Dealing With the New Car Salesman
By Teresa Ambord
Whatever your opinion about car salesmen, they need to make a profit in exchange for their expertise. We’ve all heard the car salesman jokes. Just like any profession, there are some bad ones, but there are also a lot of good car salesmen who would never knowingly cheat a customer.
Here are some bits of advice collected from bona fide honest salesmen:
Before you go to a dealership to purchase a particular car, log onto Edmunds.com (see link below) and find out what the invoice price and sticker prices are for the car you want. Edmunds.com also provide the True Market Value, which is a list updated weekly telling what you should pay for a vehicle. Don’t rely on your memory… write the prices in a small pocket notebook. Also find out what rebates and incentives may be available, and what the holdback is. The holdback is the amount the manufacturer will kick back to the dealer, usually a percentage of the invoice price.
Trade-In
If you are planning to trade in your vehicle, find out what the fair market value of it is. You may be able to find all of this information at one or more of these web sites.
Negotiate Three Deals
Once you know the correct ranges for these prices, fix the idea in your mind that the price of the new car, the trade-in value of your old car, and the financing are not one deal, they are three and you need to negotiate each one (assuming you are getting dealer financing). Remember, it is not a deal if you talk the salesman into selling you the car for a few hundred dollars over invoice but sacrifice a good trade-in car for half its value.
If you’ve done your homework, you know what the price range should be, so don’t go into the dealership negotiating as a monthly payment customer. If you go in there with the notion that you can pay $400 per month, instead of standing firm on a fair total, you let the salesman know you’ve taken your eyes off the total price of the car and the trade-in of your old car. Rest assured, his eyes are on the totals. If he asks you “how much can you pay per month?” tell him you don’t deal on that basis.
Better still, don’t go into the dealership relying on them for financing. You may get a much better deal at your bank or credit union, and going in with pre-approved financing puts you in a stronger position.
However you finance the car, if you haven’t paid off your old car, try to avoid rolling the balance of your old loan over into the loan on your new car. It’s perfectly legal, but it causes you to be upside down on your new loan before you drive off the lot. In other words, you owe more than the car is worth. But it gets worse… the car depreciates very quickly, so unless you made a large down payment and financed only a portion of the car’s value, you could be upside down within a few months anyway, even if you don’t rollover an old loan.
You're Not Obligated
One car salesman warns not to feel you must buy from a salesman just because he has brought you a soda, complimented your taste, and followed you around the lot being your best buddy. Part of the sales process is that a salesman wants you to feel obligated to buy from him. Don’t be overly defensive and there’s no need to be rude… just be on your guard. Salesman know that if they don’t close a deal today, they’ve probably lost you. If you aren’t ready to deal, be up front, and tell him you aren’t buying today but you’d like to hear his best deal. Try to get it on the back of his business card. If you’re still shopping, do the same with other dealers who have your car and ask them if they can beat the previous price.
For More Information:
