Haggling Drives Home the Deals

Carmakers tightened their purse strings in 2007, offering an average of $500 less in incentives per vehicle compared with the year before. But that doesn't mean you can't get a deal on a 2008.

Sara Stramel of Indianapolis played the haggling game perfectly. She recently left her job at a bank to start her own marketing consulting business, so she wanted to trade in her aging Volkswagen Jetta for an affordable and more reliable 2008 midsize sedan. She looked at the Nissan Altima and rented the Hyundai Sonata and Saturn Aura, but she ultimately picked a Honda Accord because Hondas are dependable and have high resale values. And, she said, "the redesign turns heads."

Next she e-mailed the Internet sales staff of all three Indianapolis Honda dealerships, looking for a lease payment of $290 a month for 40 months on a $22,500 Accord LX-P (a new trim level for 2008). One dealer came close, at $298 a month, but Stramel wouldn't budge. "I hung up," she said. "He called back two minutes later and said, 'You've got a deal.' " She drove to the dealership to sign the papers -- the first time she'd set foot in the showroom.