Car dealers can be pretty intimidating when you’re getting ready to buy a new car. For most people a new car is probably the second biggest purchase you’ll make in your lifetime. So I was a bit nervous in the beginning. I figured the dealer would try to pull one over on me because I’m a women (and blonde, don’t laugh) so I decided to get some real advice from someone who new what they were talking about. I went to a former car salesman and fortunately for me he had no problem revealing all the secrets the dealers used to manipulate the average person. He told me things that really gave me an edge up on the dealers like how not to let the sales agent out talk me. How to plan through my negotiating before I even enter the dealership. He told me things like…
*Why I shouldn’t hide my trade in until we got to negotiating my new car purchase. Sales agents are willing to give on certain aspects of the sale if they know they may be able to make additional cash on your trade-in.
*To get the best deal for your old car you need to sell it yourself to an individual. A lot of people would rather not go to the trouble of placing ads and selling your old car yourself but that’s how you are going to get the most money for your trade-in.
*How to get the best financing rate (saved me tons!) Before you even leave the house, find out what your credit score is. Many times the dealer financing is not lowest rate you can get depending on your credit score. So you if know that up front you know what rate you should be accepting.
*How the “no hassle pricing” system works and how it actually makes you pay more. There are many fees that are added on to the price of the vehicle after you agree upon a price. Make sure all the fees are already accounted for when you agree upon a price.
*How to save on new car accessories. These are something that can “negotiated” to complete the sale if you’ve made your plan before you walk into the dealership.
*What a “documentation fee” is. This is a fee that covers the cost of paperwork and documentation. These fees vary from state to state. So find out whether your state has standardized fees or it is determined by the dealership so that you know what that fee should be.
*The best time of week and year to buy a new car. The best time of week to buy a car is mid-week and the best time of year is toward the end of the year.
*Lifetime Warranties. That’s usually only if you own the car and if you’ve done certain maintenance items by certain dates, etc. etc. etc. so make sure you read the fine print on that “Lifetime Warranty”.
You can also limit the time you have to spend at the dealership by using the internet to research the kind of car you want. You’ll save time, energy and money once you become comfortable using online buying resources that most dealerships have available. The world wide web is a great place to help you easily determine what you want, the features that you want on your new car, where you can find it, and what you should expect to pay for it. You no longer have to deal with high pressure auto dealers. You can actually get the dealers competing for your business before you ever leave home!
So if you’re looking for new car buying advice do your homework before you ever enter the dealership. You’ll be glad you did!