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Tips on buying a car from dealership?
Hello advicenators,
I am going to be buying a "new used" car pretty soon. I got a new job recently and I will be able to afford the payments. Im looking to spend somewhere in the $18-25,000 range. I don't want to buy something I'll regret with that amount of money. I have never bought from a dealership before.
What are some tips? What are some things I should look out for (Any salesmen tricks I should be wary of, or extra things that I shouldn't be paying for?) I'm a girl in my 20s that knows pretty much nothing about cars (other than how to fill up oil and change a tire-the basics) and I totally expect to be taken advantage of when it comes to cars. I'm not stupid but there's a lot of car stuff I don't know.
So anything helps, really. I'm going to do some test drives this weekend. I've researched and decided on a couple of different makes and models based on extensive internet searches and reviews. I would like to be prepared before I go.
Thank you!
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Hey there,
My friend bought a car from a dealership a few years ago and I actually just bought that car off of her! I would recommend bringing someone with you that knows something about cars - a friend, family member. I started out by going to car websites (like carsales.com for Australia) and I looked at the kind of cars I wanted to buy. These are people selling them and you can see the average price. Buying from a dealer will always be more expensive because they charge extra for their expenses. Sometimes looking around you can find the exact same thing and it's a few grand cheaper buying it privately than from a dealer.
You have a lot to spend so shop around and take your time. Don't tell them how much you want to spend straight away, and don't be too eager or they won't budge much on the cost. If you are interested, ask them for their best price and check out other dealerships/online for the same car and how much they're charging.
Hope it helped x
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Well I didn't buy my car, mine was given to me but I am saving up now to buy another and have been looking around due to an issue I'll cover in a minute. So to start I pretty much just googled tips, ideas, good advice. But my dad also knows alot about this subject too so I'll cover what he said to me.
Off google I found a list of dealer reviews... [Link](Mouse over link to see full location). Also Look at not just the amount you'll be paying for the car to buy it but how much it will cost you per month and I would escpecially pay attention to how much mileage is already on the car if you are buying used. Really you should just look at this edmunds.oom site because it has a lot of the info I can offer you and more. This helps you pick out what kinda car you NEED not want. www.edmunds.com/car-buying/10-steps-to-finding-the-right-car-for-you.html.
For my dad he wants me to take our mechanic who is a family friend (so take someone who knows cars well and can look around at the car) when I finally do decide the car. I've also done research on any of the cars I've been looking into. looking up the user manuals, the reviews, the commons issues, and the service prices for when my car needs to get serviced. of course make sure you test drive don't be scared to test drive as many as you want while you are at the dealership, their job is to sell you a car and test driving so you can see how your future car will ride is an important component in picking.
If you do end up finding the car you really want the best part about research it is looking up the kind of pricing for it because you can find the value of your car so you don't get ripped off. So it's fine if you go to the dealership, find the cars you want. make a list then go home and research them. if you're sure on the one you want next time you go bring your friend or whatever who knows the car then. don't worry about sales tricks and stuff. if you are easily influenced and stuff yeah you probably should worry but for me when sales people are talking and I know they are just trying to get a sale (which most are) instead of caring what the customer needs...i tune them the hell out.
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Knowing what total amount you want to pay is the first step. This was the number one trick I saw used against us when we bought our first car; we would state what our total amount was, and the salesman would try to convince us to buy a more expensive car over a ridiculously long loan period. Sure, the payment would be the same, but we were presented with loans of up to 96 months! We kept it so that we could pay it off comfortably within 5 years.
You've done your research, so that's good. Know what you want and don't let them try to upsell you to something shinier and prettier.
Other that, you sound super prepared. Not all salespeople are jerks, but if you do encounter one who makes you uncomfortable you should definitely not buy from them. That person stands to make a lot of money from the sale, so make sure it's going to someone who deserves it.
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In Britain we have like an automobile club, and for a small fee you can take a professional around with you to look at cars and make sure you don't get ripped off. Perhaps you have them in the US?
Other than that, I can't really help you as I am a 17 year old girl whose parents can't afford to let me drive yet! (This question ended up in my inbox for some reason? Maybe try asking it to the general advicenators..?)
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Well, I personally don't know too much about cars, but I do know pretty much every business trick. Here are a few:
1. When they say you can save 'up to 50%' on your car, notice the words 'up to'. Saving 50% does not apply to every car they are selling, only a few of them.
2. If they offer you extra features (Special cup holders, weather mats, built-in G.P.S technology, or other various junk you can go without), chances are you can find almost an exact replica of it at Target or Walmart for half the price they're asking for. Example: They offer you weather mats for $40 (I don't know how much they cost really....), I can find the same thing at Target for $20.
3. High price does not mean high quality (general business strategy). Example: The cake my mom made for my birthday tasted a lot better than the cake I bought for my daughter at the bakery (Has nothing to do with cars, but it's the truth.)
4. It might actually be very helpful to go with someone (Example: Your dad, brother, boyfriend, another guy you know), preferably a man, because many car dealerships assume that men will be able to see through them when they lie to you, so they won't do it in the first place. It doesn't even have to be someone who knows anything about cars, just someone that looks like they might. Once I saw a story on 20/20 about how car dealerships take advantage of women by scaring them into thinking it's illegal to drive without a certain car part or whatever. In other words: Bring a male friend and most likely they won't even try to go this route.
5. Just a tip for what kind of car you buy: If you are planning on having a family, buy a larger car (I don't really know what to call it, just one of the tall cars, not the short ones.). If you are using it for commuting to work, this isn't necessary, but it is helpful if you don't want to hit your head like I do sometimes.
Anyway, I hope that makes sense to you. Good luck with your new car!
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I feel so bad that I am not able to answer this question. I don't even have a car yet! My advice would be to search for these things online. Many sites will offer a lot of tips for buying a car, a lot better advice than I could provide but I appreciate you coming to me anyway. Best of luck to you, and I'm sorry I couldn't help.
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Hello,
My first tip is i would shop around at all your local dealerships and find the place your going to get the best deal from, also make sure the car has recent mot and tax on and has also not done too many miles on the clock. Always buy a car with Full Service History.
I would also advice you to go to main dealerships and not little company ones as your more likely to get your moneys worth and not conned at a major dealership.
Have a look about only too that can always help.
But my main advice is make sure your chosen car has good service history as then your also he saving money when you get your car serviced as you dont want to spend more money on servicing your car then what the car cost.
Sorry thats all the tips i can give at the moment and i hope this help you with finding yourself a car and good luck. Thank you for coming to me for help.
Carrey-Anne x
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I recently bought a used car from a dealership as well and I'm very, very happy about my choice. One benefit is that you'll be able to get a nice list of repairs that have been done to the car in addition to having a short warranty when you take it home. I would when going to the dealership first look online at what they have to offer as well as the price. It's good to narrow it down more than the price point. For example do you want a compact, truck, hybrid and how much does it cost. Will this be a car you see yourself driving in 5 years? 10 years? With that type of investment you want something that will benefit you in the long run. Doing all this research may seem boring, but you can have a better experience the more informed you are.
Don't be afraid to look at as many cars as you can and search based on your lifestyle. You might be shown two cars of the same make and model. One might be a luxury model, while the others has only a few additions. Are real leather seats really that important? Is the addition of a Bluetooth something you would use daily? You might get excited when seeing a car with all the bells and whistles, but would it really be something you're just as excited about 5 years later? Personally, I don't care too much about the luxury items. I just wanted a car that was fuel efficient and ran great. I didn't want a car that would break down. Speaking of which, take into account the work that has been done on the car. Has this car been in an accident? Have all the parts been replaced? Have the tires recently been replaced? Did the previous owner bring the car in for regular oil changes? This information will let you know of future repairs you might need. I was lucky in that the car I bought has its tires changed not too long before I bought it. So at my last oil change, the mechanic said that these tires will last me a long time, they're almost good as new. Which was awesome because tires are expensive!
Scrutinize the car and test drive it. Does it drive easy? Easy to control? Do you feel comfortable in it? For example if say you're 6' then do you have enough leg room? If you test drive a few you will be able to compare the ease of driving. Is there room in the trunk for say your guitar that you often carry to practice? All of this should help you narrow down to make the car fit you.
Once you've narrowed down to say one or two cars, start to look even closer. Is that a scratch? Oh, is that a stain on the seat? Mention all of this to the salesman. Ask them if they will clean the upholstery or if they will touch up that scratch. In my case, there was a small dent in the hood and we got it so they fixed the dent and even touched it up at no cost. I even got free touch up paint. If there is something you don't like, speak up! It's ok to be critical because if they can't do something they'll say so, but you won't know what they can do for you unless you ask! Also, see if there have been any recalls with the model you are buying and have they fixed it? Look online to see how serious it is.
Lastly, haggle haggle haggle. More often than not the cars are priced higher to make more profit. Get them to lower the price! Let them know if a price is too high and even if it's directly in your price point don't let them know that! You can even give a slightly lower price just to see what they can do about it. If you end up 30 min taking about lowering the price, then it's worth the $500 they could lower. This is a good time to mention those small imperfections you've noticed about the car so that they would take care of it. In addition, some places have say an online deal (lower price for buying online) and a in-store price. Mention the online price because guess what, they won't get commission if you buy from online. But maybe they can lower it to that price? Mention some freebies. The guy I bought from even upgraded my mats at no cost. So rather than giving me the cheap thin ones that came with the car, I got those amazing thick all weather ones. I mean who knew that was even possible right? I even got a full tank of gas. Nothing hurts to ask.
When you purchase the car, then start looking up the care for it. That's what I did. For example, see how frequently people need to replace this and that. Learn everything about your car. Learn how to change a tire on it, where the spare tire is kept. Don't miss oil changes! You can also get your tires rotated at oil changes. They help them last longer. Learn what's under the hood. Look through your manual.
I hope that helped! Good luck!
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Read Lemon Aid Guide to Used Cars. They have one for new cars too. In it is each car maker's models by year, recalls, and common problems.
Use that and take someone with you who knows about buying cars when testing them and potentially purchasing. Be ready to walk away from a deal or if something doesn't sit right. You want someone with you who is accustomed to hearing engine knocks, knows handling etc. Never buy a car that pulls to one side or the other. It's had an accident.
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There are a few things you should do before you go to a dealership to buy a car.
The computer age has made car buying a lot easier for everyone. You can look at every car that you are interested in, get the facts on the car such as EPA mileage rating and other things that may interest you before setting foot in a dealership.
Then when you have narrowed your choices you can use their website to build the car you want on the computer. This will give you the manufacturers suggested retail price for the car you want. Then going to another website such as Edmunds new car buyers guide you can come up with what a reasonable price for that car would be. Here is a link to Edmunds website:[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Print out the car that you built on the web along with the pricing you came up with from the pricing list from Edmonds to take with you. You're now ready to go to a dealership and make a deal. It may help to take your father or a boy friend with you though you can do this yourself.
The dealers wants to sell you a car they have on the lot. Most of those cars will be fully loaded with all the accessories for that models. They may or may not be what you want so stick to your guns when they try to price you into something with more than what you are looking for. The dealer makes most of their profit of the accessories. This also means they can deal more on a car that has more accessories.
Most important is not to seem to anxious to get a car. Remember there are other dealers you can go to so if they don't have the car you want or if they won't mark down the car to a price you think is reasonable based on your research. Say thank you for their time and get up and walk to the door.
When I purchased my first car I did so in this manner. At the first dealership they would not make a deal for the price I wanted to pay so I got up to leave. The salesman followed me to the door. Between his desk and the door he came down an additional $1,000. I left anyway even though he was now where I was comfortable paying for that car. My reason; he should have made his best offer at his desk not waited until the deal was walking out the door.
I did buy a car that day at a dealership down the street. It was not the same manufacturer it was a second choice. Their salesman gave me the respect I felt I deserved and worked with me to get a price I was comfortable with.
One other thing you should do before you head out to the dealership. If you intend to finance the car which you appear to want to do. Go to your bank and get pre approved for the financing. Tell the salesman you have pre approved financing with your bank, just don't tell the salesman how much you're approved for at the beginning as they will work to that number.
The dealer will want to finance the car for you and that is fine. Let them try if they offer you a better interest rate which will give you a lower payment then you finance through the dealer. Having financing in hand makes you a qualified buyer and they will be more interested from the start to make you a customer.
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Car salesman always make things seem like a good deal so don't let them get you excited on what may seem like a good deal. If you are buying a "slightly" used vehicle you have to pay attention to the mileage if its been on the road a lot and has a lot of miles it wont be worth a big price
Another thing you might want to consider is fuel efficiency, some cars may cost you up to $90 or above on a full tank think about how often you drive.
And also pay close attention to the interest rates if you do not have good or high enough credit your interest rate might be really high and your monthly payments will too. I suggest you calculate your monthly payments and see what your monthly spending might be so you have an idea what exact price range you can afford
And probably the best thing i can tell you is to take someone along with you when you are car hunting. Someone who is very much experienced in cars and coming from a woman it might be preferable if its a male! Like you said they try to take advantage of first time buyers especially when its a young lady like yourself!
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