I'm going to look at a 2008 honda civic on Friday 6/20 and am nervous.?

Question

The asking price is 14,299.00 and it only has 7 miles on it. How low should I start the bargaining process. I know this is a hot car right now so I don't want to sound foolish. Also, do i have to ask for the invoice price or is it listed on the paper on the window?

Answer 1

Between then and now, if at all possible try to look at the same car (or a very similarly equipped Civic) at another Honda dealership.  I've found that I get the best prices on new cars when I get 2 prices from 2 different dealers and I can play them off one another.  

You can still take the Civic to the closest Honda dealership for warranty work etc., even if you buy it from a dealer farther away that gives you a better price.  

If you don't have time to look at another Civic between now and then, Carsdirect.com will let you build the car online and can give you a price (which normally differs and is usually less than the sticker price) to give you some direction as to where to negotiate.  If you're brave you can even buy the car online from Carsdirect, but I haven't been brave enough to try that yet...  

The other thing to keep in mind is that you don't HAVE to buy THAT Civic from THAT dealer on 6/20!  If they aren't willing to negotiate and you haven't had time to check into another Honda dealer or Carsdirect etc., leave and come back when you've had time to check into other prices.  They'll still sell you the car on 6/21 or 6/22 if you decide to take a day or two to think about it.

Answer 2

Ask for the invoice price. If you do have a down payment, don't tell them up front. They usually can go $1500 or so below invoice depending how bad they want to sell. If they have a fleet dept at the dealership, go there. The fleet dept. are more about getting cars out instead of making a big profit. Once they give you a interest rate (depending on your credit score) and the cost and settle on a monthly payment, then you tell them "well, what if I put $1000 down".

Then they have no choice but to go lower. But don't say anything about down payment til they settle on price, etc.

Always bargain/ques. on anything they offer. You can even bargain about the warranty or anything they sell that you think you'd need.

Answer 3

ask to see the invoice price and start from there it is not on the sticker