buying an Elantra GT - what to pay? invoice?

I'm looking to purchase an Elantra GT.

I'm a bit confused as to what price I should be paying.

The prices start at $14500, plus $600 for sun roof... plus a few other small
additions... and then in the right hand side of the invoice a $495 delivery
fee (that I'm told you can't get out of) and then a $1995 fee of some kind
that I was told they can take a 'little off of' and then the salesman called
it the dealer profit... but anyways, the total on the sticker is like
$18,000... Any ideas what these are selling at? What about the dealer
invoice? Hoe could I find that info?


And the 0% financing... one dealer told me it was only for 36 months and
another dealer 30 minutes down the road told me 48 months... what is the
real 0% financing offer?

thanks in advance...

 

In addition to all the good advice Jerry offered, I'd suggest emailing all the dealers in your area for price quotes. All the dealers in my area (southern California) have web sites with the ability to request quotes built in. Also, in case it wasn't clear, "Edmunds" refers to www.edmunds.com where you can get detailed information about pricing, rebates, option packages, etc. - information is power. Get clear on exactly what you want, e.g. model, color, options, etc. When I was buying my 2003 Elantra GLS a few months ago one dealer told me it was not available with the ABS package (power windows/locks, anti lock brakes, cruise, and alarm/keyless entry) and the five speed stick, but he was wrong. My dealer found an Elantra with exactly that combination of features (and the color I wanted, too) on another dealer's lot 300 miles away and had it driven to his lot where I bought it - he was very keen to have my business. Last, if you currently have a car I'd advise against trading it in since the trade-in process is often another way that dealer's manipulate prices.

Good luck!

 

The www.edmunds.com site that was mentioned is a great tool. I used
that site and the www.carsdirect.com price for my negotiations. I
also used www.autobytel.com to obtain a quote from a local dealer.
Like was mentioned, the Edmunds site does not mention the advertising
fee and I got hit with that as well. However, the dealer gave me the
car for $200 under invoice plus the $1500 cash back. When all was
said and done, I got my automatic 2003 GT with ABS, sunroof, and mud
flaps for $14,390 plus tax. There aren't many Hyundai dealers in my
area and I had a hard time finding the exact GT model I wanted, so I
was happy with this price. Plus the dealership was very
straightforward and did not try to stick in any "special" fees
whatsoever. I think the financing option was 1.9% for 48 months at
the time, but the cash back worked out to be a better deal for me.
Good Luck!

 

Thanks to everyone who helped out!

$14,500 after rebate... bought it yesterday and picking it up this morning.

 

Congratulations! Did you end up getting it from the same dealer you
mentioned in your initial post?

 

Wow, that's interesting that the same car in IL is only $14,000

It could be the competition, or it could be that the dealer incentives are
different in different areas. Or, it could be a combination of both.
When I was shopping for my Elantra a year ago, the rebate was $1,000 in
Memphis, TN (where my parents live), but only $500 in the Chicago area.
And, 0% financing did not apply to GT. Go figure.

Having a choice of dealerships is great though. I ended up getting my car
from a dealer all the way "across town" roughly 60 miles away, even though
there are at least four Hyundai dealers closer to home. The reason is that
there were very few 5-speed, loaded GT vehicles around here, and the only
one in Pewter was 60 miles away.

-Ig.

 

Yeah, I told them I shopped around and that I had no problems with driving
an hour over to Orlando to but it. The price came down real quick.

 

Yeah, I have heard about different areas having different incentives.
Like you said too, sometimes it's hard to find the exact model/options
you want. I was only able to find one Pewter Auto GT with package 7.
That's the one drawback to waiting until the end of the model year.
If you have your sights set on one particular color and certain
options, it may take some work to find it.