How to Buy a Car and Get the Best Deal

For many people buying a car may be the second largest purchase they make outside of a house. It’s a very big decision and needs to be handled with skill. Car dealers are very cunning and understand that for many people, a car purchase is an emotional thing. They feed on this emotion and will try to make it work against you.

They understand that a car to many people can mean many things; status, personality, special needs, etc… They are very good at making buyers think that they need more and getting buyers to second guess things or think about other things in a bid to up sell.

This article is focused how to buy a car from a dealer, but many of the tips are also relevant for used cars or other types of vehicles as well.

Below is a list of tips for the negotiation process on how to buy a car.

– Know what you want along with all the features you may be interested in. Before buying a car you should know the exact model, colour, options that you need and want. If you go in not sure, you open up the opportunity to get caught off guard and buying more than you need.
– Go online and research prices at a national level first, some states may be cheaper than others and you can use this in your negotiations. This will also give you an idea of what the car is going for at list price.
– Find 3-4 local dealers (must be at least 3) and call to start your negotiations. They will always ask a buyer to come in. Just be firm and let them know you’re not interested at this stage and would like their best pricing on what you want (refer to the first point).

 
Let them know that you are serious and ready to purchase but are shopping around and don’t want to waste time going into dealerships until an acceptable price is first established. This will reduce the back and forth as you are letting them know exactly what you want and they have to come back with a competitive quote as they know you are talking to other dealers.

– It is often stated that the end of the month is a good time to negotiate due to the sellers monthly sales quotas. It’s even better to try and look during the end of the calendar and financial years.
– Another great tip is to let the dealers know you are interested in other manufacturers with similar class models. This works well if the other brand has competitive pricing or package deals i.e. long warranties, added extras

The above tips on how to buy a car and get the best deal can save you thousands of dollars. If you go into the negotiations informed and firm on what you want, you should end up with a great deal. Remember, you have the power as it’s your money that they want, don’t get pressured into taking on more than you need. Take the emotion out of the purchase and treat it as a business transaction – good luck!

If you have other great tips or experience on how to buy a car and save money in the process, please provide these tips in our comments section.