Reply #11: Here's an easy solution.

[YNGW]

If you have a particular model car you know you want, or even a couple you're trying to choose from, you can contact "Consumer Reports" and for a small fee you can obtain their review of the model and the price it cost the dealership for the car.

See, you have a base price, and then all the standard features, and then the options. Well, this sheet from CR tells you the base price from the factory, what is standard (no extra cost), and what the options cost the dealership. So, by knowing these prices, you can figure out what the car cost the dealership and then negotiate up. And the CR info tells you what to expect.

For a car that's priced at $25K, you offer cost + $200/$300. That's all. The dealership gets a 3% (or something like that) kickback from the manufacturer for ever car they sell. So, on a $25K car, they'll make in total around $1000, which is pretty normal. Dealerships make the bulk of their money in the service dept.