I’m looking at new cars… in fact, I’m going to the dealership today to test drive the one I like the best.
Here’s a couple of my own tips:
Research the vehicle before you buy it. Get a spec sheet from the dealership and get on the Internet and build the car yourself to see how close the dealer’s price is to the Internet’s price. You can add on all the options you want and most dealer sites have payment calculator’s so you can see how much your monthly payments would be.
Know the value of your trade-in. I personally prefer to use N.A.D.A as opposed to Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds. Each dealership uses one of these so it’s best to get values from all three just so you’re prepared.
It’s also a good idea to contact your insurance company and get a quote on how much insurance is going to cost you for the vehicle.
I also need opinions on the following:
The air conditioner in my car quit cooling last October. I recharged it and it blew cold for about a day so obviously I’ve got a major leak somewhere. Would it be wrong of me to add a couple cans of refrigerant to the car before I take it to the dealership to be appraised? Without the air conditioner blowing cold they’re going to offer me less money for it and I don’t want that but I also don’t want to put $300 into the car to get it fixed before I sell it. Someone told me that if I do do this and they figure it out that they could come back on me default the whole deal? Anyone know if that’s true? I’m having a moral dilema as to what I should do.
Be able, even willing, to walk out of the dealership if you are in any way dissatisfied with the deal you get. You can always come back later if you change your mind. Or go to another dealer and ask if they can do better than the deal you’ve already got.
If you know what kind of car you want, don’t even visit a dealership to start. Get well informed on how much it costs, with all the options you want. Send fax/email to every car dealership within 50 miles Tell them you know the car you want, and you know it costs X dollars. Ask them to quote their best price. Then take the top 2 or 3 offers and play them against each other (Dealership A will give it to me for $X…will you beat that?)
Then get a price and go in, test drive you car and buy it. Saves the pain in the ass price haggling.
Also, get a loan from a credit union or from LendingTree.com BEFORE you go in. Know the best interest rate you can get, and see if their financing dept will beat that.
All of the above is excellent advice. Some other things to consider:
Do NOT buy the extended warranty. Chances are anything wrong with your car will show up before the manufacturer’s warranty runs out. If something does go wrong and you take it back to the dealership, INSIST on having it done right away… claim children, work, the planets aren’t in alignment, whatever. The cars that will get fixed first are the ones the dealership can charge $70-80/hr; warranty work gets done if there’s any extra time. Extended warranty is (for the most part) pure profit for the dealership, since most who buy it won’t need it.
Now (July, more so August) is an especially good time to buy. Dealers have to clear the lots of the 2002 models to “make room” for the 2003s (new models start showing up in Sept.) Heard that on a commercial? Probably. Fact of the matter is, the manufacturer looks at total units sold in the previous year to determine how many new units to ship. The dealer wants to sell as many “old” (i.e. 2002) cars as possible so more new cars will be delivered.
Most, not all, but most, routine maintenance can be performed at an independent shop for significantly less money than at the dealership and will not void the warranty. YMMV on that (no pun intended)… double and triple check details at time of purchase.
Keep up with routine maintenance. Besides the oil, change your fuel filter every 20,000 miles. Get a tune up at 60,000 miles. Fill up with gas when you reach a quarter tank (saves wear and tear on the fuel system).
You’re making a huge investment. Take care of it.
P.S. You’d be better off selling the old car personally thru classifieds than taking a trade-in thru the dealer. Dealers are not in the market to sell used cars… you’ll get more money selling it yourself. Be honest with prospective buyers about the A/C… adjust the NADA price for the old car accordingly.
Find out if the dealer has an “internet department.” I went to a Toyota dealer recently (got salerperson’s name via AutoByTel), and their “internet department” gives you their lowest price, without haggling. I compared their price to the Consumer Reports price and it was comparable or even less. If you just walk in the door and get a regular salesperson, then you have to bargain down from the price they initially quote you.
I would recommend reading Cosumer Reports. We just bought a used car (about 6 weeks ago) and we did a lot of research on it. We did not have a specific make and model in mind, just that we wanted a certain type of car. Once we knew what makes and models were the best, we looked online at various car sites (dealer websites, autotrader.com etc) to get the best price.
The cost of the new car should be figured out independent of the trade in. Research the new car and figure out how much you’re willing to pay. THEN negotiate the cost of the new car as if the trade-in didn’t exist. Dealers can act like they’re giving you a great deal on the new car when in reality they screwed you on the cost of the trade-in.
Which leads me to my next point. Don’t trade in your car. Sell it on your own. You will more than likely have a lot more in your pocket at the end of the day. Yes, it’s a pain in the ass to advertise and field all those phone calls. But I had a dealer offer me $1500 off a new car in exchange for my trade in. I declined and sold it on my own for $4000. If you take out the advertising cost, I came out $2475 ahead.
Look at the total cost; not the monthly payment. Dealers like to talk in terms of monthly cost. It’s a gimmick to get you to pay more than the car is worth. When you buy a house you look at total price to determine the value of the house, not your monthly payment. Do the same with your car.
Take advantage of great interest rates. If Chrysler offers you 0% financing, take advantage of it. But go in knowing how much the car is worth so you don’t get the financing cost added to the cost of the car.
Better yet, donate your old car to charity. I have done this twice. It if often worth more as a $5,000 tax deduction (the max allowed) than it could be sold for.
Do your homework, find out what the car cost the dealer, shop one non-local dealer (he’ll give you the lowest price) and then shop the local competition.
If you drive 12,000 miles or less per year, take good care of your car inside and out, would like a new one every three years, and are savvy about the car biz, consider leasing.
If you can, shop on the last day of the month. If your salesperson/sales manager is close to hitting his monthly bonus target, you might get a sweetheart deal.
Re-charging your a/c and not disclosing the defects is unethical and I would not recommend it.
If you’re buying a Volkswagen, do buy the extended warranty, hoo boy, we’re glad we did. Our GTI is (generally) a great little car, but it came with a 20,000 mile, we bought the 60,000 mile warranty and are so glad we did. Lots of annoying little things that would be expensive to fix keep going wrong (blows coil packs, electric window misaligns, misfires, motor arm [or whatever the hell it was] breaks off and window can’t be raised and car secured–the night before our wedding when all we wanted to do was go to bed and get a good night’s sleep and did we get any help from VW? NO!!!) and, if we don’t end up utilising the lemon law, we will sell it as soon as we exceed 60,000 miles. ANyway, from my experience waiting at the dealership, we’re not the only VW owners with this problem.
So, bottom line, if you’re springing for a brand spanking new car, sometimes it’s worth it to spring for the extended warranty.
I found a site called “carbuyingtips.com” to be very helpful. The ads are a little annoying, but it’s how he funds a noncommercial site.
Honestly, it’s worth a look. It doesn’t just give you good strategies and information, it’s also dedicated to being fair. I found I argued and held my ground much better when I believed the price I was arguing for was FAIR. That’s different than having the attitude “I’m got to fight tooth and nail for every dollar off because this guy wants to screw me!” I was less defensive.
In addition to the tips this guy suggests, I also found it helpful to remind the dealer that I’m simply negotiating for myself and my car. Our salesman kept saying “That’s not really our policy…” or “The owner doesn’t really like us to…” I’d reply “I’m not asking you to do this for everyone. I just want it for my car.”
Start looking about two months before you need it. Drive by the used car lots and make mental or written notes about which cars have been there the longest. These are the cars the dealers want to get rid of the most, so you can usually bargain a better deal on these cars than on one that hasn’t been there as long.
I just bought a car in May (2003 Toyota Matrix and I LOVE it.) I am very happy to see that I did pretty much everything everyone is recommending.
I researched for a month before I made my purchase, and when I finally did, I bought on the last day of the month. Even though this model car is very hot, and going for sticker and UP, I called around. I’m lucky I live in LA and we have about 20 toyota dealers within an hour of me. I found the one that had not come close to quota and were feeling kinda desperate and I made them promise me over the phone that they would sell me the car at $500 over invoice, and I made it clear to them that if they pulled any crap on me when I got there I would walk away immediately and not return. (The thing about end of the month is true. Car dealers are literally losing money every day that a car stays on their lot. It all has to do with complicated financing stuff that my mom called “flooring” - but believe me, it’s real)
They were as good as their word and I have a great car.
Also, ** Pump Action Gerbil ** was insisting to me that I might as well take the dealer’s offer of around $1400 on my car, because no one would pay me that since my car had sunburned/peeling paint and some dings here and there. Well, I sold my car 2 weeks after I bought my new one, for $2800. All this to say,** trading your car in is just like flushing money down the toilet. **
As to the OP’s dilemma…do NOT screw the dealer or anyone else you are looking to sell to. Golden Rule, man.