Car Buying Tips

somatic

Dont forget, you may have bought 20 cars over the course of your life, but a salesman does it every day. Never think you know more than they do, it could trap you

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kenchan

indeed. i have bigger things to worry about like if im going to add cheeze in my charburger or keep the calories lower and put the cheeze just on my fries...or chilly (sp?) shall i get the mid or the small... after the purchase to celebrate.

11Thumper

That's why prostitutes used to be called "Sausage Wallets"

Kenchan probably already knew that though... (I kid, I kid...)

daleks

IMHO, it's more about leveling the information imbalance. Only at that point can you have a direct negotiation. That said, prior to going to a dealership you should do the following:

1. Get your credit score(s).
2. Get pre approved for an auto loan at a local bank or credit union.
3. Get the invoice price of the car you're interested in from Yahoo! Autos or KBB. At Yahoo! and Cars.com you can even price out the full car with options.
4. Get the manufacturer's incentives for your area. This is easy as going to the manufacturer's website and typing in your zip code.
5. Get the list of vehicles on the lot at the dealership. You can do this by going to their website. It's not always complete, but it will generally let you know if you are able to target something on-site.

Once you do that there are few if any points of leverage the dealership can use. Also, one primary part of negotiation is being willing and even comfortable with making the other person uncomfortable. You also have to deflect the salesperson from doing that to you.

SeattleLion

One thing I learned when buying my Z was that different banks use different credit bureaus. The dealers know this and that's why they check all three. Your credit score can be dramatically different at different credit bureaus.