How much did you pay for your MS3??

[08cosmic3]

Hey, I just picked up my MS3 today...I went in last weekend to get my car appraised for a trade-in value. While talking to the sales manager I asked him what the MSRP on the 8.5 MS3 Sport Metro Grey and he said $23,090...to which I replied wow, that's pretty low isn't it? Of course this guy thought I was a total azz clown and probably figured he'd **** me pretty bad. So, he said yeah it's a great deal and he doesn't have any leeway on the price of the car since they're going like hotcakes at, or even above, MSRP...the guy was laying it on thick. He said he'd give me a pretty good deal on my trade-in instead.

After quoting me about $800 bucks over trade-in blue book value for my car I said thanks and left. I went on Edmunds.com and sent out a mass quote request to every Mazda dealership within 100 miles and within two days had dozens of replies. I got their internet guy to quote me $20,999 with no additional fees besides title and license. Since there is no tax in NH the title and license was $220.

I also got financed through my own credit union and went into the dealership today after work and told them my loan is approved based on a max amount of the MSRP. Since I was $2,700 upside down on my trade-in I ended up walking out the door with my new car $23,140 since it came with the wheel locks for 50 bucks.

All in all I bought the car for 600 bucks less than invoice and got 800 bucks more than blue book for my trade-in...there was no sales tax and zero hidden fees. The car had 8 miles on it and I just got home from the dealership and it's got 24 total now.

I didn't do any negotiating what-so-ever, I think I just used a perfect blend of playing it dumb and using their own internet sales guy against them afterwards. Whatever the case I don't think I could have possibly gotten a better deal anywhere else.

DAK

Great deal, I did the same thing. Went to Edmonds and sent out quote requests and ended up paying $21,033 for my Sport. I never went to any dealership until the deal was done and I went to pick it up. I had to drive 3 hours to the dealership but saved a thousand bucks

 

[ComeBack]

yea i got my 2008.5 cwp with 7 miles on it for 21,155!! im stoked =] ill take some pics tomorrow and post them =]

 

[ms3jake]

I got my red 07 sport ms3 with 5300 miles from a toyota dealer for $19.3 mint condition.

 

[USMS3]

$24K, off the lot, with about 380 miles worth of test drives. Not including state tax and licensing, etc etc

 

[Dumb Azz Kracka]

$24K, off the lot, with about 380 miles worth of test drives. Not including state tax and licensing, etc etc

What's up Devil?

DAK

 

[navyagspeed3]

Hey, I just picked up my MS3 today...I went in last weekend to get my car appraised for a trade-in value. While talking to the sales manager I asked him what the MSRP on the 8.5 MS3 Sport Metro Grey and he said $23,090...to which I replied wow, that's pretty low isn't it? Of course this guy thought I was a total azz clown and probably figured he'd **** me pretty bad. So, he said yeah it's a great deal and he doesn't have any leeway on the price of the car since they're going like hotcakes at, or even above, MSRP...the guy was laying it on thick. He said he'd give me a pretty good deal on my trade-in instead.

After quoting me about $800 bucks over trade-in blue book value for my car I said thanks and left. I went on Edmunds.com and sent out a mass quote request to every Mazda dealership within 100 miles and within two days had dozens of replies. I got their internet guy to quote me $20,999 with no additional fees besides title and license. Since there is no tax in NH the title and license was $220.

I also got financed through my own credit union and went into the dealership today after work and told them my loan is approved based on a max amount of the MSRP. Since I was $2,700 upside down on my trade-in I ended up walking out the door with my new car $23,140 since it came with the wheel locks for 50 bucks.

All in all I bought the car for 600 bucks less than invoice and got 800 bucks more than blue book for my trade-in...there was no sales tax and zero hidden fees. The car had 8 miles on it and I just got home from the dealership and it's got 24 total now.

I didn't do any negotiating what-so-ever, I think I just used a perfect blend of playing it dumb and using their own internet sales guy against them afterwards. Whatever the case I don't think I could have possibly gotten a better deal anywhere else.

DAK

I wish I had read that before I bought mine. I got my 08.5 B MS3 GT for $23.5 k plus TTL OTD for around $25 k. I guess big down payments don't help anymore either because I dropped $19k and they still didn't drop the price at all. Before I found that deal I was looking at a Tacoma and they wouldn't budge even with huge down payment like that. Anyone else drop a big downpayment and not get any help from the dealership?

 

[Dumb Azz Kracka]

I wish I had read that before I bought mine. I got my 08.5 B MS3 GT for $23.5 k plus TTL OTD for around $25 k. I guess big down payments don't help anymore either because I dropped $19k and they still didn't drop the price at all. Before I found that deal I was looking at a Tacoma and they wouldn't budge even with huge down payment like that. Anyone else drop a big downpayment and not get any help from the dealership?

The trick is understanding how the dealerships do business, I guess. I'm not going to say that it would work anywhere because every town bases its business off of the local market. If you lived in an area where sporty little hatchbacks were really popular then I'd imagine it would be harder to get a great deal on one. I'm not originally from New England, so I couldn't say whether they're very popular here, but I haven't seen nearly as many as I'd imagine I would in the sunny southwest.

The trick I used played two competing salespeople against each other even though they worked for the same damn company. If I would have gotten the quote from the internet guy first and THEN went into the dealership for a trade-in quote then they would have low-balled the hell out of me. In turn what they did was give me an overpriced quote, so they could pretend like they needed to sell me my ms3 at msrp. Playing it the way I did turned their sales manager and their internet guy against each other competing for my business. In turn what it ended up doing was giving all of them the lowest possible commission you can get and they have to split it three ways now.

Overall, I kinda felt like a d*ck about it because these people were EXTREMELY nice and help full with everything, even after they realized I played them. I know they aren't your friends, I used to sell cars for Ford down in Houston, but something about their attitude just seemed real. But the bottom line is I don't owe them anything and I'M the one spending 23 grand.

I'd like a future MS3 buyer to take this game plan and use it again in their local market to see if it works again.

DAK

 

[mrjoshyman]

paid 22,875 for an 08.5 GT with power dimming mirror. That price was b4 TTL.

 

[Dumb Azz Kracka]

paid 22,875 for an 08.5 GT with power dimming mirror. That price was b4 TTL.

If the only "extra" that you got with the car was the mirror then it sounds like you got a helluva deal also. The invoice on that car is $23,240 and I'm assuming you meant "auto" dimming mirror, which goes for $200. If you paid $22,875 then you got it for $565 below invoice...

Nice Job

DAK

 

[mrjoshyman]

yeah, i meant auto dimming mirror (sry..very tired..)

and the invoice is actually more than that b/c that does not include destination. the actual invoice for the car is more like 23,600ish

thanks -- yeah it was a pretty solid deal...took me about a month worth of shopping around and talking with about 15-20 dealerships, but in the end I think it was worth it...

 

[Dumb Azz Kracka]

yeah, i meant auto dimming mirror (sry..very tired..)

and the invoice is actually more than that b/c that does not include destination. the actual invoice for the car is more like 23,600ish

thanks -- yeah it was a pretty solid deal...took me about a month worth of shopping around and talking with about 15-20 dealerships, but in the end I think it was worth it...

Sweet deal regardless, but I'm curious where you are getting your info. I get mine off of kbb.com and edmunds.com and they're both exactly the same down to the dollar of each other.

Where they differ is that edmunds gives their invoice quotes WITHOUT the shipping charge, which according to them is $22,590. They have a standard shipping charge of $650, which puts the total invoice at $23,240. Kbb.com does their invoices with the shipping charges already added (which is explained by a link next to the prices) and that site has your car at $23,240 also. These are, of course, based off of minimum standard equipment.

Either way you made out pretty damn well, but like I said I'm curious where you're getting your info. from, because I find kbb.com and edmunds.com to be pretty accurate with their info., but if there is something better out there I'd like to know about it.

As far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter how long you "look" or negotiate with various dealers, because in the end as long as you own that car you'll always know what you paid for it and either feel like you got away with something or you paid too much. That feeling never really goes away, and it sounds like you'll enjoy your ms3 even more.

On a side note I went over to a buddy's place today to show off my new ride and took him for a spin on some of his back neighborhood streets. I wasn't even pushing it that much and the next thing I know I was driving past this big azz truck on the right side of the road and noticed a stop sign that was being hidden by the rig. Before I had a chance to do anything I was flying through the intersection doing about 60 and thank God nobody was around. The crazy thing about this car is that it drives so smoothly that it felt like I was doing about 35. When I looked down at the speedometer I said "Damn, I better lock it down or I'll kill myself, lol."

Speed is addicting.

DAK

 

[USMS3]

What's up Devil?

DAK

Whassup man. Prior or active? (rockon)

 

[Dumb Azz Kracka]

Whassup man. Prior or active? (rockon)

Prior...served active from 95-99. Was stationed in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii for 3 years.

DAK

 

[mrjoshyman]

Sweet deal regardless, but I'm curious where you are getting your info. I get mine off of kbb.com and edmunds.com and they're both exactly the same down to the dollar of each other.

Where they differ is that edmunds gives their invoice quotes WITHOUT the shipping charge, which according to them is $22,590. They have a standard shipping charge of $650, which puts the total invoice at $23,240. Kbb.com does their invoices with the shipping charges already added (which is explained by a link next to the prices) and that site has your car at $23,240 also. These are, of course, based off of minimum standard equipment.

Either way you made out pretty damn well, but like I said I'm curious where you're getting your info. from, because I find kbb.com and edmunds.com to be pretty accurate with their info., but if there is something better out there I'd like to know about it.

As far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter how long you "look" or negotiate with various dealers, because in the end as long as you own that car you'll always know what you paid for it and either feel like you got away with something or you paid too much. That feeling never really goes away, and it sounds like you'll enjoy your ms3 even more.

On a side note I went over to a buddy's place today to show off my new ride and took him for a spin on some of his back neighborhood streets. I wasn't even pushing it that much and the next thing I know I was driving past this big azz truck on the right side of the road and noticed a stop sign that was being hidden by the rig. Before I had a chance to do anything I was flying through the intersection doing about 60 and thank God nobody was around. The crazy thing about this car is that it drives so smoothly that it felt like I was doing about 35. When I looked down at the speedometer I said "Damn, I better lock it down or I'll kill myself, lol."

Speed is addicting.

DAK

with the autodimming mirror, edmunds says $23,400 -- but in NY there is an assessment fee on all vehicles which brings it up to about 23,600ish.

I know those numbers are correct b/c I have seen the actual invoice sheet at more than one dealership.

 

[USMS3]

Prior...served active from 95-99. Was stationed in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii for 3 years.

DAK

Ahhhhhh so then you can relate to the YouTube video of "navy pilots make fun of Marines" huh? LoL If you havent seen it, do a search for the quoted phrase on youtube.

 

[Dumb Azz Kracka]

with the autodimming mirror, edmunds says $23,400 -- but in NY there is an assessment fee on all vehicles which brings it up to about 23,600ish.

I know those numbers are correct b/c I have seen the actual invoice sheet at more than one dealership.

Ok, yeah the #'s I came up with were completely stock with no additional goodies. As far as each state's fees and what not I guess that would make a difference. Are those things considered under the invoice really, or is that a customer expense? Doesn't really matter either way, it's semantics if you really think about it, because the money is having to be paid regardless.

Enjoy your ride bud.

DAK

 

[Dumb Azz Kracka]

Ahhhhhh so then you can relate to the YouTube video of "navy pilots make fun of Marines" huh? LoL If you havent seen it, do a search for the quoted phrase on youtube.

I just took a look....damn squids. I'm still trying to figure out what the hell yut is. I guess I would have to ask the seamen what it is exactly they were trying to imitate with that one, cuz it made no sense to me. It actually was pretty comical in all good fun until the whole gay thing came in the end...I was kinda grossed out, so I had to shut it off. Reminds me of being in the corps though...you couldn't joke with anybody without throwing some kind of gay joke in there.

I don't have anything against the Navy, I actually got along really well with quite a few corpsman that served in my ground unit, but I just chose not to join a branch where they'd be calling me something that I usually tried to aim at a girls forehead.

DAK

 

[koston33]

07 gt 4K miles for 18,400

 

[USMS3]

I just took a look....damn squids. I'm still trying to figure out what the hell yut is. I guess I would have to ask the seamen what it is exactly they were trying to imitate with that one, cuz it made no sense to me. It actually was pretty comical in all good fun until the whole gay thing came in the end...I was kinda grossed out, so I had to shut it off. Reminds me of being in the corps though...you couldn't joke with anybody without throwing some kind of gay joke in there.

I don't have anything against the Navy, I actually got along really well with quite a few corpsman that served in my ground unit, but I just chose not to join a branch where they'd be calling me something that I usually tried to aim at a girls forehead.

DAK

Youre serious, youve never heard YUT? Maybe its a little newer, but its jsut another moto call like oohrah and kill. As for the "embarassing drunk story" well, you have probably never been to Thailand. LoL Ive never been out in town out there (got stuck in the airport for 3 days on the way to Iraq though) but thats where they all come from. LoL

Navy guys can be pretty cool, I can admit. I have alot of Navy friends - Corpsman or not - and most are pretty cool, hoever every now and then one gets drunk and starts s*** and needs to be shut up. LoL

 

[Dumb Azz Kracka]

Youre serious, youve never heard YUT? Maybe its a little newer, but its jsut another moto call like oohrah and kill. As for the "embarassing drunk story" well, you have probably never been to Thailand. LoL Ive never been out in town out there (got stuck in the airport for 3 days on the way to Iraq though) but thats where they all come from. LoL

Navy guys can be pretty cool, I can admit. I have alot of Navy friends - Corpsman or not - and most are pretty cool, hoever every now and then one gets drunk and starts s*** and needs to be shut up. LoL

Ha, sounds like almost every jarhead in my unit too...we couldn't have a night out in Waikiki without some idiot getting into a fight with a local. It would always be the smallest guys in our unit drinking too much of that liquid courage/loudmouth soup and trying to get it on with some 400 lb Samoan. Not a good idea. I never really was around any Navy guys that weren't corpsman...we were pretty secluded. Hell the only time I actually ever saw a girl was when I went to chow or the px.

And no, I've never heard of yut as a moto term. It must be a post-crucible thing. I think that skit on youtube would have made more sense/been funnier if I had been familiar with the term, but oh well.

DAK