Getting a good deal on a new or used vehicle is a satisfying feeling. When you drive away from the dealership, you want to have confidence not only that you made the right vehicle choice, but also that you paid the right price. You may have experienced a stressful situation at a dealership where the salesman seemed to endlessly stretch out the process of determining a price until you were ready to pay anything just to get out of there.
There is a better way. With a no-haggle price program, you'll know exactly what you're going to pay the moment you lay eyes on your perfect car. It makes the whole car buying experience much easier and less stressful for everyone. The no-haggle price meaning is simple once you have the basics.
What Exactly Is No-Haggle Car Buying?
No-haggle car buying means you get the price for the vehicle you want to buy upfront. Many dealerships will publish these prices on their website, so there are no surprises when it comes time to pay. According to U.S. News & World Report, this type of program could save you $3300 on average off the manufacturer's suggested retail price. Of course, this will depend on both the dealership and the vehicle. Saving time is another benefit of this car buying process. You'll end up spending less time haggling over the price, so you can focus on getting the paperwork completed, and therefore, getting out the door faster.
The process is simple. Just go online and enter the information for the exact vehicle you want, then dealers will send you their quotes. When you see one you like, print it out and take it to the dealership. Take the car for a test drive to make sure it's the one you want, and you're ready to finalize the deal.
No More Bait-and-Switch
Unfortunately, there are car dealers out there who are not always completely honest about the vehicles they're trying to sell. For example, they may advertise a Ford Fusion for a very low price with pictures of a great-looking car. However, when you arrive at the dealership, this vehicle may be gone or you find it is a very basic model without any of the features you need or want. This tactic, says Autolist, is referred to as bait-and-switch.
With the no-haggle car buying process, this type of tricky sales tactic can be avoided. The reason is that each vehicle is listed with its stock code or VIN number, so you know exactly what car you're looking at and what features it comes with. Dealers still set their own prices, but they know that you will be comparing their prices to comparable vehicles in the area. Sometimes a dealership will exclusively use no-haggle pricing, while other times it may only offer it with certain vehicles on the lot.
At CarMax for instance, the entire company policy is based on no-haggle pricing, explains Business Insider. Their salespeople aren't paid commissions on the price of the car, so there's no pressure to sell at a higher price.
Are Dealers on Board with No-Haggle?
Many dealerships that use no-haggle pricing say it has a lot of benefits for both the dealership and the customer. Some of these benefits include:
- More competitive pricing.
- Less stress for consumers.
- A quicker buying process.
- Easy to compare prices.
- Builds trust with customers.
They know that consumers are comparing prices online anyway in order to get the best deal, so being upfront can potentially mean selling more cars. There are people that will actually pay more money to avoid the prospect of having to haggle over the price of a car. Although, Autolist shares that there are consumers who would rather haggle to get a good price because they don't think the no-haggle price is the best one they can get.
If you think you can get a better deal from a traditional dealership, go for it, otherwise, even if it's a few hundred dollars, it might be worth not having to haggle to make the experience less stressful.
No-Haggle Prices on Used Cars
Not everyone can afford to buy a new car or truck or pay a little more for one just so they don't have to haggle. If you're on a budget when it comes to purchasing a vehicle, you may be in the market for a used vehicle. In this case, you might wonder whether or not no-haggle pricing is available.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of selling used cars, you won't usually find one with a no-haggle price attached. The main reason for this is because the likelihood of finding two identical used vehicles in your area is pretty low. However, you can still get a good deal if you know how to compare prices.
Let's say you find two vehicles that share:
- Year
- Make
- Model
- Color
One of these vehicles has 64,000 miles, while the other one has 64,980 miles and is certified pre-owned. The dealership with the certified pre-owned option may offer a no-haggle price of $15,500 and the other dealership might have theirs priced at $14,800.
If you could haggle the price down on the car offered at the lower price, it is probably a better deal. On the other hand, if they aren't willing to come down on the price, it might be in your best interest to buy from the no-haggle dealership. Their vehicle has less than a thousand additional miles, but will likely come with a warranty.
Finding No-Haggle Prices
Business Insider reveals that you can shop around for no-haggle prices using services from companies such as:
- TrueCar
- Edmund.com's Price Promise
- Costco
- AAA
- Credit unions
If a dealership advertises that they use no-haggle pricing, then attempting to haggle will be futile. You can probably try your hand at haggling from another dealership that may only have a handwritten sign stating that a car's price is no-haggle. This is because it is illegal to advertise one thing but do something else entirely. On the same note, if a dealership's customers find out that they are haggling on prices for some cars and not others, the dealership will lose valuable consumers.
For those that dread the haggling aspect of buying a car, then no-haggle pricing is probably for you. It really comes down to what your preferences are and whether a vehicle is priced much higher at a no-haggle dealership than it is elsewhere.
Information and research in this article verified by ASE-certified Master Technician Duane Sayaloune of YourMechanic.com. For any feedback or correction requests please contact us at research@caranddriver.com.
Sources:
https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/best-cars-blog/2016/01/what-does-no-haggle-price-mean
https://www.autolist.com/guides/no-haggle-price
https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-no-haggle-car-pricing-what-buyers-should-know-2016-11
