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Does web MSRP or Window Sticker mean anything when buying?

4K views 29 replies 18 participants last post by  fastNugly @ RP 
#1 ·
Hey guys,
I'm about to go into my dealership this weekend and purchase a Ram Express 8 speed. It's my first new vehicle ever. I'd seriously appreciate any tips concerning the purchasing process.

For me, there is no trade, and no financing required.

I'm a bit confused if the window sticker means anything as far as MSRP? Is it the same?

If yes, is this the figure to start negotiating from?

I've also heard about a "build invoice" and starting from there. Is this the same as the window sticker.

Like I said, I've never purchase a new car and need help.

I've been saving for 2 years and I'm super stoked.

Any tips or constructive experiences are appreciated.
 
#2 ·
Window sticker is MSRP. You should go in there knowing about what the dealer's invoice is. Play around on cars.com or a similar site and you'll see both MSRP and Invoice for the same configuration. You should be able to buy closer to dealer invoice than MSRP.
 
#3 ·
Ill give you some advice and you probably wont like it...get unstoked...order up a Consumers Report on the vehicle you're interested in,,,they explain what all the numbers mean, how to negotiate, what to NEVER EVER do....in short do yer homework...you might just save yerself the aggravation of eventually figuring hout just how much of that sexy building YOU get to pay for, when another guy buying the same vehicle, pays THOUSANDS less....to answer your question, given that theres no trade, and its all cash, no, those numbers dont mean squat...the sticker may not even accurately represent whats IN IT>>>>
 
#4 · (Edited)
Go to Truecar.com, get a savings certificate and ask for 1k under that. They probably wont go that low but they should come down a little. I have sold cars very recently. Truecar is usually the bottom dollar you can get them to go.
 
#5 ·
I second Yankee. If you want the bottom line, take 3% of the MRSP (w/o the destination charge) and subtract that from the invoice. Start there. But go do your homework and understand WHY I said this. For the little bit of time it will take, you'll be much happier in the long run.
 
#6 ·
BTW...hows this for a double reverse....you probly think you got some special advantage paying cash eh??? the dealers do it all day long every day...for more than you'll pay for your vehicle of choice....and guess what, they get KICKBACKS...oops, dirty word...so lets say..."a piece of the action" from the banks and finance companies they chose to do business with...you pay cash, cuts into the action...theyll NEVER say that...(kaff kaff)
 
#7 ·
I have to disagree a little bit about MSRP

MSRP to me is a useless number. I have dealt with 27 total dealers and finally achieved 2.5% under invoice from 3 dealers. I told each of them do not ever mention msrp to me, most complied.

To me, the invoice obtained from true-car, CR, KBB, and one I am forgetting have been my hard targets. I have struggled but the order is done.

Please remember these little tidbits:
-be patient, be prepared to walk away
-friends and family, TC get an automatic 1% under invoice
-employees get 5%
-my goal was 3% (ie somewhere in the middle)
-dealer fees can be insane (I refuse to pay them), watch these closely
-being nice but firm has helped. They have called me back most times.
-its okay to go with their financing IF it is 'free' money to you. One dealer I am working with gets an additional $267 kickback for me using their bank instead of my own at the same rate (no harm, no foul).

In the end it is up to you. If you are okay paying a bit more to get your awesome truck the just do it (you will be smiling once driving it)!!! I am a penny pinching miser but I am patient.

Be careful and good luck-
J
 
#17 ·
MSRP vs Retail (invoice) topic


I agree that the MSRP is not worth much in the buying process. I wrote an email to 3 of my local dealerships with the Sales Codes for the 2014 LH 1500 that I wanted. They all said they would sell me the truck for retail or FWP (invoice) + destination fee. So, I started the negotiation from there and have found that 2 will quickly go 2.9% below invoice...plus any applicable rebates at the time the truck is paid for. From there I think you can nibble at the corners like....(without looking up when you are writing the check....this does come with a full tank of gas, right? -- hey, for the LH, that's 32 gallons!), and free oil changes for some period of time, and free loaner car if needed.
 
#8 ·
Good read NEW...harkens waaaay back to the days when I....well never mind....the entire US car industry is built on people NOT doing that stuff.....the majority of folks posting in here seem to be fairly knowledgeable...it aint their first rodeo, most of em......and their prices, mostly on ORDERED vehicles run around that invoice number, or way less...even cut into the holdbacks sometimes...its damn near impossible for most folks to do that...my money says he buys it...and good luck to him..sincerely...somebody's gotta support those car dealerships and factories......its a dirty job, but.....
 
#10 ·
Yup, end of the month and the 14s are on the lots? Theyll be trying hard to move inventory to make room. I got my express at invoice price nov 21st last year. Even got windows tinted all around inc front strip for free and spray in liner at their cost, $285.


Good luck!!!
 
#11 · (Edited)
Having sold cars very recently, if the dealer is at their number at the end of the month they will tell you to pound sand. Then you just came back the first day of the next month lol. Truecar pricing, at least in my area, is typically under invoice. I would check it out. My wife and I bought a car three weeks ago and we were 2600 under invoice. They lost everything. No holdback, no profit anywhere. It was an $1800 front end loss and since we were at 0% there was no backend profit either.

Eric
 
#12 ·
if you want a great deal, and not just a good deal, then you want to walk into the dealership prepared to buy a car, one hour before they close on the last day of the month, sales managers and finance managers are greatly encouraged by the general manager to push out absolutely every last ride they can before month end, so as they can compete with same brand dealers for factory to dealer incentives, which can include special models, decreased interest on in stock units and such.... at the end of the month the dealer will balance good deals with profit across to deals that may have cost them. On the last day of the month just before close, a dealer will sell a vehicle at a loss just to get it out the door
 
#13 ·
IF he's still reading this, and to any lurkers...you see it comes down to a giant game of chickin....with YOUR money as the prize...its a game the dealers play every dayumm day...several times a day...and one YOU (the consumer) get to play once every few years, or even less...guess who wins???

only chance you have is to be calm, and EDUCATED...that takes time, effort, self control, negotiating skills, yknow, the stuff Americans are really gooooood at heheheheheh....
 
#14 ·
Yes - agree! The best defense/offense is to educate yourself!

This will be the 5th vehicle that I have ordered and I have finally gotten lazy about it. With a few clicks of my keypad I just ordered this one via Costco. No work at all to start negotiations and get $1,300.00 below invoice. Now I am preparing myself to "just say NO" to any dealer add-on fees when I get to the dealership for final negotiations to sign the paperwork. I plan to arrive at 4:00 pm, bring a snack and a few magazines with me and run out the clock.
 
#16 ·
Not going disagree with any of the tips on here. Most of it is good advise. The best advise has been "do your homework"! Don't go in half educated or half cocked. And you might want to consider having it financed and then pay it off after 3 months. Why you ask? Because there are incentives for financing. Could be as much as another $2500 off.

My 2014 limited stickered for $52020. I paid $45,366. No trade in. How'd I do.
Considering the 14's just came out and there's not a lot of incentives on them, and the dealers are wanting to squeeze every drop they can before the prices start dropping, I think you did alright. And congrats on the new Ram!
 
#19 ·
Thanks to everyone for their input.

Oh, and I am officially "un-stoked" as my dealership experience left me feeling flat. The sales manager was only interested in selling one of the many trucks he had; the ones that were getting suntans on the lot.

Oh well, I'm gonna give it another try in a few weeks. Perhaps with a different dealer.

I really wish Chrysler could revamp their dealership standards of conduct. It still feels like 1970 out there: a circus.

Again, thanks for the great ideas, guys.
 
#20 ·
Good for you....yer around first heading for second...going to different dealers is part of the educational process....and other than the advantages the internet "can" bring, it certainly IS 1970....err...60....50...and so on, "out there".........generations of dealers and consumers can attest to it......be educated, cold blooded (but not snippy), and PATIENT.....the dough you save IS your own......
 
#22 ·
the short answer is no...the dealer is "allowed"so called "holdbacks", or, factory authorized credits against the price "they" pay for the vehicle...they vary from month to month, and are considered to be a state secret...it is verrrrrrrrrry unlikely the dealer will actually EVER lose money on a sale....they may not make as much on a given sale as they like, and you can "feel" that when you go in and actually know what yer doing....theyd rather deal with ther majority of folks who arent even aware of it...
 
#24 ·
I have only purchased one new vehicle and always thought ordering one you would lose the ability to negotiate but from reading online that is not true.
so when building a truck do a use truecar or web site like this and go in with my build sheet? if there are things that can be added that are not on truecar how do i know what the invoice price is verses what the dealer is going to tell me what that add on cost?
 
#26 ·
first...the "build sheet" is what you get after you order it and the factory STARTS the build itself...its 4-5 pages long and contains everything in your vehicle including dozens of items you didnt know you were getting hehehe....yeh TRUECAR and such is good, I used CONSUMERS REPORTS...well worth the $14......either way, they'll all contain the invoice price, and the Consumers one explains holdbacks as well..,.my dealer (the sales mgr) turned the screen around and i watched as he plugged in the items I wanted, printed the whole thing out with the invoice prices/msrp prices on it...we played around the invoice price and that was that.....a dealer who wont do that, or something like it??? head for the exit...you cant ask for that either??...go have a pizza instead of buying a car....
 
#30 ·
This is some very good info here.....
But MSRP and Window just means that.... 'manufacturers suggested retail...'

There are only a select vehicles that sell at MSRP/Window and an even more select that sell above and Rams are not one of them.

Im sure you can get a smoking deal if you look around and be patient :smileup:
 
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