How do I get a great price on a Vibe?

[amatt76]

My wife and I have finally decided that the Vibe is the car for us. It came down to a Vue or Vibe. The problem now is that I have never bought a new car before and have no experience haggling. Our budget is tight being newly married, 3 month old and a new job after just graduating. But we are pretty sure what we want on the car. So is there any suggestions/advice to help me get a great car at the price we can afford? I've seen a lot of posts about GM employee cards or something that allow you to get it for 4% over invoice, but is there anything I should know about specifically that I can do to get a better price?I saw some post about getting a new vibe in like November or December for under $14,000. How is that possible? I would love to know. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Mavrik]

Well to save yourself some money... ask yourself what do you really need. Maybe getting some options while not getting others would be the right thing for you. Make sure also that you know what is in each package before you say no or yes. I turned down a package and ended up without cruise control... was never told that package had cruise... Now I am having an aftermarket one installed. There are many ways to cut corners, still getting one AWSOME Vibe and save some money.

[amatt76]

Yeah the grad discount was ended on Jan. 31. Tried that one. We went to 3 dealers today in the Kansas City area and only one had any manual's like we want. Are they very popluar? We were hoping to get a Certified used one but the only one in the KC area was sold an hour before we got there. Oh well!!

[amatt76]

As for the Vue, we like it also. But we were gonna get the manual 4cylinder so that we could afford. We like the feel of the vibe better plus in 4 years we'll probably have more kids and the wife will need a bigger vehicle and then I get to drive the vibe. (Yippeee!!!) I guess that's what marriage is all about.

[amatt76]

We drove a manual for the first time today and it was great. Very smooth and you can really work the gears, makes me feel like I'm driving a sports car. Not that I've really driven a sports car, but hey it handles great!

[amatt76]

Yeah the Vue has a little more room and with the smartbuy is affordable but it's just the little things that make the vibe nicer. Like the seats folding flat, the interior being just nicer to look at, and the hard plastic cargo area. We have been looking around for about 2 months and have really started to fall in love with the vibe. But who knows, the wife could wake up tomorrow and say she wants the Vue instead. Women!! Can't live with them.....pass the beer nuts.

[AKLGT]

well, are you looking at the base vibe right? not the awd, correct? you want manual and not auto. so, the base vibe is a great way to go!2 tone or mono? can't remember.

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by amatt76 »Yeah the Vue has a little more room and with the smartbuy is affordable but it's just the little things that make the vibe nicer. Like the seats folding flat, the interior being just nicer to look at, and the hard plastic cargo area. We have been looking around for about 2 months and have really started to fall in love with the vibe. But who knows, the wife could wake up tomorrow and say she wants the Vue instead. Women!! Can't live with them.....pass the beer nuts.don't go the smart buy route! it's really not any diff from a lease and either way at the end of it, you will be totally underwater!!!!

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »IM Scherry2, he might be able to send you out a certificate and it should save you anywhere from $1000-$2500 on a new GM car. He is a great guy. silverawd26 Thanks (chest puffed out) amatt76 check your snail mail later this week!welcome to Genvibe

[Mavrik]

Your a poor Vibe salesman lol. I think you work for Saturn?? Anyway both cars have their good points and bad points I am sure. The Vibe is a bit sportier, may not has as much room but its not poor quality thats for sure. My Vibe (Manual 5spd fusion) is very quiet and smooth running. I can cruise down the highway at 120km an hour, 2500rpm with a lot of pickup if I need... so quiet I can't hear my engine running.Don't know about in the US but in Canada its further behind to do a lease to own... your like paying 1.5 times more then the car is worth.

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »I am just being honest. The paint issue is a big thing for most people and for me another issue is that the plastic scratches way too darn easy. He has a family and a little one, that means toys and lots of trips to the stores, getting in and out. I think Saturn will be more durable in the parking lots for doors that open up and hit the Vue's paint. It will not dent or scratch as easily. Also, the interior will not scratch as easily, that is a given. If you are going to spend the money and you can afford the Vue, it is the better choice for those reasons I give.very true, but also, the vibe's engine and fact that it is a toyota tested and true mechanics will far outlast the vue!

[AcousticFrEEk]

be careful w/ the 4 cyl. vue...i have three friends that have bought them and have had the WORST time w/ them..ALL THREE OF THEM....the new cvt transmission i guess is screwing them up...that's why they stopped production, but since has resumed. anyways just thought you should know.

[amatt76]

I haven't heard anything about whether the smartbuy is good or not. We figured it would help us lower payments and then if we don't like the car we can just get rid of it in 4 years. You can pay like $250 and just let GM have it back or if it's worth more you can try selling it on your own and make a profit. Or you can keep it and refinance about $8,000-9,000, or just pay off the balance. It didn't sound too bad, and would make payments affordable now. We were looking at it for both the Vue and Vibe. We were told today that we could get a Vibe with 5 spd. manual, monotone, salsa, moon&toons, Power group for:$17,862.97 MSRP after some initial rebate she didn't explain.-500 car show deal (till 15th of month)-500 bonus cash-500 Valeu certificateTotal: $16.362.97On smartbuy = $180 X 47 months, $8,851 X 1 monthor $248 X 72 @ 2.9% These are the numbers we were given today.

[AKLGT]

i'm talking about long term.... what is going to be more likely running without issues after 100K miles? we had a 1983 tercel and had 267K miles on it. sold it in 1997... which was a big mistake. drove it cross country 7 times and up the Alaska-Canada hwy 3 times, all over Great Britain and the UK. we've had many (and still have newer versions) of most domestic vehicles in some shape or form. after about 80K miles, they start to break down... alot! now, not EVERY big 3 vehicle does this, but almost every one we've owned has. but that's my experience. the ONLY reason i bought the vibe was because i knew it was a toyota and not made by GM. i got the celica gts engine for $20K and not $26K! plus 1.9% financing!

[Jahntassa]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »250 a month is pretty darn cheap.. Exactly. I did retail financing through GMAC. I think I financed $21,000 or so when rebates were said and done... $373 a month for the next 4.5 years. Thankfully I got it at the end of the model year, so I could get 0.0% interest on it.Of course, because of the toyota parts, and the knowledge that i'm eventually going to change out most of it for performance parts, i'm planning on keeping this car a LOOOOONG time. And even though my payments are higher each month, at least I don't have to have a lump sum due!

[AKLGT]

the smart buy is just a lease in disguise. the car will not be worth $9K in 4 yrs... that's just reality. how many miles will you be able to have and drive? and what about wear and tear? and what if you want to give it back at the end of 4 yrs... what do they charge you for that? i checked into the smart buys a long time ago and realized they really weren't that smart...

[amatt76]

That smartbuy also includes 15,000 miles a year, so it is like a lease.

[AKLGT]

i would stay away from the smart buys... i got out of a lease w/ my tundra.. and the only thing that saved me was the low depreciation. if it had been any big 3 vehicle, i would have never been able to get out from it!

[joatmon]

Two reasons to buy a Vibe instead of a Vue1. According to http://www.fueleconomy.gov, for a manual tranny, Vibe is rated at 29/36 city/hwy, but the Vue is only rated at 24/29. You owe it to your country and wallet to go for the extra mpgs.2. There's no way Saturn Vue could have a user forum anywhere near as great as genvibe!

[AKLGT]

lol! very true! no way the vue has a great forum such as this!

[amatt76]

I have read that people are having problems with the Vti on the Vue. That is why we were going for the manual in the Vue. A dealer close to us has like 30 of them in and is having a big special with the smartbuy option right now. Yes they do make you pay $250 if you want to give it back after the 47 payments.

[amatt76]

On Edmunds.com they have a Town Hall area where there a a lot of posts for different cars. The Vue has quite a bit up there. Also saturnfans.com has a lot, I think that is about all I found.

[amatt76]

Yeah it's a front wheel drive. The first dealer we went to was awesome, she gave us printouts of invoices from what was availabe at all dealers in town and then she did the pricing on what we wanted. That was when she came up with the $248 a month for 72. We then went and drove the very one she just quoted us on at the dealer that had the manual and he gave us a price of like over $300 almost $350. I don't know what he was smoking but we are definetly going back to the first dealer. That $180 for the smartbuy was quoted as $230 by the second dealer with a $9400 residual payment. Of course that was conveniently after we told him that we were looking to keep payments around $230. What an idiot, you never come back with the exact price the people tell you, it's completely obvious what was going on. This new car thing can be fun.

[SGT]

Be careful with the Smartbuy in my opinion. Like TRDVibe said, it is basically a lease in disguise. When my wife and I bought our first minivan in '98 we signed all the smartbuy papers and took the van home. After sleeping on it and running some numbers we went back to the dealer and had them redo the contact and switch us to financing. If you compare the two purchase options you listed, at the end of 47 months, you will owe over 8800 if you want to keep the Vibe which you will have to refinance at used car loan rates. Or if you went with the 72 month loan you will owe right around 6000 for the car. If you are really certain you won't keep the car more than 4 years and you also know that you will not put more than 15K on it maybe it will work. But bear in mind as with any lease, they will charge you for use and 'excessive' wear and tear, i.e. major dings or repairs needed at 47 months. Just something to consider. I am not a big proponent of 72 month loans either, but I know how hard it is to get into a car at an affordable price these days. Luckily when I got my vibe I took the 0 percent financing, but I had a trade and put some money down so my monthly cost was right where I wanted it to be. Good luck with your purchase and whatever decision you make. I have had my Vibe since November and really love it.

[SGT]

Quote, originally posted by amatt76 » Of course that was conveniently after we told him that we were looking to keep payments around $230. What an idiot, you never come back with the exact price the people tell you, it's completely obvious what was going on. This new car thing can be fun.Fun as well as frustrating. One thing I have learned is NEVER, EVER tell the dealer what monthly payment you are willing to accept. They love to deal that way. It gives them oogles of leaway. It is better to know in your head the amount you want to finance and make them work for you to get there. There have been some news shows on dealerships and telling them how much you want to spend is like the kiss of death on a good deal. A very good rule of thumb is to never pay more than 100.00 over invoice (and then all the rebates, etc off that price), especially on domestic cars. Of course if the car is brand new on the market and in very limited supply then you will pay more. If you can get lower than that, and you can sometimes, even better. I work for a company whose parent company owns a dealership and I can assure you that even at 100.00 over invoice the dealership is making money so don't let them tell you otherwise.

[Mavrik]

I made sure the dealership knew what I was willing to pay. They could talk and talk all they wanted but max I was interested in paying was $400CAD a month.. and thats right where its at currently.

[AKLGT]

i buy from the fleet manager to alleviate that prob. but when i got my vibe, i was in need and they couldn't do too much w/ it.

[SGT]

Back in 90 I went into buy a Beretta GTZ. Now, at the company I work for we could get Chevy's for 100.00 under at the time but I wanted to go to the dealer closer to home as my previous car was from there. Long story short, I offered 100.00 over on a GTZ and the salesman told me there was no way I would get that price, told me to go to the company dealer and walked away, refused to even present my offer. I waited 10 minutes another salesman showed up and asked me if I wanted to buy a car. I told him the dealership didn't want to sell cars and told him what happened. He said, let's walk in and present the deal to the Manager and see what he says. Manager accepted deal. The 2nd salesman walked up to the first one right in front of me and thanked him for giving him the sale. It pushed him over his quota for the month. I still laugh when I think about that purchase.

[SGT]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »Yes, there are very few good sales persons I have found out...Isn't that the truth! I hate it when I go into the dealer and the salesman doesn't know the product or is talking about the car and getting the facts all wrong. Drives me nuts. I know they are busy, but I think they could read the literature on the models when they first come out.

[jimincalif]

Perhaps you saw one of my messages. I bought my GT for $13K plus tax. Sticker was 21K (monotone, power package) Negotiated down to $18,500 with the dealer before rebate. Less $2K cash rebate being offered at the time, less $3,500 rebate points on my GM credit card. Of course it took 7 years charging $10K a year on the card to get that much in rebate built up - and I don't think GM offers the old "blue card" anymore, where the whole rebate can apply to a single purchase. I was able to get the dealer down on the price as Vibes haven't sold all that well in Calif, it is Toyota country here. (BTW, I had previously tried to buy the same car on the GMbuypower website, but they would not go for my offer. Going to the dealer in person and telling them you'll buy if a deal is struck gets them more interested.)In going to buy a new car, while negotiating keep the price of the car, the financing and any trade-in allowance separate. Do your research on Edmunds.com and kbb.com before going in, and have notes on the car and options pricing with you. Watch the Friday and Saturday car ads for loss-leader advertising. You might just find what you're looking for at a great price. If you have access to a credit union, check out their financing first, know the rate, term and the payment per $1000 financed before you go the to dealer. After you've negotiated what you consider a fair price on the car, then you can discuss financing, knowing exactly how much you will be borrowing. With your information with you, you will then be able to figure if the dealer is offering a better deal or not. Nothing wrong with financing at the dealer as long as you don't pay too much.I agree with other comments about staying away from lease deals. You have to buy another car, or purchase your old car at the end of the lease. Being in the young family stage, (been there, done that, got the T shirt) you can save a lot of money for future college, etc. by driving a car for a lot of years. The Vibe is mechanically a Toyota, so hopefully it will hold up. I have 4 kids and a 93 Toyota Previa van with 138K miles on it, still going strong. I've had to spend maybe $1600 in repairs on it in the last couple of years, but have NO PAYMENTS, and haven't had any for a long long time.Read "confessions of a car salesman" on Edmunds. Also the annual car buying issue of Consumer Reports should be coming out any time now. Pick it up and read the articles on purchasing. Be sure you understand the deal fully before you sign on the dotted line, don't get rushed, it is your money. Good luck.

[Mavrik]

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »Wow, that is a lot of money...I thinkanything over $300 is too much. Ofcourse, I try to pay cash for my cars. We are talking first time dealer purchased/bank deal customer. My previous cars I bought with cash. Very little credit. They set me into a 4 year deal for $400 canadian which isn't that bad really cause your $300 US is over $400 canadian lol. It works out in the end.

[kostby]

amatt76,Here's a very brief summary from Edmunds "Confessions of a Car Salesman" piece referenced in a prior message. The whole thing is like 18 pages long! I left all of point #6 in there, because it is so important, especially if you haven't ever purchased a car before.1. Use the Internet. 2. Don't be in a hurry. 3. Walk away from any deal/salesperson you don't like. 4. Know the numbers. 5. Shop around. 6. The deal's not done until you drive off in your new car. You don't have to be a jerk about it, but you should be on guard throughout the entire car buying process. The biggest place that people err is when they have struck a deal with the salesperson. They breathe a sigh of relief and think the dealing is done. But the buyer needs to stay alert for the F&I process. Extra charges can appear in the contract. There may be a problem with the condition of the car. All these things can be addressed if you have the right attitude. If anything crops up during the F&I process that doesn't jibe with your numbers you can still walk away from the deal. 7. Always remember that it's your money. I'm also attaching the whole 'Confessions' story, if you have the time to read the whole thing. It's rich text format, so it should open with Windows Notepad, Wordpad, or Microsoft Word.

Attached files Confessionsofacarsalesman-edmunds-comarticle.rtf (146 KB) 

[kostby]

Q: How can you tell when a salesperson is lying?A: His/her lips are moving! (No offense intended to any salespeople on this forum, just an old joke a former sales manager told me when I was in sales.)If you can locate a used Vibe with the equipment you want, you'll save up to 30% in first year depreciation. 'Certified' used cars are often $1000 above the same car non-certified. If the car is in good condition and still has substantial factory warranty time and miles left, it's not necessarily worth it.Last month I purchased a loaded one-owner 2003 (originally sold 08/2002) Vibe with 22k miles and for about $13,100 plus 786 sales tax, $13,886.00 "out the door". 'Book value' was between 13k and 15k, depending on which one you believe. The sticker was over $19,000 new, in August 2002. The sticker on a comparable 2004 was $20,900. Even with a $2000 and dealer discounts, rebate, I was still looking at $18,000 for a new one, plus 6% state sales tax on the price before rebates (Indiana sux!)Be sure you ask for and compare "out the door" prices. One dealer tried to charge me an additional $250 in 'dealer fees' above our agreed-upon selling price on a used Vibe GT by adding it into the purchase agreement without saying anything about it. I took my time reading the paperwork, caught him in the deception, and I walked. He chased me to the parking lot. I drove off. He called back to offer me the car for $600 less, minus an additional $250 of the dealer fees. ($850 under the previous offer!) I still turned him down, because he was a snake. If I get down in the dirt and wrestle with a snake, that makes me a snake too!

[AKLGT]

hey! i'm a salesperson!!! but i don't lie! that will always bite you in the (removed) later...

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe » the ONLY reason i bought the vibe was because i knew it was a toyota and not made by GM. sorry but the vibe is GM it is made in a GM factory with UAW workers and GM managment and Toyota parts. Back in the 80's-90'sthe idea was to create a work environment and ethic like the japanese and toyota wanted to get a foothold in americaI remember when the merger first happened they wanted the union workers to exercise for a 1/2 hour before production started each day. GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Lexus. they are all the same cars and trucks made with america,mexican and japanese plastic snap together parts and thin sheetmetal. just a different owner of a big corporation ( even there the lines are blurred )it all comes down to personal preference

[Caretaker]

Absolutely right. Hey S-man: snap me together a car with 250 horses, gets 60 miles to the electron, has 25 mile per hour tested bumpers, warms itself up in the winter time by me just thinking warm thoughts, uses no fossil fuels, and has its own dedicated lane on every road in the country That's not asking too much is it?

[Mavrik]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »hey! i'm a salesperson!!! but i don't lie! that will always bite you in the (removed) later... Yes but we be talking about car sales people. Your not one so we know we can trust you. My sales person didn't try and rip me off. Since I work there, I had to go through the new car sales manager to buy a car. We sat down and discussed what I wanted and didn't want... though at times I felt that since because I worked there, she wasn't taking me seriously... In the end though I am delighted with how it turned out and am loving my Vibe... But gotta wait a bit longer before I can but my aftermarket rims in cause its SNOWING! GRRRR

[amatt76]

Thank you Kostby for the info. When we went to the dealer yesterday she gave us some printouts of all the pricing on a vehicle that was at another dealer. It has the GMS price, Supplier, and an whole bunch of other prices on it. It looks like she was giving us the supplier price without even asking for it. Is there a way to get them down closer to the GMS price before we start taking discounts? Always looking for more info to help in the decision. Thanks for all the posts so far they have been very helpful.

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by maxx4me » Hey S-man: snap me together a car with 250 horses, gets 60 miles to the electron, has 25 mile per hour tested bumpers, warms itself up in the winter time by me just thinking warm thoughts, uses no fossil fuels, and has its own dedicated lane on every road in the country That's not asking too much is it? HEY!! I drove one of those just the other day.

[kostby]

Profit is NOT a dirty word. Every dealer is entitled to make a profit. If they don't, eventually they will go out of business.Where disreputable dealerships try to rip you off is in dealer-installed or dealer-arranged high-profit items THAT YOU DON'T WANT, DIDN'T AUTHORIZE, AND ARE SOMETIMES 'AUTOMATIC', (that is, the dealer just adds them to the price of every car on the lot, without asking) ADDED ON to whatever selling price you thought you negotiated. These can total hundreds or thousands of additional dollars in dealer profit that you're paying for, a few dollars every month, when you finance the car.Here are examples I've seen over the yearsETCH (etch the VIN # on all the glass - a great idea, but they often charge $250 to 500 or more for something that costs them Pinstriping or vinyl graphics applied by the dealer or a nearby trim shop - Vinyl pinstriping tape costs virtually nothing, yet can easily add $100 if they do it. 'Gold package' - replace stock trim badges with gold-tone ones.Credit Insurance - will make (some of) your car payments if you lose your job - a great idea, but is so restrictive that seldom will it pay off, even if you lose your job!Dealer document fees - range from $50 to 500. Yes, there is a legitimate cost to a dealership for an employee to enter the purchase info into a computer and click 'print', but thats a cost of doing business, not something you should necessarily pay for, unless 1) they're selling the car far, far below invoice, or2) you really, really, really, really are in love with THAT specific car, and don't mind paying more to get it.Dealer Prep (with domestic brands, the dealer already gets an allowance for that from the factory)ADM (Additional Dealer Markup) Pure profit for the dealer - often found on rare or desirable imports in short supply.Rustproofing, paint and fabric protection - They pay 10 to 25% of what they're charging you for a 'package' If you want the package, price it out first at local vendors, before agreeing to have the dealer do it. In the 80's when vehicles rusted out in 3 years, I bought it because I couldn't buy the protection package anywhere else for the price the dealer giving me.Gold Seal Tires - supposed to prevent flats, I believe. I haven't seen this since the 80's either, but it's probably still around in one form or another.Extended Warranties - Understand that the basic premise of an extended warranty is that you're betting you WILL have a covered item need repair during the warranty period, and the insurer is betting that you WON'T have a covered repair. They CAN be a good value, for expensive-to-repair or trouble-prone makes and models, if you totally understand what coverages you're buying, what the deductible is (if any) and how payment for covered repairs will be made (e.g. will you pay for repairs and be reimbursed later, or does the insurer pay the repair facility directly?) and who is authorized to DO covered repairs (All GM dealers? Only dealers who 'sell' this specific extended warranty package? Any repair facility? US only?)Marketing and Advertising Allowance - a charge for advertising and marketing costs, added to the selling price. Dealers probably DO pay a fee to a regional dealer marketing group to run the TV ads you'll see with a tag line such as 'Visit your Central Indiana Ford Dealer' etc.This is a cost of doing business, and you shouldn't have to pay for it.Despite the 'no haggle' approach of Saturn and other dealers, the basic philosophy when buying a car is STILL 'Let the buyer beware'.Don't sign anything until you've read EVERY line of the purchase agreement, and UNDERSTAND everything you're being asked to agree to! If it takes you a lot of time to read it and they seem impatient, don't worry about it. If you need to bring a parent, friend, or even attorney along, then do it. It's you're money, and you NEED to fully understand what you're agreeing to, how you're paying for it, and what the dealer is promising in return.Good luck!

[wmassdino]

I just traded my vue for a vibe... Dont buy the vue its a piece of crap... go for the vibe.... there is a 2000.00 rebate now and 500 bonus cash, that should help. If your a college graad you might be eligible for an additional 400.00 rebate... and if you have a gm card you might have earnings towards the purchase..good luck, and I hope you choose the vibe!