[NiroBooster]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently negotiating with local dealers (and farther) on a new 2018 EX Premium using James Bragg's system. Hoping to snag one in my area for under invoice and then drive it cross country for a new next month. I was excited to find this forum and get a bunch of answers to questions I had about ownership and how people have experienced driving the car so far.

 

[olimpiaKIA]

Good luck and let us know how you ended up doing with the dealers

 

[NiroBooster]

Good luck and let us know how you ended up doing with the dealers

Will do! As we get closer to the 2019 release and dealer quarterly quotas it seems that $6000+ under MSRP is the dealer starting point on some models. I don't think it's out of the question to go maybe $2000+ under invoice at this point

 

[yticolev]

I got $3,000 off MRSP on an LX using Truecar.

 

[NiroBooster]

I got $3,000 off MRSP on an LX using Truecar.

The Graphite Touring EX package is up to $6000 off MSRP at some dealers, and the base EX up to $5000 MSRP. I'm looking at going under invoice (24800 for the base) at this point. TrueCar has given me pricing around 27000 for the base and you can do much better if you out in the time to have dealers compete.

 

[yticolev]

Sounds great! Of course, the more you buy (higher trim), the more you save! But still more out of pocket.

 

[NiroBooster]

More out of pocket, definitely. I grew up in a household were the cars were expected to last 15, if not 20 years. I'm intending this one to be at least a decade old by the time I think it's right to move on and if you calculate cost against expected ownership time, a few thousand bucks extra becomes minuscule. The creature comforts you get by upgrading from EX (+tech for the safety features) to premium are something to think about if you're going to keep the car for a long time.

 

[yticolev]

Besides being cheap, I just plain don't like many of the features of the higher trims. No to sun roofs, no to leather upholstery, no to rear radar. If I could add a la carte, there would be few things on my list. Ventilated seats (fabric of course), heated steering wheel, and possibly upgraded stereo. But those higher trims add weight, reduce headroom, or have luxury stuff I just find silly. I wouldn't have gotten the LX if I could have opted for the tech package in the FE!

But I don't begrudge those who want such stuff.

 

[NiroBooster]

I'm going to Big Sky country for at least a year and the sun roof will be amazing for it, but I do agree it's much of nothing overall. Wish I could negotiate it out. I'm assuming most of the reasoning for the packages Kia provides is for saving money by limiting customization. I watch CNBC's the Profit and a tiny house maker removed most customization options and that saved them two weeks per project plus increased their margins by a sizeable amount.

I'm definitely on board for the ventilated seats. Seems like something you don't realize was a great add until a hot day comes along and boom, you feel its worth. The leather seats are actually something I'd prefer over even the cloth combination ones. I have a dog with two coats who sheds and the leather (with a dog canopy + possible seat cover) makes the loose hairs immensely easier to deal with than cloath. Dog hair just sticks to everything cloath in a car. Some of the other stuff is also whatever as additions. I do think that the savings of going advanced technology over premium is nothing to balk at, but I'm probably making two 2300+ mile trips in the next year and putting 15000+ miles on the car in the next year. The premium features could make that more comfortable, and they could also make the long-term enjoyment of the ride more viable. All in all, the extra money comes out to something like $20-30/month for the life of the car and that to me personally is worth it. I'd never deride someone for choosing otherwise. I have the luxury of being able to afford it - at the right price.

 

[yticolev]

Sunroofs are occasionally fun, but I have a lot of rants about them. They are heavy, take a couple inches of headroom, and historically can leak. They also harm aerodynamics and can cause wind noise. It is also astonishing how many deaths there are from ejection during rollover, so many that regulators are starting to take serious notice. I'd guess that most of them are from unbelted occupants, but it is still scary enough for me to avoid them completely. Those panoramic windowed roofs like those found on Tesla would seem especially dangerous on rollover from debris of shattered glass alone. Sunroofs are commonly tempered glass like side windows, not safety glass like windshields.

 

[NiroBooster]

Sunroofs are occasionally fun, but I have a lot of rants about them. They are heavy, take a couple inches of headroom, and historically can leak. They also harm aerodynamics and can cause wind noise. It is also astonishing how many deaths there are from ejection during rollover, so many that regulators are starting to take serious notice. I'd guess that most of them are from unbelted occupants, but it is still scary enough for me to avoid them completely. Those panoramic windowed roofs like those found on Tesla would seem especially dangerous on rollover from debris of shattered glass alone. Sunroofs are commonly tempered glass like side windows, not safety glass like windshields.

Honestly did not know! Something I'll look into for the Niro, although not really an option to not get it since it's locked into the premium model packaging. I appreciate the concern and information.

 

[brandent]

Besides being cheap, I just plain don't like many of the features of the higher trims. No to sun roofs, no to leather upholstery, no to rear radar. If I could add a la carte, there would be few things on my list. Ventilated seats (fabric of course), heated steering wheel, and possibly upgraded stereo. But those higher trims add weight, reduce headroom, or have luxury stuff I just find silly. I wouldn't have gotten the LX if I could have opted for the tech package in the FE!

But I don't begrudge those who want such stuff.

Absolutely agree.

 

[NiroBooster]

It's easier for me to get a premium than advanced tech in my area, so for pricing purposes with competing dealers I'm going for the creature comforts and thus the sunroof. Will it be the wrong choice? Maybe. If I'm able to get it for $1-2000 under invoice then it's something to revisit in terms of positives and negatives for others.

 

[judyn]

Besides being cheap, I just plain don't like many of the features of the higher trims. No to sun roofs, no to leather upholstery, no to rear radar. If I could add a la carte, there would be few things on my list. Ventilated seats (fabric of course), heated steering wheel, and possibly upgraded stereo. But those higher trims add weight, reduce headroom, or have luxury stuff I just find silly. I wouldn't have gotten the LX if I could have opted for the tech package in the FE!

We usually don't buy loaded either, but this time we did. It started with the fact that we wanted every one of those new techy safety features. Then there are power seats. I'm short and I could never see out of my Prius V properly... These seats are lovely and two settings! And the sunroof. Haven't had one in ages and as soon as it cools off will enjoy using it. I don't like them open, but like them tipped, both for ventilation while driving and also to keep the car cool when parked. Then tehre is the upgraded sound. Our hearing is not what it used to be and Texas roads are very very noisy (lots of gravel in the blacktop) and we can actually understand our audio books in this car. Yep, we are in hog heaven.

 

[NiroBooster]

We usually don't buy loaded either, but this time we did. It started with the fact that we wanted every one of those new techy safety features. Then there are power seats. I'm short and I could never see out of my Prius V properly... These seats are lovely and two settings! And the sunroof. Haven't had one in ages and as soon as it cools off will enjoy using it. I don't like them open, but like them tipped, both for ventilation while driving and also to keep the car cool when parked. Then tehre is the upgraded sound. Our hearing is not what it used to be and Texas roads are very very noisy (lots of gravel in the blacktop) and we can actually understand our audio books in this car. Yep, we are in hog heaven.

Absolutely agree.

2018 Metal Stream EX with Premium Package for $26,736 including an upgrade to all-weather Goodrich tires. That's an out the door price prior to taxes (I'm registering in a state without sales tax, thus this is a legitimate out the door price). MSRP on the car is "officially" $34,215 although the sticker pricing is $32,525 prior to the dealer markups for whatever they added (cargo, mats, etc). Picking it up Wednesday.

Actual breakdown:

$26,300 (car) = $25,501 base + $799 dealer fees
+$436 tires (including installation)
__________
$26,736
MSRP $32,525
Invoice ~$30,500
Paid $26,300
Negotiated Discount $6,225 (or $7,925 if dealer MSRP is used) off MSRP and $4,200 off of invoice.

 

[yticolev]

How did you get to that price from the dealer? Not their first offer I assume!

 

[NiroBooster]

How did you get to that price from the dealer? Not their first offer I assume!

I called at least 50 dealers around the country. I didn't limit myself to 50, 100, 200 or even a 500 mile radius. I called from the East to West coast and everything in between. I do live in the Northeast corridor so that complicated some things. However, I was in touch previously with a Colorado dealership and one in Nebraska that gave me a good price to have the other dealers try to beat after that initial round of calls. One of the East cast dealers wanted my business and made it work.

I won't lie. I spent a ton of time researching to figure out that the Niro was for me. Then I spent four hours calling dealers around the country to explain what I was doing and to ask if they wanted to participate. Then I spent another two hours for round two, which was quick once I had received the offer I did since there were only three or four dealers I had contacted who would get close to $27,000 at all, even not including fees.

We're at the end of the month, end of the quarter and end of the bonus reporting fiscal period/year. Any dealer that relies upon volume to make their true profits has to push hard right now to continue to hit as many moving quotas as possible before August ends.

I also had the advantage of not having to worry about sales tax - although where I'm moving has a high registration fee/threshold on an annual basis (probably between $300-400 based on my car's cost).