Dealing with the Dealer

There are two things you need to know about car dealers in general.

First, think of them as people selling their wares. They are hard working people trying to make right by themselves. It’s not their fault that their occupation comes with a bad rep. Sure, they may have tricks up their sleeves. Alright, a LOT of tricks. But that’s not saying that they are going to use it all on you. Give them better credit than that. They won’t use ALL. One trick will probably do it.

Second, they are not the enemy. Buying a new car is not a fight so don’t start picking one with your dealer. They are there to help you make a good purchase, never mind if they make a whole lot of money while doing that. They get a commission for each deal they close so you’re actually just helping them make money. Be generous.

CRAP!

All that is crap.

While it’s true at some point, you have to remember that buying a car is an investment, and an expensive investment at that. It’s your money. It’s your call. At best, your car dealer has only got very little to say on the matter.

But therein lays the difficult part. Because your dealer probably knows more about car buying than you do, he has an unspeakable advantage over you even before you step inside the car dealership and catch a glimpse of the car of your dreams. What’s more, it all goes downhill from there. Sales talk, discounts, dealer incentives, the whole shebang and you’re bagged. Negotiation is over; the deal is closed; and you end up with an overpriced hunk of metal.

So how exactly does one go about a car purchase? How do you deal with the dealer?

How Much Should You Offer the Dealer

First thing’s first. You have to have an offer. No buts. No exceptions. You have to have an offer or you’re out. You can’t get into a deal without an offer of your own because that would be like walking inside a store and handing the saleslady your wallet. And trust me, you do not want your car dealer to get a hold of your wallet. Especially if they are particularly trigger-happy with your money, which is highly likely.

So now that we have that part settled, let’s move on to the next obvious question. How do you calculate the offer to the dealer? What are the factors you need? Answering any of these two questions is to answer both – find out how much they paid for the car. That’s the game plan.

Every buyer has one goal in mind when looking for a car purchase and that is to save cash on a car. The rest is secondary. Sure, you want one of them new models, good horsepower, nice interiors, good set of wheels, etc. etc. But all that pales in comparison to cash you can save. You might even be willing to forego that cool add-on if it means you can save some for your kids going to college. So savings are important.

But the road to saving cash in this kind of purchase is not paved in gold. No, the path to a good deal is a helluva lot easier to do than making gold out of pavement. Chiseling off MSRP. It helps, but there’s a better way of doing it and doing it effectively, too. That’s right and it all depends on making an informed offer.

When purchasing a new car and dealing with seasoned negotiators like car dealers, nothing compares to making an informed offer. What is that, you say? An informed offer is nothing but an amount of money over dealer’s cost based on the car’s value. Of course, to do that properly, you have to have patience a-plenty as you research the information first. Don’t go into the fray armed with only some basic idea of what sort of car you want and not even a budget in mind. Your car dealer will pounce on you like a rabid dog. It’s not a nice picture, but it’s pretty accurate. After all, they are essentially salesmen and once you take the bait, you can’t expect to be let off the hook that easy.

So how do you find out how much the dealer paid for the car? Simple. Ask to see the factory invoice for the car. The factory invoice is a bunch of documents that list the base model of the car, and all option packages, floor mats, body trims, and so on. Add to that the destination charge, holdback, and dealer flooring assistance and you have a whole pile of reading matter to dig through. But don’t worry. It’s figures. It’s not that hard to understand. Besides, your brain probably needs the exercise, especially when you need it in tip-top shape as you prepare to face the dealer.

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