Learn Why Car Price Quotes from Multiple Dealers Can be Different for the Same Car
Pick the Right Car to Buy with 25bestnewcars & Edmunds Car Pricing Reviews

You’re sitting in your home office reviewing 4 free, no obligation car price quotes that you received from new car dealerships. They’re all for the same make and model, yet each one is different. Two are substantially higher than the other two and one included taxes and fees in their quote, whereas the other 3 didn’t. Confusing isn’t it?

Now look closer at the price quotes – are there any notations or disclaimers explaining what is or is not included in the quote? Take out a pad of paper and start making a list with your findings – the dealership name, the amount of the price quote, along with disclaimers regarding what is (or isn’t) included in the price quote. If there isn’t a disclaimer or it’s flat out hard to decipher, make a notation so you can have the dealership clarify.

Some of the more standard fees to be aware of are:

• DMV fees are necessary because the car has to be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles. This should be the same amount for the same make/model of vehicle.


• The destination fee (the amount the dealership has to pay the manufacturer to ship the car to their lot) is always a pass-through cost to the buyer.


• Regardless of where you live, the government wants their share, so sales tax will be charged on the new car you’re buying. The amount does vary from state to state, so you should become familiar with your sales tax laws, as well as confirm whether or not it’s included in any disclaimer in your price quote.


• Last comes dealer installed accessories/options that dealers may add to the purchase price, however, the majority of the time these are not included in a price quote (unless contained in a disclaimer).

8 Rules to Follow When Deciding Which New Vehicle to Buy

1. Really think about what you need in a new car; not just what you want. Sure, it would be great to drive a wicked fast 2-seater sports car, but if you have three kids and a dog it just wouldn’t be practical. If you drive two hours every day commuting to work, do you really want a 12MPG gas-hog, even if it is the coolest van you’ve ever laid eyes on? Do you really need a high-tech entertainment and navigational package to use the vehicle primarily to drive the kids a mile to school? You get the point. Think about everything you need – everything else the vehicle offers that doesn’t break your budget is just gravy.


2. Speaking of breaking your budget, the next thing you must do if you truly want to enjoy your new car is realistically determine how much you can afford to pay each month. Ideally your monthly payments should stay at or below the 1/5 mark of your take-home monthly salary.


3. After you’ve narrowed down the type of vehicle that will meet your needs and determined your budget, then you can run your head-to-head comparisons via your free price quotes. You’ll be able to compare all vehicles in the same class; Edmunds car pricing also has independent car reviews and consumer forums so you could further determine how other consumers feel about that make/model of car.


4. Be aware that just because one car has a lower price tag, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a great deal. While it may be less expensive to buy, it could cost you an arm and a leg to own it. Some makes and models retain more of their value, while others depreciate quickly. One could cost you a lot more to insure and in maintenance costs, while another is more affordable in those areas. The cheaper car could be a gas-hog, while another slightly higher model gets excellent fuel efficiency.


5. As you’ve seen by now, this isn’t the way your parents had to shop for a new car. With the internet you don’t have to be at the mercy of a car salesman just to gather the information you need to make an informed decision. In fact, you don’t even have to step foot on the lot until after you’ve finished doing your research, evaluated your free price quotes, conducted initial negotiations and are ready to test drive the car.


6. Going back to #3 above, you want to contact all of the new car dealers that carry the make/model of the car you’re interested in buying, via email (followed up with a phone call). For one, when you conduct initial negotiations via email you’ll have everything in writing, including confirmation that the exact vehicle you want is in stock and avoid any misunderstandings. Then follow up with the individual salespeople you communicated with via email.


7. You’ve now narrowed it down to two dealerships, each with models in the same class that you’re interested in test driving to make your final decision. Schedule the test drives for the same day, allowing plenty of time to test drive the car under the same conditions you’ll be driving it in the real world. If you do a lot of commuting hop on the highway and see how it performs, as well evaluate how it feels in stop and go traffic. If you belong to a car pool, sit in the back and see how it feels. Essentially, put the car through the paces to ensure it will meet all of your needs and lifestyle. Evaluate the ‘features’ of the car when you’re not driving – the last thing you want is “Siri” chirping at you and distracting you from evaluating how the car is performing.


8. Once you’ve finished test driving the first car, leave and go test drive the other you scheduled. That will let you evaluate both and easily determine the differences that will lead you to making an informed decision. Plus, when it comes to further negotiations a salesperson who knows you’re test driving a competitor’s car will be more likely to sweeten the pot to get you back to sign on the dotted line.

Why Would a New Car Dealer Sell at or Below Invoice Price?

Understanding the motivation behind ‘why’ a car dealership wants to sell their inventory (other than the obvious reason) will allow you to negotiate a true below invoice price and a great deal in the process.

When it comes to putting money in their pockets, dealerships and individual salespeople don’t only generate income in the form of a commission on the sale to you. They also receive incentives and rebates from the manufacturer. These come in the form of volume bonuses, end of month/year sales bonuses for hitting their quota; even special incentives the manufacturer offers them to sell a particular model that isn’t moving as quick as they would like.

The longer a car is sitting in the dealer’s inventory, the more motivated they are to cut to the chase and sell it below invoice price to get it sold; making room for newer and/or better selling models. Many times a car dealer will be agreeable to generating less profits simply so they can focus on models that will sell faster; play the numbers game by selling more cars = higher bonus money/incentives. Win/win: you get a below invoice price and they more than make up for it in bonus money.

Now that you know how to effectively evaluate car price quotes along with all of the considerations that factor into buying the perfect car for you, take 60 seconds and request your free, no obligation new car price quote.

Use your new-found knowledge to negotiate in confidence and drive away with a great below invoice price on a new car.