By Lisa One of the most hated tasks for most everyone is buying a car. Not the car part, that’s pretty fun to drive away, but the actual process of buying the car. It is confusing, there isn’t a set price, and most people wind up wondering if they actually got a deal or “got the shaft”. That feeling usually kicks in a couple of days afterwards and tends to cause several hours of Internet searching for what everybody ELSE paid for the same car. And a lot of cussing.
But you have to have a car, right? And after a few years of adulthood it becomes embarrassing to have to ask (and take) your Pop in to help you make the deal. Time to grow up and face the dreaded folks called “salespeople”. Now I’m not throwing off on salespeople (and maybe your Pop or YOU are actually one…#apologies; #awkward) but you have to admit that car salesfolks do have a bit of a reputation, how well deserved or no, of playing some sort of sick game with their customers. The thing is, they are really just people trying to make a living, and for the most part are probably decent folks. But the truth is that they do this every day and you have either never negotiated a deal on a car or at the most have done so once every few years. That puts you at a disadvantage from the get go.
So what can you do? Here’s a relatively painless way to get through this process with as little hassle (and time negotiating) as possible. It involves a little prework, that’s all.
1. Get preapproved. Find out how much loan ($) you can get. Also find out who will offer you the best interest rate (you want it as low as possible). Get several quotes. Start with your own bank’s loan department, then try a couple of credit unions as well. Be ready to tell them how much money you are putting down (oh please tell me you ARE putting money down!), where you work, how much you make and what sort of outstanding debt you currently have. A lot will come into play here in getting you the best interest rates: credit rating, length of time at your job, annual salary, current ongoing bills (everyday expenses like rent or mortgage, etc.) and any outstanding loans (like student loans). It’s not bad though: you can usually do this online or over the phone in a few minutes.
2. Pick out the kind of car you want to consider, based on your needs as well as loan amount. Please, please, please do NOT think about buying a brand new car. The moment you buy it and drive it off the lot it loses about 20% of its value. I promise you that buying a slightly used car will STILL get you that “new car smell’, and you will get a much nicer car at a much better price.
3. Start researching that model and year of car online. You should get a good idea of what that car costs the dealer as well as how much you should pay.
Here is an excellent resource:
4. Find out who in your area actually has that car on the lot. All online.
Here’s another great resource to find specific used cars by zip code and to get several quotes online:
5. When you find “the” car, be sure to look at the free Carfax report. That will give you some indication on how well maintained the car is, how many previous owners and whether or not it has been in a wreck.
It is also important to see if the car has ever been owned by anyone who lives in snow country because the car can get rusted underneath from all the salt on the roads up North and you usually can’t see the damage.
If you are especially interested in a particular car, you may want to pony up a little money to get the paid version of CarFax. Last I checked it was around $40 for a single car report, but again you can get a ton of information from the free version too.
6. Check off the specific car(s) that you are interested in and get some online quotes sent to you. You may want to widen your radius of dealer especially if you don’t live in a major city.
7. Be aware that your phone will likely start ringing.
Here’s what to say:
You are already preapproved so you do NOT want to discuss loans from their dealership. (Unless they have a better interest rate, which sometimes happens. I prefer dealing with banks and credit unions BTW. Just seems cleaner to me.)
If you have a car you are trading in, tell them you want that to be a separate deal. They buy your car, you buy their car. Get their price for your car separately from the drive out price on the car you are considering.
Let them also know you are getting quotes on similar cars from several dealers. Whoever buys your car at the highest price and has the car you want at the lowest price will get your business. Just ask them to email you a quote. You want the drive out price only.
8. Gather your quotes, and go see the cars from the dealers with the best deals.
Drive each to make sure you fit well into the car (I am kind of short so this is a big deal for me. It also is a big deal if you are taller than most people, heavier, etc.)
Listen for engine sounds, check out everything in the car like windows, radio, cruise control, windshield wipers, blinkers.
Check all four tires to see if they have a good amount of tread left on them so you won’t have to buy new tires right away.
Check the seats for any tears or cigarette burns.
9. If it all checks out and you have found your car, go ahead and accept their drive out price. Make sure, once again, that they know you are preapproved for a certain amount and that you will walk away if they come up with a higher dollar figure. The drive out price should include everything. Everything.
And do be prepared to walk away if there is any funny business what so ever. There are other cars out there, I promise!
10. Your salesperson will take you to their finance department. His or her job is to let you know about any add ons like additional warranties, etc. Some may make some sense but I have found that they are way overpriced and unnecessary. My advice is to continue to shake your head no and remind them that you are preapproved for a certain amount not anything additional, period.
Be sure they give you the exact amount they said they would for your trade in.
10. They will then contact your bank or whoever you got your preapproved loan from to make the money transfer. Should be smooth sailing from there.
Stop by Wally World on your way home. Get you some chamois cloths to keep that baby shiny. And congrats! You have officially bought a car!
Interesting post, Thanks. I found some manuals on on http://www.repairsurge.amazon-certified.com , maybe it works for you. Greetings