Many of us have been at the car dealership and have been drained by a salesperson during price negotiations for the purchase of a new car. Most people give in too easily or do not negotiate at all to avoid the dreadful act. This only means more money in the car dealers’ pocket, while you are out of several thousand dollars! Yes, they make that much in profit per car.
This article unveils the dealer’s selling tactics and how you can get around them. But before we dive into the new car buying tips, we need to understand what makes up the dealer’s profits.
In addition to the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price), which is the dealer’s cost for the car plus an additional 20-25% profit, a dealer also gets financial incentives from the manufacturer when a new car is sold. This is called Holdback.
Depending on the car, dealers can make hundreds on each car through holdbacks. Dealers also get additional incentives and bonuses on selling a car before the end of the month and/or quarter.
A shrewd dealer can make several thousand on a new car even by selling it at invoice price. This is how new car buying can become tricky for the consumer.
Ready to learn how not to put a dent in your wallet on your next car purchase? Here are four tips to get you started. Each one is a dealer tactic to watch out for.
1. The Guilt Trip
As you may have noticed, every desk in a dealership has photos of the salesperson’s family, instead of photos of cars. Midway in the negotiation, the sales person will bring them up and make it look like his little commission check can hardly pay for his daughters college and little Bradley’s braces.
A seasoned salesperson will soon have you feeling guilty for driving the price down and hurting his commission. Watch out not to fall for this tactic, since you already know about holdbacks and incentive programs from manufacturers.
2. Wearing You Down
Come prepared to spend half a day at the dealership or pay whatever the dealer asks for. Car Dealers are trained to delay and tire you out to the point where you give in and accept their price just to get out of there.
After you make your offer, sales people typically claim they would have to run it by their manager. You may then have to re-start negotiating with the manager, who is also a seasoned salesperson. This dance goes on for a while until you give in.
Remember, there are multiple dealerships in a city, so they need you more than you need them. Demand to speak to the manager after a certain time period or threaten to leave.
Because you are devoting a lot of time to bargain with the dealer, they know you are a serious buyer, so they will not let you leave. The earlier you can speak with the manager, the faster you can leave.
3. The Test Drive
We all enjoy a good test drive and look forward to it. Although it is essential to test drive a car before you buy it, remember to not show your absolute love for the car to the salesperson. Their goal is to get you emotionally attached to the car, so it becomes a must have for you. I have learned it the hard way.
To hide your emotional tears from the salesperson, mention the features of a competing car in the same class, like the new shape, light, leg room, resale value etc. This will make the salesperson a little vulnerable.
4. Monthly Payments
This one is to confuse you. Dealers will start talking about monthly payments rather than the total price of the car. They will start by asking how much you are willing to pay per month and how much of a down payment you are willing to pay. Since people don’t want to look like they cannot afford a certain car, they will usually give a higher number. Big Mistake!
You have left little room for negotiation when this happens. Always steer the conversation to the total price of the car and do NOT mention any trade-ins at this point. Only after the total price of the vehicle is completely negotiated then talk about interest, monthly payment and trade-ins.
General Rule;
As a general rule, remember to only focus and negotiate on the Total Price of the vehicle. Everything else is pretty much the car dealer’s trough.
If the above new car buying tips seem like a lot of hassle, yet you still want to get the best price in town, there are some websites that do this for you. www.autoauctionbids.com for example is a great website for this because you can collect price quotes from multiple local dealers for a particular car as well as its competing car models (like Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Ford Taurus) and compare them.
The website then allows you to send back the lowest quotes received for each car make to all participating dealers in your area through the website itself.
Dealers view this price and continue to submit new lower prices over a 3 day period. By putting local car dealers in such a price competition allows you to avoid the dreadful face to face negotiation and yet gets you the lowest price in town for up to 3 competing car makes.
The best part about AutoAuctionBids.com is that it is absolutely free for you and there is no obligation to buy after the new car auction is over.
Buying The Cheapest Auto Insurance
What if all of your friends are the same age as you, have similar driving records and credit reports, and own vehicles like yours?
Believe it or not, that doesn't necessarily mean you will have the same auto insurance premiums. Wouldn't you like to be the one who gets the same policy, but gets it cheap? All it takes is some know-how, and realizing what to look for when shopping online for your auto insurance.
Shop around—and online.
Consumer groups tell us that the primary reason people don't get cheap auto insurance is because they don't comparison shop. It is the simple truth that there are so many auto insurance companies out there, you'll never find the same insurance quote twice. That's why shopping online is the single best way to find cheap auto insurance.
Online services offer quotes from multiple insurance companies, often within minutes. You can then choose the carrier that offers you the same policy at the cheapest rate. Your neighbor may be sticking with the same auto insurance company out of habit, but his failure to shop online for a cheaper rate is his first mistake.
Get all the discounts.
When you are shopping online for a cheap auto quote, make sure and read about the discounts that are offered. Most insurance companies offer, for example, a multi-car
discount. In addition, there may be a good student discount that makes the policy cheaper for youthful drivers. Don't think you or your kid will qualify? Read the fine print. Often, the good student discount isn't as hard to get as
you may think.
Have you had insurance for the past six months? By providing the online service with proof of prior insurance, you may also qualify for a cheap rate with your new
insurance company. What about your house—do you own it? If so, many auto insurance carriers also offer homeowner insurance, or even insurance for your boat or other
property, and that discount can bring that rate down to a level cheap enough to make even your brainy brother jealous.
Check your driving record.
Many people pay the pricey amount that shows up on their bill, never realizing that an error in their driving record is the culprit. Your insurance company usually gets an electronic copy of your driver history and applies any auto accidents and tickets toward your premiums.
If you take the time to get a copy of your record and find an error, you can easily have it removed, bringing you closer to your dream of cheap auto insurance. Additionally, make sure that you have gotten credit for any safe driver courses you have taken in the past.
Ditch the spouse and kids.
No, you don't have to leave your family to get cheap insurance. But your auto insurance company may allow a split policy, which could get you a cheaper premium. If there is a "certain someone" on your auto policy that has a bad driving record, the rates may be higher for everyone. Additionally, if there are any youthful drivers on the policy, they may be keeping the more experienced drivers from qualifying for the best rate. In many cases, it is just a matter of moving the offending driver to their own policy, and presto, cheap insurance!
Make sure you know your options and check them all out when you're shopping online for auto insurance. Even if you've got the best car on the block, the smartest kids, and the biggest house, there's just something about buying cheap auto insurance that can make you feel superior.
Believe it or not, that doesn't necessarily mean you will have the same auto insurance premiums. Wouldn't you like to be the one who gets the same policy, but gets it cheap? All it takes is some know-how, and realizing what to look for when shopping online for your auto insurance.
Shop around—and online.
Consumer groups tell us that the primary reason people don't get cheap auto insurance is because they don't comparison shop. It is the simple truth that there are so many auto insurance companies out there, you'll never find the same insurance quote twice. That's why shopping online is the single best way to find cheap auto insurance.
Online services offer quotes from multiple insurance companies, often within minutes. You can then choose the carrier that offers you the same policy at the cheapest rate. Your neighbor may be sticking with the same auto insurance company out of habit, but his failure to shop online for a cheaper rate is his first mistake.
Get all the discounts.
When you are shopping online for a cheap auto quote, make sure and read about the discounts that are offered. Most insurance companies offer, for example, a multi-car
discount. In addition, there may be a good student discount that makes the policy cheaper for youthful drivers. Don't think you or your kid will qualify? Read the fine print. Often, the good student discount isn't as hard to get as
you may think.
Have you had insurance for the past six months? By providing the online service with proof of prior insurance, you may also qualify for a cheap rate with your new
insurance company. What about your house—do you own it? If so, many auto insurance carriers also offer homeowner insurance, or even insurance for your boat or other
property, and that discount can bring that rate down to a level cheap enough to make even your brainy brother jealous.
Check your driving record.
Many people pay the pricey amount that shows up on their bill, never realizing that an error in their driving record is the culprit. Your insurance company usually gets an electronic copy of your driver history and applies any auto accidents and tickets toward your premiums.
If you take the time to get a copy of your record and find an error, you can easily have it removed, bringing you closer to your dream of cheap auto insurance. Additionally, make sure that you have gotten credit for any safe driver courses you have taken in the past.
Ditch the spouse and kids.
No, you don't have to leave your family to get cheap insurance. But your auto insurance company may allow a split policy, which could get you a cheaper premium. If there is a "certain someone" on your auto policy that has a bad driving record, the rates may be higher for everyone. Additionally, if there are any youthful drivers on the policy, they may be keeping the more experienced drivers from qualifying for the best rate. In many cases, it is just a matter of moving the offending driver to their own policy, and presto, cheap insurance!
Make sure you know your options and check them all out when you're shopping online for auto insurance. Even if you've got the best car on the block, the smartest kids, and the biggest house, there's just something about buying cheap auto insurance that can make you feel superior.
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