Secret car-buying tips your dealer won’t tell you
Find out how to get the most value out of your purchase by side-stepping these common car dealer practices.
That car we advertised at the unbelievable price?
It’s a stripped-down model with a manual transmission, no air-conditioning, and crank windows. But we got you in, didn’t we?
The best time to buy is at the end of the month
… and it’s best to negotiate the trade-in separately. Negotiate up from the invoice price (what we paid for the car, easy to find on the Web), not down from the sticker price.
Everybody believes his trade-in is worth more
You’ve got bald tyres, chicken bones under the seats, and dust blowing from the vents, but you’re going to tell me your car is in “excellent” condition? Now who’s the pushy salesperson?
Here’s how to get a great price with minimal haggling
Call and ask for the Internet manager or fleet manager.
This is what happens once I’m sitting behind the desk
You’ll feel like I’m in control and may be willing to pay a little more. (We learn this during training.)
Ever wonder about those ads that promise a minimum $3,000 trade-in value for your clunker?
Those dealerships also pad the sales price to make up for the difference.
Every spring we have guys who show up and say they’re interested in one of our trucks and want to give it a spin
They think we don’t see the mulch on the floor when they bring it back.
Notice how many times we go back and forth to our manager?
The loud music, the gongs, and the blaring flat-screen TVs? All are distractions designed to help you lose track of what we’re doing with the deal.
We’re making less money on the car than you think
Our profit margin is typically 2 to 4 percent.
We all get our cars from the same place at roughly the same price
So if one dealer is offering to sell it for $2,000 less, there’s probably a catch.
Go in armed and educated
Study the pricing of the car you like and have your financing lined up. If you walk in with nothing, you’re not a customer, you’re a victim. Don’t be a victim when it comes to rental cars, either.
An older woman who walks in without an appointment, alone, is typically someone we can make a lot of money on
She’s usually uncomfortable with the process and just wants to get it over with.
If you want to test drive a bunch of models or need a lot of information…
Don’t pull in on a weekend without an appointment. Come by on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
Once you’ve agreed on a price, you think you’re done, but we’re just getting started
Worn out and ready to go home, you sign document after document. Then you wake up the next day, look down, and you signed a contract that had a $1,995 extended warranty that isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. And you’re stuck.
Written by Michelle Crouch. This article first appeared in Reader’s Digest. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, here’s our best subscription offer.