Comments on: 5 Things You Should Never Tell A Car Salesman

By: Jacob

Jacob — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 03:20:02 +0000

I have to say you got it all figured out dont you??? Trying to drop the trade at the end. Let me tell you something buddy. I have been selling cars for over 12years and the last time some one pulled that shit on me. Here is what happened.

1st question are you replacing a vehicle or getting an addition?
if yes then we need to get it appraised 1st If no…or maybe which has happened then whatever pricing we discuss does not include any trade I hope you understand that. At the end if their is a trade then we have to start the process all over again. Negotiate all over again? The guy still had the guts to agree. At the end he said now I like the price lets talk about my trade. Sir their is not trade congratulations on your new car. but wow wait wait.. yeah remeber when I had asked you if you have trade and you said no…congratulations again. Now you have just wasted 3 hours of salespersons time. good advice dick head.

By: Denise

Denise — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:49:55 +0000

It makes me sick that there are so many ways to get screwed when buying a car that you need or want. Why do these people take advantage of the people that make up their paycheck?

By: Darrin

Darrin — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:39:14 +0000

You should never trade in a car. You should always sell it to an individual. The market price for individual sales is higher than trade-in price.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:33:53 +0000

Leases are the toughest thing to negotiate. And it’s not just because people don’t realize that you can negotiate leases. When you purchase a car, you’re mostly dealing with 1 thing – the purchase price of the car (along with the interest rate). With leases, there are so many other variables. There’s a lease factor that’s used in place of the interest rate. There’s a whole bunch of charge which need to be added on in a certain way to calculate sales tax. It’s a very complicated situation. I developed a spreadsheet where you put in all the necessary information, and it shows you what the lease price should be.

The first time I used it, I was quote a lease price of, let’s say, $300 a month. But my calculation was giving me $260 a month. I took my spreadsheet to the dealership, and the salesperson was befuddled. He took it to his manager and the finance person, and the two of them took a 1/2 hour to review it. Finally, they came out and said that some sales taxes laws changed (which they had) and that I should be paying $270. OK, it’s $10 more a month than what I calculated, but still $30 less a month over what they tried giving me originally.

By: Seth

Seth — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:43:26 +0000

I’ve used “fightingchance.com” and recommend them whole-heartedly. Check it out.

By: MrBully

MrBully — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:25:45 +0000

You don’t have to drive there in a different car, simply park around the corner or at least far enough away so it’s out of sight, and after settling on the price of the car you want to buy, start about the trade in.

Saves you an extra trip when the dealer wants to see the car he is getting.

By: Hubcap

Hubcap — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:22:12 +0000

Some tips from a guy–me–who spent twenty years inside the beast.

Have a firm idea of what you want before even walking into the showroom. Do your homework and KNOW model names, accessory bundles, color schemes, engine options. Don’t show up with notes; KNOW that stuff. That more than anything will intimidate a salesman.

Use Consumer Reports to find out the *real* dealer’s cost (invoice) for a particular model. Then all you are negotiating is the dealer’s profit and the salesman’s commission.

Knowing that true invoice cost, you can have your financing done ahead of time, and you will be essentially negotiating a cash deal. Do not–ever–let the dealer finance your car; use your own bank or credit union.

Go the place you really want to buy the car from last. Do your shopping at a couple of other dealers first and try to get some written quotes. Get your best deal.

Then go to the dealer you want to buy from and say something like, “the guy over at Freeway Ford will sell me that Mustang for $xxx. Can you meet or even beat that price? I almost went for it but I really want to buy my car here because you guys are close to my work.”

No real car salesman can walk away from a challenge like that.

And don’t buy any dealer add-ons like under-coating, paint sealants, upholstery protectants, or anti-theft gimmicks. It is mostly over-priced useless crap that you will be paying interest on for the next 3 years.

By: matelot

matelot — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:29:48 +0000

and don’t tell them what you’re driving now