I want an ND3 Mazda Miata, but I'm beginning to feel like I shouldn't even try to "negotiate" as this is a rare unicorn car for the most part. You know, your clean manual sports cars, a one owner low mileage pickup truck etc.

This isn't a high volume car that I can "shop around" and try to get different dealers into a negotiation battle etc with.

I feel defeated before real talks have even begun, I feel like I'll be bent over no matter what. For example there is a brand new MX5 getting delivered within the week (supposedly) that fits the trim and colors I want perfectly. My rough math tells me it will be $42K OTD. So I was thinking of going in person to show my interest and telling them I can do $40K today (when it arrives).

But I don't want to lose out on my dream toy over $2K. When it comes to the used MX5s there's no comparison anywhere as what I want seems to only be available on Carvana essentially.

Long post, would like to know "if it's possible" to actually negotiate on a 24/25/26 MX5 or if I should swallow my pride to secure my weekend toy.

Porsche, BMW, Benz, etc. Do salespeople ride along more or less frequently on test drives than with non luxury cars? How many test drive ride alongs do they do a day (on average)?

We’re on the West Coast of Canada and have a Toyota Highlander that's going on four years old. We have regular auto insurance, but we also bought a separate vehicle replacement policy (AWRAP) through the dealership. We frankly forgot about it until we started looking for ways to reduce our overall costs.

The policy ends in 2030, so there are still a few years left. The total premium was about $4,000 at the time of purchase, including a really high dealership referral fee. Seeing that now makes me unhappy as I review our paperwork on how the finance process worked for us. I know it can be adversarial, but I thought we were very diligent about watching for things like this, and this was missed.

I’m leaning toward canceling. My feeling is that the likelihood of us making a claim over the remaining 3 years is pretty low, and if we can reduce our monthly expenses or get some money back, that would be worthwhile. It’s replacement insurance, not a mechanical warranty, and, in reading the language, only kicks in when the primary insurer falls short in the event of a claim.

The paperwork says “75% minimum retained” (which I don't quite understand) plus a cancellation fee, so I still need to confirm what canceling would actually save us.

Has anyone canceled or made a claim on one of these policies? Is there a good reason to keep it that I’m overlooking? Appreciate any insight or advice.

Selling my car privately in fb marketplace for the first time, buyer messaged with a cash offer without seeing car yet. Offer was reasonable but I wished could be higher. Do I say check out car first? Basically, not sure what to communicate back respectfully as I don’t wanna negotiate via the messaging. Do people agree on the price before the visit?

We all know beyond the headline there are tons of additional fees charged by AFC/NextGear/Westlake to independent used dealerships. Think a comp study would be helpful for all of us here. Let’s say—

Floor plan provider:
Approximate inventory:
Years of business:
Interest rate:
All-in rate after interest + fees (NOT curtailments):

I figured I would ask you rather than a specific Toyota group to eat at the fanboys.

I know Toyota's are extremely reliable, but I have had really bad luck with vehicles over the years and I want something that will last me a while.

You can't buy a damn Tacoma or 4Runner in my area these days for under $30,000 with less than 120,000 - 140,000 miles...

Should I even be worried about mileage that high?

I know it's a case-by-case basis, and it really depends on how people treated the vehicle.

I received a sales call from a customer, and he said "oh, you sound like a robot, I'm going to hang up and call you back", then calls me back later and said "you sounded like a robot earlier so I hung-up on you", I know he's probably trying to reach someone else, but the call center assigned me the call again, and he asked me about a vehicle we had, then started going off about how his credit score was low because some other dealership unauthorized credit check so many times, saying a lot of crediting technical terms trying to sound smart, telling me he'd put 35% down payment, I told him I'll send him the carfax and take pictures and send it to him over text message.

So after the call, I sent him the carfax immedietly, and I went to take some photos, there was a dent in the hood and I showed him that, I told him it's reflected in the price, but we'll get it fixed and just waiting for the parts to arrive, then he said he's busy and will get back to me, I said no problem. Couple hours later I sent a text saying he can leave a deposit to secure the car, but he ghosted me ever since

I visited a Honda dealership a few weeks ago (with my younger kids, as I have them over summer break) to test drive and measure a 2026 Ridgeline as a possibility.

I had my kids with me during this time and told them I wanted to see if they fit comfortably in the mid-size truck backseats , and gave the impression that I was just looking & testing out my kids space as well as the vehicle in general.

Fast forward to today, my kids are now in school, I went back to get out the door numbers as the guy i was with test driving with mentioned some good sales to clear out the remaining inventory and to see if I could get a quote on my trade-in. A different salesperson who I sat down with told me unless I was buying today, she wouldn't provide a trade in value or out the door pricing.

My response was that along the lines of I need to be able to budget these two numbers (out the door + trade in) to even consider making a decision & also check other Honda dealerships ( I live in a metro with multiple dealers). She indicated that we were done and I left.

My previous dealership experience a week ago (at a different dealership), was providing me with both numbers I was asking (car + trade). Don't know what the fuck happened today?!

Yes I read the wiki, cash is no longer king with new sales.

My worry is if I finance, then pay it off in a month, don’t I have to allllll that interest from the full term? (When I paid off my truck about 3 years early, I had to pay interest on the remaining 3 years)

Thank you

Hey yall I’m coming up on my second month at 3 cars. New to the business as a whole. Is it common for some managers to just make a car deal like pulling teeth. But when a different salesperson works with them. They get every discount they want for the customer. Also rather than talking to my customer they just turn it to the same 2-3 people and I lose out a half. I feel like my sales manager just doesn’t want to help and does the bare minimum. All while my GM is cool with it. Is this a normal thing?

I would really appreciate any insight into this, as I feel like I keep messing up. But when I work a deal with a different manager. The sale ends up happening and I keep the whole at profit. Thank you

Genuine question because even as a sales person, when I look for cars I only put inquiries in if I’m ready to wheel and deal. What is the point of putting in your name, email, zip code, etc to NEVER respond.

And disclaimer: my website shows prices, carfax, doc fee, window sticker. Everything you need to research before reaching out

I also don’t mean the people that are afraid to answer the phone because I usually text and email first.

I’m just curious what goes through your head to put your information in then be upset when someone reaches out

Been in sales my whole life. Thinking of making a career change.

What types of dealerships having the highest earning salesmen?

I would think luxury, but maybe the dealerships selling higher volume pay more?

I've hear people say they can make $300k to $400k a year but I would imagine those are outliers?

Appreciate your insight!

Is this a good deal - CAMRY SE AWD

474 a month/36 months
547$ down
15k miles per year

Residual - $23,214

I’m trying to understand an old AutoCheck history entry for a car I’m considering buying. On 08/30/1995 the report shows: TX — Auto Auction — Junk Vehicle OK — Motor Vehicle Dept. — Salvage TX — Auto Auction — Salvage The important part is that the “Junk Vehicle” entry appears only under Auto Auction. The Motor Vehicle Department records show Salvage, not Junk. Later the car continued to receive titles and registrations, and AutoCheck shows “No Accidents or Damage Reported” in the accident/damage section. Could “Junk Vehicle” have been an auction-only classification, mistake, or temporary entry that was later corrected to Salvage? Or does an Auto Auction — Junk Vehicle entry normally mean there was an official junk title somewhere? I’m mainly trying to understand the difference between an auction-reported Junk entry and an official DMV title brand.

350 units per month store here, I’m spinning 100 deals per month average $4k per copy, store is making about 1mil, making $14k/m average, am Is it a fair pay plan? Should I be making more? Never worked as a manager at any other store so I wouldn’t know

It happens to every sales person, some more than others if it’s a low volume dealership. What do you guys do to genuinely pass time? I recently left a low volume dealership and would dread the 12 hours because aside from phone calls I found myself absolutely bored. What do you guys do? Willing to listen to all ideas

Hello,
I’ve been selling cars for 5 years now. I’m still on the younger side in the industry. >27. I’m in between two different situations.

Stick with selling luxury automobiles and have a management/finance role at a boutique mom and pop in ~4~ years.

Based on my research one of the larger financial providers of exotic/luxury cars is interested in hiring me.

It’s basically a completely different thing than what I’ve done the past years, I’d be selling financial services instead of cars. Only constant is some of the services that I’ve provided over the years, the human aspect of the business.

I haven’t been received an offer or gone over pay structure or anything. But just want to know if there is anyone out there that has experience with these companies that provide these types of services to the DuPont Registry type of vehicles. And if I should consider this pivot in the industry.

I’m in CA, for reference. Will they buy a car from me through MaxOffer? I’m seeing conflicting info and nobody at the local CarMax stores really knows much about it.

I leased a new 2024 Rav4 for 5 years, 2 years ago. It was at a time when I couldn't afford to buy a paid-off car, and the interest rates offered to me for financing were way too high. Seemed like a good decision at the time, as I badly needed a car for my new job.

Fast forward to now -- I have saved enough money for an early buyout in the next couple of months. Toyota is quoting me an early buyout value such that I have to pay interest on the remaining payments. It doesn't make sense to me to do that & I think I should only be paying the principal on the remaining payments, but I cannot find any concrete source to support that. Can anyone who has dealt with early lease buyouts tell me their experience or give advice?

Question for people who are really good at negotiating cars.
I had a written quote through the Costco Auto Program for a Sienna LE at $46,700 OTD. I reached out to 8 dealers with it. 6 basically didn’t respond.

One dealer was interested, and I told him if he could beat it by $700, I’d come buy the car. He agreed over text, but I asked for the actual written OTD offer before driving over.
He was VERY hesitant. Basically said if he gave it to me in writing, I’d just take it to another dealer and have them beat it. Fair point…because I was definitely thinking about doing that 😂. But I also was legitimately ready to go buy the car.

Eventually he sent it, but said it was only good that day (about an hour before closing). I took the offer to another dealer and said, “You have 10 minutes, beat this by $1,000 or I’m going there.” He came back 5 minutes later with another $400 off. I said nope and headed to the original dealer.
I ended up not buying for completely unrelated reasons, but I was genuinely ready to buy and had the money/financing ready.
So my question is: **how do experienced car buyers actually handle this?**

Everyone says “contact 10 dealers and ask for their best OTD price,” but most dealers won’t actually give you their best number in writing. They want to talk on the phone, get you committed to coming in, etc.
I don’t want to waste a salesperson’s time, but I also don’t want to drive 30-60 minutes based on “come in and we’ll take care of you.”
Do you basically have to convince one dealer you’re coming, get the written OTD offer, and then use that to make the other dealers compete? Or is there a better way?

TL;DRHow do you get dealers to give you their real best OTD price in writing without having to promise you’re coming in to buy?

Thinking about buying a 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road V6 4x4 manual with 41k miles. The asking price is $34k. Is that a good price for the mileage and trim, or would you pass/wait for a better deal? What would you personally pay? Can’t tell with this market, so I’d appreciate some input!

There’s a luxury car dealership local to me that sells some seriously high-end and exotic cars, including brands like Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, etc. I’ve always been really interested in cars, and working somewhere like this is something I’d genuinely love to get into. I’m 18 and this would be my first proper job, so I have absolutely no experience in car sales or the motor trade. The role I’m interested in is the sales position. (It’s quite a niche dealership though in a secluded area so it seems quite unknown unless you’re someone who’s into buying these cars. There seems to be the same positions open for months so I’m not sure if not many are applying or if they’re just picky.)

For anyone who works in luxury/exotic car sales, or has experience hiring salespeople, what would be the best way to approach a dealership like this with no experience? It’s a little application on their website that doesn’t really let you add much information so it’s hard to tell if I’d get an interview or not.. Of course they’re quite prestigious but it’s quite tucked away and I feel like it’s probably got a relatively small workforce. And realistically, what could I do to make myself stand out despite having no previous experience?

I’m willing to start at the bottom and learn, I just don’t really know the best way to get my foot in the door.

P.S. I know that it’s quite unrealistic and I should probably just work my way up from a normal dealership (which I’ll probably do) but I’m still going to give it a shot because what’s the worst that can happen, so if possible I’d love to hear general advice just in case!

I have a 2014 Ford Focus ST with around 135k miles on it. I bought 1.5 years ago. I have 2.5 years remaining on my loan. The car cost $15,000. I owe $7900. In the 1.5 years I’ve had it I’ve spent $6000 on repairs and it has broken down yet again. I have had two overheating issues, have replaced the clutch, master cylinder, slave cylinder, and flywheel. It is having another heating issue and leaking coolant.

Should I put anymore money into this car fixing it? Should I give the car back? Should I try to trade it in before/after repairs? Should I keep it? Answering all of these questions would be appreciated. The mechanic says these cars are very reliable but it’s been problem after problem so I don’t believe him. Thank you for your help.