| Don't Pick
Up Your New Car at Night - Never take delivery
of a new vehicle at night. Even though it may be
inconvenient to take time off during the day, you'll
be able to look the car over carefully in the daylight.
Even new cars can suffer minor dents and blemishes
that dealers will try to hide. |
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1. Biggest isn't always BEST
There are 22,000 new car dealers and nearly three times
as many independent used car dealers. That's 82,000 dealerships!
Your first challenge is to find the BEST dealership. You want
a dealer that will work with you, treat you like you're someone
special and give you a good deal on a car.
2. Are you eligible for a rebate?
There are two kinds of rebates from the Manufacturer: Dealer
Rebates and Consumer Rebates. Sometimes, the Consumer rebate
is hidden so be sure and ask your dealer if there are any
incentives from the Manufacturer.
3. Negotiate Everything Separately
You know that you can negotiate the price of your new car,
but you can also negotiate the trade-in value of your old
car, the terms of financing, the interest rate for your lease
or loan. Don't let all of these components get co mingled
because you might not get the best deal.
4. Negotiate UP, not DOWN
The best way to negotiate is from the Dealer's Invoice price
up and not from the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price
(M.S.R.P.) down. This way of negotiating is a lot different
than what most of us are familiar with. Start with the Invoice
price and go up a couple hundred dollars. This lets the Dealer
know that you are a smart and informed car shopper when discussing
your FREE Dealer Quote.
5. Know a Good Deal when you see one
A good deal is when you pay a fair price for a car. For
popular, high volume, in-stock vehicles, a good deal is typically
between Dealer's Invoice price and Invoice plus $500. If your
vehicle is hard to locate or in high demand, any amount close
to M.S.R.P is a good deal. And NEVER pay anything over the
MSRP, even for a vehicle in high demand!
6. "Please, I have to make a living, too"
It's important for to know that when you buy a car at Invoice
price, the Dealer still makes money! So don't be tricked into
thinking that you'll be take away your salesperson's livelihood.
The Dealer gets 1% to 3% off the vehicle price (depending
on the manufacturer). This is called the Dealer holdback,
it's how the dealer makes money and it's typically not negotiable.
Your mission is to use your FREE Dealer Quote and get the
take home price as close to the invoice price as possible.
7. Shop Around for your Financing
Selling you your car is not the only way a dealer makes
money! Financing is a BIG money maker for car dealers. If
you have poor or bad credit, your interest could be as high
as 25% through the Dealership. Try using a Credit Union! Credit
Unions typically have the lowest interest rates and there's
probably one right in your town. Interest rates for USED cars
are typically 1.5% higher than for NEW cars.
8. Keep your "Monthly Payment Budget"
SECRET
Never reveal what you can afford as a monthly payment to
the Dealer! There are four components to your monthly payment
and each one can be negotiated: the price of the car, the
down payment, the interest rate and the term of the loan or
lease. Each of these components can be negotiated separately
and if you tell the Dealer what you can afford for a monthly
payment, he may actually charge you more on one of the components
and make money at your expense!
9. Trade-in: Saves you time, not money
For some people, the convenience of the Dealer trade-in
is more important than the money they lost. For others, extra
money is more important than convenience! You can list your
car for sale with an online classifieds website for as little
as $19.95. List Your Car For-Sale online and reach 100,000's
of car shoppers. There is usually no time limit so your car
will be displayed until it's sold. Your options include Yahoo
Classifieds, YellowPages, Classifind and other Internet sites.
10. Insurance & Warranties, Do you need
them?
Everyone needs auto insurance and depending on you long
you plan on keeping your car, you might need an extended warranty.
The typical new car comes with at least a 3 year, 36,000-mile
warranty. Once either of these thresholds is reached, you
are on your own. For example, an extended warranty or auto
insurance could be marked up 100% if it's included in your
monthly payment. And most people wouldn't realize the mark-up
because the monthly payment is very small.
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