Go into every negotiation with a plan, and you'd be surprised at what you can get. I bought mine at $500 below invoice + license + tax.
Here's a general process:
1 - Do your research. Consumer reports and other websites have good pricing data on what is considered a "good deal." Make sure you know what invoice is with the options you want. Make sure you know what incentives are available (none for CX3 at the moment).
2 - Pick a low-ball, walk-away price and plan on walking away the first session unless that price is met. The low ball price might be what you could hypothetically expect at year end or for a previous year's model with big incentives. You are not likely to get this price, so plan on walking away the 1st day. It's more of a learning exercise for you--what can you possibly negotiate for?
3 - Go into the dealership, do a test drive, be friendly with the salesman, and generally show excitement and interest in actually buying the car. Phone calls or internet negotiations don't work well for this... they're impersonal, volume-driven which means the dealer is more likely to "let you walk."
4 - Start negotiating towards your walk away price. After a few rounds of seeing the manager, the salesperson will present a price close to invoice.
5 - Once you feel the dealer is getting towards their best and final offer (it's not), tell you came in with a walk away price, you appreciate the offer, and you'll think about it unless they are willing to meet your walk away price. Listen to their reasoning, tell them you completely understand, but you need to think for your own. Do not change your walk away price.
6 - Tell them you'll be in contact after you think about it. Admit you understand and appreciate their position on their best offer, but tell them if they can come down lower, it'll help you make the decision.
7 - Repeat for other dealerships. If you really wanted to, you can play them against each other. At some point, you'll be down to the $100-$200 difference so it may not be worthwhile to keep at it. But hey, it's YOUR money, and if the dealer is willing to make a deal, it's a win for the dealer. No need to feel guilty. You might see if the salesperson and dealership you really like can beat or match the best price you got.
Again, all of this starts with doing your research and coming up with a plan. The info below are readily shared by dealers if they feel like you're someone who knows what the numbers are. Here's some specifics:
Absolutely no "Documentation Fee"
Invoice is relatively easy to get.
You can negotiate an additional ~$260 below invoice for "dealer holdback"
You might be able to negotiate some $$ further below, but at this point the dealer is theoretically taking a loss. (However, it's still a potentially good business decision for the dealer because just selling the car will benefit the dealer's volume numbers, so at some point).
Don't buy finance dept add-ons.
Know your payment or finance options.
If you have different sales tax rates nearby, know the difference in savings. 1% difference in sales tax on 30k car is $300.
So, plan ahead, be confident that you've planned, and don't deviate from your plan. Unlike other business negotiations, this is one situation where you can always come back and negotiate again regardless of how the last one went.