Taking control of the new car buying process, preparation phase

As you’ve thought about buying your next car, I’m sure you’ve had images of pushy salespeople and the phrase “let me talk to my manager” run through your head.  If you prepare properly, you won’t be put off by this and can even bypass much of this.  I’ll go over several steps you can take and services you can use to improve your leverage and have the salesperson react to you.

The first step in any process is preparation.  You need to be fully educated on all the cars you’re looking to buy and in the car you’re trading.  There are several websites you can consult to learn all you can.  They include Edmunds.com, Truecar.com, KelleyBlueBook.com and my personal favorite for used cars CarGurus.com.  All of these sites will provide you information on the car you’re looking to buy and in appraising your trade-in.  Do all of this research before you go to the dealership.  If you want to test drive a few models, state up front that you’re not looking to buy today and you just want to see how they drive.  Then walk away when your test drives are done.  The salesperson will try to keep you on site, but politely say you need to leave and will be back later.  Stay strong!

Once you’ve made your choice in the car you want and researched the pricing for similar cars in your area, you can now contact the dealerships.  I prefer to use the internet sales managers.  They will cut through the stuff you don’t like and get to a good price sooner.  Plus you can do this from the comfort of your couch and not their uncomfortable chairs!  You can also email the salesperson you met before on your test drive if you were happy with how they treated you.  They will send you a quote.  Because you have done your research and know the true dealer cost, invoice, average selling price and MSRP, you will know if they gave you a good number.  They probably didn’t on the first attempt.  Keep checking with other dealers and get them to the price you want to pay, before setting foot in the dealership.

Once you’ve come to an agreed upon price, tell them your trade-in information.  Provide the model, trim, year, options and VIN if possible.  They won’t be able to give you a binding quote without seeing it, but they can give you a ballpark figure.  I’ll warn you, it could be laughable!  This is where dealerships make most of their money.  But since you’ve educated yourself on your trade-in value, you can fight back and say you’re looking for something more.  Don’t be afraid to shop around your trade-in to see what the market is offering.  Not fighting for your trade-in like you did for you new car is one of the biggest mistakes a car buyer can make.  You’ll leave a lot of money on the table, the dealer’s table. 

One trick I’ve done with mixed success is to have your trade-in appraised at CarMax.  They can give you a written quote good for 7 days.  This can be your leverage with the dealership.  I’ve received a quote for $1,000 more than the dealership was offering and I’ve also had a quote for $3,000 below a dealership, so take it with a grain of salt. 

(See “Taking control of the new car buying process, preparation phase” for the next steps.)