Negotiating

If you've done your homework, this should be easy. By now you should know which car you want, what the dealers cost is and how much you want to pay, what your trade-in is worth and how much equity you have in it.

PLEASE DO NOT BUY ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE DONE YOUR HOMEWORK. At a minimum please use our free Quote Service to find you target price, incentives and rebates.

Car salespeople often use all kinds of pressure and tactics to try and get a customer to 'buy it now.' The reason for this is that once you leave, the salesperson's chances of selling you a car plummet. That's a fact. Car salespeople and their managers also are under tremendous pressure to move cars off their lot. If they don't sell them, they don't get paid! That's also a fact. Keep those two facts in mind and now you can be the one to apply pressure.

Try this attitude on for size: I'm an informed customer who is ready to buy today, and this is the price that will get the job done. If you can do it, I'm an owner, if you can't I'm outta here.

That attitude (or maybe even those words) will put pressure on them, believe me. Dealers are very likely to drop their price or make a concession if they think a serious buyer is about to leave. Don't be afraid to stand up and tell them you're going to go shop. In some cases, leaving may even be necessary.

Don't get me wrong. I know you have better things to do than play games with a salesperson. But, shopping around or simply being patient while they drop their price may save you a thousand dollars or more. That may be worth it to you.

Now sometimes a salesperson may play a little hardball. They are counting on one thing: that your emotional desires to own the car override your logic and willpower. It is in this area that they have an important advantage. Buying a car is an emotional experience. We love the color, the style, the shine and the newness. We feel pride behind the wheel, with that new car smell, modern interior and an odometer that has three miles on it.

Once we fall in love with a car, we take mental ownership of it and we fear losing it to someone else. A good salesperson is keenly aware of these emotions and plays on them to his or her advantage. Nothing that you read here can stop that, but try to keep these tips in mind as you negotiate.

First, try to put some time between test driving the car and negotiating. Remember when I said the dealer is most likely to make a concession if he thinks you are about to leave? Well you are most likely to make a concession right after spending time in or around the car. Go to lunch, walk the lot, use the bathroom, anything. Just don't jump out of the new car and into the negotiation.

Second, try not to show your 'hot buttons.' Hot buttons are the things that excite or concern you most about the purchase. If the salesperson knows that you love blue, hate the vinyl interior of your old car and worry about it not having air bags, do you think they will use that to play on your emotions? You bet they will! They can't push your hot buttons if they don't know what they are.

Third, try to put a dollar value on your emotions. I know this may sound silly, but try. For instance, you've finally found the red convertible with leather interior and CD player that you've been searching for and dreaming about for over a year now. It's the last one in the country, and you are $100 off your target price. You may want to take it. But if you're $1500 off, perhaps some patience will pay off.

Lastly, remember, there will always be another car, another sale and another love affair. Sometimes you are better off to pass on the deal.

Tricks to watch out for:

Buy it TODAY!
The dealer knows his or her best chance to make the sale is when you are there. They will go to great lengths to give you the impression that you must buy today or else you will lose the car or the deal or some other thing

Value package discounts.
'You see Mr. Customer, the manufacturer already discounted the price right here on the window sticker so I don't have any room to negotiate.' -Rubbish.

The 'switch' close.
'Well Mr.Jones maybe this car is just too expensive for you. Let's look at el-cheapo over here.' This relies on your ego to prove them wrong and buy immediately.

PAYING CASH:
If you can pay cash for a new car, God bless you. But do yourself a favor, don't ask for a special deal, you may end up paying more. That's right, *more*. The fact is that dealers make money when you finance through them and they *hate* cash deals. (Sorry if I burst your bubble.) When you announce that 'This will be a cash sale,' all it will do is compel the sales manager to try to make more money on the sale since they won't make any on the 'backend'. Keep it to yourself until after you've agreed on a price.

Table of Contents
First Things First
Before You Buy
Your Trade In
Buy or Lease
Shopping
Dealers' Cost
Negotiating the Deal
After You Buy
Warranties
Appendix