I haven't bought yet. I Bought a 2017 BMW X5 earlier this year. The 2014 was the last one before that. I'm pretty good at getting good deals but open to input.
Then you may already know this, but here you go:
Assuming you already know exactly what you want, year, model, trim, color, etc.:
1. The best time to buy a brand new, current year model is at the end of September when the next year model is released. The dealerships will lower the price on the current year model to get them off their lot and make room for the next year model. So if you want to buy the 2019 model, the best time will be the end of September 2019, sooner if you notice the one that you want quickly flying off the lots. Wait until near closing time that day, when they are ready to go home and more willing to make a deal so they can go home.
2. Before all that, around early August, sit at your desk at home and search online for 3 to 7 dealerships around you that have the car you want. Because it's a new, current year model, this shouldn't be hard. It's okay if the dealership is 100 miles away. You're not necessarily going to buy from that particular one. At this point, it doesn't matter if some of these don't have the exact color you want as color doesn't change the price. Check their inventory online, bookmark the ones that have what you want, keep an eye on these often to see how fast they're selling out. This is how you know whether to wait until the end of September or pull the trigger sooner.
3. Within a week or two before the time when you plan to close the deal, create a standard email telling these dealerships exactly what you want(minus color), that you won't be financing with the dealership, that there will be no trade in, asking for the "out the door price" which includes fees and taxes. Include no personal information other than your zip code so they can calculate the tax. Tell them you are getting bids from many dealerships via email and will buy from the one with the lowest "out the door price". Don't agree to visit them, or to speak on the phone, or even to chat online. Insist on an email quote only.
4. Get them to start a bidding war. Don't bluff. Take the lowest bid and send it to the others to see who will beat it, then repeat.
5. Eventually, they'll start slowing down and dropping off. That's when you print the smallest bid, take it to your nearest, favorite dealership that has the car you want in the color you want, and negotiate the price down using the lowest quote you got via email. This is a good time to ask for any dealership coupons/sales/promotions/rebates/clearance, then ask for coupons/sales/promotions/rebates/clearance from the manufacturer. Some won't disclose these voluntarily. You have to ask.
6. If there are more than one of the exact same car you want on the lot, tell them you want the one with the lowest number of miles on it. They will lie to you and try to give you the one that has been test driven the most. Politely request to go to the lot with them and verify with your own eyes which one has the lowest number of miles. For anyone reading who might be surprised, no new car is zero miles no matter what they tell you. They'll have anywhere from 5 to 25 miles on it. Is this a big deal? It could be. Most new cars, depending on the model, shouldn't be accelerated too high too fast for the first 1,000 or so miles to prevent serious damage to the engine. New brakes shouldn't be slammed on for the first 500 or so miles to prevent damage to the brakes. What do some people who test drive these cars do? They accelerate pedal to the metal and slam on the brakes, and the sales guy/gal doesn't say anything because he/she doesn't care. The car test driven the least is less likely to have had this done to it, but there's no guarantee.
That's one of the advantages of buying a brand new, current year model when there are lots of them on the lot at many dealerships: You can compare apples to apples and there is a lot more competition because they are all selling the exact same car. Can't do this when buying a used car. Other advantages are more emotional, like knowing you bought a "virgin" car and that you are the first owner. You don't really know where a used care has been or whom it has been with. Another advantage of buying a new car is potential for better durability...see above regarding acceleration and braking the first 500-1000 miles.
Some dealerships will even agree to ship the car to your house and even waive the shipping fee. This is great if you decide to buy from a dealership far away. You don't have to buy the car from the dealership nearest you. You can take your new car to any dealership(of the same car manufacturer) for warranty work. However, if the dealership you buy from offers your first oil change free, or you negotiate free oil changes the first year, you'll typically have to go to that very same dealership to get this benefit.
Some dealerships, usually in big cities, are in a program with American Express that allows you to pay the entire purchase price of the car using this credit card. If you have the cash to pay off the credit card right after, you get all the credit card points or cash back benefits. Many other dealerships will allow you to pay only a fraction of the purchase price with any credit card, $1K to $3K or so.
This may seem like a lot, but it's just high level information. I suggest reading more helpful details here:
https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=124638https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=124638&start=150#p3061421https://esimoney.com/how-to-save-a-fortune-when-buying-a-car/https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/5-questions-to-ask-before-you-say-yes-to-a-new-car-deal.htmlhttp://clark.com/cars/beat-the-pricing-from-online-c/Disclosure: Unless you are a Getbigger, I strongly believe people should buy only used cars because new cars depreciate so quickly. Because all Getbiggers are debt free, have 3 to 12 months of expenses saved in an emergency fund, are already maxing out their 401K and Roth, and are either on target to financial independence early or are already there, then it's okay for Getbiggers to buy new cars if they want to, for the advantages over buying used that I mentioned above.
