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An avid movie collector reviews movies, games, and TV shows for the common man, among other things. Spoiler Free

Friday, July 28, 2006

Ok, my short stint as a Car Salesman is over. I thought that having a moral and trustworthy person selling cars would interest people and they would respond positively. I was wrong. People like to be swindled and lied to. The whole thing was a disaster, but I learned many things. First, things I learned and then I will pass on to you the best methods to get a good deal from a Car salesman. You know the things that really pissed us off.

Like I said things I learned first.

1. Car shoppers are worse crooks than the salesmen by far without a doubt. I was so surprised at how ruthless and coldblooded the people were I was selling to. They will not buy a car unless they truly feel that we are going to take a huge loss on the vehicle. I have never shopped for an item and asked the clerk. "How much did this cost you?" "Oh 12 dollars, I'll buy it for 5 dollars and I get to sleep with your wife." Salesmen are not sharks like shoppers are, and unless you bleed out in front of them they will find a dealership who will commit Hari Kari for them. And people who make appointments will only actually show up 12% of the time. I was astounded how people would blow off appointments and not even call. I had a few good customers but most of them devalued my opinion of mankind. And I believe in total depravity.

2. All cars (not trucks) are relatively the same. You have Hyundai and Kia at the bottom. And the big names like Lexus, Cadillac, etc up top. Everything is almost the same. Japanese cars don't last longer it has just been ingrained in people's minds by good advertising. With proper maintenence your Ford will last just as long as your Honda. Nissan ain't got much on Chevy. They are all very similar. And if you look into it they are often owned by the same company. "Oh my Mazda is way better than this Ford Focus!" Ford owns Mazda, and Mercury, and also Lincoln, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo. You pick a car based on its appeal to you. Is the wicked expensive Lexus really better than a Lincoln Zephyr? In your head more than anything.

3. Trucks are quite different. This is where Ford excels. When you look at their craftsmanship and durability Ford dances on the heads of all the other trucks. If you really don't want an F model Ford than Dodge is next best. Chevy, Nissan, anyone else will sell you a fancy looking truck that will cost about the same but be half the truck. I used to like Chevy but I wouldn't touch a Chevy truck now. If you need a truck it has to be Ford (or Dodge).

4. The dealership does not really make much money off of a new vehicle unless it is a top name or it is in high demand. Every new car I sold netted the dealership less than 500 bucks and was often a zero or a loss. Used Cars is where money is made. Most people assume we are raping them on the price and I just want to smack them because I am not going to make a red cent and they want to make me feel bad about the price I gave them.

5. Full Commission Sucks.

6. The best deal is going to be on a barely used vehicle. It will usually be a few thousand less than a new vehicle that is the same. New Vehicles depreciate quickly after purchase and now you made the last guy take that hit instead of you.

Ok now the fun part. Here is an 8 step process to get you the best deal on a new car.I'll give some tips for used cars at the bottom.

0. Before you even start make sure you can even afford a new car. Figure out what kind of monthly payments you can handle. If you are thinking 300 a month with nothing down, stop thinking about the Jetta and start looking at the lovely Kia, or a Focus, or some other small little car. The estimation is 20 bucks for every thousand a vehicle costs. If you are looking at a 20,000 vehicle that will cost you around 400 a month with nothing down. Once you know your monthly payment you can figure what kind of cars fit that range. And with extended terms 72 months, you can stretch you bucks a bit more.

1. Your trade is not worth Kelley Blue Book. That site should be shut down it is crap. Don't buy a car at Blue book value, and don't expect to get what Blue Book tells you you should. The reason, Banks don't care about Blue Book and ultimately they are buying the car for you. They use NADA, and so should you. Also, SUV's and trucks are worth less now because of gas prices. If you are trading one in expect to feel it more than usual.

2. Select the right vehicle. If you really like the Nissan Altima, check out the Ford Fusion and other similar vehicles and make sure you picked the right one. You might like the Styling and find that the other company is similar but also comes with another feature you like standard. Like I said before they are all pretty close to one another so you are really picking on features.

3. Look up the car you like online. You can find out what the invoice price of the vehicle is online. When you go to the dealership you start with that price and go up, not from the MSRP and down.

4. Check all the features you want and then find that vehicle on someone's lot. The dealership wants to sell from their inventory so if you wanted a Blue Mazda 6 with a 6-Disk in dash cd player and a moonroof check and make sure they have one before you bother to go there. Ordering/locating a vehicle will always cost more. Unless you really want puke green or something weird, then you settle for whatever.

5. Research rebates and incentives before you arrive. Like I mentioned most dealerships that don't sell high end cars don't make much money so the only thing they can do is hold back on your rebates, or steal your trade. If you know about them you take that card right out of their deck.

6. When you go to a dealership be kind to the salesman, he has worked a hard day and doesn't always deserve what you are going to do to him. Tell him/her you are going to shop several dealerships and take the best price. This is Kryptonite to sales people, it essentially means you are going to gut me and then buy somewhere else. Most people get a price from 1 dealership, go to another and get the same price. But the next guy can slash 50 bucks and get them to buy then and there. No one comes back because they realize no one will be different I might as well save time. Sitting in dealership #2 they just shrug and buy from that guy. So when you tell a dealership this they will do 1 of 2 things. One, let you go with a low-ball number which no one else will touch or be able to beat. Or Two, try to let you go without a price and dangle a reason to come back. "Sir, our Appraiser (Who is eating a donut 12 feet away) isn't in right now. Why don't you check out some other places and then return tomorrow when we can get you the best rate on your trade in vehicle." That way they get to be dealer #2. They would only do this if they think you like them and might actually be kind enough to return.

7. You are going to make them give you option 1 and get a price. If you did indicate that the price they give you will be shopped around they aren't going to hold anything back and will usually give you the best price they can do. You will affirm? "Is that the best you can do on the vehicle?" and they will agree or go back to the manager to get the real number. The common tricks are for the salesman to get you to focus on the Monthly payment but you don't care about that (To Him at least) You care about the price of the vehicle and the value of you trade if you have one. Once you feel they have given the best price, leave. The manager will probably come over and try to figure out what will get you to buy today, just tell him you aren't buying until you try at least one more dealership and then get out.

8. The price you hold in your hand is probably the best you can hope for. If you want you can go to another dealership and let them try to beat it (If they have the car you want) but if not you can just go back the place you were (even the same night who cares), hit up that same salesman and tell them if they can move anymore that you will drive away in it. They will probably scrape a few more bucks your way if they can and you got yourself a sweet deal. You can buy extended warranties if you want, thats all your peace of mind.


Used cars.

Same negotiation tactics as for a new car. Don't talk monthly payments talk price and trade. Leave and come back, to ensure you got their best offer. Check everything on the vehicle before you buy it. Often people will have stupid crap broke that you could have had them fix for free if you had found it. Especially check windows, make sure they roll up and down, you know stupid stuff. If it is over 100,000 miles be very afraid and don't pay too much.

A good deal is a frame of mind, more than anything. If you like the car and the payments you got a sweet deal. I hope these methods make you feel even better about your next purchase.

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