Top 10 Car Buying Tips (Easy ways to save money buying a car)
These are my top 10 car buying tips that I have actually used at dealers. This book will pay for itself many times over if just one of the ten tips work for you.
1. Never do a car deal by payments. Most car salesman will try to sell you a car for 299 or 399 etc a month. Can you afford 99 a month they will ask? This is a sure fire way to over pay for your new car. Always stick to numbers the payment will match in the end. Don't worry about 499 a month worry about the total price of the car $25,456.32 instead.
2. Make sure you get a full tank of gas and give an empty tank in return. As gas prices are high these days most dealers will tell you they only put a quarter of a tank on new vehicles. This is baloney. If you threaten to walk away from the deal at the end watch how fast your gas tank goes full. And to return the favor make sure you shop for your new vehicle with your gas tank near empty. My personal favorite is leaving them with the gas light on as a present.
3. Never tell the car salesman how much cash you have on hand. Even worse never tell them how much your car payoff is. I cant tell you how many times I have heard stories where a salesman comes back at the exact number the payoff was for the car they where trading in. If you have a car worth 12 grand and your payoff is 8 don't be surprised if the dealer offers you 8 grand to get you out of your car. This is leaving money on the table.
4. Warrantees are a good thing if you are buying a high end car. But beware most finance managers will quote you allot higher then the actual price they are worth. I once bought a car and I told the dealer I did not want a warranty. The warranty was a bumper to bumper 2 years for $1000 With a 100 deductible. The car I was buying was a Acura so I figured I would not have any problems since they are reliably cars. I turned down the warranty over and over. And the guy wouldn't give up in the end I decided to take it since the price dropped so much. I ended up getting a 2 year bumper to bumper warranty for $500 with no deductible. For that price you couldn't beat it. This alone should show you how much markup and profit there is to be made here.
5. Used car dealers will often have the tires very low on air to give the car a smoother ride. This in turn could cover up any suspension problems the car might have. 32 psi is a good standard tire pressure to use. Make your salesman puts the proper tire pressure inside the tires before you test drive the car. Also make sure all the tires are matching and the tread is good. I also check the dates as old tires are dangerous to drive on. Anything after six to seven years old could cause a possible blowout on the open road.
6. This is another trick the car salesman likes to do and I personally had it happen to me. You look at a car and cant come to a price that you both agree on. You tell the dealer that I will be back and I am going to shop around at other dealers. Your salesman says if I can get you the car for this price will you come back after you shop around. Of course you say yes as this price is a great deal and no other dealer will match it. The trick is the price the salesman is quoting you is a made up number. He wants you to shop around and see everyone else wants 22 thousand for that model car. He in turn is quoting you 19 thousand for the car. This is just a tactic to make you come back at the end to him. And then he will work you over and get a sale from you most likely higher around the price of his competitors. But no where close to the number he promised you.
7. We all have seen car fax commercials but allot of times accidents ect can be missed on a car fax. The best bet is have the car checked out by a trusted local mechanic to make sure all the paint is the same. A good mechanic can also tell if the car is a flood car. This is very important especially after the recent storms in the last few years.
8. Do not accept any beverage from a salesman. They are very quick to buy you a 50 cent can of soda. In doing this it is almost as we owe them our lives and feel obligated to buy. Just say no thank you please. Your waist line will also thank you for not accepting.
9. If you do not come to a agreed price and you decide to walk away from the lot and no one follows you that is the lowest they will go. If they run after you then there is still some more negotiating left to do.
10. Before you shake hand and close the deal why not ask for a free t shirt or hat. 99% of the time I received a free item from the dealer with a car logo on it just for asking. Worst they can say is no.
On your warranty paragraph: you are correct. The sales people and mostly the F & I (Finance & Insurance) get's a kickback from the 3rd party vendor. It's not that they are bad but this is why the push so hard.