New Car Buying Advice:

Blow Out Sales

2007-09-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

This week our dealership decided to change its philosphy on selling cars. The changes will take place slowly over the next few weeks and carry over thru the first part of February 2008. The idea is to find more cars under $10,000 and finance more of them thru our in house lenders. The powers that be have decided to concentrate on less sophisticated car shoppers who are looking to buy a payment and not a car.

We were given assurance that we can now guarantee anyone approval on buying a car if we use a certain finance company. The way that it works is we do all the qualifying work that we normally do for a customer but without deciding on a particular vehicle. The customer may have found a car but it is up to us to make sure they understand the restrictions of their finances, whether true or contrived.

The finance company will take all this into consideration and tell us how much to charge the customer for the price of the car. It will fit their payment and down payment guidelines and then put them in a certain car that provides a particular profit for the finance company and for the dealership. The total profit on a $10,000 car is expected to be in the range of $3,500 to $5,000 per vehicle.

People this is happening all over. Follow the earlier advice, email me with questions, leave comments about your horror stories and help me get control of this problem.

If you truly want a good deal take a look at the information in my FREE newsletter on car buying (sign up here) or take a look at the information provided by Peter. (Click Here to save thousands on your next car purchase)

What Car Do I Really Want and Is It the Car for Me?

2007-09-19T06:18:00.000-07:00

Many times when you go car shopping you are truly just looking and have been drawn to a dealership either by advertising or curiosity. However, when you are really ready to look for that new mode of transportation take your time and make sure you have picked the best car for your needs and not your fantasies.

A talented salesperson, after introducing themselves and finding out about you will then subtly move to asking you pointed questions about what you will be doing with the vehicle. If you have prepared for this in advance you may wind up with the car of your fantasy (with payments to boot) and not the vehicle that you actually need for your life. The salesperson is going to question you about what you use the car for and who drives it and how many passengers or how much cargo you carry. This will help him guide you to the vehicle in the inventory that he thinks he can get you in and make the most profit.

A salesperson that cares about their long term career will balance this profit motive with your needs and try to find a compromise, but most salespeople will always lean toward the profit side. If you can get a referral from a friend about a salesperson use it, if not you must question the salesperson yourself and be prepared with the proper research. For a quick primer on research visit here and you may find yourself saving a lot of money.

Today’s blog is more about making sure you are prepared for the questions that will be asked of you by doing your homework before you get to the dealership. It is also important that you know what your limits are and when to walk away. We cover that more in a couple of days when we discuss negotiations.

If you need a car today and do not want to fall prey to the scams of dealers check out this website. This is the only book I recommend for someone who wants or needs a car today.

Fact Finding or Pocket Fishing:

2007-09-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

The second step in the car sales process is almost seamless with the meet and greet step. In many instances these two steps will interlock and the skilled salesperson will be drawing out information on a regular basis. Some salespeople will take physical notes and others will be taking mental notes. The really good salesperson will be taking really good mental notes and then make physical notes at a later time.

Every time you go out to look at a car the salesperson if doing their job is trying to help you. But in most cases it seems like they are trying to scam you of pressure you into making a decision that you do not want to make. It is easy to avoid this by just thanking them and leaving. Everyone’s time is valuable, yours and the salesperson. A good salesperson will be considerate of your time and you should be considerate of theirs. With that said for a salesperson to be able to help put you in the car you want you do have to answer some questions and let them do what they can to help you find the vehicle that you want.

This one step in the car sales process is where you must be sincere with the dealer if you are serious about buying a car. They can’t help you find the car you want or can afford if they don’t know all the facts. This is also the step where if you have done your research and know exactly what you are looking for you will set the tone for the interview process.

If you want to find out more about the car sales process and all the scams to avoid please see Car Buying Scams Exposed.

Meet and Greet or Time to Rifle Your Pocketbook

2007-09-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

As soon as you drive onto a car lot you are put into the que and a salesman is ready to take his "up" and come out and meet and greet you. This is the time when they shake hands, hand you a card and try to warm up and make friends. But what is the real motivation behind the "meet and greet?" What is the difference between a skilled salesman and a rookie? In order to avoid this many people have started doing their looking when the car lots are closed and they can browse and dream in private. But if you really want to buy a car at some point you will have to "meet and greet" a salesperson.

Within a minute or two of stepping onto the car lot you will be met by a salesperson. Almost immediately they will launch into a well rehearsed script about the dealership. It almost always begins, "Welcome to Rifle Your Wallet Automotive, I'm Joe Salesman and you are? Would you would you prefer to be called by ______ or by _______. Great! By the way are you here for our Special Promotion?" and so on and so on.

This script will not change by much. The questions will begin and if the salesperson is skilled you will not even realize you are being interrogated. If the salesperson is unskilled you will feel immediate pressure to buy something today.

For the sales team the meet and greet is the first qualifying point for any prospective buyer. They will spend as much time finding out as much preliminary information as possible so they can begin to move you towards the part of the dealership they believe you best fit into. Yes, a skilled salesperson will indentify you as one of 4 types of customer and that will help them deal with you most effectively.

Does this sound like they have the upper hand? Well in most cases they do have the upper hand. Being prepared can help you overcome this disadvantage and one of the best items I have ever seen is the bood Car Buying Scams. This book was written by another long time car salesman and can help you save thousands of dollars.

Look for the next installment in this series in a day or so.

Two pieces of Information to keep close to the vest

2007-09-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Most advice you get about buying cars is usually about doing your research and knowing what you are looking for when you get to the dealer. However, there are two pieces of information that most of us give out without even thinking about it. Most of us just think it is polite conversation when in reality it sets the car buyer up for not getting the best deal. Our car buying guide will help you save money all around. But avoiding these two questions early in the conversation can save you thousands of dollars.

Never ever give out information about your trade in or the amount of cash you have available for a down payment until you are sure you have gotten your best price. From an insider's point of view the cash down payment and/or trade in is considered the customer's money and the more of that there is the more the dealer has room to play and make additional profit.

The second thing to not answer has to do with giving away your budget. The question is usually framed as "So what is your budget for buying a car today?" That simple question can add thousands of dollars to the overall cost of the car.

By letting on to early what your financing decisons will be you let the dealer control the payment portion of your vehicle. If he knows this information he can move your payments to where you are happy and make a ton of money on the financing terms from his lender.

Just another reason to try and get your financing in place before going to the dealership.

For more information please take a look at this book. Car Buying Scams

The Car Sales Process: New Car Buying Exposed

2007-09-11T09:43:00.001-07:00

The toughest part of buying a car is going through the sales process at a new or used car dealership. You can never be really sure of what is going on and who is really helping you. Many of the people at a dealership while there to help you are also there to make sure you buy a car at the highest possible dealer profit available. This is how they get paid and who doesn't want to get paid more.

The process at most dealerships is called "The Road to the Sale" and believe me that road is filled with potholes. You must learn to avoid these potholes as you travel the road. The road consists of several stops along the way and these steps are:

The Meet and Greet
Fact Finding and Rapport Building
Vehicle Selection
Vehicle Presentation
Giving a great Demo Ride
Handling the Trade
Showing of the Store
Writing up the Deal
Negotiating
Closing the Deal
Special financing deals that make a lot of money for the dealer

Each one of these stops along the road can be costly and we will deal with each one in the coming days and weeks.

If you want to spend less time at the dealer and keep more money in your pocket please get our car buying guide. It will save you more money and cost you less time than anything you could ever do.

New Car Buying Tools

2007-09-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

Buying a car can be a daunting task. Even the most experienced car shopper can be overwhelmed by all of the different options and packages offered on cars today. However, the most problematic of all tasks is dealing with the sales staff of a car dealership. Not understanding what is going on inside the mind of a salesman at a dealership can cost you thousands of dollars.

Today's smart shopper can go prepared and it doesn't take a degree in recombinant DNA to figure out how to get a good deal on your transportation. There are so many tools available that in this blog I will talk about the different things you need to look out for and how to combat the problems that are caused by a confusing sales process.

Look for more great new car buying advice here.