First off, never go car shopping alone and if you are married go without your spouse when you are first shopping. This gives you an out, you can use the, "I have to talk to my wife" or "I have to talk to my husband" excuse. If you have a friend with you they can also interject and give opinions and help keep you from being pushed into a bad decision. In the car business, these people are referred to as third basemen.



When you arrive on the lot and the salesperson approaches you tell them firmly that you are just looking and that you will call on them if and when you need them. If they persist in staying close to you tell them that you will leave and if they do, then do just that, leave. The reason I say that is because car salespeople are trained to "land" you on a certain car to help them to make the most profit. Of course, you have no idea what they are doing and they are very slick about it. This is why you do not want to be "guided" by a salesperson.

You should have done your research prior to ever going to a dealership by going online and researching models you are interested as well as prices so that you have an idea what they should cost. Nothing takes the wind out of the sails of the car salesman more than a buyer armed with computer printouts of pricing information. They immediately know that they will not be able to take advantage of such a person.

If you are trading a vehicle do not allow the car salesperson to know. This needs to be a separate issue. If you allow them to know that you have a trade in they will adjust the price of the car accordingly or they will reduce the amount that they allow for your trade in. Believe me, these values can differ a great deal from dealer to dealer. I was a used car manager for many years and I used to always shop trade ins with other dealers because I knew I could sometimes put a deal together that would not otherwise happen.

For the same reason you need to shop your own vehicle. Drive it around to different dealers telling them you want to sell it outright, this will give you a real figure that you can use to help you negotiate, or in the worst case scenario you can sell it to them if you have to.

Now that you know what you car is truly worth and you have done your research you are in a position of strength from which to negotiate from. This is where you want to be, put the dealer and the salespeople on the defensive for a change.