New Car Buying Checklist
A good checklist for buying a new car is important in getting a good car and a good deal. You can bypass it and just simply buy a car or you can hope that you’ll just remember all the right stuff. Which might work, but the odds are you’ll be leaving money on the table and not getting the best car for your cash to boot because of the car buying process.
Basically, a checklist for buying a new car should include everything you need to know to make a good decision. This isn’t just limited to checking out the actual car itself for damage, which is usually as far as people take it, but a list of all the things you need to check before you decide to buy.
Your Essential Checklist for purchasing your new car:
Financing – Before you even go to look for new cars, sit down and figure out how much money you have to put down and how much you can pay each month. After that, check with a bank to see if you qualify for a car loan. While most dealerships will arrange financing, checking off this step will allow you to find the best deal and let you know where you should be looking for your car.
Research – Go online and check out any cars you’re thinking of buying. This is rarely on anybody’s checklist for buying a new car, but the more clues you have, the better you’ll be able to make the right choices. At the very least, you need to know the manufacturer’s suggested retail price and any special deals being offered in your area.
Dealership – Checkout the various dealerships in your area and comparison shop. Not every dealership will be able to offer you the same deal and they will not all offer the same kind of deals. In general, the larger the dealership, the better the deal you will be able to make, but you should still check to make sure.
Car- Now you’re getting to the fun part of your car buying experience: the car. A new car should be flawless and in perfect working condition, but they aren’t always. You need to check underneath the car for fluid leaks, as well as checking the tires and the engine. Everything should be perfect. Do not take a car on a test drive unless you are serious about getting the car; you’ll want to buy it if you drive it, a psychological fact the dealers rely on.
Deal – This is probably the most important thing on the checklist for buying a new car. The maximum you should really pay for a car is the factory invoice. You would think that this would mean that the dealership would make nothing, but the invoice price already has profit built in. If you can’t get this price, you should consider walking away. Be on the look out for vague or hidden fees. You need to make sure to have every one explained to you, and bargain hard on anything that seems unnecessary.
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Negotiating Tips in Used Car Buying
Having an idea of the negotiating tips used in the car purchase process can save you a lot of time and hassle. I know that car shopping is the worst. Nobody likes to go car shopping, especially for used cars.
At least with new cars, you have the idea that the car will be problem free and of good quality. With used cars, it’s a guess and then you have to deal with the salesmen. Not all used car salesman are stereotypical, but there certainly are enough out there that are. This is why you must be prepared when you go used car shopping.
So here are the top five negotiating tips in used car buying:
Shop Around – It’s tempting, if you see a car you like, to just buy it. What you need to do is shop around. You may see a car that you like even more, but the real benefit is that it will give you an idea of what the car is going to cost. This gives you a bargaining option with the salesman down when you do go to buy.
Know Your Car – Once you’ve decided upon a car, do some research. At the very least, you should know how much the car is worth for the model year you’re looking for and the life expectancy of the model year, with proper maintenance. The more you know the better you will be able to negotiate. Having information is one of the best negotiating tips in used car purchase that anyone can give you.
Make Them Earn for It – Do not give the car dealer anything. If you go in and tell them you you’re not prepared to spend more than $5,000 what you’ll actually do is tell them you’re willing to pay $5,000. Bad move. The first person to name a number is the person who won’t get the better end of the deal.
Remember that the Dealer is Not Your Friend – Car dealers are friendly, pleasant people. They are easy to like. They have to be, it’s essential to selling cars. Because of this, it’s important to remember that they are not your friend. They are there to extract the most amount of money possible from you. Always remember what you are there to do and that is to pay the least amount of money, for the car you want .
Walk Away – This isn’t just one of the best negotiating tips in used car purchase, it is the best tip. The ability to walk away is always your best weapon. In fact, you should probably walk away no matter what. You need to take your time and think about the purchase when the dealer isn’t breathing down your neck and going home to sleep on it is maybe the best way to do it.
Walking away is your ace in the hole, because no matter how the dealer makes you feel, you are the one in charge of the negotiations. Don’t forget that, you won’t have any problems closing the deal.
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Negotiating Tips for Used Car Buying – Top 10 List
Here is a list of 10 negotiating tips for used car buying. These strategies are used
by veteran used car buyers but maybe there are some ideas here that you haven’t
thought of.
1. First, you need to be comfortable with the salesman you are working with. Pay
attention to how you feel about them. We usually know within a very short
period after meeting someone whether or not we’ll get along with them. If
you feel uncomfortable about your salesman don’t ignore that feeling,
there’s probably a reason why.
2. This is one of the negotiating tips for used car buying that if ignored gets
people into trouble. Decide on a limit ahead of time and if your limit is
reached, walk away.
3. Open negotiations with an offer that is low but in reasonable range.
4. Take your time and don’t let the salesman rush you. They often try to make
it seem urgent like you’re going to lose out if you don’t buy immediately.
Don’t fall for that. You have all the time in the world and you can go to
a number of other dealerships for the same vehicle.
5. This is one of my favorite negotiating tips for used car buying… If you feel
like leaving for any reason leave. In fact you could even plan ahead of time
to “unexpectedly” have the need to leave for lunch or some other reason and
sort of leave the salesman hanging.
6. Be willing to walk out if you don’t like the deal or you feel like they’re
hassling and pressuring you. If they don’t chase you down before you get to
the door go elsewhere.
7. This is one of the most basic negotiating tips for used car buying – Decline
all the extras they try to throw in.
8. Show confidence.
9. Know the vehicle you want ahead of time and ignore all attempts to try to
steer you toward anything else.
10. Be ready to talk to another salesman or manager who usually comes out to
try to improve the deal before reaching a final price. This is just a
tactic, don’t let it throw you.
More tips to even out the car buying playing field are revealed here.
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Car Buying – Is a Lease Right for Me?
The majority of car buyers are unsure whether or not leasing a car is a good thing. Well it depends on your situation and your end goal or motivation behind getting the vehicle. It also depends on what you know about leasing a car. An affordable car lease can be negotiated much in the same way as buying a car. On the other hand you can get taken to the cleaners depending on the leasing company.
Critics will claim that leasing is poor money management. One of the biggest arguments against leasing is that you don’t own the car at the end of the lease and therefore have no trade in when it’s time for a new car. However when you do the math on an affordable car lease that has been properly negotiated and is fair to the consumer and you compare it to the money spent over the life of a typical car loan, the overall savings with the lease can be significant enough to justify it.
But why lease rather than buy? If your end goal is to drive the car for a more extended period of time, maybe even for the life of the car then a lease is probably not for you. But if you are someone that figures you’ll always be upgrading your vehicle and always have a payment which is what a lot of people do then an affordable car lease makes sense.
It is true that when you buy a car you have something to trade in. However a car is an asset that depreciates in value very quickly. If you buy a car and make payments until your loan is paid off, yes you own the car but the value has also dropped significantly. Let’s say the total amount you spent over the life of a car loan including interest was $30,000 and that the trade in value after a 5 year loan is only $15,000 so you could say you have a loss of $15,000. With an affordable car lease it’s likely that you would be on to your 2nd or 3rd new vehicle with about the same amount of loss overall or less.
For more car buying clues visit car buying secrets revealed.
