The Auto Consumer Review

How To Save Lots Of Money When Buying A New Car:

A lot of people would rather be staked out on an ant hill rather than go through the process of new car buying, and to be sure, it can be intimidating at times, especially if you don't know what you are doing. But the truth is that with a little advance preparation and by following some simple guidelines in the sales process you will most likely find that the whole thing goes much better than expected and you can be confident that you got a good deal in the end. Here are some important new car buying tips to consider on your next purchase:

• As with any car purchase, you will fare far better if you do some advance research and know what you are doing before you even step onto the dealer lot. The first thing that you should know is what is your target vehicle. It's easy to get confused and lose track during the sales process if you are being shuffled from one model to another. To prevent that from happening it's wise to do some homework and narrow down your prospects to just a handful of models at most, and then become thoroughly familiar with what options they have available and so forth.



• Once you have a short list of models that meet your needs and wants, you now need to find out how much they are worth so you don't overpay for them. Thankfully, the internet is a wealth of information on what new cars actually cost the dealer before he marks them up for sale. Everyone knows that the retail price on the sticker can be discounted in most cases, but how much discount is the real trick to be learned. One of the best places for this kind of information is Edmunds.com where you can get loads of information about new car models that can be helpful to you.



• Now that you know what vehicles you want and how much you are willing to pay for them, it's time to actually start the shopping process. Select dealers who have the car you want to buy and visit their showroom. Of course, you will be greeted by a salesperson who will work with you through the whole experience, and that is fine, but be sure that you don't allow the salesperson to distract you from your mission to test drive only the models you have researched, or to get you to start negotiating trading your car in to them. These are tactics that are widely used to help the dealer gain control of the sales process and make more money.



• Begin the actual negotiation process only after you have test driven the models that interest you and have selected the one you want to buy. At this point, you need to focus only on what their best and lowest price for that vehicle is. Again, they will most often try to involve your present car in the process as a trade, but stand your ground and tell them that you only want to discuss a straight sale at this point. If they price the car too high according to your research, walk away and go elsewhere. Usually, they won't let you leave until you have reached their final true offer.



• Once you have the car you want at the price you can afford, you can then choose to either ask about their trade offer, or just try to sell your car on your own. You will almost always do better by selling it yourself, but for many people it's just not worth the hassle. Be sure to know what your vehicle is worth before you begin the trade-in negotiations though by consulting the Kelly Blue Book or NADA buyers guides in advance. Here again, if they try to offer you too little for your vehicle, don't be afraid to stand up and get ready to walk out. You don't have to make the deal right there anyway, and even if they let you leave you may find them calling you later with a better offer.

The most important consideration in the whole new car buying process is to be educated and stay in charge. The minute you let the dealer divert your attention to a model that you are not familiar with or try to carry out an all-in-one deal with your car as a trade-in you have lost control and it will be very difficult to get it back. But follow these guidelines and you will most likely get much better results when buying your next new car.