It wasn’t that long ago that new car salesmen had the upper hand when it came to dealing with customers.
But now armed with the Internet and a smart phone, consumers have the potential of getting a fair deal when buying a new car.
What will also help is an article recently published in WiseBread on the 17 things car salesmen don’t want you to know.
The following are a couple of examples from this column which is a MUST READ for all new car buyers:
“2. You Can Win the Game Before Setting Foot on a Lot
The Internet has done wonders for the humble consumer. With it, you can email 20 dealers within a 50 mile radius, tell them what you’re looking for, and ask them to send you back a quote. From those quotes, pick the lowest couple and take those to any dealership you want. They’ll usually be forced to match it, destroying whatever profit margin they were hoping for. And before you feel too bad, the dealerships get massive bonuses by hitting certain sales targets. They can give you the car at cost and still walk away with a nice pile of cash.”
“7. The Dealership’s Extended Warranties Are for Suckers
Even if you get the salesman to agree to a price that is basically what the dealership paid for the car, you still have to go to that back room; the room where the deal is sealed.
Whether you lease, finance it, or plonk down a wad of cash, they’ll try to push every single option they can on you. That includes an extended warranty that you can buy way cheaper from someone else. The dealership makes a lot of money on these service contracts. Don’t fall for this. As one of the salesmen pointed out, the finance manager is actually a salesman, too. They’re going to do whatever they can to squeeze more money out of you before you leave.”
Thanks to consumerworld.org for the heads up on this column.
While you’re talking about cars, car dealers, car salesmen etc. it’s a GOOD IDEA to make mention of CARFAX! Do NOT believe the ads you see on TV- CAR FOX! If something is NOT reported to CarFax, it will NOT appear in their records! Recently, 20/20 did an undercover report about CarFax and found MAJOR discrepancies between what CarFax said about a car and the REAL information about the car that had been in an accident and hit front AND rear, but did NOT show up in ANY CarFax report! The CEO of CarFax, or whoever it was that appeared on TV with the 20/20 team, was a BIGGER jerk than the dealer!
BUYER BEWARE!
The comment above about car fax is so true, remember, car fax does it to make money, and there are a lot of discrepancies with it.
Here’s another good story about extended warranties. I bought a brand new Hyundai back in 2000. I’ve had very good luck with this car and would highly recommend a Hyundai. But even though they come with a 100,000 mile or 10 year warranty they still tried to sell me an extended warranty. I can’t remember exactly but I think they wanted something like $1200 to $1400. That’s clear profit for them.
Just thought of something else since Bob mentioned “clear profit”. DO NOT fall for paint protection/fabric protection/undercoating! Those are ALL PURE PROFIT and COMPLETELY USELESS!