Quote:
Originally Posted by S1000RRPilot
... I try to aim for 1000 over invoice, ...
|
I do not at all agree with that approach. 1000 over invoice may be too much at a particular time, and if so, you spent more than you needed to. It is very difficult as a buyer to negotiate down from an offer just made. Unless one knows what the market is at the particular time, just picking an arbitrary number to agree on is not wise, imo.
The art of negotiating is truly an art and there is no way, imo, to establish rules for how to do it effectively. There are just too many hard to define variables one has to have the instict to know know how to deal with, including the personality of the salesman, the inventory on hand you cannot see, and many other motivators that are just not available to the buyer. It has been my observation that the good negotiators have an instinct for negotiating and that instainct is what makes them successful.
I am certainly not a born negotiator (I am all left brained) so I have to compensate by learning everything I can before talking to a salesman. I think the most important data points, and the hardest to get, is what the market is bearing relative to invoice. A good deal is fair to both sides and a price negotiated at more or less at the current market value is the most fair. The second most important thing is the in your heart willingness to walk away from the deal. If you are not truly willing to walk away and not turn back, the good salesman will sense this and then he owns you. I do not know if this overall approach has always allowed me to achieve the least expensive cost for all the vehicles I have purchased over the years but it has allowed me to always walk away from the deal (either successfully or unsuccessfully) satisifed. Any deal in which both participants walk away satisfied is a good deal.