Finding dealer invoice cost online

[Stimw]

Just a suggestion.
I was shopping for a late model Kia Sportage for about 3 months.
I found one (2016) Off-Lease at Hertz Car Sales for $4-5000 less than KBB retail!
It is in perfect condition and they put 4 new tires on it for me- no charge.
It still has the rest of the factory warranty and Hertz gives a 12/12 warranty.
They have a large inventory for sale and were very easy to deal with.
I am not associated with them in any way! Just very happy with my purchase.

 

[rtimgray]

I'm a bit puzzled as to why an invoice price or MSRP or any other pricing, beyond what a person actually pays for a vehicle, is that relevant. If my dealers invoice shows $100,000 but they give me 80% off, am I supposed to feel any better than just paying $20,000 for the car?

The issue of invoices/dealer costs/hold backs/rebates/floor plans/etc. can be beaten as long as anyone is willing to discuss, I just question to what end? In my opinion, the only thing that really matters to me is what my actual out-of-pocket costs are. Everything else seems to be smoke and mirrors.

I imagine that the biggest rub is that all of us, myself included, want to feel as if we got the best deal and that we somehow "beat" the dealer. I'm sure that several folks can regale us with stories of how they beat the dealer, and I'm sure that some have. Dealers that get beat a lot are probably not dealers very long. Good dealers make you feel like you beat them as they take your money anyway.

Whatever makes someone feel better as they go through the process of buying a car is certainly their prerogative, but it is all very subjective.

Good luck and take care.

 

[TheMan419]

The invoice is important because you know how much (sort of) the dealer paid. If I know what you paid for an item you are trying to sell I have a great idea of what you are willing to sell it for. If the invoice is $20K, we know there are a couple points for dealer hold back. Also you can pretty easily find out any factory incentives on the net. So you know the dealer is keeping lets say $500 as hold back. If there are also factory incentives of $500 the dealer can sell to you at invoice and still make $1K.

So you are in a good position to know if you are getting down to the dealer's bottom dollar.

 

[kc5dlo]

We went thru the car buying exercise last weekend with the daughter. her best friends husband is the service manager of a local dealership. She went to him first and he hooked her up with a salesman who sat down with a piece of paper with an invoice price and a couple of other prices with one supposedly a employee, friends and family price. One of the prices was actually lower but was not explained. Their best price was still higher than what she budgeted and I had already told her to not make a deal on the same day. We stopped at another dealer and looked at a similar car but one level lower and they actually was able to get to a price that was at her budget number which was about 60 dollars a month cheaper than the car at her friend's husband's dealership. The daughter contacted the first salesman and said she had a price at her budget number but really liked the car at the level higher that was shown to her. He said he would get back to her in the morning. They matched the price of the other dealer even though it was a more equipped car. It's too bad they can't just get down to the best price from the start but it simply is not how that process works. Final price was well below the "Invoice" price. Obviously there are rebates that factor into the real price a dealer pays.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

You will never see the true dealer cost.

 

[Sigarms]

The issue of invoices/dealer costs/hold backs/rebates/floor plans/etc. can be beaten as long as anyone is willing to discuss, I just question to what end? In my opinion, the only thing that really matters to me is what my actual out-of-pocket costs are. Everything else seems to be smoke and mirrors.

And we have a winner!.......

 

[Sigarms]

You will never see the true dealer cost.

You mean to tell me if you run a business, you have no problem with just giving your products and services away by letting your customers know what your actual cost is for product, labor and overhead? You will never gain market share with that kind of business attitude

 

[ustmd]

I'm a bit puzzled as to why an invoice price or MSRP or any other pricing, beyond what a person actually pays for a vehicle, is that relevant. If my dealers invoice shows $100,000 but they give me 80% off, am I supposed to feel any better than just paying $20,000 for the car?

The issue of invoices/dealer costs/hold backs/rebates/floor plans/etc. can be beaten as long as anyone is willing to discuss, I just question to what end? In my opinion, the only thing that really matters to me is what my actual out-of-pocket costs are. Everything else seems to be smoke and mirrors.

I imagine that the biggest rub is that all of us, myself included, want to feel as if we got the best deal and that we somehow "beat" the dealer. I'm sure that several folks can regale us with stories of how they beat the dealer, and I'm sure that some have. Dealers that get beat a lot are probably not dealers very long. Good dealers make you feel like you beat them as they take your money anyway.

Whatever makes someone feel better as they go through the process of buying a car is certainly their prerogative, but it is all very subjective.

Good luck and take care.

+1000000000000
For me, the important question is not the dealer's cost, but what the market price is for the vehicle that I want and am I "satisfied" with the price I paid.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

You mean to tell me if you run a business, you have no problem with just giving your products and services away by letting your customers know what your actual cost is for product, labor and overhead? You will never gain market share with that kind of business attitude

Confused....

 

[Sigarms]

Confused....

If you were a business owner, it would be stupid on your part to let your customer know what your "true" out of pocket cost is for a product you're selling to them when your business is dependent on selling that same product. My previous post was being sarcastic.

A dealer invoice showing you the "cost" for the auto can be anything.

ustmd put it best "For me, the important question is not the dealer's cost, but what the market price is for the vehicle that I want and am I "satisfied" with the price I paid."

In full disclosure, I've never bought a brand new car of the lot in my life. I go in with cash on hand looking for the best buy per ustmd's criteria including mileage and age on the vehicle. Drive a brand new car off the lot and IMO you're losing money right out of the gate.