You are now ready to buy that much coveted new car. You will have learned by now that buying a new car requires a great deal of research and preparation, therefore you have spent a good few hours weighing up the pros and cons of several models in relation to your needs and budget.
Hopefully you now understand that a car unlike a house or precious stones is not an investment, it will lose value as soon as you drive it away from the dealer’s showroom. It is consequently imperative that you get a good deal to balance things out.
Going to an auto dealer to negotiate a car purchase is viewed by many people as a hateful experience, mainly because they fear being conned. I’m not sure that “being conned” is exactly the right terminology, but it is certainly true that if you are not very well prepared when you engage with the dealer’s sales team you can end up paying a vastly inflated price for your new car.
Well, now that you have steeled yourself for the cut and thrust of the negotiations, let me give you some Dos and Don’ts of the car buying process. These are very important measures to follow if you want to get a good deal when buying a new car. If anything you read in the following few lines causes you to step back and do a little more checking, then I will have done a good job.
Do ignore the ticket price, this is the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). Just a suggestion from the manufacturer, don’t be fooled
Do make sure that you know the Invoice Price. This can be easily researched on the web.
Do have quotes from two or three other dealers for the same model, let them know they are in competition with each other and be prepared to
leave the sales office at any time if you do not feel comfortable with the way things are going.
Do have your finance arranged with your own bank before you go the dealer. If the bank is out of the question search on-line for the best terms.
Do take a check list to the test drive. This will help you in your thinking process afterwards.
Do Not under any circumstances buy a car on the same day as the test drive.
Do Not negotiate on what you can afford to pay in monthly repayments. If you do this and the dealer arranges the finance, you will never know
the true price of the car is and you could could be paying hundreds, even thousands more than necessary over the term of the loan.
Do Not let the dealer know that you will pay cash or that you have already arranged finance. They make extra profits on selling you finance, if
they realize that this is not possible, you won’t get a good deal on the car.
Do Not mention that you have a trade-in vehicle until the final purchase price has been established. Then you can see what they offer for your
old car. If they know that you want to trade-in your old car they can manipulate the situation in their favor and you will not get a good deal.
The wisdom I want to pass on to you, comes from buying many new and used cars and vans for my own use over the years. If I’d known then how to avoid being manipulated by over predatory salesmen, I would have a lot more money in my pocket now.