What successful strategies have you used to "talk down" used car salesmen?

I'm looking at used Camrys. I am also new at car-buying and don't know the best places to push. I will be financing and have a trade-in on which I still owe a decent amount of money, but less than the Blue Book trade-in value. I have some leeway in that I don't HAVE to replace my current vehicle and am prepared to walk away. Please help! Thank you :)What successful strategies have you used to "talk down" used car salesmen?
Go shopping on a rainy day when no one else is doing so. Do not even look at the car you want. If you want a blue 4-door Camry and you have $9,000 cash, tell them you want a red 2-door Ford and you need financing. They will ignore everything you say and first point you to the highest profit margin car on the lot and invite you to take a test drive. Say you don't like to color of that interior or something as dumb as possible.. Eventually they'll show you the car you want and ask too much for it. At that point make up some really unlikely reason you have to leave, like left the bathtub running at home but PROMISE with the most insincere face you have that you will be back "tomorrow". Then actually leave the building and get into your car (if you have one). But then get out and say you've just spotted that blue Camry and that might just do. If you played your cards right the salesperson will be so surprised you turned back they will be like putty in your hands. People ALWAYS promise to come back and they never do. Take the car for a test drive. If they come along ask the STUPIDEST possible questions like "Are the seat covers reversible". "Do these cars ever break" "My cousin's Subaru has a jet engine, does this one". "Does it have an autopilot". "Which half of the gas tank fills up first". Anything to drive the salesperson totally bananas. Then offer them 20% less than their asking price. Walk away at least twice, all the way back to your car, first when they insist on financing the deal, then again when they try to sell you an extended warranty, undercoating, seat covers, and a buckle for the fan belt. And again when they low-ball your trade-in. Don't be swayed by "but this eliminates my commission", "my manager will not approve this deal", "all the cars already have undercoating added", "that car just came on the lot today", "it was driven by Mother Theresa only on St. Swithins Day, on the sidewalk, to Westminster Cathedral", "the district manager is going to take away that car tomorrow", etc, etc, etc, etc. Do not pay a penny extra for "document copying fees". Always be in a position to walk out whistling. Even if you spent three hours at it, think of it this way,. if you walk away you've just worked at a pleasant job, making several hundred dollars an hour! Do not beleive A SINGLE WORD anybody at the dealership says. Be non-unimpressed by anything they say. Whenever they ask you to make any kind of descision you don't want to make, say one of ten stock meaningless phrases you have memorized, along the lines of "Uncle Kartoosh never changed his underwear in August". The goal is to never lose the upper hand, never let the salesperson drive the conversation. Remember THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIEND and THEY HAVE NO MORALS and THEY ARE TRYING TO PICK YOUR POCKETS AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE and you WILL NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN. It's tremendous fun and mighty profitable too.
Afraid to say that you are not holding many cards.



The best way to talk-down any salesperson is to have money on your side. It's all about money, right? You want the best deal, while the sales person wants to highest commission possible.



Your present car would need to be paid in full and you would have to have the funds available (money in the bank or personal line of credit) to make the perfect deal.What successful strategies have you used to "talk down" used car salesmen?
CASH talks. But, you don't have cash.



The salesman are trained to get you to pay as much as possible. Your job is to pay as little as possible.



The salesman has no say in the price you pay, only the manager.



Your best chance is knowledge of both your car and the one you are trying to buy., their wholesale %26amp; retail values.



Forget getting a penny more than wholesale for yours. You want to try to pay between wholesale %26amp; retail for the one you are buying. Its not always possible.



And, as an amateur, its hard for you to know its condition.



Lots of people think average=clean and some people think clean is average.
First, and foremost, it seems that you are preparing too much for the battle, and not focusing on the objective. The "objective", is to get the best possible price for the car you want.



If you enter your negotiation, with the salesman, well informed, you don't need to know the salesman, or how to "beat" him.



I also can't help but to notice that you have already assessed your trade value. There are a lot of publications whose purpose it is to offer a vehicle's value. They are all different, and some are more seller friendly, and some are more buyer friendly. You need to research that value a bit more, to be sure you have ALL OF THE OPINIONS.



The best way to evaluate the fair price of the Camry you intend to purchase, is N.A.D.A. It will give you a value of the car, based on the sales figures from the past month, not just an opinion. Your can even find them online.



As for your ability to "walk away", well....that's a good thing to have, but don't play it off so much as a negotiating tool. Use it as a rule of thumb should you not be happy with the deal. If you feel you should walk away....do so. Don't bring up your willingness to so during you negotiation. Simply make your final offer, and leave.



If the dealer has profit to give, he will call you in the morning.



And remember this; Salesman do what they do for a living, and, in most cases, they are very good. Research your position, and be well informed. Don't try to beat the salesman....he will probably win (no offense to you, it's just his job). But - he can't beat a well informed customer, and if you know the numbers prior to visiting the dealer, you will probably be the winner, and the salesman will still earn his pay.



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Good luck to you.What successful strategies have you used to "talk down" used car salesmen?
Never offer them what they are asking, and never make the first suggestion of price. When it comes time to tell them what you would be willing to pay, start out at least $2,000 to $3,000 lower than they are offering. When they come back with another figure, only raise yours around 100. Even if they drop 3 or 4, do not raise more than 100. Also, be willing to walk out. Tell them that there is no way they can meet you and you just leave. They will come down more. But do not sign then and there. Still be able to walk out. Tell them you are interested in the car, but for the price they are asking you cannot meet them, and walk out. They can always call you at home and make another offer. I haved actually had them do this to me.
First of all, know your budget, and be prepared not to budge above that number. This is probably the most important piece of advice. In my case, I said to myself (and to the salesman) that my number was %26lt;whatever%26gt;. And by the way, my number was well below what the "red tag sale" sign said, but this is a buyer's market. Additional note: don't let them play the "add-on" game. I said I wanted to pay a certain amount "out the door" - not before taxes and fees. They'll try to give you a price and then, add on taxes and filing fees and service charges. That's a scam. You want to discuss the "out the door" price.

Second, don't fall in love. Be ready to walk away. And then do it. In my case, I was in no hurry at all; I was prepared to wait for a couple of weeks as the car companies continue to get in trouble. So I didn't care whether I bought or not; they didn't want me to leave. I held firm, and they bent. So my advice to you is to be prepared to walk away if they don't do what you want.

Finally, even after you have negotiated the price, they will try and add in extended warranty ($2000), and super gloss paint coating ($599) and a bunch of other stuff. Just say no! Warranties seldom pay for themselves. And most of these things are pure profit for the dealer. So - resist their hard-sell.

As someone else wrote - YOU are the customer. Control the situation.
well first off I would recommend NOT trading in your car to the dealership. The salesman has a few thousand dollars of leeway on the new car you get and he will also low ball you on the trade in so thats gonna be a lot of money you will be overpaying. Then when you try to haggle with him, he will just offer you more for your trade in so that you will still pay the full price for the car, resulting in a fat bonus for him. Sell your car by yourself and take a loan out for the new car your getting. Remember he has a lot of money of leeway so you can prob get at least a few grand off the sticker price