Lord & Taylor usually has their items in the store about three weeks and then puts them on sale around 25% off. Then a few weeks later they mark them down lower and have a sale where you get an additional 25% or more off the already marked down price. Add a 20% off coupon on top of that, and you've got a great price. A month-and-a-half after they hit the floor they're down to next to nothing. You can get better deals on items that are not in-season (which I often do). It's not unusual to see things winter items at Lord & Taylor in the spring marked 66% off with a sale for an additional 50% off that price plus a 20% off coupon. I have to admit, that's when the prices are the best. Also, if you're shopping at a chain store, it is not unusual for one to have great sales and the others have the same items at full-price. I find this to often be the case with Banana Republic and Ann Taylor. On another note, home improvement stores can have spectacular sales. Right now the Lowes by my house is having a big clearance sale...but the one about 5 miles down the other direction has the same things for full-price. I got a wonderful outdoor lamp for $21 at one...at the other it's $49.95. Lowes also is known for awesome lighting sales. The one by my house has several on sale for 80% off original prices. Not too long ago I got a great faucet at Home Depot on sale. I went to another one who had it on sale for about $40 less than the sale price I bought it at. They didn't have any, though. So what I did was return it to the store that had it on sale cheaper (save those receipts!). I then picked it up from the return pile and headed to the checkout...bought the exact same one again for $40 less! You have to go to those stores every day or at least a few times a week....you never know what is going to be on sale when! That holds especially true for Home Depot Expo stores...they have something new on sale every day!
BASEBALL STAR ALEX RODRIGUEZ TO OPEN MERCEDES DEALERSHIP IN LEAGUE CITY LEAGUE CITY, TX --- Major League baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez will be the owner of a new Mercedes-Benz dealership scheduled to open in League City in 2005. League City Economic Development Coordinator Doug Frazior says, “This will compliment the other high-quality businesses that are choosing to locate in League City.” New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will be the majority owner of the new dealership. Rodriguez, baseball’s highest paid player, formerly played shortstop for the Texas Rangers. He will partner with Mercedes-Benz industry veteran Jerry Glauser. This level of Economic Development is exactly the type of business that Mayor Jeff Harrison and City Council have been encouraging. “Alex Rodriguez Mercedes-Benz will be a great addition to the booming economy in Bay Area Houston,” said Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership president Jim Reinhartsen. “Considering the rapid residential growth in League City and the Big League Dreams project right next door, it’s a perfect fit.” I wouldn't mind bargaining with that owner
My wife has had an Odyssey since the new body style came out in 2000...We both loved the minivan, in general, we love all of our Honda's... Very reliable, and retain there value...The best place to get a good trade-in is CARMAX...They buy cars and they've typically given us the most for our cars... As for buying, I hate it because the games they play...At the end of the day, you should be able to get the 2004's a couple of hundred below invoice, but more than likely, you'd have to pay close to sticker on the new body style in 2005... I just bought a couple of pre-owned cars and we got anywhere from 4% - 4.65% (Wells Fargo Internet Finc.)... Good luck
amfootball: I think you should write a column or something. Maybe a weekly thread for us clutchfans.net members I found out the same things about Lowes. I picked up some indoor lighting from one of the stores for a third of the price of another Lowes. One of the Lowes near me rarely has stuff on clearance, the other has stuff on clearance almost perpetually. Also, right now in the post office, there are some moving packets in our area that contain directions on how to obtain a 10% off Lowes coupon. Then my sister told me she had membership in a program that offers Lowes and Home Depot gift cards at a 20% discount. So I bought a ton of stuff I needed, at a cumulative 30% discount. Then, I had to return an item, and I later realized they credited me the full price of the item instead of the discounted price. Oh yes. Got any motorcycle buying tips?
Now that's what I call good shopping...and even better returning!!! Now just do that kind of thing on everything you buy.... You know, I've never attempted to purchase a motorcycle. I have a feeling I'd be good at it, though! I imagine you'd go about it the same way as buying a car, but while wearing leather pants.
I thought I'd run this by you helpful folks with some details ... This is the vehicle I'm looking for: http://www.edmunds.com/new/2004/hon...id=edmunds.n.miptype.pricetable.num4.1.honda* It's the Odyssey -- only difference is it has the leather and the DVD player in the back (it's a ripoff, but a feature I think we'll want with 2 kids). The invoice is $26,980, but there is also a $490 destination charge that Edmunds includes as invoice, making the invoice price $27,470. I've heard that Cleo Bay Honda, in Killeen, is the best in the Austin-area for pricing. There seem to be a lot of good experiences with people just calling up the Internet dealer and getting a quote. So that's what I did. I called her up there just now and it was a much better experience. Some perspective on this, when I went in to a dealership last weekend, the salesman wrote down $31,250 as the price (I was laughing at the time, but that's the number he wanted me to work from). When I called the Internet dealer at Cleo Bay, she quoted me an Internet price of $27,770 ..... $300 above the invoice I stated before. Ironically, I probably would have been somewhat happy with that before receiving the advice in this thread, but now I wonder if I should be shooting for $100-$1000 below invoice. When I said to her I was looking at something like $26,500, she was nice but said "invoice on that vehicle is actually $27,470" -- though she didn't shoot it down as impossible or anything. She also asked that I give her final shot on any price, so damn -- right there they should be able to go below $27,770. The trade value they quoted me on both vehicles is $2,200 higher than the quotes I got at a different dealership (about $1K short of what I'd be happy with), and stressed it's usually higher when they see the vehicles. I am somewhat suspect of that, given it's a good 60 miles away from my home, but still it was better. Keeping in mind also that the 2005 Odyssey comes out in a few months and is upgraded significantly/different body style (though you probably have to pay sticker for it), the questions I would have for you guys (and gals): - Given the information I posted above and some of the information people have stated here, what price would you target? - Anyone have any experience with trade-in estimates over the phone? Usually smoke being blown up your butt to get you in the dealership, or fairly legit?
Remember: invoice is Manufacturer to dealer invoice. The dealer "pays" back the manufacturer (principle and interest) on that cost, but there are "holdbacks" and other incentives that make the dealer's cost much less. MOST of the times, you can buy a vehicle for less than invoice. You can just about always buy an American vehicle for less than invoice. As for the Odyssey....I don't know. As for over-the-phone trade in valuations, don't get your hopes up too high....they'll probably come up with a reason to lower the evaluation when you get there (Oh....there's scratches in the paint you didn't mention, etc.).
Thanks, Pole - I think you're right. I was actually fairly leery of that and mentioned it to her. She stressed that the actual is usually higher than the estimates they give, but some times people come in with smashed-in hoods that they don't mention, etc. I had a hard time buying that. I could very easily see myself driving up to Killeen and getting the runaround up there on that. As for your comments on invoice pricing, I hear ya. The comments have been very helpful and the link Stack24 posted was great too -- it sounds like the route I want to go. I just don't know what price is "insane" to ask for and what is too much. My guesstimate was (and is currently) $26,500.
I'm not, but are you asking for financing purposes? I will go to the dealer with the money in hand. I probably should have mentioned that since I imagine that too would affect price since they have the cash immediately.
I don't think that will make a significant difference. The dealer really isn't providing the financing, so most of the time, whether you buy in cash or use financing sourced through the dealer, they get the cash up front.
No. Usually, if you belong to a credit union, you can go straight to the dealer's fleet department and get the vehicle at or below invoice anyway. Good way to avoid the salesman aspect of it. Fleet people have always been the best to deal wth when buying a new car.
how do you find out where a "fleet" dealership is for a certain company. just call a dealership and ask maybe?
Normally, every dealership has a fleet department. And normally, as long as you belong to a credit union, you are elgible to buy through that program. I have bought my last 7 cars through fleet. Most hassle free and enjoyable experience I have had buying a car.
The hassle-free part would be very nice .... they don't try to pinch you for every little fee? Also, are you seeing significant savings via fleet in relation to invoice? Every vehicle is different based on demand I know, but I'm curious if they will affect the bottom line much more.
I really don't think the savings is that much. Its automatic with most dealers. For example, I have bought several cars from Baker Jackson Nissan and Beck and Masten Pontiac. With BJ, its $500 under invoice, minus whatever rebates are being offered on the vehicle. With BM, its $700 under invoice minus rebates. I guess the best part is that you don't have to go through all the haggling of negotiating the price. Its already set up front for fleet customers. The fleet employees don't make their salary off commission, but rather a point system with the manufacturer (i.e. once they sell 10 cars they get a bonus). Therefore, they aren't high pressure like a normal salesman would be, trying to get every penny out of the deal.
This is a link to prices people paid for their Ody in May 04. http://www.odyclub.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=16587 Everyone paid below invoice. You should do even better now. As for the DVD. Why pay $1500 for it? Fry' electronic (outpost.com) advertises an after market system for $600 installed. (another option is a lab top PC with 15" screen that you can use for other things as well). I wouldn't pay $2K for the factory's Nav system either. $1K, $1.2 can get you a great system anywhere.
I get at least 500 below invoice on almost all GM, Ford, Chrysler, or Nissan/Infiniti cars so I don't have to negotiate at all on those cars. Unfortunately, my wife wants a Lexus next. We always want what we can't have.
Wow, that was extremely helpful. Thanks for passing along that find, ragingFire. You probably saved me a few hundred easy. I don't think $26,500 is absurd (it would be a great deal though) and I may shoot for lower. You bring up a good point (is there a link on outpost.com for that system ? I can't seem to find it) ... I'll research that. I had heard you could get it cheaper by having it installed somewhere, but seemed like a hassle I didn't want to deal with. $900 is $900 though.
. The entertainment system I mentioned is listed in Fry's ad in the Houston Chronicle the past 2, 3 weeks. The Friday copy is what I have. Fry's and Outpost are the same company but I didn't find the ad online either. The unit is a Bravo 10.4" monitor OH-104R with a Blaupunkt DVD for $599. . Here is the link to the monitor for $364 from another website: http://www.thegadgetpro.com/brfl10lcdmoo.html They also have DVD player for < $100. . There are more places still that sell these car systems. Search for "flip down monitor". Here is 1 place: http://www.audioinmotion.com/category.html?UCIDs=1225850 One unit they have is a Boss system with 10.4" monitor for $589, 2/3 down the page.
