Didn't buy it off the net, but used the tools on the net to figure out the price and which dealers had the exact vehicle I was looking for. Doing this I came in at $2000 below INVOICE. This is the 2nd new vehicle I have done this with. I also helped my sister buy her car in the same manner.
1. Edmunds.com - find the dealer COST. Cost is always below invoice price. Throw in a 1% or 2% profit ($600 in my case - yes, still $2000 below Invoice).
2. Get list of regional dealers, the head sales manager's name, and the fax #. In this case I got a list of 60 dealers in the New England area. Only 6 had the color/options I wanted.
3. Draft a memo with your offer and how I came up with the offered figure.
4. Fax memo out to dealers that had my vehicle and waited for the phone to ring. As expected, some call and tell you your numbers are wrong and try to haggle. But there will be at least 1 out there that thinks, "ok, very low margin on this sale, but, it is a garuanteed sale without having anybody have to work for it". And that is what happened. If nobody responded, I could have expanded my search outside of the region or I could just scrap the idea of buying an Av (The alternative was the new Infiniti G35 based on the new350Z chassis/drivetrain - still a possibilitiy
).
Anyway... this whole idea of "not having to haggle" is BS, with all due respect. You can walk into any dealer anywhere and say, "I don't want to haggle, just give me the price". But hey, guess that's just my opinion. If it wasn't for those who pay the mark up, I would never be able to get my prices.
The last car I did this with was a new 96' Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4. Window "sticker" $48k. Purchase price $35,750. I grew tired of this car a year later and sold it for only $750 less. Obviously I could have lost a lot of $$ had I not "haggled".
Nate "I even haggled for the shoes I'm wearing" Wood