[deshi]

I'm looking at a 2001 Mustang SVT Cobra at a dealership. I test drove it. It runs great. 48000 miles. Its very clean. The only thing I dont like is that they took out the front leather seats and put ugly V6 mustang seats in made out of cloth.
Any ways they had it listed at $13500. Then they dropped the price down to $13000. The blue book.com says its worth about $11000 from a private seller. But there are not very many cobras around here. I spend about 10 hours a week just driving around looking for them and check online classifides daily.

What kind of offer should I give them? What can I offer that wont make me look like an idiot. I really dont want to pay more that KBB.com lists its worth because I will have to resell in about a year and I want to lose as little money as possible. If I dont take this car...there may not be another one like it for a month or 2.

What would you realistically do?
They ask $13000 + tax and all the dealer fee stuff
I dont want to pay over $11000 total including tax and dealer fee stuff
Is it likely I can get them down that much?

 

[kieron]

Don't be afraid to make any offer. Start a little under what you are willing to pay and come up to your top price. Example would be if you want to pay 11000 offer 10000 and see what he says. The worst that can happen is he will say no. I once got a car listed for 11500 for 8900!

 

[cedro]

Then make the offer of $11K. Tell them that is what you are willing to pay. Be firm about it. Get pre-apporved financing if necessary that way they will know you are a serious buyer. They took out the original seats & ruined the car so you should get some slack. KBB is a guide of what cars should sell for, it's not an absolute.

 

[columbanus]

Forget it. I'd buy a Camaro

 

[eljin]

try to bargain for 10,750 with tax

 

[ramzi]

Try $10,500 and see what happens. If they want to sell it, they'll talk.

 

[tripp]

I used to work at a dealership. Look up the Blue Book value for a dealer in your area. Try to find out how long the car has been on their lot. If it has been there for awhile, they will likely take $11,000. They lose money every day that car sits there.

Also, with the current popularity of cars with good gas mileage, a Mustang will be a hard sell for them.

Why would they replace leather seats with cloth? That should reduce the price a little.

Is it really worth all this trouble if you are going to sell the car in a year?

 

[kolt]

if you plan on owning this car for about 3yrs or more then its worth spending 13k

i would sell my old car and get some money there

plus i would show them the private sellers paper so they can bring down the price

then i would pick up more hours and make enough cash to go buy the vehicle.

 

[garrett]

if you're only gonna own it for about a year don't bother, why let it stress you so much?. just buy a proper european car in the first place instead of one of those american crates you get stitched up with. i drive a 7 series BMW and it's great, it's my third beemer, none have been a moments trouble. just a thought though, i don't know how much you would have to pay over there.

 

[brawley]

Checking Edmunds.com for the car's True Market Value would help. Furthermore it can give you a good idea of what people in your area are paying (in general) for the same car.

http://www.edmunds.com/used/2001/ford/mustang/100001056/prices.html

Kelley Blue Book tells you what dealers are asking for. Edmunds tells you more or less what it actually sells for. NADA prices give you another estimate of what the car is worth.

I say calculate the Edmunds TMV, balancing it out for your location, the color, options and mileage. Once you have that number, you have a better idea of what the car is really worth. Offer what you feel comfortable paying with. Don't care about looking like an idiot because it's money coming out of your pocket, not the dealership's. Sometimes, if you're not afraid of walking away if the dealership doesn't give you the deal you want, then yes, you can get them to drop their price.

One mistake is to let impatience take over. If you can't be a little patient, then you'll probably end up overpaying for the car (which will only hurt in the long run).

But one thing: If you're going to have to sell the car in a year, then why bother buying it...? I mean, would it be worth it?