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While there are websites that claim to know the inside pricing, we don't have that information available here. All we can say are some generalities that may or may not apply to Kia. New cars don't have a large profit margin, especially in the lower priced models. Many times it's only a few thousand dollars, depending on the MSRP of the car. Higher priced cars will bring more profit, hence the push by dealers to sell models with loaded up options and higher initial prices. That said, there's also money from the manufacturer that a dealer receives for moving cars, advertising, and other expenses. How much that amounts to, I have no idea. Where dealers usually make their biggest money is selling used cars, as there's no fixed price (MSRP) on something used. And of course their service department is the biggest money maker for most dealers.

You can try searching the web for "invoice pricing" information, but be sure to take anything you find with a grain of salt.

 

I would suggest looking at Edmunds website for new car pricing. You put in your zip code and they show the average price that customers are paying for that model in your area.
This is purely objective and the pricing comes from the accumulated sales data in your area.

New Cars, Used Cars, Car Reviews and Pricing | Edmunds


We bought our KIA from the Internet in 2019 through Edmunds New Car Buying Service - We posted the car we wanted, a new Niro 2019 PHEV EX and the different KIA Dealers within a specified range (for us 150 miles) then bid on our business. We picked the winner, and they then wrote up a contract for the agreed upon price. We accepted and then picked up the car from the Dealer at the agreed upon price.

Edmunds is just an example of the many different type of brokers that offer this service - you can buy new cars from Costco and Sams using a similar service.

Sam's Club Auto Buying Program

New & Used Car Buying Service | Costco Auto Program

Not a single one of these services will be perfect - the key is to pick the one that is best for you then step up and take charge of the process knowing it won't be perfect - and then walk away and try another service if you aren't satisfied.

We did go to a Dealer for a test drive of the NIRO before we bought it - but decided to try the internet/Edmunds option after a less than satisfying experience from our nearest Dealer - in other words we took control of the process and found a way to purchase the car the way we wanted at the price we wanted.
It wasn't hard to do that - I believe anyone could do that if they were willing to work at it.
.... and yes we had a trade in we ended up selling to the Dealer - we had a 2008 Prius with 120,000 miles on it that I drove to pick up the NIRO with and the Dealer asked me what I was going to do with the Prius - we told him we weren't sure and he make us an offer we accepted for the Prius.

 

I would suggest looking at Edmunds website for new car pricing. You put in your zip code and they show the average price that customers are paying for that model in your area.
This is purely objective and the pricing comes from the accumulated sales data in your area.

New Cars, Used Cars, Car Reviews and Pricing | Edmunds


We bought our KIA from the Internet in 2019 through Edmunds New Car Buying Service - We posted the car we wanted, a new Niro 2019 PHEV EX and the different KIA Dealers within a specified range (for us 150 miles) then bid on our business. We picked the winner, and they then wrote up a contract for the agreed upon price. We accepted and then picked up the car from the Dealer at the agreed upon price.

Edmunds is just an example of the many different type of brokers that offer this service - you can buy new cars from Costco and Sams using a similar service.

Sam's Club Auto Buying Program

New & Used Car Buying Service | Costco Auto Program

Not a single one of these services will be perfect - the key is to pick the one that is best for you then step up and take charge of the process knowing it won't be perfect - and then walk away and try another service if you aren't satisfied.

We did go to a Dealer for a test drive of the NIRO before we bought it - but decided to try the internet/Edmunds option after a less than satisfying experience from our nearest Dealer - in other words we took control of the process and found a way to purchase the car the way we wanted at the price we wanted.
It wasn't hard to do that - I believe anyone could do that if they were willing to work at it.
.... and yes we had a trade in we ended up selling to the Dealer - we had a 2008 Prius with 120,000 miles on it that I drove to pick up the NIRO with and the Dealer asked me what I was going to do with the Prius - we told him we weren't sure and he make us an offer we accepted for the Prius.

thank you so much. I really appreciate that.

 

I used TrueCar to purchase my Niro new in 2018. No cost to me, but dealers pay all brokers so theoretically you can negotiate the absolute best deal. Hampered of course by lack of data and amateur status trying to out negotiate negotiating specialists. TrueCar had some glitches, including dealers who broke the rules and tried to add on security crap (I agreed to buy one from a dealer 3 hours away before they added stuff and lost my business). On a MRSP of $26,155 I got a $3,000 discount. One potential gotcha in this process are document fees, but I didn't end up with that sort of issue. If I recall correctly, I was out the door for right at $24,000 with taxes and tags (might have paid for tags myself at the DMV). LX with tech package.

I used my TrueCar offer to call up a dealer about an hour from me, and they (happened to be a TrueCar dealer) matched the price with just a couple minutes on the phone. Got lucky with their top salesman and didn't deal with BS. He told me the dealer didn't make any money on the car, and that is probably close to true with 3K off MRSP. Hard to know as there are all kinds of credits and deals dealers have manufacturers, but I only read of one account on this forum in 2018 of someone who got the same car for a couple hundred less and many who paid more. That's close enough for me to be happy! I did hit the dealer at the end of the month, and the car was still on the truck.

 

thank you so much that is super helpful!

 

I used TrueCar when I bought my 2018 Niro and it was mostly an okay process. What I would suggest is that you sign up for a separate email address and use that to register with TrueCar so that your real email is not linked to the TC profile. At one point during my negotiations with the dealer, he refused to offer any other discounts on the car because he was using the TC pricing. It was probably BS and I should have walked but the price was within my range and I was just haggling on add-ons.

 

If you know the exact color as well as any additional options you'd like to add, you could message a few internet sales departments of KIA dealerships within a reasonable travel distance and ask for their best out the door prices (including tax, license/doc fees, as well as the destination fee--the latter is flat for the lower 48 states)--and get them in writing/email confirmation. If a more distant dealership quotes you a significantly lower price than closer dealerships, reach out to the closer ones and see if they will meet/beat the lowest price that you have been quoted. Also confirm that the price is for the particular color and trim line you want--make sure they don't pad their profit by adding "weather protection package", window tinting, wheel locks, etc. Once you get the price you are willing to pay, ask when you can take that vehicle out for a test drive and do the transaction. You'll eventually be led into the finance managers office (even if you are paying by cash or check) where you should politely decline prepaid service, extended warranty, interior upholstery protection treatment, ceramic paint treatment and other pure profit generators for the dealership.

 

In my area, I’ve found that the dealers no longer list the internet sales team info. They don’t even give out email addresses. They want you to call so they can insist that you come in person so they can waste your time and you can’t just send a blast email to 10 dealerships all at once and have them compete for your business. That also means you won’t get written proof of their offers tos how to the other dealers.

About 10 years ago, I bought a couple of cars using the email blast method to the internet sales managers that I found on the dealer websites and it worked great. A few years later when I wanted to buy my Niro, it was not easy to find the contact info on the websites. That’s when I tried the TrueCar option.

 

When I sold cars I learned how to buy them lol. Things may be a little different now but this is how I do it. The one cavet is you have to know exactly what kind of car you want and the options you want. When you know that go on the computer and find out which dealers have what you want. Then call all the dealers on the phone and speak to the sales manager and only the sales manager. Ask him/her how much over invoice they will sell car x to you for then ask for the out the door price including tax, tags any dealer fees ect. Any reputable dealer will show you invoice when you get there, we always did. Say your not going to waste your time visiting a lot of dealers to negotiate that's why your on the phone and that your going to the dealer to buy depending on who gives you the lowest price. Don't mention any trade just sell the car yourself or when you get to the dealer your buying from you can ask how much for your trade at the last minute.

 

When I sold cars I learned how to buy them lol. Things may be a little different now but this is how I do it. The one cavet is you have to know exactly what kind of car you want and the options you want. When you know that go on the computer and find out which dealers have what you want. Then call all the dealers on the phone and speak to the sales manager and only the sales manager. Ask him/her how much over invoice they will sell car x to you for then ask for the out the door price including tax, tags any dealer fees ect. Any reputable dealer will show you invoice when you get there, we always did. Say your not going to waste your time visiting a lot of dealers to negotiate that's why your on the phone and that your going to the dealer to buy depending on who gives you the lowest price. Don't mention any trade just sell the car yourself or when you get to the dealer your buying from you can ask how much for your trade at the last minute.

If, and that’s a big IF, they can figure out how to sell cars with one set price on the large scale where no haggling is necessary then that will be a great day. Amazon has a deal with Hyundai to sell a couple of models on there. I haven’t seen any reports on how that is going. But the dealer lobby is powerful so I’m sure they’re fighting this trend tooth and nail.

Thank you so much!

 

Believe it or not, went through KIA's site to get the quotes. We did go to a local dealer to test drive, but it was the wife's car so ended up with PHEV. Got estimates from several local dealers. Issue was finding a PHEV that actually existed. We went to one dealer who 'had one' but it was actually a dealer trade and when his guy went to pick it up it had shop damage. A month or so later a local dealer and a distant one both had the correct car. The local one agreed to price match the distant one and we picked it up without hassle. They offered $3K more than online estimate for the 14 year old Prius so I think it worked out. I've used USAA's auto buying system in the past with good results. Only issue is the initial price some offered was automatic and after we bought from someone else they came back with a better, but late offer.

 

I've used USAA's auto buying system in the past with good results.

USAA no longer offers this service, unfortunately.

 

There are some excellent car-buying videos on youtube. The ones from CarEdge are very good as are others. They tell you what to say, what not to say, and when to walk out when you see certain tactics pulled on you (the 4-square tactic and others). Costco is good to work with using their car buying service for members; it would be worth joining.

The library has some great books on negotiating. Read a couple, not just for buying this car. Remember, you want to buy a car. The dealership needs to sell cars. Needs trump wants. Your strongest tactic is for them to truly believe that you'll walk out if you discover that they're screwing you over. And, do walk out. Also, (a) you have no friends in that building. The more they take out of your pocket, the more goes into their pockets. (b) Never, ever buy anything extra from them. Whatever you want you can find cheaper and usually better elsewhere. Extended warranty? Buy from a dealer on line offering the factory extended service contract for less. (Never buy a non-factory extended warranty.) Certain desired accessories? Buy from a dealer on line that sells for less. The so-called finance manager (the F&I, finance & insurance guy) is paid only on commission so he pushes hard to sell stuff to you. Tough for him; buy nothing from him.

The dealer gets a profit margin on the finance rate. Check your bank, credit union, etc. for the best rate they can offer you. If you want to pay cash, don't tell the dealer. They'll raise the car price to offset what they lose from that finance rate profit margin. So, finance, then as soon you get the paperwork in the mail pay the loan off. That profit margin will be clawed back from the dealer by the bank, but you'll be long gone.

 

Now is a good time to buy, August is considered a slow month. Start at 15% off of MSRP and hopefully end up somewhere in the middle.

 

I bought our Kia after shopping on autotrader.com. They post the MSRP. The local dealers wanted what I felt was too much, but when I enlarged the area I found a dealer 260 miles away that was advertising $5,000 under MSRP. It was in a different state and the paperwork when I got home was cumbersome, several delays, but then one day at the DMV, someone asked me if I wanted to register it in the program for disabled veterans. So that was a big savings. One more thing, if you search nationally, you may notice area equipment variations. On Hyundai Ioniq 5’s they only have the most efficient RWD Limiteds in the southern half of the country.

 

Dealers are out to make money. Otherwise they wouldn't bother...

I had one sales person say they were losing money on the deal they made with me.... of course I knew better but it was a fair deal... 8)