How Much is that XG350 In The Window

OK, the Hyundai love fest on this newsgroup has convinced me, as has a test
drive. My wife's Avalon XLS's lease is up 2/23, and it's time to make a
move. We've had 2 Avalons in a row, and I'd get a third, but I've already
convinced the wife that it's time to reduce expenses. So I'm looking at an
XG350L with CD-changer, mats, and rear mudguards. I'm in eastern NC, too
far from any dealer that participates in Edmunds.com's dealer pricing
referral. But Edmunds lists the "True Market Value" of the car at $24,639,
about $600 over invoice. Then take from that the current $2K rebate to get
to $22,639. Is this really a good representation of what you can get one of
these for? If so, I'm probably gonna be an XG owner. There's a Hyundai
dealership right around the corner from where I live.

I know this is probably a well-worn topic, but would you care to share your
buying experiences?

 

The only thing I know (and experienced with my '02 350) is that it's best
buying at or close to the end of month when the dealer is more anxious to
make their quota. And except for the door dent (courtesy of my son leaving
the door open), I'm still very happy. I had an Acura Legend previously.
-Briggs

 

We paid 21,950 in October for a 2004 XG350L. This included a current
Hyundai owner rebate. With floor mats and mud guards, no CD changer. Not
including tax and license, etc.

Very happy with the car and dealer. It included 3 years of free oil changes
and free tire rotations.

Go for it!!!!!!!

 

Unless you can wait until Sept / Oct, I think you are stuck with that
number ( a fair number). I paid $21K for a 02 350L (which is what you
want if you want the changer). My sticker was $27,818. I told them I
was on my way to buy an "ad car" down the street for $6K off sticker.
They said they would match it. What I would recommend, is look at the
drivers side door lower right. When was the car you are looking at
made? In the last 30 days? They won't deal. 6 mo, you have them by the
gonads.

 

I got my 2003 Tiburon about 6 months ago via carsdirect.com and was very,
very impressed. Local dealer wouldn't balk below their stated price (about a
grand under sticker + rebate) telling me that because I wanted the V6 with
all the options (6 speed, etc.)... too much demand for the car to lower it.

Carsdirect quoted $1200 less than the dealer (Carsdirect was using a dealer
about 30 miles away from me).

I went back to my local dealer, said I'll give you carsdirect price + $300
(charity - since they did the test drives for me, essentially sold me on the
car, etc.). Dealer said "Sorry. No way you get the car for that price,
even from carsdirect." They were wrong. Got the car from carsdirect at the
stated price, picked it up a couple days later.

Carsdirect was a little heavy on two upsells during the confirmation
process. Forgot what the first one was - just told them 'Nope'. Second was
for gap insurance which I went with, since it was like $0.30/month more than
my insurance company wanted. Figured I'd throw the carsdirect rep a bone.
When I showed up at the dealership there were zero hassles/upsells/etc.
Just met with the rep I was advised to meet with, gave me a 30 minute tour
of the car, and handed me the keys. Very, very pleasant compared to the
glass etched windows/extra coat of gloss/other misc scams I've had to deal
with during past dealership battles.

At a minimum, I'd say price the car via carsdirect (no registration or
anything is required to price a vehicle) and use it as at least one
baseline. I do see that carsdirect is now calling their price "Target
Price" rather than "CarsDirect Price", so maybe their figure isn't quite so
set-in-stone nowadays.

 

Makes me want to try CarsDirect.com. I will check them out.

 

XG350's depreciate much faster than average. Buy a 2002 for a little more
half the price of a new one. This strategy also reduces your risk with this
car.

 

If you ask 20 people about their car buying experience, you will get 25
different stories, I include mine below

Bottom line
** The more places you use to get quotes, the better **

Never be afraid to walk out and go somewhere else. A few hours of your
time spent on leaving the dealer and going somewhere else can save you a
lot of money. Don't be tempted to close a deal just to get out of the
place, they purposefully play music louder then normal in showrooms and
put salesman desks in open high traffic areas to keep foot traffic all
around you so you will want to get it over with. Those things are an
intentional distraction to prevent you from concentrating on the deal.

In my quest for a lowest possible priced 03 Elantra, I used carsdirect,
www.cars.com, dealer visits, and found a dealer with a quote system
online (which turned out to be the cheapest by roughly $500). Try
everything possible or at least until you get sick of searching and just
want to buy.

The dealer I did buy from was direct and to the point, I showed up with
the emailed quote I received from them and a bank draft in hand. Thirty
minutes later and I was out the door in that car.
The first dealer I tried with the carsdirect quote was hilarious. I was
actually asked "What do I need to get you in this car today?", I always
thought that was a joke but it really happened. I also got the sad
story from the "manager" about how they are losing money, this price for
today only, you don't need ABS and rear disc brakes are not as good as
drum brakes etc... The icing on the cake was they initially told me
they could beat the carsdirect quote but the lowest they really could go
was $1000 more. I asked him directly on that exact issue and I was told
that I was looking into the numbers too much and those internet places
are not real? I completely wasted 2 hours of my time but, it was worth
the shot.