Article: Why Are Popular Car Colors So Boring? A Brief History of Car Paint Colors (2/24/2021)

A few years ago, I went car shopping with my twenty-something nephew and niece.  I pointed to cars with bright hues, and they both considered those colors are for "old" people.  

Until recently, before we sold one car, we had three white vehicles.  In the early 2000s, we had three red cars.  

@marlowe-or-marty, When my wife sees a bright color car she says "these are for old people so they can easily spot their car in a parking lot." She may have a valid point.

@jkuvakas  Seriously John; I would offer you $1000 to accompany me and negotiate the deal for me.  IMO someone who really knows how the game is played is worth that kind of money.

Posted by: @jack-dodds

@jkuvakas  Seriously John; I would offer you $1000 to accompany me and negotiate the deal for me.  IMO someone who really knows how the game is played is worth that kind of money.

On a site called Jalopnik, a contributor named Tom McParland of automatchconsulting.com does this for a living. I'd pay him as I'm a terrible negotiator. I think it's like $500 flat. I have no affiliation with him.

@ed-glorius, @jackdodds, those are generous! The problem is that there are a lot of cars out there that don't have the markup to justify those types of fees. At the advertised prices of most new cars and with the advent of internet competition, many new cars are just not that profitable for a dealer. Hire the guy for $500 and watch him get a $300 discount on your new Corolla. 

The fact is that there are a lot of variables in buying a new car. Here are some of the things that will help you make a better deal

• How long has the vehicle been in the dealer's inventory? You can usually tell by the inspection sticker, if it has one. The cars have to be inspected before they're on the lot. If the car you're looking at is over 40 days old, the dealer is now paying curtailments to the bank and will be eager to move it...if the Sales Manager is worth his salt. If it is months old, it's time to play hardball! That's how I got the deal on my Fiesta ST. It was a rural dealer and he had my car in stock for 14 months! The dealer lost money on that car but was unwilling to take a hit on the new Lime Green one he had in stock for only two weeks. 
• How popular is the model? If it's hot, the chances of getting a deal are almost nil. Try negotiating on a Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna, or a Hyundai Palisades and see how far you get. Most dealers have precious few of this type of unit in stock. They're hard to get from the manufacturer and the dealer will make his profit from them. Some dealers will mark them up over the MSRP. I've always found it amusing that people get so indignant over this. For some reason, it's perfectly fine for most folks to demand a discount from MSRP, "I'm not paying that!" but get all out of shape when the dealer says, "I'm not selling it for that!" For every hot model a dealer has, he probably has fifty other models in stock that to be marked down in order to stay competitive. 
• Smaller vehicles with lower MSRP's have less markup. Some small cars have only a few hundred dollars profit. So, there's not much room to negotiate. 
• Used cars always have far more room to negotiate. But the same rules apply. Check the inspection sticker and determine how popular this vehicle is on the used market. Several years ago, I bought an Altima with the V6 and a manual shift. I got a really great deal because it had been on the dealer's lot for 6 months. I check in the glove box and saw that my dealer had received the car from another dealer in his franchise. They couldn't sell it either. Why? In our area, manuals are a hard sell because of the commute times in the DC area. After my test drive and after seeing the inspection sticker, I sat down with the salesman and said, "I'm the guy you've been waiting 6 months for! But this is not going to be easy." Once we made the deal, I shook the sales manager's hand and said, "Tomorrow morning, when the owner calls and asks, 'Did you sell the Altima?' you're going to be a hero.' He said, "You're right!"

These guidelines are general. I know, everyone knows a guy that can get cars and trucks at invoice and we all know someone who got a better deal on some particular vehicle or another. But there are a lot of myths about the business that simply aren't true. Almost all new car dealers make their money, not from new vehicle sales, but from used vehicles and the service/parts department. A body shop is golden as a profit center. 

If any of you ever want input on a deal, I can help via email or a chat.