I went to a local dealer the other day and they had four CPO G37 sedans, all AWD. The woman there said they are looking all the time and could find cars if they don't have them.

I'm looking for a 6MT and found a dealership with two, about 100 miles from home. I travel, so getting to the dealership in the next week or two would not be a problem. The price is about $1k more than I wanted to spend, but probably not unreasonable.

My questions:
1. Better to deal locally and leverage the dealers other two cars to negotiate a better deal up front?
2. Deal with the farther dealership because they have the inventory and it's been sitting, theoretically?
3. How likely am I to get either of them down $1k?
4. If I buy CPO at one dealership, is it a concern to get it serviced at another? I can't imagine it would be, but haven't been in the CPO market before.
5. Other strategies, considerations and thoughts?

Also, I did like the person at the local dealership, FWIW. Thanks so much for any insight you can provide.

 

Man, you can really look up almost all this stuff online yourself in a few minutes. I'll entertain a few of the questions though since no one else is biting.

1. Dealers in the same area usually price their cars within the ball park of each other. CPO's are usually lease returns or trade ins so the actual bottom dollar depends on how well the dealer negotiated to obtain the car or how stupid or lazy the person getting rid of the car is.

2. The carfax will tell you when the car was put up for sale. You can check to see how long it's been sitting. In my experience, the car's price usually drops after each month. Remember - dealers are in the turnover business so the longer a car sits on the lot, the more money the dealership loses.

3. Probably likely if you're not a jerk about it. They're people and just be real with them. I negotiated the cars I looked at over the internet before I bought my 11 G37S CPO. I didn't want to waste time going somewhere if our prices were too far apart.

4. Haven't looked into this yet for myself.

5. You need to find a way to have leverage to get the price down. If the car is marked competitively then it's harder to negotiate. Make sure you like the person you're dealing with. I'd rather pay a few hundred more to work with someone I like than with someone I want to punch in the face. Try not to make an offer until they bring the price down first. It doesn't hurt to tell the person that the car is slightly out of your price range and ask them to work with you. I prefer to negotiate in terms of OTD prices because that's the number that actually impacts me. I could care less if I get a $25k car but then $5k of fees vs a $28k car and $2k of fees. Lastly, don't mention the KBB or NADA prices because I heard it tends to annoy the sales person.

The best thing to do is to do your research because that'll give you ammunition and save you money. To me, car buying is 80% prep work. The other 20% is finding the right car and the right people to work with.

Good luck with the buy

 

Mine was a CPO and it came with the infiniti extended warranty which just ran out.

I bought it in jersey drove it to Colorado for school and now I am stationed in Nebraska. I brought it to the infiniti dealers in all three states for warranty work and had no issues at all

 

1. Better to deal locally and leverage the dealers other two cars to negotiate a better deal up front?

Why not talk to each dealer and leverage dealer vs. dealer competition. Start at the local dealer and walk away if you can't meet on numbers. If they can do it, they will call you.

2. Deal with the farther dealership because they have the inventory and it's been sitting, theoretically?

Same as above. Talk to both and don't be afraid to walk if the numbers aren't right. $1k apart isn't much at all.

3. How likely am I to get either of them down $1k?

$1k off of the listed price? Very likely if you play your cards right...

4. If I buy CPO at one dealership, is it a concern to get it serviced at another? I can't imagine it would be, but haven't been in the CPO market before.

A warranty from a manufacturer (new car, CPO, etc.) is good at all dealerships. Private warranties are the one's with restrictions.

5. Other strategies, considerations and thoughts?

Compare the maintenance histories available, car fax records, paintwork and body damage. Be firm on what you are willing to pay (within reason) and substantiate your price with market value comparisons (KBB, Autotrader, etc.). Walking away is helpful, it saved me a couple thousand.

 

Getting 1K down shouldn't be much of a problem, especially for a manual. However just don't let them know you are desperate for the 6mt. I also bought my car from over 100 miles away and got them to lower around a $1000 from what they offered. I did this totally by email since I was buying brand new, at one point I even showed the dealer the email from another dealer when he thought I was lying about the price.