Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Best place to get dealer pricing?

Yes, Applies basically to used car/truck also. Remember, the dealer will NEVER give "REAL MONEY" over black book for a used vehicle. He can buy it for that at auction.

IF you find a local dealer that will show blackbook for the trade value, lets say $8000 and the vehicle is marked $12,000 then you know you have a $4k spread and can negotiate against that. Key is to find the black book value. Many local lot dealers will give you old black books. They come out weekly or they will just give you the value of a car if you ask nicely. "Say, I am thinking of trading old XXX, this year, model, these features. Could you tell me the black book value of that car?" Some banks and Credit Unions keep the black book also and will give you data. It has basic models and then you figure the adjustments up or down for options and milage which can effect the value greatly. An old trick is for the dealer to show you the black book basic price w/o options figured in and say "See what a great deal I am giving you!" Got to add everything up.

Understand major dealers cannot finance anything over 10 yrs old or 100,000 miles normally so they wholesale them to a local dealer or send to the auction. NADA and Edmonds are close sometimes, but not really. Local lot dealers are a whole different world.

Here is what " real money" is so you see what I am talking about.

Black book trade value $8000 for your trade and a new car MSRP of $25,000 but you could buy it cash for $21,000 by negotiating final price first leaving you a difference of $13,000 IF you throw the trade in last. Remember, you say my trade is worth $8000 blackbook and he cannot argue against that because it is true.

Mention trade first and the dealer will go $8000 maybe against full MSRP of $25,000 and you and he argue until he comes up to maybe $10,000 trade leaving a difference of $15,000. He just made an extra $2000 profit by you mentioning trade first and focusing on the trade value instead of getting the final price. All the time he keeps saying he is giving you more than your car is worth, trying to convince you of what a great deal he is giving you, but you end up paying $2000 more. That is why the first question the salesman ask when you sit down is "Are you trading a vehicle?" They want to know that up front.

Now the dealer knows the trade is still only worth blackbook of $8000 real money, because that is what another wholesaler will buy it for or it will sell for at auction. They do not care about what NADA or Edmonds says your trade is worth. Blackbook is their bible. Every dealer has one in his back pocket at auctions and on the salesdesk.