Not all car dealers are out to rip off their customers; most are just interested in making a living. However, don’t lose sight of the fact that they can still be aggressive salespeople trying hard to close a deal.

 

If you’re on the market for a new or used car, make sure you go in with your eyes wide open. After all, a vehicle purchase is probably the most expensive thing you have next to your home. As with any purchase, your number one goal should be to obtain a fair deal. The best strategy to avoid being taken is education—do your homework before going near the car lot. 

Being well educated can give you the necessary tools to accurately evaluate the offer and, therefore, make the best decision for yourself. No one likes to be misled and pushed into buying something that is too expensive or just not the right vehicle. Be prepared for misleading sales techniques and come-ons, although not illegal, that can suck you right in.

 

It’s important to realize that buying a car isn’t just one business deal or transaction. It’s three separate transactions rolled into one: 1) The price of the vehicle; 2) trade-in value; and 3) financing. Because of this multi-faceted deal, the tricks are multi-faceted and, unfortunately, can get you from every angle. 

Sticker Price Forget the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP. Find out the invoice price—what the dealer paid for it, and then you can determine what a fair offer would be, including a fair profit for the salesperson. In addition, knowing what others are paying for the same vehicle can give you an advantage. A number of websites provide information on the actual selling prices of many vehicles www.edmunds.com being one of those. If a salesperson won’t budge from the sticker price, take your business elsewhere.

Best Strategy
The best strategy is to go online and request quotes from 3 different card dealers for the same car, you can then take the best quote to the car yard that you wish to buy from and they will usually match or beat the quote, also online quotes are going to be cheaper than the quote the sales person on the lot will give you.

Payment Plot  Many car dealers advertise a low monthly payment just to entice customers, but the loan terms aren’t going to be the best.  A lower monthly payment can be obtained by a large down payment and by extending the length of the loan, even up to six years. In the past, 24 or 36 month loans were common, and with good reason. With longer loans, it takes longer to reach a positive equity position and owe less than it’s worth. With a shorter loan term, after paying for a year or two, the value of the vehicle will be more than what is owed, which is where you want to be if you decide to sell or need to sell. 

Of course, salespeople don’t care about that; they just want to close a deal. If you owe more money than what your car is worth, you’re known as “upside-down” in the auto business. The bottom line is don’t believe everything you hear or read in the newspaper. Low monthly payments come at a price and are dependent on the total price of the vehicle, down payment, length of loan, and annual percentage rate. If you’re being pushed into a long loan just to get the payment down, the car is probably too expensive for your budget.