I’ve been shopping around to lease an EV (mainly been looking at Leafs and Bolts). I’ve read that when negotiating a lease, it’s good to find the dealer cost and use that as the rock bottom price to behind negotiating up from rather then negotiating down from the MSRP. What is the best way to find this number? Also, I received two quotes on a Bolt from the same dealer. The second only lowered the selling price and increased the trade in value. However, it listed almost $1400 in capitalized taxes that was not on the first quote. Does anyone know what this is or if it’s negotiable?
The end of the calendar can be a good time to buy a car, especially if you are buying remaining stock that needs to be moved by the dealer. First, do a Google search on how to negotiate buying a car. Several sites will have good ideas for how to get the best price. One example is Consumerreports.org. Then, do a search on both invoice price and dealer holdbacks/incentives for the car you are interested in. The invoice price may be what the dealer "paid" for the car, but they can make a profit selling way below invoice because of holdbacks and incentives from the manufacturer. There are many places to get the invoice price of the car and option. One example is nadaguides.com. Holdbacks and incentives are more hidden, but can usually be found in a least a ballpark amount with some diligence. Finally, decide on the maximum you are willing to pay for a particular vehicle prior to going to the dealership. Don't tell the dealer that number, because there is always a chance you can buy the car for less than your maximum! Finally finally, if there anything in the negotiation you don't understand (and there will be lots of "extra" charges in the proposals), ask the salesperson. If all they do is blow smoke, walk out.
