Car buying advice. *UPDATED*

Ok, so I spent a week training on how to sell cars at one of the most successful dealers in my area. Here is some inside information. I left because I could not stomach it. My goal is to save you money if you want to buy a new car from a major dealership.

1. The salesmen act like your friend, but they are not. Typical. They are paid on commission and their only motivation is profit so they will tell you whatever you want to hear.

2. If you come in looking to buy something specific, the salesman will try to get you to buy something more expensive. So start as low as you can and work your way up to what you *really* want in order to make them think they have "bumped" you.

3. They will basically force you to allow them to run your credit and blame it on anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism measures from the government. This is partially true. If you bring in a wad of cash, you will probably not be able to buy anything until you have a cashier's check. Unless it is a small, used car lot.

4. Do not buy any of the extras that they offer. Period. All of it can be done by you or a local mechanic at 1/4 of the price. The dealers have what they call PROFIT CENTERS.

5. DO NOT BUY THE CAR ON THE FIRST DAY THAT YOU TEST DRIVE IT. Let them call you back and try to pursuede you to buy it. Waiting even one day can save you a few hundred, possibly a thousand bucks. They WILL call you back.

6. If they tell you that someone else is looking at the same vehicle that you are, that's bullshit. Do #5 above.

7. During the sales process, you will get onto the lot and start looking. The salesman's job is to GET YOU INSIDE. Once they have you inside, the blah-blah-blah starts. The salesman is your enemy, and stays your enemy until they have your money. Once they have your money, they are somewhat of an ally if you need something fixed down the road.

8. The salesman will blah-blah you into giving him permission to run your credit to see what kind of "payments" he can work out for you. Know that this is only a ploy to try and milk as much money from you as possible via one PROFIT CENTER. You can walk in with cash or a cashier's check and they will STILL try to get you to finance through them.

9. The salesman will take your credit numbers to the big bad "guy in the tower" also known as the "sales manager" who will mess around and look serious and type for a while and then send your salesman back at you with numbers that are ridiculous. They will scare you with high payments or interest rates. This is part of the scam. Your salesman will appologize and try to develop a "good cop, bad cop" relationship with you. At this point your salesman will be acting as if it is you and them against the evil sales manager. Next, he will see if "he can do better for you." Do not fall for it.

10. The numbers will get progressively smaller the longer you negotiate. They want to sell you a car because then they can push FINANCING. Financing is a PROFIT CENTER. Other profit centers are the repair shop and extended warrantees. Don't buy any of the extended warranties.

11. NEVER tell them how much you can spend, or what you can afford as a monthly payment. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE. Know what you want before you go, then get a loan through a credit union to cover the price of the vehicle, taxes and licensing.

12. Don't finance through the dealership. You get a better interest rate through credit unions.

13. Remember that is costs them money to have cars sitting around on their lot, so they WANT to move them.

14. Accept the fact that you MUST give them a profit or they will not sell to you. $500 - 1000 is acceptable. They have bills to pay, same as you. As an aside, the nicer the dealership, the better they are at screwing their customers.

If you do your research, find what you want, look at what you SHOULD pay for the vehicle, then walk in to the dealership and flatly say "I will give you (X) amount for (Y) vehicle and I want to pay by cashier's check (or certified check). I do not want to talk to a salesman unless it is to give me the keys." then you will be fine. Give them your phone number if they say no. They will call you the next day and you will be in control.

DO NOT LET THEM "BUMP" YOU ON ANYTHING.

Use this site.

[link to www.truecar.com]

My brother used it to check on prices for a new truck that he just bought. Saved him hundreds. Still had to negotiate his trade in though. Don't worry about the bad reviews if you google it. The bad reviews come from pissed off dealers. Honda has actually banned their dealers from participating in the truecar program.

Last Edited by jailarson on 02/26/2012 07:29 PM