Ping: Car People (re Mazda3)

[Crapshoot]

Firstly, thanks for the PM's from the other thread - they were helpful.

I've decided to pull the trigger on a Mazda 3, I Touring, Automatic - and I've been soliciting quotes from around the bay area (CA ). The quotes ranged from invoice to about $0500 above invoice (16,000-17,000) plus the ridiculous sales taxes. The last quote I received though was $1,000 below invoice.

3 questions:

1. Is this a catch at $1,000 below invoice? I asked what the additional fees would be, and he just mentioned the standard 55 dollar doc fee, $170 DMV license fee, and $8.75 tire fee (CA again) - which are the exact fees I've gotten from every other dealer. My family here has traditionally worked with a broker (Hammer Auto, down in Palo Alto) who they've never managed to beat, but is there any way he's going to justify a $400 fee by going even lower?

2. What tax rate do I have to pay? The county I'm living in is 8.75%, but some of the dealers I contacted are in 8.25% territory. Its not huge money, but its an extra $200 that I might throw into an option otherwise.

3. Is there any advantage to paying by check rather than credit card? I know retailers lose 1.5% on credit card payments to VISA and what not - if I can pay cash and avoid that, is that a negotiating tactic worth using?

thanks a lot in advance for any help - this is a definite first for me.

[Peregrine]

Well, I'm no expert, but I'd make sure I'd nail down all the details about pricing before you pull the trigger. Some dealers might have more inventory and thus be more motivated to sell the car. I like to check Edmunds.com TMV pricing to get an idea whether below invoice is going to be normal for the car.

Tax rates probably vary between states but at least around here you never have to pay normal sales tax rates for cars, I think car sales tax rates here are 3%.

Most dealers won't let you put the whole purchase price of a car on a credit card, some will let you put a certain amount on, maybe a few thousand dollars.

[Crapshoot]

Sorry, its a debit card - so I guess its akin to cash anyway.

Secondly, the guy who came in a $1,000 below invoice called back and apologized - said it was the trim level below. I do have offers right at invoice (below the Edmunds TMV), and I'm just wondering if anyone else has recent experience with the car.

Re: taxes - The dealers have all came back with a tax rate of 8.25% or 8.75%. I'm kinda screwed on that regard.

[terpkristin]

I have to say I just purchased (picked it up on the 20th) a Mazda 3 Grand Touring hatchback and I'm sure you'll love the car.

Do you have access to any buying service or anything? I bought my car through United Buying Service and it actually ended up about 500 over invoice. I know that my personal bank (a credit union) has a similar program, the MVCP (motor vehicle certification program http://www.mvcp.com/intro.php), and I was able to do UBS through work. Basically they have a book that lists the prices through UBS and that's that. The dealer I went through for the UBS also waived the processing fee (seems to be standard practice for various buying services). It's no haggle (and there were other issues with the dealer I ended up buying from), but the truth of the matter is that if you look get a Consumer Reports car pricing report (it's like $14 for one, or $35ish for 3 or unlimited? I only got one), the car prices at most dealers carry VERY slim profit margins on the Mazda3.

Enjoy the 3. :)

/tk

[Craptacular]

In Wisconsin, you pay sales tax based on the county you live in. I did a quick search, and found this for California:
http://www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/faqtrans.htm

"What tax rate applies? The tax rate is generally the same for sales tax and use tax. The use tax rate is based on where the property will be used, stored, or registered. In the case of a documented vessel, it is the marina or principal mooring location. For an aircraft, it is the hangar or tie-down spot. For property registered with DMV, the tax rate is based on the address provided to the DMV by the registered owner. See California Sales and Use Tax Rates (http://www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/pam71.htm) for a listing of current tax rates by city or county."



Sounds like you'll pay the higher one, assuming you'll register it where you live.

I like the Mazda 3. I don't have one (we have a 6 wagon), but I've heard nothing but good things about them, and they look sharp.

[stevew]

Somewhere on fat wallet there was a thread talking about how much you can actually expect to get a new car for. It's a very long thread, I will try to find it if possible.

[kcchief19]

The invoice is just the price that the manufacturer charges the dealer. Anything over invoice, the dealer generally keeps. But since Mazda and other manufacturers generally offer a splitback to the dealer on the invoice price, dealers can still make money selling a car at or below invoice. That can be even more if Mazda is offering any dealer rebates or incentives to move inventory.

We have a dealer here in KC who's schtick is that he sells every car at $100 below invoice. No negotiating, that's the price. So there's not catch to the invoice price for you.

Funny thing about Edmund's ... last car I bought, the salesman brought me into hiss office and brought up Edmund's Web site to show me the TMV (which I already knew) and they used that as their first offer.

[terpkristin]

If you haven't purchased the car yet, I'd strongly advise you check them out with your local BBB.

After the nightmare experience I had with my dealership, I decided to look at their BBB report and it wasn't good. I filed my own report with them shortly thereafter, as well as having letters in the mail to Mazda USA, Mazda Customer Service, and the United Buying Service.

/tk

[Crapshoot]

If you haven't purchased the car yet, I'd strongly advise you check them out with your local BBB.

After the nightmare experience I had with my dealership, I decided to look at their BBB report and it wasn't good. I filed my own report with them shortly thereafter, as well as having letters in the mail to Mazda USA, Mazda Customer Service, and the United Buying Service.

/tk

Heh - purchased the car yesterday (and am now cursing insurance costs) - meant to update this thread. I'm thrilled - this is my first car and what not, and I got 1.8% financing as well - ie, defacto free money which made the price even cheaper. I did note that my dealership was one which had the Mazda "Full Circle" or what not bit - apparently, none of the other dealerships in the area had that.

In fact, just checked the BBB - 5 complaints over the last 36 months, and a satisfactory rating. Good to know!