The first thing that you should know when you want to buy a new car is that both you and the dealer are looking to get the better end of the deal. If you don’t learn anything else from this, you will learn how to walk away from your next car deal with both sides being satisfied. A good deal is a win-win situation for both parties. Most of the time, it’s the buyer who leaves unsatisfied and the dealer counting their profits.
In this day and age, a car is no longer a luxury, but a necessity with fast-paced life and growing families. You will likely have to purchase a new car more than once in your life, for you or a loved one, so you might as well learn to do it in a way that will make buying the cars less painful.
If you are looking to buy a car, you should begin with these 10 basic car-buying tips.
1. You should purchase your new car at or around Christmas time because with everybody focused on their Christmas presents, there aren’t many people with either the time or the money to worry about looking to buy a new car, and it forces dealerships to get creative with their sales strategies. Salesmen and dealerships are more willing to haggle down to your prices to close the deal when customers are few and far between.
2. You can also usually score a good deal from July to October because that is the time of year when dealerships are trying to unload most of their inventory to make way for the new models coming in.
3. Purchasing a car online is becoming a great way to get a new car. Although some are still skeptical, others are reaping the benefits of the deals that some dealerships are offering. Just wait for good rebates and incentives online and shop around. Print out your information from the best quotes, get two or three online quotes for free, and bring them to the dealer that you are most willing to work with. Bringing in lower quotes from another company might be your best bet in getting a good deal. Most dealers will match that price or beat it by a slight percentage; either way, you get what you want.
4. You should visit various online car purchase sites to find new car prices, dealer incentives, and the best rebate offers. There are a lot of options out there that can be used to your benefit.
5. It’s a great idea when going into a dealership to bring a copy of your credit score with you. I can’t express enough how much this will help, especially with all the credit scams some dealers play. A good credit score can lower your interest rates on your car loan. Your car dealer should not know more about you than you do.
6. Keep an ear out to avoid a common scam that dealerships pull. We often hear that they will tell customers that the financing fell through, and that you have to respond by paying more money on your loan. This should give you more incentive to bring your credit score from a trusted provider.
7. Another common scam used by dealership salesmen is for them to tell you that they have found you a lower rate, but that they want you to re-sign your loan papers. Usually, that is a downright lie. Once they pull up your financing information, they have the upper hand if you don’t know the details about your credit information. Can you start to see why we encourage you to understand your personal credit information?
Get Your Equifax.com Credit Report Now! It will cost around $10-$15. It’s better to pay $15 now than thousands later. You can also get your free credit score and more from FreeCreditReport.com.
8. Don’t bother bringing in a car for trade-in if you still owe money on it. The dealership rarely pays the rest of the loan on time, which will result in you having to pay a great deal of late fees to the bank. If you do decide to bring a car in that you owe money on, get it in writing from the dealership that they will pay the balance on the car within 10 days.
9. Sometimes, a dealership may not have all of your options and must order the car directly from the manufacturer. When this happens, they will often ask you to pay $500-$1000 for a deposit on the car. They don’t like ordering special options if they don’t have a buyer handy. Try not to pay more than $500, and be sure to pay with a credit card because sometimes the dealership will tell you that there was a price increase on the vehicle and will want more money. If you pay with a credit card, do you have room to dispute the amount being taken from you? If you pay by check, you can just consider the money gone.
10. You should never buy a car when you are in desperate need of one because a dealer will see that and take advantage.
You should never wait until an old car is dead before searching for a new one, because you should give yourself time to shop around for one and get the best deal possible. Desperation often clouds your judgment and will cost you more than you were willing to pay for your new car.