Get the Best Deal on Your Next Car
Buying a car is the one area of commerce where everyone is programmed to negotiate. Unfortunately, you will only participate in this ancient ritual once every couple of years or so while your adversary, the salesperson, does it several times a day. How can you possibly be expected to compete with an experienced expert and get the right deal and the right car for you? Well here is the ammunition that you need in your arsenal to be able to be David in the face of the Goliaths of the motor trade.
Contents
Steps
- Be Nice! Do not underestimate how much you can get the salesperson on your side by being polite and friendly. The salesperson can be your best ally in the final battle for supremacy that is to come when you finally face the Sales Manager. Give the salesperson "attitude" and he may offer you an awful deal just to get rid of you.
- Know what you want. Do your homework and have a very clear idea of what you want, what you need and how much you have to spend. Be open minded, but do not be sold on a car that the dealership needs to get rid of if it is not right for you.
- Do not claim to be a "Cash Buyer". There is a huge misconception that telling the dealer you are paying cash will get you a handsome discount. It will not. In fact, it may actually turn the salesperson off as it could affect their finance commission percentage and the deal could actually cost the salesperson money. Dealerships can make huge money on finance commission and can be under huge pressure to hit finance targets. Your cash deal, especially toward the end of the month, simply may not be worth them doing.
- Do not accept the first offer. This is the opening gambit where the dealer will try to hit all his targets in one go. Look at the offer in detail and find out what is included in the quote. There may be a large amount of products "stacked" into this offer that you do not want or need. Find out what they are offering the car at and work from there.
- Know when to stop. When you reject the dealer's first offer make a counter offer that is lower than you would expect to pay based on the opening offer. The dealer will come back with an offer that is higher than your counter offer but lower than the original offer. This is where you should go in for the kill. You now know the figure he will not accept and one that you know he will. You now decide what price you will buy at between these two amounts and make the commitment at that price. Stick to this price and be prepared to walk away. Trust me, they will never let you walk at this point but don't show any weakness of will.
- No Dutch auctions. Every dealer will try to gain some level of commitment before offering you a deal and they expect a negotiation. Unless they are really desperate though, you will win no favours by repeatedly playing one dealer off against the other. By all means get a second offer and go back to the original dealer with a written quote and ask them to beat it if it is lower. Be aware though, you will be asked to commit to buy the car if they can beat the quote you have come armed with. Don't then go back to the other dealer with that quote and start all over again as you may not like the reaction and you jeopardize the quality of service you will receive in future.
Tips
- Be open minded to a brand new car even if you have intended buying used. With lower finance rates and manufacturer offers it is sometimes better value to buy new.
- Ask about finance even if you have it arranged elsewhere or you are paying outright.
- Don't be intimidated. If they bring in the managers to talk to you they are ready to do a deal.
- Think about value rather than price. Look at the whole package and the service you get. Rock bottom prices rarely bring top notch service.
Warnings
- Don't expect. If something is not on the order sheet don't expect it to be there at delivery. Margins are tight these days so don't expect mats or a full tank of fuel if you haven't agreed it beforehand.
