10 Ways To Keep Car Buying From
Being Like Root Canal
People love cars, but hate buying them. But by using resources readily available on the internet, you can totally turn the tables on Car Dealers and finally make your car buying experience easy ... and yes ... even enjoyable.
YOU can actually be the one doling out the novacaine and telling the Dealership to "rinse and spit".
One: Start By Shopping From Home.
No salesman is required. You can go to websites such as AutoTrader.com and Cars.com and surf through thousands of new and used cars for sale from the comfort of your own home. Eliminate the high pressure sales pitch and the possible steering towards a vehicle the Dealer needs to sell as opposed to one that suits your needs much better. And in effect, you're pitting one Dealer against another to find the best deal.
Two: Know Prices.
For used cars, use Kelley Blue Book. While Kelley Blue Book doesn't check actual Dealer prices to determine current values, their mathmatical formulas will give you a ballpark figure which is good to know. Sometimes they're high and sometimes they're low, but overall they are usually pretty close to retail values. And again, having checked actual prices at AutoTrader and other sites, you'll have a firm grasp of what would be an excellent price to pay.
Three: Try To Buy Towards The End Of The Month.
Yes, most Dealerships have aggressive monthly quotas and the last few days are often "make or break" time. Because certain bonuses and incentives may kick in, they are much more likely to take a "get it off the lot right now" attitude. This can lead to a much more receptive response to your low offer.
Four: Make The Dealers Compete For Your Business.
Don't go there in person ... yet. Pave the way with a phone call. Get a Salesperson on the phone and explain that you will buy their car within 48 hours assuming a mutual agreement is reached. Do the same at 2 or 3 Dealerships and negotiate your price exclusively on the phone. Tell them you don't want to waste your time or theirs but you're a serious buyer fully prepared to purchase. Let them know you're doing the same at several other Dealerships and you're simply going with the best deal. You'll find you come to an agreement in a matter of hours, certainly within 24 hours if you do this just before the month ends.
Actually, here's more on How To Buy A Used Car At The Lowest Price using an even less stressful technique ... one that uses email and also explains where to do it and what to write.
Five: Don't Pay Dealer Fees.
Explain that you won't pay Dealer Fees of any kind. You'll pay the vehicle price plus tax and tag only. We see Dealers who routinely add on $200 to $1,200 in extra fees on every car they sell, new or used. "Prep Fees", "Destination Charges", "Processing Fees" and all sorts of crazy things. These are nonsense add-ons and pure profit for the Dealers. Even those Dealers with smaller fees of $195 to $500 are padding their wallets at your expense. Don't fall for it when they say, "Everyone has to pay them".
Six: Ask For More Information.
When buying a used car, ask that the car's CarFax or AutoCheck History Report be emailed or faxed to you. Any reputable Dealer will provide it at their own expense, so there's no reason for you to have to shell out for it. You want to make sure from the outset that this is not a vehicle that's been in a serious accident, flood damaged, designated as a Lemon and so forth. Also ask that pictures of any dents, dings, scratches and blemishes be emailed to you. Ask if they've had the car mechanically inspected and if so, get a copy of the report. If not, why not?
Seven: Now Go To The Dealership.
Okay, you've come to a very advantageous price agreement and everything about the vehicle appears excellent. Now it's almost time to close your deal. Go drive the car and kick the tires. Make sure you enjoy the drive and the vehicle is indeed in as good condition as you were led to believe ... at least as far as you can tell. If everything looks good, put a deposit ($100 to $500 should be sufficient) to hold the car, contingent on it passing a third party Mechanical Inspection.
Eight: Get An Independent Mechanical Inspection.
Not everything gets reported on CarFax. Nor is a car in excellent condition just because it appears to drive well. It's very important to have the vehicle independently inspected on your own. What if there's frame damage? What if there are signs the transmission is about to go? There are large national companies such as SmartInspections.com (find others by googling "car inspection", "auto inspection", etc.) that will go right to the Dealer and inspect it for you, normally in the $100 range ... and well worth it to protect your investment. If a Dealer won't allow it, run in the opposite direction as fast as you can.
Nine: Always Be Willing To Walk Away.
Hey, there's lot of cars out there. Unless everything goes just the way you want, walk away from the deal. It's got to be a great car at a great price or simply don't buy it. Don't get emotionally attached to the car. The Dealer will not want to lose the sale. They will sense from your attitude that you mean business and it's extremely likely they will do what they have to to get that car off the lot. There's nothing a Dealer hates more than a "close but no cigar" ending, especially when they know you've left to go someplace else to buy the very same day.
Ten: The Only One Getting Root Canal Was The Dealer.
Assuming the inspection was favorable, you're ready to buy the car (if the inspection found some minor problems, ask them to have them fixed prior to delivery ... at their expense, of course). When you're satisfied, make an appointment to come in and do the paperwork. Explain that you have an appointment across town and you'll need to be in and out in 20 minutes. Otherwise, you won't be able to finalize things for a few days. Again, they need this sale this month, not next. They'll have you flying through the process to make it happen.
You've been in control during the entire process. You've called every shot and got exactly what you want. In fact, when you walk into the Sales Manager's office to do the closing, say, "Open wide. This won't hurt a bit".
P.S. Okay, here's a new killer bonus tactic:
Eleven: For New Cars Only - The Best Tip Yet.
It's an unbeatable, 2-minute technique that turns seasoned sales pros at new car Dealerships into quivering jello. Check out the 2-Minute Tactic.
Happy car hunting! - Josh
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Related Resource: Another Great Used Car Buying Tactic
If you've got a little more time and patience, it's tough to top this strategy when it comes to getting the best deal on a used car.
