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Haggling?

P

paul

Well-known Member
I don't like haggling. I'm not good at it. Don't look forward to it. Not my cup of tea.

Guess that is why I go to a lot of auctions.

Anyhow, I'm looking at a new small piece of equipment at the farm dealership. Brand new. Listed at $8200.

Where do I go from there? It is small potatoes in the ag economy hardly worth a salesmans time, but I believe some sort of haggling is expected? Where does the real price end up?

Paul
 
I usually pay asking price at the dealership. I am not much on haggling either. I will research and find what is the asking price in the area via the internet then ask at the dealership. If it's within my range I buy if not I go elsewhere. I do have a favorable relationship with the dealer that I deal with and I think that makes a big difference too.
 
Paul,
I don't know either, but is it something you could research on tractor house? A lot of new items say call, but some are priced. You could at least see if it's competitive with other dealers.
Josh
 
I love to haggle. That's part of the fun of buying something.

I once bought a pickup from a local Pontiac GMC dealer. I forget what the final figure was, but I know it ended in $2.50 'cause we wound up splitting $5.00.

I thought my wife was going to kill me.
 
Not dickering on price is foolish. Sorry, but they have a cushion built in there and it makes their day when somebody comes along too insecure to make an offer. It is how business has been done since the beginning. Researching on Tractorhouse does not tell you what they sell for "off the farm". Those are mostly dealers on there. Frequently some of the highest prices around. Auction prices are good estimates, but you need a bunch of them to that you can remove the highs and lows and calculate a true median price that is not skewed. I generally look at the asking price and try to come up with what they want. Generally, if they ask $8200 they probably have $8000 in mind. But that is still too high. At a dealership you are always going to pay a high price. If I really wanted it I would be looking to get them to go $7500. If they stick with a higher number then I would look for flaws they can fix at wholesale and ask for that. On the 1586 I asked for a seal to be replaced. Big deal for me, not so much for them. But if you don't' like dickering,then don't. It's only money.
 
I've never paid asking price for any machinery in my life, new or used. Showing my age and political incorrectness, you can always "jewem down" on the price! :D

I remember in 1991 when we bought our bronco I told the salesman that I would take it (after 2 evenings of haggeling) if they would fill the tank with gas. He said they wouldn't do it so I got up to leave and he said "You mean you are going to let 1 tank of gas stop you from buying the new bronco"? I said "No, you are letting a tank of gas stop you from selling a new bronco". We started to leave and he said "OK, I'll do it". My wife about had a stroke. I was having fun.
 
Hello paul,

The price stops when you stop haggling and agree to shell out your hard earned money. Haggle until you get to the price you want to pay, or walk out. They may call you back! Marked up % on prices is sometimes many 100% over actual cost.
HAGGLLE UNTILL YOU DROP!

Guido.
 
(quoted from post at 16:03:47 02/24/15) ....... Showing my age and [b:c080b48400]political incorrectness, [/b:c080b48400]you can always "jewem down" on the price!
.
Click to expand...
Yup you are. :oops: .... Well over 20 years ago, my wife (who is a nurse) and I were invited to a doctor's house for dinner. She worked with him in a clinic and his wife was a doctor as well. As soon as we got in the car when we left, she said "I can't believe you said that" with a scowl. My response: "Said what?" Turns out they were both Jewish and I said something along the lines of "jewing someone down on price". She was not happy all the way home and I'm assuming she apologized to him the next day at work.

Since then, I've tried to be more sensitive, although one day, I was at lunch with a Jewish friend who was pulling my chain about being Catholic. My retort was "yeah, but you killed Jesus" :wink:
 
Find another dealer that carries the same equipment line. See what their price is, maybe try an offer there.You could play one against the other. Look at other brands and compare prices, let the dealer explain why his equipment cost more, they all need to know you can buy somewhere else.
 
Well, I've never liked the haggling part either, but given mark up and also realizing there is an actual cost, to the dealer, then marked up for retail, figure a number that you think is fair, and offer it. What can they say no? List an the alleged savings, well its all a game, but unless you are getting it for cost, its all retail anyway, so unless you have a connection for the employee discount or 10% above actual cost, you just do your best to get the lowest price. I realize they have a floor plan to fill on their dime until the item sells.

I don't know what current mark up is today, so if there is room, its good to make sure you have at least narrowed it down, or just low ball them and come up until you either make a deal or walk.

My friend and his family still get the X plan or employee discount at Ford, funny how the salesperson just wants to be done with the deal as they don't make much of those deals, and some of them as I have seen over the years were pretty darned good.
 
I love to haggle, especially if I don't need the item right away. A friend of mine says when working with a dealer, you need to walk away from a deal at least twice before you get the best price. I tried this when I bought my new truck just over a year ago. Discussions went on and on, I walked away twice. In both cases the salesman called me back the next day and wouldn't you know it, suddenly they had room to move on the price each time. It didn't work for me the 3rd time though, they ended up biting on my 3rd counteroffer and we had a deal. I was good with that. Looking back, it really was lots of fun and I saved a few bucks to boot.

This works best on a common item that you can buy anywhere, such as something new. If it is a hard to find piece, you might just wanna ask for a few hundred bucks off and then grab the deal right then and there.

Those are just my thoughts, please let us know what you decide to do and how it works out.
 
No offense but...
When I'm selling something I like guys like you.
If they can't or wont haggle I'll generally get my asking price - even though I was prepared to go lower.
 
On new equipment there's probably not a whole lot of wiggle room. I'd expect they'll settle for 8k on that item. You might work 500 out of them if they're hungry enough... or more if things are really desperate. Generally, what I would do is call around and price the same item in several places or at least a similar item and either use that as leverage or just buy it where you get it cheapest.

Rod
 
Fortunately its still a color I can call around on - some colors its all the same dealer for many, many miles any more....

Paul
 
I don't know of any area dealer that will haggle plus they start to make faces if they have to put a lot of time into selling to a customer. On my most recent purchase I noted the equipment in question was priced at auction value so I figured there was no point in trying to talk them down. I think I have done better by just doing my homework so I know how good of deal is in front of me or not. If not I just walk away after I get the quote.
 
I start at 22% off list but that uaually on bigger ticket items. If it's sat on their lot awhile they probably want to move it. I wouldn't go less than 15% off list.
 
"call around and price the same item in several places "

I do that a lot on new items. Call or walk in.
Works best in person if you're the type that can walk out.
I say I'm comparison shopping and ask "what's your best price?"
When they answer, I say "thank you, I'll let you know" and walk.
Price usually drops before I get to the door.

If I'm feeling really cantankerous, we'll discuss the meaning of
"best price" then I'll leave them my number for "when they figure
it out". That part sometimes works, sometimes all it does is PO
the salesman. I know he's trying to make a living and I don't
begrudge him or the dealership of that. Still no need to lie.
 
(quoted from post at 16:21:43 02/24/15)
(quoted from post at 16:03:47 02/24/15) ....... Showing my age and [b:9924725253]political incorrectness, [/b:9924725253]you can always "jewem down" on the price!
.
Click to expand...
Yup you are. :oops: .... Well over 20 years ago, my wife (who is a nurse) and I were invited to a doctor's house for dinner. She worked with him in a clinic and his wife was a doctor as well. As soon as we got in the car when we left, she said "I can't believe you said that" with a scowl. My response: "Said what?" Turns out they were both Jewish and I said something along the lines of "jewing someone down on price". She was not happy all the way home and I'm assuming she apologized to him the next day at work.

Since then, I've tried to be more sensitive, although one day, I was at lunch with a Jewish friend who was pulling my chain about being Catholic. My retort was "yeah, but you killed Jesus" :wink:
Click to expand...
Some people are more sensitive to those kinds of statements than others.
I have a friend who was raised Jewish, is now an atheist and
puts up a Christmas tree every year. Go figure.
He doesn't get offended if someone tells him Merry Christmas.
He also doesn't get offended if someone says "jewem down".
And, he can fix anything. In his words - "I just hit it with my checkbook!"
 
First of all who knows WHAT is list price. Knowing true dealer cost would be an advantage but again that is very tricky.. Out side the major tractor makers the off line equipment producers like Land Pride, Woods, Bus Hog, Taylor-Way , Rino, Alamo ect have really took a beating in the last several years. Where we use to be in the 13 to 18 % mark up lots of that stuff just does not carry that much mark up over true cost. Best thing is to look for a dealer that moves a lot of the BRAND implement you are looking at. Most all short line manufactures over discounts based on the volume a dealer purchases of the brand. Haggling is an art also but rest assured any good dealer has seen his share of hagglers.
 
I'd go in talk to the sales rep about the piece tell him its a little too pricey but I'd like to buy it if he could give me a little 'help' leave my name and phone # in case they have a 'sale' or something.If he's wanting to sell he'll work the price down,I'd plan on at least 3 visits as I'm in no hurry to shell out $$$.Different from a dealer but I bought a 1550 Oliver from a guy on New Years Day and he talked himself down $800 off his original price with me just looking at the tractor and driving it.Doesn't pay to be too quick on the trigger dishing out money.
 
Not necessarily. Sometimes my wife is better at haggling than I am, the case above aside.

Usually when I start to haggle over a vehicle, I see it through to the end in one sitting, win or lose. My wife, on the other hand, will make an offer on a vehicle and if the seller doesn't take it, she'll tell them, "If you change your mind, here's my phone number", and walk out the door. More often than not, the seller will call back within a day or so with a counter offer.

One time she bought a full sized GMC Blazer. The dealer was asking $5995 for it. She offered them $5300. The salesman went through the drill of talking to the Sales Manager. ("The desk" in auto sales lingo).

The salesman came back all smiles and said, "The Sales Manager said we can let you have that vehicle for $5700".

My wife said, "You weren't listening. I said I would give you $5300".

By the time she left, she bought it--for $5300.
 
If it is new there is likely very little markup. If you intend to haggle then you better shoot for something used.
 
Many times all you have to do is sit there and let the salesman haggle himself down on the price. All you have to do is frown every time he writes down a number.
 
Best I ever saw was my dad. He'd have salesmen in tears. They'd just about give him what he wanted just to get him out of their place of business.
 
Never forget, you need the dealer to make a reasonable profit if you ever want service/parts.

If you are able to get a crazy good deal, prepare yourself to wait for parts.
 
You would never make it overseas where they haggle price on everything.

When I was in the air force I was a sponsor for a guy coming back from the Philippines to a state side base.

When he got here we went to the grocery so he could get some items.
Cashier says that will be $50 sir.
Not thinking he said I will give you $35.
Cashier got a blank face and said excuse me.
I bust out laughing.
 
"Never forget, you need the dealer to make a reasonable profit"

True statement. They need to make a profit to stay in business.
Like I said, I don't begrudge them that. Not in the least.
But don't forget they make a profit on service and parts too.

Ever try to haggle on the price of service?
Most won't budge if your equipment/vehicle is down.
They have you over a barrel so to speak.
On maintenance they might, especially if you buy a "package deal".
 
I used to deal with a Jewish ins. agent/investment
guy. He was talking one day about buying a new car.
I forget where the negotiations started, but he was
bragging on how much he "gentiled" the salesman
down!
 
Amen. I can't anybody would buy a large dollar item and not haggle price some. Any dealer should know lots of people are going to make below asking price offers. Sure a dealer has to make money but don't think for a minute he doesn't have a big smile on his face when someone pays asking price.
 
I like to go to like the Case IH website cause it has the price of the machine after you build it on the page. It is an over inflated price and the dealers that list prices on the new items seems to be much lower than the price given on website.
 
Try this one:

I needed a 4X4 for a specific purpose. This would also become my daily driver. I looked around at a few local used car dealers. I found one that had several vehicles on their lot that would suit my need. After looking them all over, I decided on a particular one. The asking price was $6995. I thought that was too much. I offered $3700 cash deal. I didn't think that the dealer would really accept this, but I tried anyway. Much to my surprise, they took the deal.
 
Paul, things might have changed since I worked at a John Deere dealer several years ago, but in those days it was hoped to make around 7% margin (not markup) on new equipment. The price quoted was around 15-20% margin. Once I knew this it became much easier to deal on new and used equipment. My dad always told me to make them sell it to you, not just try to buy it. There is a difference. Mike
 
(reply to post at 07:55:57 02/25/15)
Click to expand...
haggle on everything,..even for furniture or a coat or in a parts department, if i can't chew 'm down some there ain't no sale and i go to the next store.
You'll be amazed how many times you get lucky.
Sometimes a salesman or an other customer gets mad at me for it but then i say, I'm farmer and my buyers always try to chew me down too,..what works for them ought to work for me as well.;)
 
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