Buying a new car is exciting to be sure, but it can also be much more expensive than it really should be for most people. If you aren’t careful you can wind up spending thousands more than someone else for the same kind of deal. Let’s review the top 5 new car buying mistakes that many people make and see how to avoid them.
1. Probably the first thing that costs most car buyers money is not doing enough advance research about new cars before they start the shopping process. You may think that you will learn a lot by just visiting the dealership and asking the salespeople about new vehicles, but you will only learn what they want you to know that way. If you want unbiased information that you can trust, you need to do some online research or read Consumer Reports instead. You can find out which vehicles are rated highest for reliability and other factors, as well as get specific pricing information that will help guide you in price negotiations. By doing this advance research you will know what you want and how much you are willing to pay for it.
In the new car buying process, new car dealers are going to try to make as much money as possible from each sale, and this is only reasonable as they are in business to make money. But too often consumers wind up paying way too much. There is nothing wrong with allowing the dealer to make a fair profit, but these five methods are regularly used by new car dealers to inflate their profits considerably and you should be aware of them in advance.
1. Leasing is an increasingly attractive option to many new car buyers and they often think that the lease payments are set in stone for each car, but that simply isn’t true. Lease payments are most often calculated using the MSRP, or retail price, of the vehicle as a starting point. So if you accept the lease offered without actually dickering on the sale price of the vehicle, you are most likely losing lots of money in the lease payments that you make each month. You can also negotiate the down payment, the mileage allowed under the lease and other options too.
The used car market is huge, and every day lots of people are spending way too much money when they buy a used car. Dealers count on this. In fact, the used car section of most new car dealerships is one of the most profitable departments for the dealer. There are usually very common mistakes that most people make that cost them money. Let’s review them here:
1. Not doing advance research to know what their current car is worth. This is a very common mistake that is so easy to solve today. There are two major providers of used car value information in the US and they are (1) Kelly Blue Book and (2) the NADA Guide. It used to be that you had to find someone who had a copy of one of either of them to find out what your vehicle is worth. But now all you have to do is just log onto the internet and go to their websites to get a quick, easy figure with no hassle. It’s worth the time taken to know what your car is worth as you start to negotiate a trade-in or sale.
Shopping for a used car can be an exciting and also intimidating experience, and all too often shoppers buy a car for way too much money than they should. Used car dealers are experts at negotiating a deal to their own advantage, so the buyer needs to be prepared and stick to a smart game plan in order to get the best deal possible.
The very first thing you should do is find out the value of your current vehicle, whether you plan to trade the car or sell it yourself. This is actually a very simple process that takes just a little homework to pin down. The first place to get used car values is the used car buying guides put out by Kelly Blue Book and the NADA Guide. You can get quotes from both sources very easily by visiting their website online too.
The previous article discussed how to find out the worth of your own car as well as any vehicle that you want to buy, how to find all available vehicles in your area that you want to see, and how to arrange your financing in advance to save you money in the car buying process. Now it is time to actually visit those dealers or private parties that have the cars you want to see. Here are some important things to keep in mind as you do:
If you are visiting a dealer you will most likely be greeted by a friendly car salesperson who will start asking very soon if you have a vehicle to trade in. It’s vital that you keep the car buying and car trading segments of the process completely separate if you want to get your best deal and know what you are spending, so just tell the salesperson that you are only interested in a straight sale at this point. Then let then know what vehicles you are here to see, and don’t let them steer you away to another model instead.
The new car sales process has a language all it’s own, and terms are frequently used that many don’t fully understand. By not understanding the meaning of some of these terms, buyers are kept in the dark and spend more than they should. So let’s review some of the new car buying terminology and what it really means.
* Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) - This is found on the new car window sticker and is for many practical car buying purposes, useless to the consumer. It is, as the name says, only a “suggested” retail price. The dealer can sell that vehicle for more or less than that figure at any time.
So you have decided to enter into the world of car auction. The very idea of looking at so many small and big cars on your screen is exciting to say the least. But what most of us fail to realize is what exactly we are looking for. And need to about the laws prevailing. It is important that you know everything about car auctions before you jump into the fray.
The most important aspect of buying a car in a car auction is the condition of the auctioned car. Remember you’re going to an auction for a great deal and to save money. And with a little extra care you can easily accomplish this task.
There are always plenty of used cars for sale, and if you are looking to buy a used car, one of the most important parts of the buying process is to visually inspect it yourself to determine it’s condition. Unless you are an auto mechanic, you probably won’t be able to get a thorough picture of the mechanical shape of the car, but you can still learn a lot by doing a proper visual examination.
Before you begin, it’s a good practice to have a checklist with you that allows you to make notes about what you see as you go. This can be important, especially if you are looking at more than car at a time. It’s easy to get confused and not be able to recall specific details about each car after you have seen several in a row, so being organized about the process can help out a lot.
Many people think that buying a new car is just one big transaction, but actually there are several smaller steps in the new car buying process, all of which are essential to getting you the best deal possible. So before you begin shopping for a new car, take these ten car buying steps into consideration.
1. Do your homework and advance research to select the vehicle that will fit you and your needs best and eliminate all other vehicles from consideration.
Wouldn’t it be nice to find the car or truck that you want, and only pay a small fraction of what you would at a used car lot? Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to haggle with a used car salesman and have your intelligence continually insulted, just to “save” a couple hundred bucks? Have you ever wondered if there was some secret source where these guys get their vehicles and whether you could somehow buy from it, too?
The truth is - you can avoid a lot of the expense and aggravation normally associated with buying a quality used car, truck or van by simply cutting out the middle man. In other words, go to the source.
Buying a new car involves working with a new car dealer, and this can be a very intimidating experience for many consumers. They just get the feeling that they will be ripped off no matter what they do. But that is not true. If you understand the psychological components of the buying process you can be well prepared to negotiate a great car price.
The first and most important psychological component for success in buying a new car is to stay in control. Now, this may not always be easy as car salespeople are specifically trained to gain control and keep it throughout the whole procedure. But you have to turn the tables by being very well-informed, and having a winning game plan in advance.
How can you buy a used car and avoid getting ripped off as you do? This is a question that a lot of people ask themselves since more people buy used cars than new cars every single day. Car dealers make a lot of money from people making mistakes that cost them money in the buying process too. So being prepared is essential to buying smart.
Of course, it’s only fair that a car dealer make some profit, as they have to in order to stay in business. But for many years the advantage has been mainly in the dealer’s hands as car buyers simply didn’t have most of the information necessary to stay in control of the buying process. And staying in control as you buy is absolutely vital to getting the best deal possible as you shop.