Pay Less On Your Next Car
- 07.17.09
- Personal Finance, savings
Are you planning to have a new car? Cars nowadays can be considered as liabilities. You only buy cars because of the convenience it can bring to you. I myself don’t have a car because I think it’s generally a liability but sooner or later if I have my own family, I think car would become a necessity.
The secret to getting the best price on a new car is to know exactly what you want. You won’t learn this from a car dealer. Not having a good idea of what you want before you enter a dealership leaves you open to being sold something you really don’t need.
Car salespeople are professionals in the art of persuasion. If you leave it up to them, they’ll sell you what they want to sell, not necessarily what you want to buy. Of course you want a great price for your car. But what’s the secret to finding a bargain car? Conventional wisdom suggests you’ll have to master the art of hard-nosed negotiating and challenge the car salesman to a duel on his turf. But if that’s your approach, you’ll probably never win.
Do your homework. The key to buying the car you want is educating yourself by doing your homework. The only way you can gain the advantage over the professional car salesman is by changing the rules of the rules of the game. Play by your rules, not his.
Know exactly what you want such as the car model, make, color, trim, package, accessories, etc. and the dealer invoice of that car before you set foot on the lot.
Beware of back-end costs. “Back-end profits” are where most car dealers make their money. Back-end products include things like extended warranties, alarm systems, pin stripping, window etching, and special floor mats.
Fend off back-ending by simply stating you’re not interested in the add-ons. Resisting the impulse to buy and refusing to pay for these extras is the key to saving money and getting a great deal on your car.
Stick to the plan. Be a smart shopper and stick to your shopping list. Refuse to buy impulse or yield to the car salesman’s enticements. Enter the car dealership knowing exactly what you want. This will help you make a reasonable offer.
Develop a good relationship. Getting a rock-bottom price is just the beginning of true customer satisfaction. By developing a good relationship with your car dealer from the start, you’ll end up with the car you want at a good price and a friendly relationship with the service department for years to come.
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Zen
Buy a second hand durable car from toyota or honda or nissan, since car is liability and it depreciate the moment you drive out from showroom, so why not just get a used car?
[Reply]
Tyrone Reply:
August 30th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
I agree with you Zen that car is a liability. As long as the car is in tip top condition, buying a second hand is always the best option to take. Anyway, cars are just for our convenience in transportation. I myself don’t have a car because I think I don’t need it for now.
However, sometimes, you don’t know what are the hidden defects of a used car. You might not know when the problem arises and it might cost you thousands to have it repaired.
[Reply]
Zen
Hi Ty,
When it comes to second hand car, I think all too often ppl focus on the big repair they need to spend on the car when the it broke down. While they overlook at the chances that a second hand car broke down is as likely as the new car. Why? It has something to do with the mindset, if ur new car broke down, u might say something like, oh, I’m so unlucky, I got this defective car. U think u r unlucky. But if ur second hand car broke down u might say something like, oh, this is because it’s second hand, who knows what the previos owner did to the car. They didn’t realize other new car owner might experience defective car broke down as well. The difference of two are; one you think problem is yourself, another you think problem must be the previous owner.
So what I’m saying is buying a new car doesn’t necessarily save u on cost, sometime u also feel compelled to service at the authorised shop because u don’t want to void the warranty or something and they charge u premium on the services. But then you can call the insurance company to check on the accident claim, if there are no claim, most likely any cosmetic repairs are just minor hit and scratches.
Having said all that, i’m not a secondhand car dealer, but i will be getting a used car soon. I will be giving my car away to my family, which is my first hand car.
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