In a car deal, if you are willing and able to walk away from the table and go home, you will be able to negotiate from a position of strength. Just make sure that your expectations are reasonable. Never bring any emotion into any negotiation. Don't fall in love with a car before you own it. Buy one that you know you could love, but do not make an emotional commitment until it is yours. Don't propose marriage on the first date!
It is a well-recognized fact in the business that the customers who pay the most for their vehicles ( percent vs. MSRP/KBB) are happiest with their purchase. This is because these folks have decided that they are not going to let buying a car ruin their day or their week. They have determined that it will probably cost more than it should, like many things in life, but they are going to buy a car and drive away in it.
People who negotiate all day long always think they left something on the table, that they could have gotten a better price if only they would have held out just a little longer! They suffer from both a lack of proper research (or they would know what was on the table and what was not) and a need to 'win' something that is not being contested. I have never seen a dealer remove his hat and surrender, proclaiming his admiration for his vanquisher!
Sometimes a novice salesperson will offer to show a customer the invoice, thinking that this up-front honesty will assist in closing the sale. The sales manager will not be happy with this weakest of all sales strategies, but he will usually go and get it. Many times, when the customer sees it, he will claim that it is "doctored"--that it is not the actual invoice. He is dug in like he is storming the beach at Omaha, and his position is so entrenched that he CAN'T buy now.
He will go down the street and buy from someone with more confidence, more experience, and he will not be looking at any invoices, real or otherwise. This was a person who came spoiling for a fight, would not take "Yes" for an answer, and thought himself out of a great deal. His 'negotiation' at the first place was enough to convince him that he had done enough that he could now allow himself to buy. It is quite likely that he still does not feel satisfied, a terrible way to begin any relationship, especially with your car.
The NADA has estimated that the net profit from all car sales increased by 15 percent in 2005, an astonishing number when one considers the sheer volume of information available to consumers. Is it possible that there is too much information, or is it just that we have unrealistic expectations going in?
* "Don't tell 'em you have a trade-in until you have agreed on a price for the one you are buying".
Um...NO. Why would you do that? Besides the fact that lying or misdirecting is an unnatural and uncomfortable process for most people, besides all the time it will cost you--HOURS--as they now have to appraise your trade and put an accurate value on it (while fantasizing about stabbing you in the chest), it has skewed your financing deal because your interest rate quote was based on a certain LTV(loan to value) that has now changed. If you did not work a financing deal, and decided only on a purchase price, you have locked that price in and left only one more negotiable item.
Working both sides against the middle will give you more
room to work. Trade-ins do not change in value from dealer to dealer. EVER. It is worth what it can be sold for at that moment, never more. Depending on several subtle factors, or the skill(or lack thereof) of the appraiser, one can gain a small monetary advantage or concession on occasion.
When dealers move money from one car to the other, it is because that is what you are telling them you want to see. "Give me more for my trade!" Okay, here you go. " Now, what's the deal with the other price?"?" If you know where the numbers should fall on both vehicles, you will at least be able to squeeze from both sides. Just like they will be doing!
* "Don't talk about monthly payment"
Okay, but isn't that how you work out your own budget? By the month? So, if your main deciding factor is the monthly payment, then perhaps you should mention that. Of course, you have already figured out what your interest rate should be and the term of the loan before you got there, didn't you? No? We should probably slow things down a bit, then.
Incidentally, you can eliminate this issue by getting your own financing. Why not do that right now?
* "Beat the dealer"
Huh? How will you beat the dealer? If they sell you a car, they have been successful. That is what they do. If the deal is not advantageous to them, they will not sell you a car.
When you enter into any event in your life with the idea that someone else has to lose in order for you to be successful, that event is taking too much from your life-force and should be put on hold.
If you are happy with your deal, if you have the car you want and are paying the amount you determined you could comfortably pay, then you have been successful. Be happy! That is the very definition of winning a car deal, and if you need more evidence that you won, take a victory lap around your neighborhood, around your part of the world. See the sun, the sand, the mountains, the ocean ? Yep, you won.
Oh, yeah..."Bigfoot"? Just a giant prehistoric ape-like creature that lives in the Pacific Northwest. Nothing more.
Peter Robinson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cars, Wellness and Sleep Disorders. To claim your copy of the blockbuster report 'The 7 Biggest Mistakes that Car Buyers Make' please visit