Auto buying tips
Feb 28 '00
When buying a vehicle with cash, you can often get a better deal at the end of the month, or even better the end of the year. This is because the dealers are a little more anxious to get the vehicle off their books. Never pay the price they are asking for the vehicle. I bought a 1998 Ford F150 XLT with tow and offroad package on Dec 30th, Dealer price was 27500, I offered 23000, they countered with 25800, I offered 24000 including tax and license, They came back with 24800 plus tax. I told the salesman I had another vehicle to look at and left, before I got home there was a message saying they would sell for 24400 including tax and license. I ignored the message and he called back an hour later asking if I had got the message and I told him yes but wasn't interested. He called back 2 hours later and said I could have it for 24000 total price including tax and license. I went back, wrote them a check for 24000 and left with my new truck. It was 3 pm when I originally went to the dealership and at 9pm the truck was mine. Bluebook on the truck with options was 25900.
Never believe a salesman (or sales manager) when they say they can't go any lower on the price. In the case of my truck they paid 800 more for it than what I paid them, however their finance officer put 9000 miles on the vehicle after they bought it, so they did not really lose any money on it, just didn't get as large a profit as they would have liked.
If you are trading in a vehicle, it gets a little more complicated, they will try to play your trade in price against the purchase price to maintain their profit. Your best defense against this it to make them give you the trade in value first, even before you tell them what kind of vehicle you are looking for. Once you have an acceptable trade in price, then start working on getting the price you want for the vehicle you are buying. If you offer them a reasonable profit, they will eventually accept it, they need you more than you need them, there are many dealers out there to choose from. When shopping do your homework first, know what your trade in is worth and also know what the vehicle your are buying cost the dealer, there are many websites where you can find this information.
One last tip, never let the salesman know that you really want his vehicle, let him know that you want a vehicle like his, and that you are going to other dealerships to look for the vehicle since he can't sell it to you at your price.
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