My wife was in an accident last week(someone hit her from behind) , all she had was a busted up lip. Thank God for that.

The car is probably totaled and we will receive a settlement. We havnt had a car payment in 3 years and I'd like to keep it that way by getting something about the same value as the one we lost.

My question is, how much leverage do you have at a dealership if you plan on paying cash in full? For instance a vehicle listed for $12,900 and I'd be willingto pay 11,000.

Is that feasible?

Glad she was ok, Cash always talks

If they wouldn't come down to 11k for you I would shop elsewhere. They probably own it for 6-8k

All they can do is say no, go for it.

Thanks, me too! Im still fairly young and have only bought 1 vehicle that I'm still driving today. My wife's car was the same car she drove in college. So we are pretty green at the haggling game.

It's been awhile but I once bought a truck that had $10,000on it and walked away paying $6800 cash.

just try and see what they will do. Take it in a brown paper bag.

That's pretty awesome.

or less

I'd start at about half of what they want and go from there. and would make sure they know I have CASH in hand and am going to buy a car Today, from them or not...

Cash vs outside financing, they won't give a damn one way or another, either way THEY get paid in full when the car leaves the lot.

Now Cash vs Dealer financing, it just depends. some would rather have the cash, and some would prefer you to finance it b/c they make money off the interest. just depends on the dealer. but my guess is paying cash is a lot LESS of a bargaining tool than it might've been a long time ago.

I like your idea. Never pay interest on a depreciating asset.

Make them an offer and if they turn it down, go elsewhere.

Cash means nothing to the dealer. They are going to their money the second you sign on the dotted line, whether you hand to them or the bank hands it to them. You can get financing on a car for anywhere from 0%-3% now a days. I don't know your debt situation, but if you anything that has a higher interest than that, you would be smart to pay that extra money towards that debt and finance a vehicle. Just my .02 worth. I don't use credit cards and like you I don't like car payments but you just have to look at all your options.

Your best bet in finding a good "cash deal" on a car is a private sale. find what you want and lowball the chit out of them - show them the wad of cash and tell them you're willing to pay $X right now, and (this is the super important part) be totally willing to walk away from the deal if they say no. (but make sure they know how to contact you when they change their mind).

some people look down on making lowball offers, some sellers get offended when they receive a lowball offer. They shouldn't; it's not personal, it's just business. you can do so without being rude, just tell them "This is what I'm willing to pay; If you can't go that low, I understand."

Thanks for the replies fellas. Good info.

If your going to buy it go in on the last day of the month and offer 9k and walk out when they counter higher. Stick to your guns until they let you leave. If they let you leave you will know you bought it as cheap as possible. Do not leave them a number to call you. Let them know you are buying something that day.

Don't be concerned with offending them. It's only business. They will not sell it at a loss. If you are buying from a dealership, I would hold the cash payment as an ace in the hole until you get to the very end of the negotiation. Dealerships make a lot of money on their finance department and would probably rather finance it honestly. Pull out cash at the end and say, "This is what I'm willing to spend today. Am I leaving here with a car or not?"

Cash always makes a difference. Just don't mention it up front.

I buy and sell a lot of used cars and this is the best approach. Be very nice and say I understand this is less than you were hoping to take, but I'm here with the money today and this is what I'm willing to pay. If they say no thanks then walk away. It's just a car and there are thousands of others. 9 times out of 10 they will call you before you get a mile down the road and say they will take your offer.

We def will take a look at the private sellers market. Thank you guys for the advice.

Toothdoc and gomer Pyle have it correct. Cash is not much of a bargaining tool. People say it is, but the dealership makes more money if you finance. They get money back from the finance company for every car they finance and they get their money no matter what. They are not getting paid monthly.

If you're working with a dealer, cash is probably a lower bargaining point. Financers will often give the dealers a kick-back on the interest (they're competing for the dealer's business, just like the dealer is competing for your business), so many times the dealer will have a better bargaining position on a finance deal than a cash deal. Like others have said, the dealer is paid when the car leaves the lot either way.

10k didn't help me any when buying my daughters car. Didn't phase them at all. Actually they acted like they would rather not take it.

If they will cut you a better deal if you finance, finance it, and then stroke a check to the finance company to pay the loan off. I haven't bought many cars, but I have never had one that had a penalty for early pay-off.

I've always had better luck buying used from private sellers instead of lots. Car lots get used vehicles in and out like they are going out of style. They have no clue how the car was treated or etc.

I can usually tell how a car was treated by looking at who owned it and is selling it. Of course it is different if the car lot offers warranty and etc.

But yes, I would low ball the Car lot until you get them down to a price you are comfortable at. If they aren't willing, walk away.

With the interest rates that try to use I always thought they must be getting kickbacks from the loan company anyway.

The best way to buy any used car is to research for a month using prices all over the country for that particular make, model and mileage. In other words know exactly what you are buying, exactly what it's worth, and exactly what you are going to pay for it before you ever walk on the lot.

I havent bought a vehicle in quite a while but when we decided to get a Tahoe i had cash and figgered I'd get a helluva deal walking in offering cash.I was shocked at how little they would budge when i mentioned paying cash.I went and looked at 4-5 different Tahoes and they just wouldnt budge but $1-1500k.I ended up buying from Susan Schein and got em down some and made em throw in a 100,000 mile 5 yr bumper to bumper warranty.At first they said absolutely not on the warranty.I told them thanks and walked out.He called about 5 minutes after i left and said they'd split the $1800 warranty cost with me,i told em no.Went and ate and before we left Alabaster he called back and said they'd throw the warranty in so i went back and bought it.Everyone is right on them making money off financing so they'd much rather you finance.Cash is only king if you're dealing with individuals.

Good luck getting a settlement that will replace the vehicle with a comparable one. I don't know why, because there was nothing I could do about it, but people came to my office all the time to complain about this in dealing with insurance companies after accidents.

This

I think cash will be a better bargaining tool for fsbo. I've tried to sell cars fsbo and you'd be surprised how many people can't get financed.

Walk up to them, pull out a roll of 100's, tell them what you'll pay, if they don't take it get in your vehicle and drive off.

Cash as on cash or cash as in your going to write a check?

Actual dealership or a private owned car lot?

Which do you suggest? I'll probably lean towards private owned places. Or individuals. Those will probably have more of what we are looking for.

Example: 2006-10 Mid Size SUV 100-150K Miles

If you have green cash, go to a private lot a a ask for the owner when you get there.

Cash speaks loudly under the right circumstances.

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.

Find a hungry small car lot dealer and offer him $500 to go to the car sale at Moody with you. Get there early and find 3 to 5 cars you like and figure a price you would be comfortable with. When the cars come thru the sale line you have to be quick and don't hesitate or the car will be gone. They run 5 or 6 lines of cars at a time so you have to watch what is going on.

I did this for my mother once when she wanted to buy a car with cash. There are several books around that will help you accurately estimate the amount the dealer has in a car. I don't remember which but it should be easy to find. Anyway, once I figured out how much the dealer (Jerry Damson Honda in Huntsville) had in the car I went to their lot. Of course one of their salesmen was on me immediately and I sat down with him in his office. I pulled out my calculations and I told him that I believed he had $X invested in the car I wanted. I then told him that if he would take $X + $200 he would have a quick sale and I'd be out of his hair in 5 minutes. Also, that if that didn't seem like a good deal to him I would be on my way. He took that deal and I was gone off the lot in 20 minutes

lol

many people try the "I'm paying cash" card. They don't care because they lose out on financing charges.

I rarely buy a new car but when I do I take advantage of the company finance discount they offer, then you can pay it off and still walk away with an additional 1200-1500 off the price. I usually buy Ford, and the last 2 I bought I got the additional discount for using Ford Motor credit, but their rates are high so I re-financed them for $28 with my credit union. You can do the same thing when paying cash. Not smart to walk away from 1200 that they are throwing at you. I know you are looking at a used car and they probably won't have the rebate on the used ones, but it may help you in the future.

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.

Be sure to carry some personal protection along with that brown sack full of cash, especially with private sellers.

Yep...there was an older couple that got killed when they showed up to buy a '66 Mustang with a bag of cash this past week in GA.

salesmen are trying to meet monthly quota here at the end of the month ...

didn't read all the other responses. But, why go to a dealer? You can get a lot better deals from a private party sale. And cash does talk with a private party. Going to a dealer is simply paying them to be the between man for you and the person who originally traded or sold it.

Get a black book, look only at trade in value. Buy only for that number or less.

When you meet someone, meet at their house, and look at how they keep themselves and the house. You will know how the car was kept. Get a vehicle history report, and youre good to go.

Many times dealers will make more profit on the used side than the new. They will sale new at invoice or below and make their money on the hold back and incentives. Car salesman would much rather sale used because they can make a big lick that isn't possible on a new vehicle. I sold cars for a short time and was around dealers everyday for 15 years so I saw a lot about how the business operates.

Don't get an Equinox they have a recall due to oil consumption.

Thanks, we are looking at Pathfinders and Acadias

This! Cash at a small lot speaks volumes not so much at the dealerships anymore.

" Mighty is the power of cash."