How do you know if you've gotten the "best deal"?

[1985forever]

Is it smart to take the first price quote you are given?  We are in between dealers, both saying they are giving us a "sale" price.

Should I try just offering less money without an explanation and see what they say?  We are over budget, but I don't mind if I know I am getting the best price.

[Spatech_tuo]

Is it smart to take the first price quote you are given?  We are in between dealers, both saying they are giving us a "sale" price.

One place has quoted us $5700 for the HS Relay, the other has quoted us $6100 for the same tub. 

I already tried "haggling" with the more expensive dealer (simply because we thought we liked them better) and his counter "offer" was a downgrade of all our accessories (cheaper steps, lifter, and chem pkg) which I believe actually put more $$ in THEIR pocket in the end.

Should I try just offering less money without an explanation and see what they say?  We are over budget, but I don't mind if I know I am getting the best price.

I’m going to assume each offer is for the same year spa and the same setup (steps, lifter, etc).

One could argue that you don’t need to explain anything when negotiating but I’m not a fan of that approach in a case where you have a better offer elsewhere. The fact you have a lower offer is basically the driving force behind your countering approach, why not be up front about it by being firm yet polite. If they say “we can’t meet that” then I’d say “I understand, thanks for your time” and if they let me go then I go to the other dealer (assuming the other dealer is worth buying from at the better price). It’s your money you're spending, while there is no need to necessarily explain yourself there also is no need to be elusive about the facts IMO. The dealer will hopefully respect that you’re being straight with them.

[1985forever]

I actually attempted to delete the pricing info from my op because we made a big mistake I just realized in looking over our quotes - one is with tax, one is without, which makes them both the same, in total.  :/

That being said...  does the fact that both places have the same quote change my bargaining power?

[Spatech_tuo]

I actually attempted to delete the pricing info from my op because we made a big mistake I just realized in looking over our quotes - one is with tax, one is without, which makes them both the same, in total.  :/

That being said...  does the fact that both places have the same quote change my bargaining power?

That does change things a bit but doesn’t mean you can’t try to negotiate. That type spa is their value brand meant to appeal to those on a budget and while there may not be a lot of room to bargain it never hurts to try. Make a counter, worse thing they can say is no or maybe they’ll counter your counter or maybe they’ll accept. There’s only 1 way to find out. One thing you can always try is to ask for some store credit for future chems/accessories. For obvious reasons, most dealers would rather give you $150 store credit for future purchases as opposed to lowering the spa price $150.

[1985forever]

Yes, you make a good point about the already nice value on these Hot Spot units.

I think I am done "haggling" and just want to order.  ITs tough because both sellers have been nice to deal with.  Both are equal distance away (about 45 minutes.)  One place does sell pools in addition to spas, and the other is spas only.  Think we are leaning towards the spa exclusive seller.  Why compete with pool business if we don't have to, right?

[Spatech_tuo]

Yes, you make a good point about the already nice value on these Hot Spot units.

I think I am done "haggling" and just want to order.  ITs tough because both sellers have been nice to deal with.  Both are equal distance away (about 45 minutes.)  One place does sell pools in addition to spas, and the other is spas only.  Think we are leaning towards the spa exclusive seller.  Why compete with pool business if we don't have to, right?

Go with whichever seems like they will have both the willingness and ability to give top notch service.

[garcias171]

I've found that after a couple of visits to a couple of different dealers I pretty much could tell which ones were over-priced and which ones made the first quote pretty close to the "fair price".  Personally, my local Sundance and Caldera dealers gave me the best prices right from the beginning.  In addition, we walked into their showrooms to find the MSRP clearly displayed and their "sale price" underneath.  Every other dealer we visited (D1, Hot Springs, Master Spas, Jacuzzi) in our area had no pricing on their display models and you basically had to rely on the salesmen to be honest with the MSRP and "best price".  Jacuzzi, D1 and Hot Springs refused to negotiate.  In the end, we went with the Sundance Optima, but the Caldera Tahitian was a close second.  Our decision to have those two as our final selections was more based on the dealer and our impression of them than the spa itself.

[1985forever]

Thank you for all the wonderful advice.  I appreciate it. 

[Chas]

Every other dealer we visited ... in our area had no pricing on their display models and you basically had to rely on the salesmen to be honest with the MSRP and "best price".

It is very hard to do any price negotiating when a customer is just standing on the showroom floor, or looking at spas and moving around. I would never give my best price to somebody who might very well be 'kicking tires,' because when they DO get ready to write the check, they will want me to drop it again. A clear signal that you are ready to make a deal is the best way to get down to the final price with most dealers. I don't like to haggle, and we are just now switching to posted prices as we finish bringing in all the 2012 models (finally!). But I will add in items to sweeten the deal, IF I know that I'm talking with a customer who is buying today.

As to how you know that they are lying to you about the prices? I don't know - but how do you know that they didn't just sit down at the computer and make up wild MSRP to print out? You don't. You have to build a rapport, and see if you feel comfortable working with this person or not. Dealers who jack the prices around or who lie at ANY point during a sale have a name. It's "Former Dealer." It always catches up with you, and you will find long term dealers have had to come to grips with the fact that it is NEVER going to work (long term) unless they are honest from start to finish.