I'd say you probably have a better chance at getting a deal at a new car dealer than with a used lot. Reason being - used car lots are there to make money on used cars. New car lots take trades in to sell new cars, not necessarily to make all the profit on the used vehicle. I know of several people lately who have gotten fantastic deals at new car lots.
Don't kid yourself, they make good money off of used cars as well. In many cases they make more off of the used cars than the new cars. However, I do understand what you are saying, their main goal is to sell new cars. They get bonuses for selling x # of new cars each month/yr. But they love trades because most people do not know how to trade, so they generally make money on trades that are still in decent shape. That's why I never tell them if I plan to trade. I get the bottom price then I induce the trade into the deal. I do my homework to see what the car I'm trading is selling for so I know what's a good price. I just traded my wife's Equinox and there was 4k difference in the trade price between two dealers and I had already got both of them down to the same price on the car with no trade. 4k difference?? Somebody was gonna make some money on that trade had I not done my homework.
