Put On Your Lace Gloves: Get The Car You Want At A Price You Can Afford
How many times have you set out to your local car dealership looking for the car you want but it’s not quite the price you need it to be. I’ve certainly been there with shady car salesmen trying to take advantage because they think I’m an inexperienced buyer, and, of course, a woman. I’ve had my uncle and brother give me tips on how to haggle, bluff and blow hot air, my husband even tried some of that today. No dice.
So what works with the slimy car salesmen and how exactly do you get what you want with regards to pricing?
Read on:
Secure Financing Before Going To The Dealer
It is important that you know exactly how much car you can buy that will fit comfortably within your budget. Try your local credit union first as they typically have lower rates than mainstream banks and since they are usually smaller, tend to give better customer service in this area.
Advantage: You know how much car you can buy and control the price negotiations ie, you have the upper hand. You know that you cant buy more than a certain amount and you’re not at the mercies of the dealership and their slimy auto financing.
Be Firm On Exactly What Year, Make and Model You Want
Of course, there’s some room to be flexible in this area but I know that I want a black 2007-2009 Toyota Camry with a sunroof. They can keep the navigation system and alloy wheels, the latter means much less to me and frankly need not be on the table which in turn, lowers the price on the vehicle. So decide what’s negotiable and what is not before going to the dedalership. If you’re too flexible around the must haves then you run the risk of not leaving the dealership with the car you want.
Advantage: You know what you want and the car salesman does too, less chance of you leaving disappointed with a car you don’t want or like.
Use The Internet To Shop Around.
Dealerships are often willing to give their internet customers a lower price than if you walk in off the street with no idea as to where pricing begins on a certain make and model.
For example, I received this internet quote after making an inquiry:
MSRP: $22,145
Invoice: $20,305
Special Internet E-Price: $19,105
Then came this email after the Internet quote:
Dear Ginger,
Thank you for your interest in a new or pre-owned vehicle. As token of our appreciation, we like to offer you an additional $400.00 off our already low ePrice. (Offer expires September 02, 2008)
Question: How have you dealt with shady car salesmen in the past? Do you haggle with them on the lot or do you just accept the sticker price?
My husband and I play good cop bad cop. I’m an MBA and he’s an attorney so this works well. I run the numbers and tell him what we will and won’t pay (e.g. add on fees), provide him with a spreadsheet. We secure financing in advance but are willing to haggle with the dealer for a better rate (got a 3.5% discount on our last auto loan this way). He always asks for more than we want (attorney) and can play the “my wife will kill me if I say yes” card for an easy walk-away!
you know, it’s useful information that you’ve just put out there for me. all my cars to date have been hand-me-downs from people who no longer wanted them (ah, grad school) but i had literally NO IDEA that a car was something you could bargain for! I thought that it was like the grocery store- the price is the price. well now! aren’t I glad I know this now while the ol’ subaru (many thousands of miles and counting!) is alive and kickin’. thanks for the tip.
neimanmarxist’s last blog post..Ten Reasons You Should Learn To Cook
Neiman are you serious? Who doesn’t know that you should ALWAYS bargain for a car?
[...] Ginger talks about “Putting on the lace gloves and getting the car you want at the price you can afford.” [...]
[...] Ginger over at Girls Just Wanna Have Funds talked about buying the car you want at the price you can afford. She gives some good [...]
[...] Ginger over at Girls Just Wanna Have Funds talked about buying the car you want at the price you can afford. She gives some good [...]
[...] Girls Just Wanna Have Funds offers some car buying advice (something I was planning to do as well to follow up our experience with our car loan): Put On Your Lace Gloves: Get The Car You Want At A Price You Can Afford. [...]
We all know we ’should’ bargain for a car, but for a lot of people that’s not so easy. I personally avoid car dealerships that allow bargaining because I’m so bad at it.
But even with bargaining you’re still limited in how much you can talk them down.
My take is that it doesn’t matter what your bargaining power is, you first have to know exactly how much car you can buy to fit your personal budget.
Forget bargaining down from MSRP. Use Edmunds.com or Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) to find out what cars are selling for in your area. You can also use them to get price quotes from local dealers. Getting the “internet price” by fax or e-mail from 3-4 local dealers is a great idea. Buy a car price report from Consumer Reports or other service. Get informed so the dealer cannot take advantage of you. Be polite, but be prepared to walk away, even for a car you like. When my wife and I bought our first new car ever, we went home when the salesman said he couldn’t drop the price enough. He ended up calling us at home three times, until he met our price. We were planning on driving about 45 minutes to another dealership with a lower price, and made sure he knew it. We were polite, but firm.
[...] Girls Just Wanna Have Funds offers some car buying advice (something I was planning to do as well to follow up our experience with our car loan): Put On Your Lace Gloves: Get The Car You Want At A Price You Can Afford. [...]
Finally something new for me to learn and I am already subscribed. You can contact me if you need to.
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