Car Buying Tips

[Spoofee]

Buying a car anytime soon? A few hours of reading may save you a good amount of money.

1. Choose the car
- Read reviews, see future models, see TMV at Edmunds or pick up an auto issue of Consumer Electronics.
- Know which options you like or can be without.
- Find car clubs for the car you are about to choose. You can find what owners think of their car.

2. Find out the going rate
- Find out the invoice/MSRP price here at carpoint
- See how much others are getting the car for at Edmund's Prices Paid Forum.
- If you are buying an used car, find out the going rate at KBB.com

3. Bargaining
- Find multiple dealerships near you that have your car and find their e-mail sales contact
- Find the lowest price on a newspaper or Edmunds Prices Paid
- Email dealerships to beat the price. Going in to talk to the dealership gives them a chance to play games with you so email is recommended
- With the new price, ask other dealerships to beat that price.
- Repeat this process until you think you have a price you are happy with.

Other Notes
- Basic tips cans be found at http://www.carbuyingtips.com. Highly recommended to read through this.
- Never ever make decisions based on what the sales rep tells you.

[Spoofee]

Decided to put this deal up because of what I saw recently. I was just sitting in a dealership while I waited for my car to be serviced. A sales rep was telling a family that the best he can do for the Honda Accord was $500 above MSRP since it's very popular and the family was discussing over it. It irritated me how a person didn't care about a happy looking family for his profits.

And ofcoarse, I have plenty of experiences where the sales rep told me bogus info such as "the sale is only for today." "This car is so popular (when there are so many on the lot)" "We can't go under MSRP." "This car is not available with that option" The list goes on, but please do not go into a dealership to buy without researching first.

[Kage_]

Buying a car anytime soon? A few hours of reading may save you a good amount of money.

1. Check out http://www.carbuyingtips.com. They will explain in detail.
2. Find out the invoice/MSRP price here - http://www.Carpoint.com
3. Read reviews, see future cars, see TMV here - http://www.Edmunds.com
4. If you are buying an used car, find out the price - http://www.KBB.com
5. Never make decisions based on what the sales rep tells you.

I second that with sleazy sales persons. Our truck got totaled a while back so we had to buy a new vehicle. We looked at a new Chevrolet and it was nice, but the guy would not come down on his price. We looked at another dealership the next day, but we did not mention the other dealership to start with. When the deal was done we saved almost $4,000 off of what the other dealership was offering and it was the SAME make, model, color, and options ect. I used almost all of the websites listed above.

Another tip is you can use Edmunds to submit web quotes to several dealerships in the area. That is how I found the dealership where we bought our new truck. Doing that, you can get an idea before you go to the dealership where they are going to be starting on price. Thanks for the info Spoofee.

Kage_

[Erik]

My mom is the master at car deals since her father was a car salesman for years. After we bought our Mitsubishi Diamante in 1991, the guy told her that he has never ever seen someone push a deal like that, and I think we got the car for almost $3,000 under MSRP. I don't understand how someone can buy a car for over MSRP, it's just rediculous.

[morriefisher]

I think that edmunds still has a forum for every car so you can ask others who have one.

[FreeFreek]

Look at www.kbb.com, see the invoice price (forgot the stocking fee charged by the dealer) and try to get the dealer as close as possible to the invoice price. Quote the price lesser than the invoice price to the dealer and say that your friend has bought a car recently for that price in another city and stick to that. I got my Honda last year in June for $500 above the invoice price. The trick works and all my friends do the same thing.

I think it is illegal to charge more than MSRP.

[legoman66]

er, how can it be illegal to sell a car for a certain amount of money? Its a free country and the car dealerships can do what they please.

[morriefisher]

You can sell for more thatn MSRP.

dealers often have a kbb book that they may show you but its a special one that shows what price other dealers are pricing the car at. they are not prices the cars actually sold at, which matters a lot.

[springer]

Another site: www.carfax.com
Checks the history of the car.

Sign up during promotions or something to make it free or cheaper. I think I had a free trial period and then paid $19 promotion. I forgot the exact details. But, if you're serious about buying a car, losing $20 is much better than losing a lot more $$$ on a car that turns out to be a lemon.

With that in mind, search the internet for basic car inspections. Practice it. Do it. Till you don't feel akward about doing it anymore. To the point when a dealer tries to say something different to you about the car, it just goes in one ear and out the other, until you've seen it for yourself.

Though I didn't buy a car, here were some of my experiences:

Dealer: "so, you want to go with this one today"

My Response: I just end up laughing internally. Do they really think I'm going to hand over thousands of dollars for a car I've come to know in less than a day or two. Make them work for your money. You work for yours.

---------------

I approach a lot. Look around a little. Dealer approaches. We chit chat some. And then,

Dealer: "so how many cars have you been looking at today"

I'm not sure why they ask this. But the lots I went to did. I suppose to gauge what type of shopper you are. Window shopper or serious buyer. Though, my guts is telling me there's something more to this.

---------------

Dealer takes me to see a type of car I'm interested in. He starts the engine so I can hear the motor. I ask to see the history/report of the car. He supposedly went to get it. Comes back and gives me bull**** that he's working on getting it, he got to get a hold of his manager or something. I insist on seeing it. He goes back, this time being away longer than before.

So, I end up walking away. Dealers love playing this game. They want to see if they can control you, make you their puppet, so they might do the waiting trick.

Don't let the leaving the engine running fool you. Initially I was reluctant to leave because someone might come by and steal their car. After a while, I was like hey, it's not my fault if someone jumps in and takes off.

---------------

Also, see everything, invoice, msrp, history, car report, whatever. Take the contract home. Study it for a week, month, or longer. Don't sign any other contract you haven't studied.

[morriefisher]

"Another site: www.carfax.com
Checks the history of the car."

Yes, but not very accurate according to people who used it.

rental car agencies sell cars after they have about 30k on them for a nice price & still under guarantee.

[uknow08]

"Another site: www.carfax.com
Checks the history of the car."

Yes, but not very accurate according to people who used it.

rental car agencies sell cars after they have about 30k on them for a nice price & still under guarantee.

I wonder if buying a rental car is a wise choice. I tired to persuade my dad to buy a car from Hertz but he insisted that ppl that rent out those cars mistreat the vechicle like flooring it too hard, etc. Has anyone bought a rental car?

[Choochoojr]

"Another site: www.carfax.com
Checks the history of the car."

Yes, but not very accurate according to people who used it.

rental car agencies sell cars after they have about 30k on them for a nice price & still under guarantee.

Carfax is not accurate at all. I had a car that was totaled out over a year ago and it is still showing as a clean title, same thing with my brother and his was a 2004 that was totaled and salvaged out out. I know several people who have received false information from them.

It is a good concept that still needs alot of polishing up. :hmm:

[earlybird3]

Carfax is worth to check even if it's not very accurate. The car might be after an accident or flooded or something...
The only problem the history report does not reflect actual car condition.
Check www.samarins.com - they offer illustrated guide what to look for a used car.
Also it's worth to check http://www.jdpower.com/auto/jdpa_rat...ndJdAwards.jsp
they offer reliability rating of different models.
M.M.

[jstorck]

Carsdirect will also give you the price over the Internet without the normal haggling.
Cars Driect Link

I saved thousands using their service recently compared to walking on the dealers’ lot and playing the little games with the so called professional sales
people. The majority of sales people does not give a hoot about you, and will tell you anything to make a sell that puts more money in their pocket.

This article makes for some good reading about the business.

Confessions of a Car Salesman

[buybuybuy]

Here's my strategy: fill out the forms online (cars.com, carsdirect.com) and get several dealers' quotes by email. Their email will contain their internet salesmen's name and phone numbers. Call them and they'll give you a price over the phone. Be specific about the car/package you want.

Tell them where other dealers are pricewise and they'll beat the price over the phone. Don't go to see them if they won't commit to a stated dollar price on the phone.

Go in to the one dealer who you want to do a deal with and bypass the sales staff and go directly to the fleet department. You won't get turned away; they have quotas to meet. Chances are they'll meet the lowest internet price you can find. Sometimes they'll give you a better deal on a car that's been on their lot more than 60 days. I'd suggest calling an almost-out-of-range dealer (50 or 75 miles); they'll think they have to give you a better deal just so you'll make the trip (they'll know you won't be coming there for service, but it's a chance for them to get a deal they'd never get anyway). You can then use that price for the more local dealers to try and beat. Also: best times to buy are at the end of a month, quarter or year. Everyone's trying to make that bonus/quota.

Dealers sell cars for greater than sticker price by adding on overvalued items (dashboard trim, tinted windows, "preparation fees," chrome wheels) and then, when you hit the finance manager, adding more high-profit items (undercoating, extended warranties). The finance managers generally are very very well paid; they make more than the salespeople... often hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. While you're closing the deal, they're closing you. Many good deals are lost because buyers let down their guard when dealing with the finance managers.