New car buying advice

Good morning/afternoon/evening all, I just need some advice for purchasing a new car. I have never owned a new car before, but have been pondering getting a new 2014 Chevy Cruze Lt. My 2002 Camaro Z28 is dying on me and gets about 9-10mpg in NYC. I just went to 2 Chevy dealerships here in NYC and both were a terrible experience. I felt like the sales people couldn't count very basic numbers. I qualify under GM's military discount which states I get below MSRP to start off.

MSRP: 21,385

Military Price: 20,711

Current Promo: 2500 Cash allowance

Net Price: 18,211

I also receive $750 for being a USAA member. Meaning I should be at 17,461.

I am fine with paying anywhere from 16.5-17.5 the less the better obviously. Both dealerships I went to are claiming with all of my discounts I'll be paying around 21.5 before taxes, dmv fees, etc.

When I show them their own discounts from GM they claim that it is factored into the pricing and that I'm saving about 3k. I am not naive so I just got up and left. How does one continue negotiations to get the price they want and/or should be paying?

BTW I am not considering used ATM. Most used cars are going for 13-15. If I can get one brand new for 16-17 I'd prefer to do that.

Well, if you have a wife who is savvy with finances, let her do all the negotiating. Me? If I did all the buying, the dealerships would rob me blind. Ha Ha Ha!

Are you young? I think they just victimize young people. Bought a car last week (same car just 6 years newer) and was a much better deal. They paid off 3 years payments left and gave us the same payment, so basically it would only be 3 years of payments for a new car. The last car they killed us on interest even with the same credit score. It went from $6k to $1.5k.

One thing I think helped was talking to a salesguy on the phone before even coming in. He said what we wanted was "doable" and we just held him to it.

Just dont buy a car that looks feminine like your mom's car

Have you thought of getting a motorcycle? The performance would blow away a car,plus you would be getting Prius like MPG.

dealerships don't have to sell by the MSRP price, and sometimes won't, or they're trying to get more money out of you anyways, car dealerships are some of the most shady businesses next to used car dealerships

there's a dealership in or just outside Spokane WA (I think it might be just over the border into Idaho), people fly in form all over the US to buy cars there, there's a shuttle that takes people there straight from the airport, the way they work instead of raising the price from the MSRP and trying to scam buyers to paying more and more money, they sell it $250 over MSRP or whatever they get it from the dealer for and they're what I heard very upfront about it, they won't make as much as other dealers on every car sale but this approach allows them to move more product which makes up for it, I'd consider it if NYC doesn't have strict laws about bringing cars in from out of state

but that's a lot of hassle, you might just try going to other dealerships to see if they won't be as expensive, or maybe just go back to the same dealer and try to find another sales rep

Dangerous if there are bonehead drivers like here in Upstate New York. The locals seem to have a tendency not to see incoming motorcycles and then make a left turn in front of them.

Me? I'm not from here. I make it a point to set myself apart from the locals. He He.

You yell them exactly what you are willing to pay, if they give you another price you say do better or I'm getting up and leaving. I bought a 2014 Ford Fiesta and I told them that I want my monthly payments under $300 a month or I'm out. They managed to get my payments below that mark so I bought it. You also have to keep in mind each car has a slightly different MSRP. That figure you are quoting them is for a very specific model with very specific features. If you add or subtract any features then the MSRP changes and so does the discounted price.

Best advice I can give you is to not buy GM. My dad was a longtime Chevy owner and swore by them up until recently when he traded in his Impala for a new Chevy Cruze. He had such a terrible experience with owning this car for the first couple of weeks, that he ended up trading the Cruze in towards a Mazda 6. He loves the Mazda. Plus, I know that the Cruze is one model that has had a few recalls on it (I think the 6 cyl engine more so than the 4 cyl).

I wouldn't buy a GM either. All that crap they went through with the bailout and they just haven't been the same. I bought a 2012 Ford Fusion and I love it - best car I've owned yet and would highly recommend.

Have you considered going elsewhere to look at cars? I'd assume a place like NYC would be more expensive to buy than, say, a smaller city. Perhaps a dealership in a much smaller town would be willing to haggle on price with you more due to having a much smaller number of people buying cars from them.

The 14's are nearing the end of their lot life, the 15's will be rolling in soon so take that into consideration as well and wait, if you can, til you see some 15's start showing up, because then dealers want to get rid of last year's model even more.

Don't buy new cars, used cars are just as good and are half the price.

First piece of advice:

Don't buy brand new if you live on a budget. You are throwing away money. Depreciation on a new car is disgusting. It's much better to buy a 1-3 year old car that's already lost it's value. Lease returns are always crazy cheap and properly serviced.

My second piece of advice:

Don't look at the price of the car as the final price. Whether you buy new or used, you have to remember fuel, maintenance (oil changes, tires, etc) and INSURANCE. Where I live, Manitoba, we have the cheapest car insurance in Canada, and I'm paying $1300 CAD/year on a 2012 Kia Rio5 EX. Most other places are 30-40% more. And that's just in Canada.

It's good that you are swapping a two-door sports car for a reasonable mid-sized sedan, but the costs you will be incurring will be more than what you think they are in the first year (I speak from experience), and subsequent years, as the car wears, they will only increase. Budget for a cheaper car and you will not regret it.

your current car is too beautiful to be sold, i'd keep it forever.lol :(

Buy it cash right on the spot, or dont buy one at all.