By Josh RosenbergPeople love cars, but hate buying them. But by using resources readily available online, you can totally turn the tables on car dealers and finally make your car buying experience easy ... and yes ... even enjoyable.
No, it doesn't have to be like root canal. YOU can actually be the one doling out the novacaine and telling the dealership to "rinse and spit".
One: Start By Shopping From Home
No salesman is required. You can go to websites such as AutoTrader.com and Cars.com and surf through thousands of new and used cars for sale from the comfort of your own home.
This eliminates the high pressure sales pitches and the possible steering towards a vehicle the dealer needs to sell as opposed to one that suits your needs much better. And in effect, you're pitting one dealer against another to find the best deal.
Two: Know Prices
In addition to the above sites, for used cars, also use Kelley Blue Book's valuation tool. While Kelley Blue Book doesn't check actual dealer prices to determine current values, their mathmatical formulas will give you a ballpark figure, which is good to know.
Sometimes they're high and sometimes they're low, but overall they are usually pretty close to retail values. And again, having checked actual prices at AutoTrader and other sites, you'll have a firm grasp of what would be an excellent price to pay.
Three: Try To Buy Towards The End Of The Month
Yes, most dealerships have aggressive monthly quotas and the last few days are often "make or break" time. Because certain bonuses and incentives may kick in, they are much more likely to take a "get it off the lot right now" attitude. This can lead to a much more receptive response to your low offer.
Four: Make The Dealers Compete For Your Business
Don't go there in person ... yet. Get competing online price quotes quickly and easily at automotive sites such as CarsDirect.com and/or Edmunds.com (the more, the better).
Not only will you get low quotes because the dealers will know they are competing, but it also gives you the leverage you need to negotiate even further. (You can see more on this at How To Get The Best New Car Price)
Five: Know Your Trade-In Value
If you might trade-in your car, you can also get its trade-in value online to assure you're getting a fair price from a dealer. I've found the one at Edmunds Trade-In Quotes to be particularly comprehensive and accurate.
It's free, it's quick and there's no contact by any third parties. I think what helps its accuracy is the inputs will include either your plate# or VIN#. They really focus in on the specific vehicle.
Six: Don't Pay Dealer Fees
Explain that you don't pay dealer fees of any kind. You'll pay the vehicle price plus tax and tag only. We see dealers who routinely add on $200 to $1,200 in extra fees on every car they sell, new or used. They are unnecessary and negotiable.
They include "Prep Fees", "Destination Charges", "Processing Fees" and all sorts of crazy things. These are nonsense add-ons and pure profit for the dealers. Even those dealers with smaller fees of $195 to $500 are padding their wallets at your expense.
In some states, if a dealer has a fee of one sort or another, they can't remove or reduce them for any specific buyer. Each buyer has to be charged the same amount by law. In this case, ask for a reduction in price in the vehicle itself to match the dealer fee. If there is a $699 fee, for example, demand a further reduction in the vehicle price of $699 to offset it.
Be willing to walk away, again at the end of the month, and you'll see them disappear or offset.
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Seven: Ask For More Information
When buying a used car, ask that the car's CarFax or AutoCheck History Report be emailed to you. Any reputable dealer will provide it at their own expense, so there's no reason for you to have to shell out for it.
You want to make sure from the outset that this is not a vehicle that's been in a serious accident, flood damaged, designated as a Lemon, and so forth. Also ask that pictures of any dents, dings, scratches and blemishes be sent to you.
And ask if they've had the car mechanically inspected, and if so, get a copy of that report. And if not, why not?
Eight: Now Go To The Dealership
Okay, you've come to a very advantageous price agreement and everything about the vehicle appears excellent. And all from the comfort of your own home. Now it's almost time to close the deal.
It's time to go drive the car and kick the tires. Make sure you enjoy the drive, and if used, that the vehicle is indeed in as good condition as you were led to believe ... at least as far as you can tell.
Again, if used, if everything looks good, put a deposit ($100 to $500 should be sufficient) to hold the car, contingent on it passing a third party Mechanical Inspection.
Nine: If Used, Get An Independent Mechanical Inspection
Not everything gets reported on CarFax. Nor is a car in excellent condition just because it appears to drive well. It's very important to have the vehicle independently inspected on your own.
What if there's frame damage? What if there are signs the transmission is about to go? There are large national companies such as Lemon Squad (find others by Googling "car inspection", "auto inspection", etc.) that will go right to the dealer and inspect it for you.
This normally costs in the $200 range, but is well worth it to protect your investment. If a dealer won't allow it, run in the opposite direction as fast as you can.
Ten: Always Be Willing To Walk Away
Hey, there's lot of cars out there. Unless everything goes just the way you want, walk away from the deal. It's got to be a great car at a great price or simply don't buy it.
Don't get emotionally attached to the car. The dealer will not want to lose the sale. They will sense from your attitude that you mean business and it's extremely likely they will do what they have to to get that car off the lot.
There's nothing a dealer hates more than a "close but no cigar" ending, especially when they know you've left to go someplace else to buy the very same day.
Eleven: Wrap It All Up
Assuming the inspection was favorable, you're ready to buy the car (if the inspection found some minor problems, ask them to be fixed prior to delivery ... at their expense, of course).
When you're satisfied, make an appointment to come in and do the paperwork. Explain that you have an appointment across town and you'll need to be in and out in 30 minutes. Otherwise, you won't be able to finalize things for a few days.
Again, they need this sale this month, not next. They'll have you flying through the process to make it happen.
Twelve: Control
Remember that it's you who is turning the tables. It's you who is in control during the entire process. You're calling every shot and getting exactly what you want, or no deal.
Happy car hunting! - Josh