Car Buying HQ

I negotiated a deal this weekend from the Sales Manager’s side, and I couldn’t believe what I saw.

I could have priced my vehicle at any price and she wouldn’t not have cared.  The only thing on her mind was getting the most money for her trade.  Rate, term, and price was not on her mind. 

The lady wanted “cash for clunker” value for her trade even though the program has been done for awhile.  Using Kelley Blue Book as a tool I was easily able to get her to take less for her trade.  Unlike most managers who would take advantage of this lady I tried to teach her something, here is what it was.

I told her it isn’t just the value of her trade, but the price I am selling her our car for.  I gave her a couple of examples, and she looked at me with “deer in the headlight eyes”.  It seems the last store she was at was over pricing their vehicle to show her more money for her trade.  Smart decision by them with her hot button being her trade value.  I gained her confidence and we sold her a car.  I would say I earned a customer for life.  I would rather sell a lot of vehicles to a customer and all their friends at a lower profit margin instead of only getting them once for a huge profit.

Yes we made a profit, which we should, but she could have easily save herself some more money on her trade, the vehicle she was buying and the interest rate.  With the right tools, and tactics she could have easily proposed a better offer, and won.

What is the chance you are going to be a good negotiator?  To get a great car deal do you need to be a great negotiator?

According to Wikipedia, Negotiation is a dialogue intended to resolve disputes, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, or to craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. It is the primary method of alternative dispute resolution.

To answer the above question, YES!

Negotiation does not need to be a long drawn out affair.  From the dealer’s side, the salesperson is suppose to get a commitment from you.  Once the commitment to purchase at a certain price or payment is made the negotiation becomes easy for the dealer.

From the consumer’s side having the ability to make an educated offer using the dealer’s information leads to very little negotiation.  The right starting point and the ability to show your offer comes from education and not “pulling it out of your ass” goes along way.  If you knew:

• The true value of your trade
• The true value of the dealership’s car
• The amount of days the vehicle was in stock
• The Supply and Demand of your trade and the vehicle you were purchasing
• The break-even point for the dealer
• The buy rate for your financing
• The process of the dealer
• The few word tracks to lead them to close on your offer
• How to make an educated offer
• The right questions to ask about the vehicle you are buying
• The right questions to ask about the vehicle you are trading in

Do you think you could save yourself hundreds maybe thousands of dollars on your vehicle purchase?  I know you would and I would be scared to be on the dealers side of the  desk.

I have been out of town without internet hunting, but cars are never out of my mind.  Here are a couple of pictures of a 59 Impala my brother-in-law did.  $51,000 invested and appraised at $70,000.  The pictures are in a garage without lights so they do not give the car justice.  Couldn’t take it outside, because of snow.

Don’t get up in advertising on a lease, and remember to negotiate.  You will probably see a lot of lease advertising hitting the airwaves soon.  It is a sure fire way for the manufacture to move cars in the short term.  I hope it doesn’t happen, but if it does here are some things to look out for.

Always remember to negotiate your car deal before you mention you are leasing.  Do not fall into the trap of negotiating payments.   Negotiate the price of the car first, then your trade if you have one, then the money factor.  The money factor or lease factor is a number like .00375, and that is not 3.75%.  It is 9% (multipy the factor by 2400 to get an interest rate.

When you finance a Car $20,000 equates to the same payment, not true in leases.  Because of different residuals, the guaranteed price you can buy the car for at the end of a lease, lease payments will be different on same priced cars.  Be careful, cars with great residuals can look very attractive…..negotiate.

Any questions just ask.

Lease ads are very confusing for the customer and most salespeople.  Most ads will be at the lowest mileage allowed for that particular leasing company; show 10% cash down or equity in your trade; plust tax title and license down.  This upfront out of pocket costs are huge to get there advertised payments.

Here are some more funny videos.  This company has a lot of good one.  This is the first time I saw this particular one.