[Coronita]

Noticed that the "Deals" today aren't really that great this year. Use to be there were a lot of freebie's. This year, there are virtually none.

 

Unfortunately, I just pulled the trigger on a 52" LCD for my parents. I guess I'm joined the "one of them" (RE stereotypes, hummer jokes, blah blah blah…but their CRT tube finally gave in after 10 years). $2000, not bad. And the good news is that people aren't fighting over them (guess with the credit/stock/housing mess).

[Coronita]

Noticed that the "Deals" today aren't really that great this year. Use to be there were a lot of freebie's. This year, there are virtually none.

 

Unfortunately, I just pulled the trigger on a 52" LCD for my parents. I guess I'm joined the "one of them" (RE stereotypes, hummer jokes, blah blah blah…but their CRT tube finally gave in after 10 years). $2000, not bad. And the good news is that people aren't fighting over them (guess with the credit/stock/housing mess).

[Coronita]

Noticed that the "Deals" today aren't really that great this year. Use to be there were a lot of freebie's. This year, there are virtually none.

 

Unfortunately, I just pulled the trigger on a 52" LCD for my parents. I guess I'm joined the "one of them" (RE stereotypes, hummer jokes, blah blah blah…but their CRT tube finally gave in after 10 years). $2000, not bad. And the good news is that people aren't fighting over them (guess with the credit/stock/housing mess).

[Coronita]

Noticed that the "Deals" today aren't really that great this year. Use to be there were a lot of freebie's. This year, there are virtually none.

 

Unfortunately, I just pulled the trigger on a 52" LCD for my parents. I guess I'm joined the "one of them" (RE stereotypes, hummer jokes, blah blah blah…but their CRT tube finally gave in after 10 years). $2000, not bad. And the good news is that people aren't fighting over them (guess with the credit/stock/housing mess).

[Coronita]

Noticed that the "Deals" today aren't really that great this year. Use to be there were a lot of freebie's. This year, there are virtually none.

 

Unfortunately, I just pulled the trigger on a 52" LCD for my parents. I guess I'm joined the "one of them" (RE stereotypes, hummer jokes, blah blah blah…but their CRT tube finally gave in after 10 years). $2000, not bad. And the good news is that people aren't fighting over them (guess with the credit/stock/housing mess).

[Coronita]

I'm reading these comments with great interest since we're a block away over in Saratoga. It's odd though, that noone seems to mention these homes in any of the forums. Noone is considering their value when calculating the worth of a DH. Is it because they are almost all situated on the main road or is there some other reason?

And what about those Saratogas with oversized lots that sold for 1 mil plus. Don't they insulate the price of a DH further from an older comp (Belmont?)

 

With all due respect. I feel Saratoga were all overpriced. These homes I believe are roughly 2400-2800 sqft. Most of these units do not have a view, and most are not north/south facing. Saratoga's comparables are not the likes of DH, Belmont, etc. The more comparables are complexes in Torrey Hills including Sands, Shores, Sansonet. I would even venture Sea Ridge and the complex behind Sea Ridge would be comparable (Sea Ridge homes i feel are nicer, but get dinged for being so close to power lines). I wouldn't consider them also comparable to La Strada and Montecito (as these two complexes are problem 1 step above Saratoga and the Shores/Sands/Sansonet complexes but below DH , Belmont, Breakers,etc..

Either way, several of these homes (Shores Sands Sansonets) in Torrey Hills not only have views, but sliver of ocean view, with the ocean breeze. As such, these homes are currently in the $800-$950 range. So I would say Saratoga probably is around this range too. And that's current prices. I would expect that these homes would fall moving forward. People who live in these homes generally aren't as immune to a contraction, and I would even venture probably depend more on a loan than those that spend in the high end.

Over 1 million for saratoga was just plan nuts imho. Because if you walk inside a saratoga and go to one of the comparables, it's about the same ceiling height, same floor plan, same sqft. If you add on top of that and additional $100k in landscape, it's out of the price range of the comparables. Also, I believe both DH and Saratoga have $100-$200/month HOA, as compared to the Torrey Hills side, which is like $20/month. That's a lot imho.

Also, one possible selling point was access to Sage Canyon elementary. But it's to my understanding that residence in the new Pardee communities will not be going to Sage Canyon, but to the new elementary behind the Montecito complex. Not that it really matters. All public elementaries in CV are pretty good (the difference between #1 and anything else is probably made up by the variance in parental involvement).

That said, if you enjoy living an a brand new home, and aren't really trying to make money off of it, who really cares what people say are think, or what the actual house value is?

[Coronita]

I'm reading these comments with great interest since we're a block away over in Saratoga. It's odd though, that noone seems to mention these homes in any of the forums. Noone is considering their value when calculating the worth of a DH. Is it because they are almost all situated on the main road or is there some other reason?

And what about those Saratogas with oversized lots that sold for 1 mil plus. Don't they insulate the price of a DH further from an older comp (Belmont?)

 

With all due respect. I feel Saratoga were all overpriced. These homes I believe are roughly 2400-2800 sqft. Most of these units do not have a view, and most are not north/south facing. Saratoga's comparables are not the likes of DH, Belmont, etc. The more comparables are complexes in Torrey Hills including Sands, Shores, Sansonet. I would even venture Sea Ridge and the complex behind Sea Ridge would be comparable (Sea Ridge homes i feel are nicer, but get dinged for being so close to power lines). I wouldn't consider them also comparable to La Strada and Montecito (as these two complexes are problem 1 step above Saratoga and the Shores/Sands/Sansonet complexes but below DH , Belmont, Breakers,etc..

Either way, several of these homes (Shores Sands Sansonets) in Torrey Hills not only have views, but sliver of ocean view, with the ocean breeze. As such, these homes are currently in the $800-$950 range. So I would say Saratoga probably is around this range too. And that's current prices. I would expect that these homes would fall moving forward. People who live in these homes generally aren't as immune to a contraction, and I would even venture probably depend more on a loan than those that spend in the high end.

Over 1 million for saratoga was just plan nuts imho. Because if you walk inside a saratoga and go to one of the comparables, it's about the same ceiling height, same floor plan, same sqft. If you add on top of that and additional $100k in landscape, it's out of the price range of the comparables. Also, I believe both DH and Saratoga have $100-$200/month HOA, as compared to the Torrey Hills side, which is like $20/month. That's a lot imho.

Also, one possible selling point was access to Sage Canyon elementary. But it's to my understanding that residence in the new Pardee communities will not be going to Sage Canyon, but to the new elementary behind the Montecito complex. Not that it really matters. All public elementaries in CV are pretty good (the difference between #1 and anything else is probably made up by the variance in parental involvement).

That said, if you enjoy living an a brand new home, and aren't really trying to make money off of it, who really cares what people say are think, or what the actual house value is?

[Coronita]

I'm reading these comments with great interest since we're a block away over in Saratoga. It's odd though, that noone seems to mention these homes in any of the forums. Noone is considering their value when calculating the worth of a DH. Is it because they are almost all situated on the main road or is there some other reason?

And what about those Saratogas with oversized lots that sold for 1 mil plus. Don't they insulate the price of a DH further from an older comp (Belmont?)

 

With all due respect. I feel Saratoga were all overpriced. These homes I believe are roughly 2400-2800 sqft. Most of these units do not have a view, and most are not north/south facing. Saratoga's comparables are not the likes of DH, Belmont, etc. The more comparables are complexes in Torrey Hills including Sands, Shores, Sansonet. I would even venture Sea Ridge and the complex behind Sea Ridge would be comparable (Sea Ridge homes i feel are nicer, but get dinged for being so close to power lines). I wouldn't consider them also comparable to La Strada and Montecito (as these two complexes are problem 1 step above Saratoga and the Shores/Sands/Sansonet complexes but below DH , Belmont, Breakers,etc..

Either way, several of these homes (Shores Sands Sansonets) in Torrey Hills not only have views, but sliver of ocean view, with the ocean breeze. As such, these homes are currently in the $800-$950 range. So I would say Saratoga probably is around this range too. And that's current prices. I would expect that these homes would fall moving forward. People who live in these homes generally aren't as immune to a contraction, and I would even venture probably depend more on a loan than those that spend in the high end.

Over 1 million for saratoga was just plan nuts imho. Because if you walk inside a saratoga and go to one of the comparables, it's about the same ceiling height, same floor plan, same sqft. If you add on top of that and additional $100k in landscape, it's out of the price range of the comparables. Also, I believe both DH and Saratoga have $100-$200/month HOA, as compared to the Torrey Hills side, which is like $20/month. That's a lot imho.

Also, one possible selling point was access to Sage Canyon elementary. But it's to my understanding that residence in the new Pardee communities will not be going to Sage Canyon, but to the new elementary behind the Montecito complex. Not that it really matters. All public elementaries in CV are pretty good (the difference between #1 and anything else is probably made up by the variance in parental involvement).

That said, if you enjoy living an a brand new home, and aren't really trying to make money off of it, who really cares what people say are think, or what the actual house value is?

[Coronita]

I'm reading these comments with great interest since we're a block away over in Saratoga. It's odd though, that noone seems to mention these homes in any of the forums. Noone is considering their value when calculating the worth of a DH. Is it because they are almost all situated on the main road or is there some other reason?

And what about those Saratogas with oversized lots that sold for 1 mil plus. Don't they insulate the price of a DH further from an older comp (Belmont?)

 

With all due respect. I feel Saratoga were all overpriced. These homes I believe are roughly 2400-2800 sqft. Most of these units do not have a view, and most are not north/south facing. Saratoga's comparables are not the likes of DH, Belmont, etc. The more comparables are complexes in Torrey Hills including Sands, Shores, Sansonet. I would even venture Sea Ridge and the complex behind Sea Ridge would be comparable (Sea Ridge homes i feel are nicer, but get dinged for being so close to power lines). I wouldn't consider them also comparable to La Strada and Montecito (as these two complexes are problem 1 step above Saratoga and the Shores/Sands/Sansonet complexes but below DH , Belmont, Breakers,etc..

Either way, several of these homes (Shores Sands Sansonets) in Torrey Hills not only have views, but sliver of ocean view, with the ocean breeze. As such, these homes are currently in the $800-$950 range. So I would say Saratoga probably is around this range too. And that's current prices. I would expect that these homes would fall moving forward. People who live in these homes generally aren't as immune to a contraction, and I would even venture probably depend more on a loan than those that spend in the high end.

Over 1 million for saratoga was just plan nuts imho. Because if you walk inside a saratoga and go to one of the comparables, it's about the same ceiling height, same floor plan, same sqft. If you add on top of that and additional $100k in landscape, it's out of the price range of the comparables. Also, I believe both DH and Saratoga have $100-$200/month HOA, as compared to the Torrey Hills side, which is like $20/month. That's a lot imho.

Also, one possible selling point was access to Sage Canyon elementary. But it's to my understanding that residence in the new Pardee communities will not be going to Sage Canyon, but to the new elementary behind the Montecito complex. Not that it really matters. All public elementaries in CV are pretty good (the difference between #1 and anything else is probably made up by the variance in parental involvement).

That said, if you enjoy living an a brand new home, and aren't really trying to make money off of it, who really cares what people say are think, or what the actual house value is?

[Coronita]

I'm reading these comments with great interest since we're a block away over in Saratoga. It's odd though, that noone seems to mention these homes in any of the forums. Noone is considering their value when calculating the worth of a DH. Is it because they are almost all situated on the main road or is there some other reason?

And what about those Saratogas with oversized lots that sold for 1 mil plus. Don't they insulate the price of a DH further from an older comp (Belmont?)

 

With all due respect. I feel Saratoga were all overpriced. These homes I believe are roughly 2400-2800 sqft. Most of these units do not have a view, and most are not north/south facing. Saratoga's comparables are not the likes of DH, Belmont, etc. The more comparables are complexes in Torrey Hills including Sands, Shores, Sansonet. I would even venture Sea Ridge and the complex behind Sea Ridge would be comparable (Sea Ridge homes i feel are nicer, but get dinged for being so close to power lines). I wouldn't consider them also comparable to La Strada and Montecito (as these two complexes are problem 1 step above Saratoga and the Shores/Sands/Sansonet complexes but below DH , Belmont, Breakers,etc..

Either way, several of these homes (Shores Sands Sansonets) in Torrey Hills not only have views, but sliver of ocean view, with the ocean breeze. As such, these homes are currently in the $800-$950 range. So I would say Saratoga probably is around this range too. And that's current prices. I would expect that these homes would fall moving forward. People who live in these homes generally aren't as immune to a contraction, and I would even venture probably depend more on a loan than those that spend in the high end.

Over 1 million for saratoga was just plan nuts imho. Because if you walk inside a saratoga and go to one of the comparables, it's about the same ceiling height, same floor plan, same sqft. If you add on top of that and additional $100k in landscape, it's out of the price range of the comparables. Also, I believe both DH and Saratoga have $100-$200/month HOA, as compared to the Torrey Hills side, which is like $20/month. That's a lot imho.

Also, one possible selling point was access to Sage Canyon elementary. But it's to my understanding that residence in the new Pardee communities will not be going to Sage Canyon, but to the new elementary behind the Montecito complex. Not that it really matters. All public elementaries in CV are pretty good (the difference between #1 and anything else is probably made up by the variance in parental involvement).

That said, if you enjoy living an a brand new home, and aren't really trying to make money off of it, who really cares what people say are think, or what the actual house value is?

[Coronita]

All you new car amateur buyers 🙂

If you are buying a new car, why restrict your car purchase to just San Diego dealers?

Do your test drive in a San Diego dealer. Make up your mind (car selection, trim, options). Get your best price from SD dealers.. Call up the L.A. dealers and ask for the internet sales division/fleet sales division. Ask for a fleet/internet salesman's email, because you are from san diego and want to deal over email.

Do the complete haggling over email. If the salesman says he/she will only deal if you come in, refuse and say you live in san diego and don't want to drive there without a written deal in hand..If he/she still refuses, ask for another salesman.. If no salesman are willing to deal this way, move on to another dealer.

 

Over email, ssk for the out the door price because dealers love quote you the price of the car excluding tax/license/registration/"fees". Tell them you're willing to drive up to L.A. to pick up the car if the price is better than S.D, but you don't want to spend a lot of time haggling over it and if you get the runaround, you'll just buy in san diego. Don't tell them how much SD dealers are offering. Most dealers with an "internet" sales division will deal all over the phone/email. Traditional salesman will try to lure you into the showroom. It's simply because interent sales division is counting on volume sales regardless of where the person is from. Showroom salesman will try to milk you, because generally he has less customers he can work with at any time. And most people that work out a deal ahead of time usually are commited custoemrs, as opposed to those that walk in who most of the time are just browsers.

 

Get a few offers from a few L.A. dealers. Each time you talk to a new dealer, never be the first one to name a price. Get the "best price" from the dealer first. The first person that names a price loses. Period… After you get that price, play dealer X off of dealer y, with some reasonable cushion. For example, Keyes Acura in Van Nuyes is willing to do X, are you willing to do X-$200? Or don't even say that. Subtract $200 from what dealer X is actually giving you, and say are you willing to "match" dealer Y's price of blah blah blah. If he/she is a good salesman, you'll never get them to agree on a good price the first time anyway. While you shouldn't lowball (otherwise they won't take you seriously), you defiitely should go a few hundred below what another dealer will actually give you/ You will be surprised how competitive pricing is and how much all the deals come in at the same price. If you get some crap about "we give better service than dealership Y, just remind them you aren't going to be using any LA dealership for service anyway because you are from san diego. I find doing this all over email is great because

1) I suck at this in person

2) I get too emotional in person at times

3) You have a paper trail of all the discussions.

 

Try to do everything over email and not use the phone.

Get your best L.A. price, and if it beats SD dealers, take that price back to the SD dealers to see if they will match. (You did get this in an email right?)

1) If SD dealers matches the price, great. End of story.

2) if the SD dealers don't match (which sometimes they won't because the market price are different in SD and LA), then ask the L.A. dealer to fax you a sales contract with the OTD price. Make sure you have the VIN number that is the car they plan to sell. Tell them you plan on going to LA to pick up the car. Don't give them a deposit, unless you get an assurance (in an email) that the deposit is fully refundable. Arrange with the salesman a time to go to LA. Don't forget to bring all your email correspondence, the OTD price, and any contract or deposit papers your signed.

Drive to LA and pic up the car..(You did remember to bring all your correspondence with the dealer, right? And you aren't planning to change any of the financing terms or options once you get to the dealership, right?) Arrive at the LA dealer, verify the price on the contract is what you were quoted. If not, ask to speak to the sales director and rage hell that you drove all the way to L.A. and the salesman didn't honor the sales term. if the sales director doesn't help, leave and call a complaint to the auto manufacturer's customer service. They won't do this if there is a paper trail…(You did remember to bring the OTD price in an email or contract right?) Alternatively, negotiate the deal with two L.A. dealers, in case one dealership doesn't honor the price, drop by the second dealer. Verify the vin of the car, inspect the car, test drive the car, sign paperwork. Done.

 

Regardless of where you buy, you'll pay the same sales tax (7.75%) because sales tax is computed based on the address where you will be registered, not where you purchased the car (LA sales tax is 8.25%)…There is definitely more competition among L.A. dealears than in San Diego. Most San Diegans are too lazy to go to L.A. to haggle. But there's no need if you do it all over email. Ah the virtues of technology…

Note this works for typical, mass production average consumer volume cars. It might not be so effective with cars that demand is exceeding supply, or high end cars, cars produced in limited quantities, or specialty performance cars. You can forget about getting M3's, M5's, S4's, RS4's, R8, Mercedes AMG's, or any Porsche products at invoice this way. However, if you are in the market for exotics/high end luxury/limited edition sports, it is an effective alternative to being gouged by SD dealers marking up ABOVE MSRP (*cough* Miramar Audi/VW/Porsche *cough*). Plenty of dealers in Newport Beach for never charge above MSRP for low production vehicles. Also, if you need to get on a wait-list or pre-order list for some vehicle, your chances are better in L.A. because L.A. dealers usually have a larger allocation (they deal higher volumes).

Two examples:

Wife and I bought an Acura MDX from a dealer in L.A. SantaMonica and Power acura both had the same price. I think the Van Nuys dealer were willing to do $100 below the other two, but required us to drive 45mins extra, which wasn't worth it for us. While SD dealers were quoting $1000 above invoice (Kearny,Carlsbad), 2-3 dealers gave us $2500 below invoice. SD dealers weren't willing to budge, so we picked it up in L.A. over the weekend.

About 8 months ago, I was looking at a Lexus LS for my parents. While everyone was charging MSRP here since it was a pretty new launch, a few dealers in L.A. was willing to do $2000 below msrp. I then took the price to Kearny Mesa who was then more receptive to matching the price. (Deal fell through because my parents decided they didn't want the car)

Just remember, get the deal before the arriving at the dealership in L.A. The only thing you should be doing at the L.A. dealer is inspecting the exact car you will buy, signing paperwork, giving them money, saying no to all the options like extended warranty/clearcoat/etc they offer in the finance office prior to delivery, and driving off.

Hope this helps.

[Coronita]

All you new car amateur buyers 🙂

If you are buying a new car, why restrict your car purchase to just San Diego dealers?

Do your test drive in a San Diego dealer. Make up your mind (car selection, trim, options). Get your best price from SD dealers.. Call up the L.A. dealers and ask for the internet sales division/fleet sales division. Ask for a fleet/internet salesman's email, because you are from san diego and want to deal over email.

Do the complete haggling over email. If the salesman says he/she will only deal if you come in, refuse and say you live in san diego and don't want to drive there without a written deal in hand..If he/she still refuses, ask for another salesman.. If no salesman are willing to deal this way, move on to another dealer.

 

Over email, ssk for the out the door price because dealers love quote you the price of the car excluding tax/license/registration/"fees". Tell them you're willing to drive up to L.A. to pick up the car if the price is better than S.D, but you don't want to spend a lot of time haggling over it and if you get the runaround, you'll just buy in san diego. Don't tell them how much SD dealers are offering. Most dealers with an "internet" sales division will deal all over the phone/email. Traditional salesman will try to lure you into the showroom. It's simply because interent sales division is counting on volume sales regardless of where the person is from. Showroom salesman will try to milk you, because generally he has less customers he can work with at any time. And most people that work out a deal ahead of time usually are commited custoemrs, as opposed to those that walk in who most of the time are just browsers.

 

Get a few offers from a few L.A. dealers. Each time you talk to a new dealer, never be the first one to name a price. Get the "best price" from the dealer first. The first person that names a price loses. Period… After you get that price, play dealer X off of dealer y, with some reasonable cushion. For example, Keyes Acura in Van Nuyes is willing to do X, are you willing to do X-$200? Or don't even say that. Subtract $200 from what dealer X is actually giving you, and say are you willing to "match" dealer Y's price of blah blah blah. If he/she is a good salesman, you'll never get them to agree on a good price the first time anyway. While you shouldn't lowball (otherwise they won't take you seriously), you defiitely should go a few hundred below what another dealer will actually give you/ You will be surprised how competitive pricing is and how much all the deals come in at the same price. If you get some crap about "we give better service than dealership Y, just remind them you aren't going to be using any LA dealership for service anyway because you are from san diego. I find doing this all over email is great because

1) I suck at this in person

2) I get too emotional in person at times

3) You have a paper trail of all the discussions.

 

Try to do everything over email and not use the phone.

Get your best L.A. price, and if it beats SD dealers, take that price back to the SD dealers to see if they will match. (You did get this in an email right?)

1) If SD dealers matches the price, great. End of story.

2) if the SD dealers don't match (which sometimes they won't because the market price are different in SD and LA), then ask the L.A. dealer to fax you a sales contract with the OTD price. Make sure you have the VIN number that is the car they plan to sell. Tell them you plan on going to LA to pick up the car. Don't give them a deposit, unless you get an assurance (in an email) that the deposit is fully refundable. Arrange with the salesman a time to go to LA. Don't forget to bring all your email correspondence, the OTD price, and any contract or deposit papers your signed.

Drive to LA and pic up the car..(You did remember to bring all your correspondence with the dealer, right? And you aren't planning to change any of the financing terms or options once you get to the dealership, right?) Arrive at the LA dealer, verify the price on the contract is what you were quoted. If not, ask to speak to the sales director and rage hell that you drove all the way to L.A. and the salesman didn't honor the sales term. if the sales director doesn't help, leave and call a complaint to the auto manufacturer's customer service. They won't do this if there is a paper trail…(You did remember to bring the OTD price in an email or contract right?) Alternatively, negotiate the deal with two L.A. dealers, in case one dealership doesn't honor the price, drop by the second dealer. Verify the vin of the car, inspect the car, test drive the car, sign paperwork. Done.

 

Regardless of where you buy, you'll pay the same sales tax (7.75%) because sales tax is computed based on the address where you will be registered, not where you purchased the car (LA sales tax is 8.25%)…There is definitely more competition among L.A. dealears than in San Diego. Most San Diegans are too lazy to go to L.A. to haggle. But there's no need if you do it all over email. Ah the virtues of technology…

Note this works for typical, mass production average consumer volume cars. It might not be so effective with cars that demand is exceeding supply, or high end cars, cars produced in limited quantities, or specialty performance cars. You can forget about getting M3's, M5's, S4's, RS4's, R8, Mercedes AMG's, or any Porsche products at invoice this way. However, if you are in the market for exotics/high end luxury/limited edition sports, it is an effective alternative to being gouged by SD dealers marking up ABOVE MSRP (*cough* Miramar Audi/VW/Porsche *cough*). Plenty of dealers in Newport Beach for never charge above MSRP for low production vehicles. Also, if you need to get on a wait-list or pre-order list for some vehicle, your chances are better in L.A. because L.A. dealers usually have a larger allocation (they deal higher volumes).

Two examples:

Wife and I bought an Acura MDX from a dealer in L.A. SantaMonica and Power acura both had the same price. I think the Van Nuys dealer were willing to do $100 below the other two, but required us to drive 45mins extra, which wasn't worth it for us. While SD dealers were quoting $1000 above invoice (Kearny,Carlsbad), 2-3 dealers gave us $2500 below invoice. SD dealers weren't willing to budge, so we picked it up in L.A. over the weekend.

About 8 months ago, I was looking at a Lexus LS for my parents. While everyone was charging MSRP here since it was a pretty new launch, a few dealers in L.A. was willing to do $2000 below msrp. I then took the price to Kearny Mesa who was then more receptive to matching the price. (Deal fell through because my parents decided they didn't want the car)

Just remember, get the deal before the arriving at the dealership in L.A. The only thing you should be doing at the L.A. dealer is inspecting the exact car you will buy, signing paperwork, giving them money, saying no to all the options like extended warranty/clearcoat/etc they offer in the finance office prior to delivery, and driving off.

Hope this helps.

[Coronita]

All you new car amateur buyers 🙂

If you are buying a new car, why restrict your car purchase to just San Diego dealers?

Do your test drive in a San Diego dealer. Make up your mind (car selection, trim, options). Get your best price from SD dealers.. Call up the L.A. dealers and ask for the internet sales division/fleet sales division. Ask for a fleet/internet salesman's email, because you are from san diego and want to deal over email.

Do the complete haggling over email. If the salesman says he/she will only deal if you come in, refuse and say you live in san diego and don't want to drive there without a written deal in hand..If he/she still refuses, ask for another salesman.. If no salesman are willing to deal this way, move on to another dealer.

 

Over email, ssk for the out the door price because dealers love quote you the price of the car excluding tax/license/registration/"fees". Tell them you're willing to drive up to L.A. to pick up the car if the price is better than S.D, but you don't want to spend a lot of time haggling over it and if you get the runaround, you'll just buy in san diego. Don't tell them how much SD dealers are offering. Most dealers with an "internet" sales division will deal all over the phone/email. Traditional salesman will try to lure you into the showroom. It's simply because interent sales division is counting on volume sales regardless of where the person is from. Showroom salesman will try to milk you, because generally he has less customers he can work with at any time. And most people that work out a deal ahead of time usually are commited custoemrs, as opposed to those that walk in who most of the time are just browsers.

 

Get a few offers from a few L.A. dealers. Each time you talk to a new dealer, never be the first one to name a price. Get the "best price" from the dealer first. The first person that names a price loses. Period… After you get that price, play dealer X off of dealer y, with some reasonable cushion. For example, Keyes Acura in Van Nuyes is willing to do X, are you willing to do X-$200? Or don't even say that. Subtract $200 from what dealer X is actually giving you, and say are you willing to "match" dealer Y's price of blah blah blah. If he/she is a good salesman, you'll never get them to agree on a good price the first time anyway. While you shouldn't lowball (otherwise they won't take you seriously), you defiitely should go a few hundred below what another dealer will actually give you/ You will be surprised how competitive pricing is and how much all the deals come in at the same price. If you get some crap about "we give better service than dealership Y, just remind them you aren't going to be using any LA dealership for service anyway because you are from san diego. I find doing this all over email is great because

1) I suck at this in person

2) I get too emotional in person at times

3) You have a paper trail of all the discussions.

 

Try to do everything over email and not use the phone.

Get your best L.A. price, and if it beats SD dealers, take that price back to the SD dealers to see if they will match. (You did get this in an email right?)

1) If SD dealers matches the price, great. End of story.

2) if the SD dealers don't match (which sometimes they won't because the market price are different in SD and LA), then ask the L.A. dealer to fax you a sales contract with the OTD price. Make sure you have the VIN number that is the car they plan to sell. Tell them you plan on going to LA to pick up the car. Don't give them a deposit, unless you get an assurance (in an email) that the deposit is fully refundable. Arrange with the salesman a time to go to LA. Don't forget to bring all your email correspondence, the OTD price, and any contract or deposit papers your signed.

Drive to LA and pic up the car..(You did remember to bring all your correspondence with the dealer, right? And you aren't planning to change any of the financing terms or options once you get to the dealership, right?) Arrive at the LA dealer, verify the price on the contract is what you were quoted. If not, ask to speak to the sales director and rage hell that you drove all the way to L.A. and the salesman didn't honor the sales term. if the sales director doesn't help, leave and call a complaint to the auto manufacturer's customer service. They won't do this if there is a paper trail…(You did remember to bring the OTD price in an email or contract right?) Alternatively, negotiate the deal with two L.A. dealers, in case one dealership doesn't honor the price, drop by the second dealer. Verify the vin of the car, inspect the car, test drive the car, sign paperwork. Done.

 

Regardless of where you buy, you'll pay the same sales tax (7.75%) because sales tax is computed based on the address where you will be registered, not where you purchased the car (LA sales tax is 8.25%)…There is definitely more competition among L.A. dealears than in San Diego. Most San Diegans are too lazy to go to L.A. to haggle. But there's no need if you do it all over email. Ah the virtues of technology…

Note this works for typical, mass production average consumer volume cars. It might not be so effective with cars that demand is exceeding supply, or high end cars, cars produced in limited quantities, or specialty performance cars. You can forget about getting M3's, M5's, S4's, RS4's, R8, Mercedes AMG's, or any Porsche products at invoice this way. However, if you are in the market for exotics/high end luxury/limited edition sports, it is an effective alternative to being gouged by SD dealers marking up ABOVE MSRP (*cough* Miramar Audi/VW/Porsche *cough*). Plenty of dealers in Newport Beach for never charge above MSRP for low production vehicles. Also, if you need to get on a wait-list or pre-order list for some vehicle, your chances are better in L.A. because L.A. dealers usually have a larger allocation (they deal higher volumes).

Two examples:

Wife and I bought an Acura MDX from a dealer in L.A. SantaMonica and Power acura both had the same price. I think the Van Nuys dealer were willing to do $100 below the other two, but required us to drive 45mins extra, which wasn't worth it for us. While SD dealers were quoting $1000 above invoice (Kearny,Carlsbad), 2-3 dealers gave us $2500 below invoice. SD dealers weren't willing to budge, so we picked it up in L.A. over the weekend.

About 8 months ago, I was looking at a Lexus LS for my parents. While everyone was charging MSRP here since it was a pretty new launch, a few dealers in L.A. was willing to do $2000 below msrp. I then took the price to Kearny Mesa who was then more receptive to matching the price. (Deal fell through because my parents decided they didn't want the car)

Just remember, get the deal before the arriving at the dealership in L.A. The only thing you should be doing at the L.A. dealer is inspecting the exact car you will buy, signing paperwork, giving them money, saying no to all the options like extended warranty/clearcoat/etc they offer in the finance office prior to delivery, and driving off.

Hope this helps.

[Coronita]

All you new car amateur buyers 🙂

If you are buying a new car, why restrict your car purchase to just San Diego dealers?

Do your test drive in a San Diego dealer. Make up your mind (car selection, trim, options). Get your best price from SD dealers.. Call up the L.A. dealers and ask for the internet sales division/fleet sales division. Ask for a fleet/internet salesman's email, because you are from san diego and want to deal over email.

Do the complete haggling over email. If the salesman says he/she will only deal if you come in, refuse and say you live in san diego and don't want to drive there without a written deal in hand..If he/she still refuses, ask for another salesman.. If no salesman are willing to deal this way, move on to another dealer.

 

Over email, ssk for the out the door price because dealers love quote you the price of the car excluding tax/license/registration/"fees". Tell them you're willing to drive up to L.A. to pick up the car if the price is better than S.D, but you don't want to spend a lot of time haggling over it and if you get the runaround, you'll just buy in san diego. Don't tell them how much SD dealers are offering. Most dealers with an "internet" sales division will deal all over the phone/email. Traditional salesman will try to lure you into the showroom. It's simply because interent sales division is counting on volume sales regardless of where the person is from. Showroom salesman will try to milk you, because generally he has less customers he can work with at any time. And most people that work out a deal ahead of time usually are commited custoemrs, as opposed to those that walk in who most of the time are just browsers.

 

Get a few offers from a few L.A. dealers. Each time you talk to a new dealer, never be the first one to name a price. Get the "best price" from the dealer first. The first person that names a price loses. Period… After you get that price, play dealer X off of dealer y, with some reasonable cushion. For example, Keyes Acura in Van Nuyes is willing to do X, are you willing to do X-$200? Or don't even say that. Subtract $200 from what dealer X is actually giving you, and say are you willing to "match" dealer Y's price of blah blah blah. If he/she is a good salesman, you'll never get them to agree on a good price the first time anyway. While you shouldn't lowball (otherwise they won't take you seriously), you defiitely should go a few hundred below what another dealer will actually give you/ You will be surprised how competitive pricing is and how much all the deals come in at the same price. If you get some crap about "we give better service than dealership Y, just remind them you aren't going to be using any LA dealership for service anyway because you are from san diego. I find doing this all over email is great because

1) I suck at this in person

2) I get too emotional in person at times

3) You have a paper trail of all the discussions.

 

Try to do everything over email and not use the phone.

Get your best L.A. price, and if it beats SD dealers, take that price back to the SD dealers to see if they will match. (You did get this in an email right?)

1) If SD dealers matches the price, great. End of story.

2) if the SD dealers don't match (which sometimes they won't because the market price are different in SD and LA), then ask the L.A. dealer to fax you a sales contract with the OTD price. Make sure you have the VIN number that is the car they plan to sell. Tell them you plan on going to LA to pick up the car. Don't give them a deposit, unless you get an assurance (in an email) that the deposit is fully refundable. Arrange with the salesman a time to go to LA. Don't forget to bring all your email correspondence, the OTD price, and any contract or deposit papers your signed.

Drive to LA and pic up the car..(You did remember to bring all your correspondence with the dealer, right? And you aren't planning to change any of the financing terms or options once you get to the dealership, right?) Arrive at the LA dealer, verify the price on the contract is what you were quoted. If not, ask to speak to the sales director and rage hell that you drove all the way to L.A. and the salesman didn't honor the sales term. if the sales director doesn't help, leave and call a complaint to the auto manufacturer's customer service. They won't do this if there is a paper trail…(You did remember to bring the OTD price in an email or contract right?) Alternatively, negotiate the deal with two L.A. dealers, in case one dealership doesn't honor the price, drop by the second dealer. Verify the vin of the car, inspect the car, test drive the car, sign paperwork. Done.

 

Regardless of where you buy, you'll pay the same sales tax (7.75%) because sales tax is computed based on the address where you will be registered, not where you purchased the car (LA sales tax is 8.25%)…There is definitely more competition among L.A. dealears than in San Diego. Most San Diegans are too lazy to go to L.A. to haggle. But there's no need if you do it all over email. Ah the virtues of technology…

Note this works for typical, mass production average consumer volume cars. It might not be so effective with cars that demand is exceeding supply, or high end cars, cars produced in limited quantities, or specialty performance cars. You can forget about getting M3's, M5's, S4's, RS4's, R8, Mercedes AMG's, or any Porsche products at invoice this way. However, if you are in the market for exotics/high end luxury/limited edition sports, it is an effective alternative to being gouged by SD dealers marking up ABOVE MSRP (*cough* Miramar Audi/VW/Porsche *cough*). Plenty of dealers in Newport Beach for never charge above MSRP for low production vehicles. Also, if you need to get on a wait-list or pre-order list for some vehicle, your chances are better in L.A. because L.A. dealers usually have a larger allocation (they deal higher volumes).

Two examples:

Wife and I bought an Acura MDX from a dealer in L.A. SantaMonica and Power acura both had the same price. I think the Van Nuys dealer were willing to do $100 below the other two, but required us to drive 45mins extra, which wasn't worth it for us. While SD dealers were quoting $1000 above invoice (Kearny,Carlsbad), 2-3 dealers gave us $2500 below invoice. SD dealers weren't willing to budge, so we picked it up in L.A. over the weekend.

About 8 months ago, I was looking at a Lexus LS for my parents. While everyone was charging MSRP here since it was a pretty new launch, a few dealers in L.A. was willing to do $2000 below msrp. I then took the price to Kearny Mesa who was then more receptive to matching the price. (Deal fell through because my parents decided they didn't want the car)

Just remember, get the deal before the arriving at the dealership in L.A. The only thing you should be doing at the L.A. dealer is inspecting the exact car you will buy, signing paperwork, giving them money, saying no to all the options like extended warranty/clearcoat/etc they offer in the finance office prior to delivery, and driving off.

Hope this helps.

[Coronita]

All you new car amateur buyers 🙂

If you are buying a new car, why restrict your car purchase to just San Diego dealers?

Do your test drive in a San Diego dealer. Make up your mind (car selection, trim, options). Get your best price from SD dealers.. Call up the L.A. dealers and ask for the internet sales division/fleet sales division. Ask for a fleet/internet salesman's email, because you are from san diego and want to deal over email.

Do the complete haggling over email. If the salesman says he/she will only deal if you come in, refuse and say you live in san diego and don't want to drive there without a written deal in hand..If he/she still refuses, ask for another salesman.. If no salesman are willing to deal this way, move on to another dealer.

 

Over email, ssk for the out the door price because dealers love quote you the price of the car excluding tax/license/registration/"fees". Tell them you're willing to drive up to L.A. to pick up the car if the price is better than S.D, but you don't want to spend a lot of time haggling over it and if you get the runaround, you'll just buy in san diego. Don't tell them how much SD dealers are offering. Most dealers with an "internet" sales division will deal all over the phone/email. Traditional salesman will try to lure you into the showroom. It's simply because interent sales division is counting on volume sales regardless of where the person is from. Showroom salesman will try to milk you, because generally he has less customers he can work with at any time. And most people that work out a deal ahead of time usually are commited custoemrs, as opposed to those that walk in who most of the time are just browsers.

 

Get a few offers from a few L.A. dealers. Each time you talk to a new dealer, never be the first one to name a price. Get the "best price" from the dealer first. The first person that names a price loses. Period… After you get that price, play dealer X off of dealer y, with some reasonable cushion. For example, Keyes Acura in Van Nuyes is willing to do X, are you willing to do X-$200? Or don't even say that. Subtract $200 from what dealer X is actually giving you, and say are you willing to "match" dealer Y's price of blah blah blah. If he/she is a good salesman, you'll never get them to agree on a good price the first time anyway. While you shouldn't lowball (otherwise they won't take you seriously), you defiitely should go a few hundred below what another dealer will actually give you/ You will be surprised how competitive pricing is and how much all the deals come in at the same price. If you get some crap about "we give better service than dealership Y, just remind them you aren't going to be using any LA dealership for service anyway because you are from san diego. I find doing this all over email is great because

1) I suck at this in person

2) I get too emotional in person at times

3) You have a paper trail of all the discussions.

 

Try to do everything over email and not use the phone.

Get your best L.A. price, and if it beats SD dealers, take that price back to the SD dealers to see if they will match. (You did get this in an email right?)

1) If SD dealers matches the price, great. End of story.

2) if the SD dealers don't match (which sometimes they won't because the market price are different in SD and LA), then ask the L.A. dealer to fax you a sales contract with the OTD price. Make sure you have the VIN number that is the car they plan to sell. Tell them you plan on going to LA to pick up the car. Don't give them a deposit, unless you get an assurance (in an email) that the deposit is fully refundable. Arrange with the salesman a time to go to LA. Don't forget to bring all your email correspondence, the OTD price, and any contract or deposit papers your signed.

Drive to LA and pic up the car..(You did remember to bring all your correspondence with the dealer, right? And you aren't planning to change any of the financing terms or options once you get to the dealership, right?) Arrive at the LA dealer, verify the price on the contract is what you were quoted. If not, ask to speak to the sales director and rage hell that you drove all the way to L.A. and the salesman didn't honor the sales term. if the sales director doesn't help, leave and call a complaint to the auto manufacturer's customer service. They won't do this if there is a paper trail…(You did remember to bring the OTD price in an email or contract right?) Alternatively, negotiate the deal with two L.A. dealers, in case one dealership doesn't honor the price, drop by the second dealer. Verify the vin of the car, inspect the car, test drive the car, sign paperwork. Done.

 

Regardless of where you buy, you'll pay the same sales tax (7.75%) because sales tax is computed based on the address where you will be registered, not where you purchased the car (LA sales tax is 8.25%)…There is definitely more competition among L.A. dealears than in San Diego. Most San Diegans are too lazy to go to L.A. to haggle. But there's no need if you do it all over email. Ah the virtues of technology…

Note this works for typical, mass production average consumer volume cars. It might not be so effective with cars that demand is exceeding supply, or high end cars, cars produced in limited quantities, or specialty performance cars. You can forget about getting M3's, M5's, S4's, RS4's, R8, Mercedes AMG's, or any Porsche products at invoice this way. However, if you are in the market for exotics/high end luxury/limited edition sports, it is an effective alternative to being gouged by SD dealers marking up ABOVE MSRP (*cough* Miramar Audi/VW/Porsche *cough*). Plenty of dealers in Newport Beach for never charge above MSRP for low production vehicles. Also, if you need to get on a wait-list or pre-order list for some vehicle, your chances are better in L.A. because L.A. dealers usually have a larger allocation (they deal higher volumes).

Two examples:

Wife and I bought an Acura MDX from a dealer in L.A. SantaMonica and Power acura both had the same price. I think the Van Nuys dealer were willing to do $100 below the other two, but required us to drive 45mins extra, which wasn't worth it for us. While SD dealers were quoting $1000 above invoice (Kearny,Carlsbad), 2-3 dealers gave us $2500 below invoice. SD dealers weren't willing to budge, so we picked it up in L.A. over the weekend.

About 8 months ago, I was looking at a Lexus LS for my parents. While everyone was charging MSRP here since it was a pretty new launch, a few dealers in L.A. was willing to do $2000 below msrp. I then took the price to Kearny Mesa who was then more receptive to matching the price. (Deal fell through because my parents decided they didn't want the car)

Just remember, get the deal before the arriving at the dealership in L.A. The only thing you should be doing at the L.A. dealer is inspecting the exact car you will buy, signing paperwork, giving them money, saying no to all the options like extended warranty/clearcoat/etc they offer in the finance office prior to delivery, and driving off.

Hope this helps.

[Author]

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