Don’t be afraid to haggle. I have 7 buying a car tips that will help you to gain the upper hand when you go to purchase your next car. Car dealerships want to take your money and you do NOT have to give it all away! Buy a car on YOUR terms.
Leasing a car will lose you money
There are very few scenarios where leasing a car makes sense. however, car salesman will try and persuade you to lease a car with low monthly payments. Do not fall for this trick.
MSE explains:
As cars almost always depreciate, you could say they’re never a good investment. But if you buy a car you’ll at least be able to sell it and get some money back when you want to change it. It’s different with leasing as you know from the outset that you’ll get nothing back at the end of the deal.
The key question is therefore whether the amount you’d pay over the duration of the lease is higher or lower than the amount you’d lose by owning the car and reselling it over the same period (so the price you’d buy it for plus any interest costs if you needed to borrow, minus the price you would expect it to sell for).
If it’s lower, leasing would be cheaper than buying, plus you won’t have cash tied up in the car as you’ll just need to keep up with monthly payments. If it’s higher then you would be better off buying the car.
Don’t pay the doc fee
Autotrader explains:
“If you’re going through the process of buying a car, you may have come across “doc fees,” or documentation fees. Dealers sometimes charge this fee in addition to a car’s purchase price, and it can often add several hundred dollars on top of the figure that you and the dealer agreed on.”
If they tell you that you must pay the doc fee [on top], wait until the very end when you’re about to sign, and then tell them that you want them to take off the fee or you will walk! Be prepared to walk!
Auto Trader suggests:
“No matter how you choose to negotiate your price when buying a car, we strongly suggest making sure that all the fees have been mentioned before you sign any papers. Be sure to explicitly ask the salesperson if the price includes all fees, so that he or she can come clean about any extra charges you might see on the final paper work. If a new fee crops up after this, be prepared to walk away and find a different car at a more honest dealership.”
Don’t let them switch cars on you
A great trick is to try and get you into a different car than the one you came to look at. Why? Because they know you did the research on the car you came to the lot for. Don’t let them switch cars on you, or you’ll lose money and still not be in the car you wanted!
You don’t have to finance with the dealership.
Shop around for the best deal. It may be time-consuming but it can save you money.
Don’t play the trade-in game.
Don’t try and hold the trade until the very end. They know it’s coming and are prepared for it.
Tony Middlehurst and Rob Hull for Thisismoney.co.uk suggest:
“If you’re part-exchanging a car the most sensible course is to have a figure in mind, which is what you’re prepared to pay for the notional cost of the new vehicle minus the notional value of your old vehicle.
Getting hung up on just the value of your old car doesn’t really help the whole process along. Be honest and upfront then the dealer can see if they can make the deal work.
If the figure you want and the figure the sales exec offers aren’t far apart then be prepared to leave your details and then leave yourselves. It’s a risk, but the dealership may well call you back sooner rather than later.”
Don’t make friends.
The salesman might like the same football team that you do, might have sweet kids in his photo and might tell funny jokes. But he is also going to take your money. Don’t let yourself get befriended by people you will never see again. Be all business.
At the same time, this doesn’t mean being unpleasant. Being friendly can help get you perks. Thisismoney.co.uk explains:
“If the sales exec got on with the customer, and the customer was relatively reasonable and pleasant from their side, then the sales exec would often volunteer discounts or benefits, just because it felt good.”
Consider not buying on the first trip.
This is a fundamental rule but may be less relevant now the internet is so readily available.
Historically the advice was that if you think you have a great deal, go home and research it. you can always buy the next day.
Now, you have the whole world at your fingertips with your smartphone. You can compare the price of the car to others available of a similar age and condition, throughout the country.
Lastly…
These buying a car tips will help you to gain the upper hand the next time you are at the car dealership.
But there are many other tricks up their sleeves. Some car buyers are so afraid of haggling that they will go to “no-haggle” car lots and lose thousands and thousands of dollars buying ridiculously over-priced cars!
What you must remember is that used and new car managers and salesman are constantly coming up with more ways to get more money out of you.
In this struggling economy, they are selling less cars and are desperate. But this means that they are going to try and get the most out of every single customer! Be sure, that right now car lots are pulling out every trick in the book to get you in a new car at a price you shouldn’t be paying. So do your research and go with another person, preferably someone who has experience in negotiating and isn’t afraid to speak up.
Article Source (edited and updated): https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Don_Lindsey/326194