All you need to know is three things:
1. The cost of the new car.
Forget about rebates and all that other crap. Just go for the throat and get the lowest possible price -- then have the incentives thrown on top. Know what the invoice price for the car is and know what you want to pay.
To get an idea of the real market price -- check into forums like these and see what people are paying. Take the super wacky low numbers with a grain of salt -- as somebody might be BSing you. That said, if you consistently see people getting sub-invoice numbers before incentives -- there's your bogey to hit.
NEVER talk payments with a dealer -- because you're playing into their hands. If you want to pay $400 a month -- they'll do something like propose a 7 year loan with an 8% rate -- and some sucker will bite because it's at the amount they want to spend per month. Just get your best deal -- because the payments will work themselves out.
2. The sale price of your used car.
Your selling it is the only way to get top dollar. Otherwise, look up the Kelley Blue Book number and get as much as you can. Always be ready to walk away from a deal unless you're totally blown away at how good the numbers are.
3. The cost of money.
You can't beat GMAC when they're doing stuff like throwing 0% dough at you plus a $1000 GMAC incentive. Don't think they're doing that right now. So go to
http://www.peoplefirst.com and see what their rates are. They are consistently among the best in terms of low cost loans -- although Capital One recently bought them and might have screwed them up.
Bottom line? Put your car up for sale on Auto Trader. Get a good price for it. Once you get that note off your books, look up the invoice price for a GTO at kbb.com -- and find out what the vehicle sale and finance incentives are at Pontiac.com. If GMAC isn't offering insane deals, go to peoplefirst.com and get qualified for a loan. Now you're ready to go shopping.
That said, don't be a dope and start driving off to dealerships. Just search for inventory at pontiac.com and start making phone calls. Ask for a sales manager. Just say, I see you have an Impulse Blue GTO with VIN xxxx -- what is your best price? I'm prequalified and ready to conclude the transaction by phone and FedEx today.
Do that with 5 or 6 stores and either:
1. Buy from the dealer with the best price (with a contingency that you have the right to refuse the vehicle after inspecting it for damage or unusually high miles for a new car).
2. Say to heck with it and either buy something else or just wait.
It's a car. They can always make more. And forget the extended warranty, interior treatment package, permashield treatment, gold package, and, especially, any wheel and tire package the dealer puts on -- because it's all overpriced junk.
As for the types of dealers to target -- a big myth is that the little Mom and Pop dealer with a building that has been paid off for years offer the best deals. They don't. They can afford to hang onto inventory and swing for fences on every deal. The places that are good to shop around at are stores owned by Sonic, United Auto and AutoNation -- right before the end of month -- particularly at the end of March, June, September and December. These publicly traded companies HAVE to flip inventory -- and they have no problem dumping a GTO, which they consider slow sellers.
Good luck. Be patient. There's only one more important purchase than a car -- and that's a house. So take your time and do the job right.
