or used car at a distance, I heartily recommend doing all the negotiation via phone/text/email first with the dealer. No need to haggle inhouse, and that saves time and frustration.

I'll miss the cargo capacity of the Fit, but now I have a much nicer ride, with all the toys.

Thanks to everyone here for the last 10 years. I'll check in occasionally just to see if I can add anything to discussions.

 

Congrats on the new vehicle. The post isn't complete without pictures

Totally agree on negotiations using text and phone. I did the same and that was dealerships local to me. The dealership I bought my car from was 3m away lol. I also used my Google phone number as the contact info so I could screen calls and texts.

 

So this is the Sport Touring line, mostly cosmetic with black alloys and body cladding. Those are 18" wheels.

The missus - who assumed I might want a white car - was pleasantly surprised by this color, kind of a metallic powder blue.

 

Glad you found a vehicle that works for your needs. I do like the color.

More generally, it is somewhat ironic to me that we were told for years and years that no one wanted small efficient hatchbacks or wagons, so they have been replaced by a whole slew of small hatchback SUVs that somehow combine the benefits of worse handling, generally worse efficiency, and less interior space. I guess the big selling point is slightly improved ground clearance, which admittedly comes in very handy on the highways and suburban streets where the majority of vehicles spend 99% of their time.

Similarly, we were told that no one in their right mind would drive a minivan. Although there are a few still on the market (my sister has a Toyota Sienna Hybrid and it's a brilliant family vehicle), they have largely been replaced by bloated 7/8/9-passenger SUVs that again provide all manner of benefits including the previously mentioned worse handling, efficiency, and commonly less and less useful interior space, especially in relation to their exterior footprint.

On the plus side, that lifted Suburban looks way better with novelty testicles hanging off the receiver than a Dodge Caravan or Honda Odyssey ever could.

 

That's a great color and will really pop in the background of your area

 

Thank you both. It's an unusual color stands out from the sea of white, gray and black cars here. Parking lot differentiation.

Reflecting on this experience, I'm reminded I didn't quite learn my lesson here as to whether to start with a new or used vehicle.

When my GD3 was totaled a decade ago, I test drove a GE8 with 55K mi. Fine car, but the dealer wanted something like $14K back then and wouldn't budge.

I wound up getting a new GK5 for around $16K if memory serves. Couple thousand more and I get the third gen in the US and a warranty.

This time, I almost paid $21K for the 2024 Encore that was just about to go out of warranty. Glad the "21.5" finance manager held to her number.

For about $4500 more than that $21K, I get a new vehicle in the color I want and a full warranty with all the toys. That's a better deal in my book.

Edit: Reading the window sticker of additional charges, the blue metallic color was a $495 upgrade, and the emergency spare ("donut") was $195. Better than a can of fix-a-flat, which once deposited in a tire, makes that tire a mess to deal with.

 

Yup I did that with the GK5. I was going to get a used GE, buy the used car prices were too high that I went for the new option with a warranty. I did hesitate with it being the first year of a new line but all in all the GK was a fine option for what I needed it to be. Mechanically it was sound, but there were annoying recalls that needed to be done.

For the Ridgeline, I again started looking at used and went new for the same reasons. I had the funds for new and I paid it off after a few days of getting the vehicle with a loan. I only got the loan to get the $2500 credit for financing versus a lower interest rate.

No regerts...

 

Glad it ended up being a Happy Ending.

 

Aquamarine blue metallic? Well, that tears it. Guess you think you're better than us now.


Kidding aside, that looks like a swell ride, and I'm glad everything worked out. Keep in touch. We can still have some fun.

 

In case anyone's wondering what a total loss on the 2016 LX would be, I got the number from the insurance company.

$8224.04 excluding my $1500 deductible they will attempt to claw back in subrogation, so close to $10k if they're successful.

 

That's close to what they paid me on my 2015 EX. $10190.65. I had looked at sales in my area for a similar trim and miles and I was happy with the price offered. Considering I paid 20k for it in 2015, getting half back 10 years later wasn't bad bargain.

I claimed through the other driver's insurance. My insurance said it would be better that way.

 

So what's the Buick like compared to the GK5?

Mileage: I'm getting ~40mpg with careful driving and GM's Start/Stop feature that shuts down the engine when the vehicle stops, then restarts as soon as you lift the brake pedal.

I'm loving this feature. No vibrations during what would have been idling before - huge plus. The restart is barely noticeable, the tiniest of shudders.

For a 3000 lb. vehicle with 155hp on hand, I'll take 40mpg all day every day.

Comfort: Seats are leatherette and firmer and more comfortable than the GK5's fabric. Active noise cancellation and thicker glass add to a quieter ride, esp. at highway speeds.

Infotainment: Two large displays - a dash binnacle which is configurable several different ways and a separate 11" central display. Nice and easy to use, especially with the backup camera. Getting Android Auto on that 11" screen is a gamechanger. Better than any standalone GPS I've used.

I've already replaced all the door speakers (typical low-end junk) and it all sounds much nicer, but fair warning - stereo does not go very loud. If you're used to earbleed levels, won't find it here.

But I do get all the telematics. Realtime readout of air pressure in each tire is a huge advantage over the GK5's passive ABS system which doesn't indicate individual tire pressures.

Safety: I get collision avoidance, lane keeping, back crossing warning and blind spot monitoring. All work well without being overly intrusive.

Other: I can start and stop the engine, lock and unlock doors, etc. on the Buick app. Nice feature but I have no clue how often I'll use it.

A few years ago, I had an HR-V for a day while my car was being worked on. I was not impressed with the HR-V - underpowered, a bit clumsy and nothing to write home about.

This vehicle is everything the HR-V was not - plenty of power on tap, excellent mileage, quieter, cushier.

Now that Honda dropped the GK5 in the US, the HR-V is their loss leader, but it didn't interest me. They didn't improve it enough for me to consider it as a viable contender.

 

The local "crime" involves drunk drivers and people using illegal drugs.

"New Mexico consistently ranks among the states with the highest violent crime rates in the US, with a 2024 violent crime rate of 717 per 100,000 people—nearly double the national average. Key issues include high rates of aggravated assault, property crime, and a significant drug overdose crisis, with major issues concentrated in specific areas like Albuquerque and Rio Arriba County."

Also - Crime in New Mexico - Wikipedia