Car buying strategies?

[pinkstars]

Do you have any tactics when you buy a car that always gets you what you want?

Is there anything specific you say no to(used car)?

Were you able to negotiate the price of your trade in?

 

[TravelingGal]

My father was a top used car salesman, and I''ve learned a thing or two with two car purchases.

1st, don''t talk about a trade in - make it a separate deal. Or better yet, sell it yourself. Tell them you haven''t you might keep the other car for whatever reason. Just brush past the subject when they ask.

2nd, don''t act like you really want the car. It''s a discretionary purchase...tell them you''re thinking about getting a new car but don''t need one yet. I know this is a no brainer, but seriously, don''t ooh and ahh about the car. Say it''s nice, you like the features, but also feel free to politely say what you don''t like/need about the car.

3rd, don''t give them anything that might hold you hostage. You will have to give them your drivers license if you want to test drive but make sure you ask for it back before you get in the car. And on the test drive, really TEST drive it. There are lots of websites that will show you what to look for on a test drive.

4th, walk. Be polite, but tell them the price doesn''t warrant you buying the car at this time. Leave them your contact info and tell them to contact you if they would like to open up discussions again about buying the car.

If it is a new car, there are great resources like edmunds.com which will show you invoice prices. There are other things like kickbacks that aren''t figured in, but it will give you an idea. Don''t work from the sticker price, work from the invoice price.

Also, if it is a big dealership and they have internet sales, price out a car beforehand. I did that and the Internet price was lower than their first and second offer when I was actually at the dealership. (of course, they have bait and switch operations too sometimes) And this was from the guy who sold me my previous car (and was now the floor manager) giving me the "special" repeat customer deal.

If a car has been sitting there for awhile, it also helps to get you a good deal. It also depends what kind of car you want. If it is a high demand car, you will probably not get a steal. American car companies are hurting and sales are slower for bigger SUVs. Do the research on the car you want before you ever hit the lot.

When you get in to see the finance guy, remember that he is a salesperson too. Many salespeople have to be in the finance office for awhile before they can move up. That''s because it isn''t a fun job. That''s where they are going to try to sell you everything they make good profit on (extended warranties, etc). The floor salesguy talks up the car. The finance salesguy will all of the sudden remind you everything that can go wrong with the car. Use caution. I politely listen but walk out of there with nothing. They will ask you why you don''t want it. Just say, I don''t want it, thanks. Simple no''s. Don''t give them objections they can overcome. It''s hard to overcome a "no."

Lastly financing. Look for good deals, and take advantage of any offers the dealership has if you have good credit.

On my last car, I insisted not paying for all the bells and whistles I didn''t want (the car they wanted to sell me was fully loaded). I walked out on two separate days after negotations and it took three days to close the deal. My poor husband was a little embarrassed. I got the car for 0% financing and 3000 under INVOICE (about 6 or 7 K under sticker). This was the price for two days they said there was "no way" they could sell me the car, and that they couldn''t make money. I told them kindly that I certainly wanted them to be able to put food on the table and wished them luck finding another buyer.

Always be nice, but firm. They like to deal with nice people too. And don''t forget the good cop/bad cop routine they use can easily be also used by you and your partner (if it is a joint purchase.)

 

[mausketeer]

This sounds awful but it''s STILL so true - despite the fact that I grew up surrounded by car people and know more about cars than most men I know (entire family was involved with cars - they were all mechanics, or were invovled in body repair, race car drivers, auto upholsterers etc) the last time I bought a car the guy did NOT take me seriously and talked to my BOYFRIEND the whole time!!!(who knows NOTHING about cars!) Like I said, this sounds terrible but it''s true, if you go to a dealership, they will try to take advantage of you as a woman (they think we''re MORONS). Bring a male friend, brother, etc (even though it''s YOU making the decisions. I found that playing up being a "dumb woman" actually HELPED me in the end to get some extras thrown in. It was actually a scooter I bought new. I was all like "Oh, that basket is so CUTE - it comes with it, right? No? Oh, but I LOVE IT - can''t you throw it in? PLEEEASE???" and he did! LOL. Also got a few upgrades that weren''t included that he wouldn''t have given me unless I''d asked for them nicely too). If you''re buying a used car it goes without saying to check out the blue book value of them first. I''d only buy a used car that you KNOW was actually owned by the person who is selling it. There is a common scam going on now where people are selling reclaimed cars privately as though they were there own. I''m not sure how this works in the states though.

 

[pinkstars]

That is super helpful Tgal, thanks a lot. I''m going to show BF your response, I''m sure it will help us.

 

[packrat]

Um..I have my dad come along and do the haggling. When we were looking for a truck for my husband last year, he and dad went to test drive one, and when the sales guy came outside and saw my dad he threw his arms up in the air and yelled "NOOO not YOU! We''re CLOSED!" Dad likes to bicker about vehicle prices-he gets a charge out of it for some reason.

 

[Shoopy]

My three rules for dealerships:

Never go in expecting to walk away with a car. Always, always walk out of the dealership. They *will* call you with a better deal.

If there is a smile on the face of the salesperson when you finally purchase the car, you have just been sucker-punched.

Always go in with your own financing. Never rely on their financing. Even if you end up financing the car through them, still have your own paperwork. They work better with you knowing that there is a blank check out there just waiting for their dealer name.

I walked away 4 times from the same car. And 4 times I was called back. We were able to get them to bring it down from $30 to $18K. The man at the end wouldn''t even deal with us anymore. He left us a message afterwards on my voicemail telling us we were taking advantage of them just because of the situation the company was in (Ford). That''s how we knew we got the car for the price it was actually worth.

 

[Barcelona]

This is probably already known, but if you have to finance the car don''t negotiate on the monthly cost. They will screw you on it.

 

[Lorelei]

Car dealing buffs,

What is the best approach if it is a rare classic car you want with lots of competition for it? Similar routine as above or a more '' interested'' approach?

 

[Shoopy]

Date: 6/11/2009 3:21:44 PM
Author: Barcelona
This is probably already known, but if you have to finance the car don''t negotiate on the monthly cost. They will screw you on it.

ITA!

They love to ask "how much can you afford each month?" or "what kind of payments are you looking for?" Don''t answer the question. Also, don''t mention a down payment (if you do have a down payment...I personally never do down payments) until after you have chosen a car and have signed. If you mention it upfront, they almost always want to sell you a more expensive car or charge you more especially if they know how much you can afford monthly.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/11/2009 3:21:44 PM
Author: Barcelona
This is probably already known, but if you have to finance the car don''t negotiate on the monthly cost. They will screw you on it.

Good point and one a lot of people forget. Always figure out the cost of the car in total.

 

[pinkstars]

All of this information is extremely helpful! Thank you so much everyone.

So if you don''t mention the down payment, do you try to get them down to their lowest price and then tell them you have it?

All of this makes me so anxious. Part of me just wants to know what we have to work with(waiting on finding out how much we''ll have for the down payment) and a bigger part of me wants to get an awesome deal.

 

[Shoopy]

Date: 6/11/2009 3:37:40 PM
Author: pinkstars
All of this information is extremely helpful! Thank you so much everyone.

So if you don''t mention the down payment, do you try to get them down to their lowest price and then tell them you have it?

All of this makes me so anxious. Part of me just wants to know what we have to work with(waiting on finding out how much we''ll have for the down payment) and a bigger part of me wants to get an awesome deal.

Yeah I do all of my negotiations before mentioning the down payment. Once we get to a final number that I agree on, I''ll mention the down payment.

I should say though that I don''t do down payments because we view cars as a necessity rather than pleasure for lack of a better word. So we never go in trying to find the hottest car out there. We just go in to find a car. I pay for the taxes and the fees instead of financing it which I guess technically could be seen as the down payment.

But the two biggest mistakes people make is saying something like "I can afford $300 a month and I have a $5,000 down payment." Then they start with well...can you go to $380 it''s only $80 more and why don''t you look at this car instead of that car since $5,000 off the sticker price will get you in your range (totally not mentioning that after taxes and fees it puts you above what you can afford).

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/11/2009 3:37:40 PM
Author: pinkstars
All of this information is extremely helpful! Thank you so much everyone.

So if you don''t mention the down payment, do you try to get them down to their lowest price and then tell them you have it?

All of this makes me so anxious. Part of me just wants to know what we have to work with(waiting on finding out how much we''ll have for the down payment) and a bigger part of me wants to get an awesome deal.

pinkstars, do you have good credit? That will help you a bit in the scheme of negotiating.

Just tell them you''ve been preapproved by the bank, want to talk pricing of the car and will take a look at their financing options later. I can''t remember if let them run a credit check at first visit or not...that way they knew they could finance me as well and were more serious about negotiating.

 

[pinkstars]

Date: 6/11/2009 3:55:48 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 6/11/2009 3:37:40 PM

Author: pinkstars

All of this information is extremely helpful! Thank you so much everyone.


So if you don''t mention the down payment, do you try to get them down to their lowest price and then tell them you have it?


All of this makes me so anxious. Part of me just wants to know what we have to work with(waiting on finding out how much we''ll have for the down payment) and a bigger part of me wants to get an awesome deal.

pinkstars, do you have good credit? That will help you a bit in the scheme of negotiating.


Just tell them you''ve been preapproved by the bank, want to talk pricing of the car and will take a look at their financing options later. I can''t remember if let them run a credit check at first visit or not...that way they knew they could finance me as well and were more serious about negotiating.

I think I have good credit. I actually plan on going to someone I know that works at our bank to see what we could be qualified for.
BF however has no credit, which is something that I think will be hard to work with(he''s the breadwinner).

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/11/2009 4:12:40 PM
Author: pinkstars

Date: 6/11/2009 3:55:48 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 6/11/2009 3:37:40 PM

Author: pinkstars

All of this information is extremely helpful! Thank you so much everyone.


So if you don''t mention the down payment, do you try to get them down to their lowest price and then tell them you have it?


All of this makes me so anxious. Part of me just wants to know what we have to work with(waiting on finding out how much we''ll have for the down payment) and a bigger part of me wants to get an awesome deal.

pinkstars, do you have good credit? That will help you a bit in the scheme of negotiating.


Just tell them you''ve been preapproved by the bank, want to talk pricing of the car and will take a look at their financing options later. I can''t remember if let them run a credit check at first visit or not...that way they knew they could finance me as well and were more serious about negotiating.

I think I have good credit. I actually plan on going to someone I know that works at our bank to see what we could be qualified for.
BF however has no credit, which is something that I think will be hard to work with(he''s the breadwinner).

If that''s the case, you really want to check out your financing beforehand and budget how much it will cost to borrow the money. You don''t want to go through the negotiation process, get a good deal, only to be find out you can''t get financed or that the dealer''s financing will screw you.

 

[pinkstars]

Tgal, that''s what we''re planning on doing.
Worse comes to worse, it might be BF and his parents co-signing but I don''t see that as the end of the world.

 

[Dancing Fire]

rule #1 ...don't buy any of their extended warranty !! a big ripoff !!

my last new car purchase was a 07 Honda Civic for our daughter.i paid the full sticker price ,cuz this dealership offer me $8500 trade in credit for my LEMON BMW. another dealership made an offer of $4200.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/11/2009 7:25:23 PM
Author: Dancing Fire
rule #1 ...don''t buy any of their extended warranty !! a big ripoff !!

And that would be sold with the finance guy that I mentioned earlier. It is a huge ripoff, but some people want it for peace of mind, I suppose.

 

[atroop711]

I wait until the end of the month

I go in with a game plan (numbers crunched)

I tell them I want to pay invoice and start my haggling from there. Do your research and see what incentives they are getting from Manufact.

I tell them from the beginning that I don''t want to waste their time or mine and I''m serious with my offer

If I don''t like what I hear, I say thanks and walk out

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Our daughter had to buy another car in early May due to her car being totalled in an accident. She intended to get a newer used car with excellent reliability. We looked at Toyota, Honda, and Mazda, mostly. We discovered that things are not like they have been in the past. We found the NEW cars to be barely more in price than the 2 year old used ones. Car dealers have new cars sitting on the lot not moving. They need to sell them. We actually were looking the last week in April, but we couldn''t get it done in that time (even though they certainly wanted us to buy before the end of the month). But we still got $4000 off the sticker on a new 2009 Corolla which was unheard of a few years ago. I remember the days that Toyota''s were selling AT sticker price because of demand. It is definitely the perfect time to buy a new car.

Incidentally, if by any chance you are a recent graduate, they may offer some super financing deals. They offered her around 5% interest. We were going to finance it for her (she had a large down payment), but there was an extra $1000 rebate to go with that financing, so even with the interest, it was still going to save her money.

You probably need to take someone with you who really knows a lot about this process. We worked with about 5 dealerships and made a couple of visits to each before we got to the absolute bottom price.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 6/11/2009 8:41:08 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Our daughter had to buy another car in early May due to her car being totalled in an accident. She intended to get a newer used car with excellent reliability. We looked at Toyota, Honda, and Mazda, mostly. We discovered that things are not like they have been in the past. We found the NEW cars to be barely more in price than the 2 year old used ones. Car dealers have new cars sitting on the lot not moving. They need to sell them. We actually were looking the last week in April, but we couldn''t get it done in that time (even though they certainly wanted us to buy before the end of the month). But we still got $4000 off the sticker on a new 2009 Corolla which was unheard of a few years ago. I remember the days that Toyota''s were selling AT sticker price because of demand. It is definitely the perfect time to buy a new car.

i notice that 2 yrs ago.that''s the reason we ended up buying a new car.

 

[pinkstars]

Oh, thank you everybody! All of this information is extremely helpful. I showed BF this thread and he appreciates all the advice you all have given us.
I went to my bank and i was pre-approved for $20,000! AH, I can''t imagine spending that much(and I don''t want to), but the interest is under 6% so I am excited.
I think I''ll go talk to my insurance agent and try to figure out what my insurance would be for the kind of car we''re looking into.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 6/12/2009 2:18:14 PM
Author: pinkstars
Oh, thank you everybody! All of this information is extremely helpful. I showed BF this thread and he appreciates all the advice you all have given us.
I went to my bank and i was pre-approved for $20,000! AH, I can''t imagine spending that much(and I don''t want to), but the interest is under 6% so I am excited.
I think I''ll go talk to my insurance agent and try to figure out what my insurance would be for the kind of car we''re looking into.

Ha, the one important thing we all forgot to tell you. Good call! When I bought my mustang convertible 9 years ago, I did this. Good thing too, because the insurance was unreal ($1300 a year), but fortunately I could afford it.

 

[mysterylover]

Go in with a clear idea of what you want, what you are willing to pay, how many months you want to finance, and do your homework on the internet prior to showing up at the dealership. Don''t let them show you cars you cannot afford, or talk you into a car you don''t like. Walk away if you see nothing in your price range; another dealer will have what you are looking for.

DO NOT sit in their showroom while they ''run the numbers'' six ways to Sunday to "see what they can do for you". Leave and go to another dealership, and make it known that you are doing just that. It takes precious few minutes for them to evaluate your trade (and you can find book value on the internet, so you know up front what you can get for it). Everything is done via the internet (them talking to the banks/lenders for your loan) and those lenders work on Saturday too, so it should not take the majority of your day to negotiate.

If a dealership will put you in a car for a test drive, don''t be afraid to ''test drive'' that car right on over to their competitor to show them you are shopping around. It works. I did that once and got: a) more for my trade, and b) no-cost-to-me extras added like cruise control that weren''t standard on my car choice.

But the number one way to get the best deal is to have excellent credit to start with.