Tell me to shut up if you want to, and this assumes you are OK with the car, and you checked market prices at Edmunds, ....but here'* your story.....

1) What you are doing Saturday is looking at the SSEi at DanaCar then you are driving to WV to look at the one that has 63K on it, but they have had it for awhile and the salesman you talked to at Bobbys 'Auto Sales wants a shot at doing business with you. This is not what you would like to do, but that is the first thing you are going to tell them. the reason you do this is they will be very motivated to keep you from leaving their lot.

2) If they know you really, really want an L67 you are screwed. Because there are maybe 3 or 4 listings of comparable SSEi'*. And that covers within 200 mi of me here in Philly and you down in MD. I would say that you are interested in adding the "i", but you are really interested in the cool leather seats, lots of buttons, and sunroofs that the SSE'* have. Chicks like that luxury type of stuff and they don't care what kind of engine you have as long as it has dual exhausts. The SC is "a nice to have", but the gas mileage is bugging you.. We know that getting your hands on the SC is your prime mover, but do not let them know that. And you will be making them mentally compete with every SSE NA.

3) Ask about charges for title, notary, tags, doc prep etc. Do this very early because it'* going to cut into your available cash+trade. It also is an indicator that you are not drooling, but serious about getting it done.

4) there are a lot of ways to do the rest, but knowing the exact cash + trade that you are willing to pay is your best defense and gives strength to your offense. Then lowball it. example ""I'll give you 2500 and my car". They will act offended. they may insult you and tell you are dreaming. You stick to your guns when they tell you your car is falling apart and theirs is perfect. No matter who starts, they will counter. Give a little, and when they counter again, look at your watch. 'I've spent too much time here (and they will try to keep you as long as possible, it'* a control thing), I need to get to Bobby'*." And walkout. If they stop you in the parking lot, you can throw a few bucks at them so they can save face. If they don't stop you, their price was more than you were willing to pay. Right?

That'* the short version. You have the money and they have a discontinued model car that is 2 stlye design cycles behind the model when it was discontinued. It gets chitty gas mileage and they may never see a BC fanatic again. And we're the only ones who know the car is fantastic.

And BTW, comparable cars to your trade-in are being listed by dealers for 5000 to a ridiculous 7500 in my area. And they know your car is in just excellent shape, but they aren't going to tell you that.

edit: Just saw the good advice given above. Also, FWIW, give the saleman a break... he'* going to do the salesman thing, but the sales manager is a neo-**** and molests collies. Not really, but think of it that way. At some point you and the salesman are working together to get the sale done. He wants to get a voucher with a commission and a unit sold for the monthly total. You want to get your car, but at a fair price.

At some point the mgr may ask the salesman in private to assess your determination on price. The salesman might say not to fool around with you or you're gonna walk. The salesman wants the sale and will go with a little less commission because he wants the unit, which counts towards compensation and further employment. The mgr is there to make sure he gets all of your money and the fillings out of your teeth on the deal. You can even tell the salesman that if the mgr wants to be greedy, it'* going to blow the deal for you two.

DUDE...holy freaking crap.. i havent thought about this....you work at a GM dealer... Get the used car manager to call and get a price on this car....

Dealer the SSEi is at = Chrysler.

Thanks for the tips all! I"ll write a more detailed response when I get home from work.

dosent matter....its a used car....have your used car ppl talk to the used car ppl at the SSEi dealer....seriously man...this IS the way to get the lowest price....

I'll do that if I'm not happy with the price I can get from them.

EDIT: How about I simply say in the beginning of the dealing "There'* a dealer in WV with a bonneville with less miles & better shape and they're asking only $6750."

I wouldn't lie at all, just be selective in the information you give. Any salesman worth his/her salt will see right through that.

Okay, I'll just use whar was said earlier by charlie and say that there'* another dealer interested in my business.

Do not lie to them and make sure you know what your limit is. Don't spend more than you want to just because you want the car. If they don't want to give you your price, walk away. There are tons of bonnies out there and I'm sure you can find one just as nice for just as cheap (or cheaper) elsewhere. Make sure they know this as well so they are motivated to sell it to you. If they know you really want the car they aren't going to budge on the price. Act semi-uninterested.

I went to a dealer looking for a beater and saw a nice '87 Fiero GT sitting there. It was a lower miles car and was very clean. On pennocks it would've probably been a $3-4k car. This dealer doesn't list prices on the cars so I ask a salesperson the price. He says its $7600. So I turn and walk away immediately. That was WAY too high. But this is also a fast paced dealer, they supposedly sell more cars than any dealer in the state, and as their commercials say "we want to make a deal on an automobile with you." The salesman follows me and asks what I think is a fair price, and I told him WAY less than that. So he has me follow him inside and sees what they have in the car. He runs blue book prices on it and the HIGHEST one was like $2200. After seeing this (and knowing ahead of time thats what the blue book was) I offered him $2500 cash out the door. He went and talked to a manager and said they couldn't do that, the lowest they could go was $4200. So I turned around and went home. I really wanted the car but wasn't going to pay that price. They did drop $3400 off the price though, so maybe if you show them the blue book value and whatnot it might influence them to try to make a sale. If they are under the impression that you have done some research they will want to try to keep you on the lot because they will know you will probably go elsewhere, so they might really drop the price.

Also, some dealers will try to sell you the car based on payments. They can make the payments whatever they want by increasing the loan period and whatnot, so if they ask for what kind of payments you want to make, tell them you are concerned about the total cost not payments. (that is if the dealer does their own financing)

Shawn

Thanks for the tips DB - I'm paying cash + my trade. No loan.

When i got my 99 GTP, they wanted 11500 for it at the dealer, i went to the bank and they told me they wouldnt finance but 8500 and i took that back to the dealership and poof, wow my price for the car jumped from 11500 to 8500 and i got the car right there on the spot. Now my 04 they wanted 14000 for it when i called but since my grandpa goes to church with the guy, when i showed up to look at it with my grandpa, iasked the price agian and it was 10900 then he just make it 10800 to help offset the taxes and stuff. so yet another good deal. It was wierd how it worked out for me, but try going to a bank with the vin number and mileage and stuff saying u want financing and see what THEY say the car is worth, then if u can get that from the bank, the dealer knows u have ur own financing ready, and that u mean serious business and that u can take or leave it, i played serious all they way home with the 99!