Purchasing the Car of Your Dreams
Jan 05 '00
I am not an expert on cars, but I just recently bought a car at a good price and would like to share my experience/strategy. The key to purchasing a car at a reasonable price is researching prior to visiting the dealer and giving yourself plenty of time in advance (meaning if you need a car in 2 months, starting researching 4 months in advance). Some sites that may come in handy include:
http://carpoint.msn.com/AutoPricer/
http://www.kellybluebook.com/
http://www.carorder.com/
http://www.autoweb.com/
Start early. It is very important to give yourself time in advance because this will give you leverage once you are at the dealership. The reason being, if the dealer doesn't give you the deal that you want, you can walk out. Most car salespeople will call you within a week of you walking out of the dealership to offer you a better price (assuming the car is not a hot item). If you don't give yourself time in advance, you don't have the luxury to wait around for the price of your choice (or a price near it).
Research. During the research phase there are several steps that you should take. First, note the "Base Retail" Price (MSRP) and the "Base Invoice" Price. This gives you the range that you should bargain with once you go to the dealer. Next, decide on the car model that you want. Make sure it is within your price range. Finally, choose the accessories that you want included in your car.
Once you are finished with the research phase, your next step is go through the classified section of you local newspaper to get a feel for the price range of the car that you want in your area. From my experience, the best deals came near the end of the month or end of the year sales. Once you feel confident with the market price for the car of your choice, you are ready to go to the dealership!
The dealership. Before you visit the dealer, you should prepare a note card with a summary of your research. Items that you should include are (1) MSRP; (2) Base Invoice Price; (3) Model; (4) Accessories & their prices; and (5) Miscellaneous prices of different option packages available). By having this information means that you do not have to rely on the salesperson for everything and it can also serve as a tool for keeping your salesperson honest. The more confident you appear to be and the more knowledgeable you are, the less likely the salesperson will take you for a ride.
Once you have decided on the car, I would suggest offering a price that is very close to the Base Invoice Price. If the salesperson is not competitive with the price, ask for the sales manager's lowest price. If it is still not competitive, leave; don't waste your time. Before you leave ask how close they can come to your price and ask them to give you a call if they can come close to it. If you are patient, you will purchase a car at a reasonable price.
Side note. It may be helpful to find out whether the dealer owns the property or rents it from someone else. A dealer that owns his/her own property will have lower fixed costs then dealers who rent. This means that if dealers that own their property are more flexible with the pricing structure. (This is what happened in my case.)
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