Hello everyone!
I wanted to make a write up on best practices on purchasing a new car. It can be the biggest headache ever, or the most fun thing you will ever buy.
DISCLAIMER: This has a lot of insider advice, so take it all as a grain of salt. Also remember, it is OK for a dealer to make a little money. If you gouge a dealer too much, they will be reluctant to be very helpful after the sale. You decide what you think is fair and go from there

So here are some bits of advice that will help you make sure that
A. You are infact getting the best deal
B. You find a good dealer that will keep your best interests at heart.

Rule #1 Not all dealers were created equal.

Rule #2 Never only price shop one dealer. Always have a cross reference on vehicle sales price.

Rulse #3 Pay attention!! You could be getting a smoking deal on sales price but getting jerked around on accessories or hidden fees. A common strategy is to ***** out your vehicle and hold money on the trade.

When a vehicle is appraised it has something called ACV or actual car value. So if a manager tells a salesconsultant a car is worth 10,000. We can go out showing 9 grand, and that puts 1,000 gross profit into our deal, making up for the loss we might take on the new one.

Rule #4 Always drive the car! This is even more important on a preowned vehicle.
Everyone wins when the customer drives the car. It helps you really decide if you like it, and it also does something called emotionally attached. When I take people on a test drive, I want them to visualize them owning the car. "Can you see yourself driving this everyday?" That is a very good question. If you have a real salesmen, they will want you to comeback and see them on your next vehicle too!

Ok so those are some of the basics to keep in the backburner of your mind when your shopping around. So here's how you get the best price.

Internet Internet INTERNET! I can't stress this enough. That is where you will find the best possible prices and most dealers will NOT negotiate any further from the internet price. To bring in customers from the web, dealers are VERY aggressive.

Go to a few dealers website and inquire about a new/used vehicle with each of them. They will contact you so you can start gathering information.

I recommend you make a folder in your inbox just for the e-mails you will get. We shoot our customer database e-mails all the time with specials so you will probably get a lot of automatic e-mails designed to get a response.

Finance: This is where it is most important to slow down, take your time and read what you are signing. It is a dealers right to bump your interest rate up to 2%. If they get all your financing arranged, why wouldnt you want them to make a little profit? If you are really that concerned with rate, then A. pay cash or B. ask them what is your buy rate.

So there you have it! I have a lot of fun selling cars and I am glad to share as much information as possible. If anyone has any additional questions please ask me here!

P.S. I was not entirely sure where to post this so if this is in the wrong section please move the thread.

Thanks everyone!

 

The one I like, is the deal is extra special today or some similar terms. If a salesman says this to me, I am not impressed as he is bull****ting me and pressuring me to buy it now.
Believe this is not easy because your emotions do take over like an impulse buy. Please do not impulse buy. Go to a few different places, car manufacturers and test drive a few different models. Test driving is fun.
The other part I do not like is some places sell you the car at lowest price without taxes, admin charges, freight. However, they tell you they will give you 9,000 for your car----but this is a lie because this price is after taxes!
Buying a car is a major expense and do your research.
Recently I've been looking for slippers and went to 6-10 different places. I have a wide foot and wear orthotics and want leather ones (this makes it hard).
If I can do this for slippers, you can do this for a car, after all you are the one driving it for years dishing out big money!

Good Luck!

 

Yes exactly! The only time buy today matters is if it is the 2-3 days of the month. People trying to reach their bonus will drop the price even further, but other than that, don't feel pressured to buy on the spot if you are not ready.

 

Thanks, InTehFace! I like this thread.

what about KBB and Edmund's TMV for used cars? It seams that KBB is too high and TMV is a bit on the low side.
What's your rule of thumb about valuing the trade-in vehicle?

 

From what I hear, those websites are dependent on where you live. KBB is more based on the west coast for example. But they are ok to get ballpark figures on but I would look around on websites like Autotrader at your make and model to see what they are actually going for. Mileage is the biggest factor in value.