I have always been told you never discuss financing prior to deciding on the price, all-cash offers are normally higher because they don't make money on them.
No offense, but I don't get the logic of some folks when to comes to new cars? I'm done with new stuff, but I have yet to do any worse than dealer invoice minus the rebates. The wife had a newer CRV that she lost to a deer collision. Since you would have to be an idiot to buy a slightly used one ( three years old, 30-40K miles, and $3000 less than new? I think not.) So, we head to the dealer for a replacement, and they are at $800 over invoice. I tell the sales guy that we paid $500 under invoice for the last one, and that's what we expect to pay for this one. He says "I don't think the manager will EVER go for that deal". I tell him, no worries, we have a few other vehicles to test drive before we pull the trigger anyway. A few minutes later we left a deposit for a new one at $500 under, then returned with a check when it was ready for delivery.
No doubt that dealers can make a really nice chunk when you let them fleece you with financing, but it only effects your purchase price if you decide to allow it to. It's amazing how people can get themselves so twisted over things like trades and financing. One of my favorites is, "keep the trade out of the deal, then spring it on them at the last minute" What? IF you are buying a new car, have a car you need to trade/sell, and need financing, you have THREE different transactions to deal with. They all need to be done in a manner that provides you with the maximum return, and they can all be done independently from each other. As in, the old car gets craigslisted and sold, the financing from the credit union, and the car is bought at no more than invoice less any available rebates. Doing it any other way can leave thousands in the wrong pocket.