Car salesmen have a longstanding reputation – which isn’t always a fair one – for being unscrupulous and taking advantage of customers.There are plenty of honest car salesmen and dealerships in the United States. But there also are enough bad apples to leave a car buyer with a bad taste in his mouth after the shopping experience, if the shopper has visited the wrong sort of dealership. Avoid making mistakes or being taken advantage of in the car-buying process by engaging in a little self-education.
First, if you’re buying a new car, use the Internet to help determine a fair price for the make and model of vehicle you desire. Clicking on sites like this one and this one will give you quotes from local dealers on the car you seek, to avoid paying more than you should for a new car. Some salesmen will prey upon your emotions to get you to pay more for that new car – reminding you how much nicer it is than your old ride, assuring you that despite your misgivings you’re making a smart decision, or even driving a wedge between husband and wife so that one argues in favor of buying until the other gives in. If you know an appropriate bottom-line price for the car before you negotiate, you can more easily separate your emotions from the decision.
If you’re trading in a used car, try this site for information about what your vehicle should be worth. Even dealers with a reputation for selling their new cars at affordable prices will do their best to trade you out of your car at a value much below the market, so they can maximize the car’s resale potential on their own lot. Knowing what your car is worth before you visit the dealer helps you avoid this loss of value.
Understand that the dealership’s finance department is not always the best place to borrow money when buying a car. You can check your local bank or credit union for an auto loan. Or, get an easy, no-obligation quote in minutes online by clicking right here. (Don’t forget to save on car insurance, too; get a bid from this site.)
Some dealerships make a lot of money by selling new car buyers on services and accessories they don’t need. Avoid buying accessories like non-factory wheels and stereos, pickup truck bedliners or running boards, and window tinting or pinstriping from the dealership. These are almost always cheaper when purchased from a specialty aftermarket shop in your own hometown. And never pay the dealer hundreds of dollars for undercoating or rust-proofing (now a factory job on most models) or for an interior or exterior “protection package” that consists of some inexpensive spray or wax you could buy at the auto parts store for a few dollars and apply yourself.
Other costly add-ons at many dealerships include extra fees for documentation, shipment, “dealer advertising program” and similar verbiage. The dealer is charging you extra for work that has already been done (a delivery fee was assessed by the manufacturer as part of the sticker price) or to cover his daily costs of doing business, like advertising on TV or in the newspapers, or paying his office staff to type-up the sales contract. Sometimes these fees run out to hundreds of dollars, and while the dealership will be upset at your refusal to pay them, almost never will a dealer revoke the sale for that reason.
Tags: Car buying