Cars are one of the most important purchases in a person's life and therefore it is wise to have the best information going into such an investment. As a car dealer this is especially important to remember when you are looking to sell cars that are used. Used cars are by far the best choice financially for someone that cannot afford to absorb the huge depreciation cost that goes along with the luxury of driving a used car. I'm sure you have heard the mantra that a new car instantly loses thousands of dollars of value as soon as you drive it off the lot.
Anyway the thing about used cars is that your buyers are not protected with things like warranties and the like that protect the owner of a new car from buying a lemon and having to pay for repair after repair. In one way the used car has stood the test of time (if the owner is being honest about its history) but, as a car dealer, you never know sometimes and it is good to have ways of protecting yourself from a poor purchase when you sell cars.
If you are a car dealer it is wise to check out the car's repair history with a service called carfax. You simply give them the VIN (vehicle identification number) that is usually located on a metal tag on the dash of the car and they can pull up the history of the car as all repair shops enter the repairs in a national database. This includes everything from minor repairs to major overhauls.
Another thing to get in the habit of doing is taking it to a mechanic to get it looked at. Many times there are large repairs or service issues that have not shown up on the carfax report but are going to instantly add significantly more to the bottom line when you sell cars. This type of information can and should be used when negotiating on the price of the car as a car dealer.
The last thing that I would suggest to you as you become a car dealer is a site called http://edmonds.com which is a vehicle appraisal site. This site is great for coming up with the market price when you look to sell cars. The site is good because it takes into account the extra features that the car may have as well as the area of the sale and the present condition of the car. It is an unbiased resource that the seller can't argue with and provides another strong basis for price negotiation. Hope this helps, and have fun!
Many people know what car sales men are like, and so hate the experience of buying a new car. Of course not all car dealers are the same, it is just unfortunate that there is no easy way to differentiate them.
Sometimes when you buy a car the dealer will charge you for the advertising fees twice, because they have already been added to the invoice the dealer received. To beat this one ask about advertising fees demand to see a copy of the invoice if you are not completely satisfied. They will usually also add a bogus processing fee of from $100 to more than $500 (the processing fee is pure profit for the car dealer that he does not have to pay any commission on to salespeople).
Cars are like any other consumer product, the more desirable it is the more somebody is willing to pay for it. Some dealers add on additional fees on top of the prices of the cars if they are very popular, this is not completely unfair as it should help to even the demand and supply functions out. However you should never pay over the MSRP of the car or even close to the MSRP, if the car is more highly demanded then the maximum you should pay is the MSRP (or better yet wait a few months until its popularity wains and buy it at invoice).
Some dealers quote a certain figure in an add for a certain car, but when it comes down to it the actual price is much higher than this (you may not be able to get one with no options, etc..). Make sure that you continually ask the dealer exactly what you are paying for and the exact price so that they realise that you are not going to take any messing.
When trading in your car there are also cons to be aware of, some dealers will quote figures when you are outside, but by the time you get inside these figures have vastly shrunk - or better yet, they will switch you to negotiating payments where you have no idea how much total you will end up paying and they will break it down as its only $25 a day, etc.... (Lets see, $25 a day is $750 a month and that is $9000 a year and $45,000 over a typical 5 year car loan - it adds up very fast and that may not include interest and compounding of principle! Lets say you only over pay by $5 a day - that doesn't sound too bad and the dealer seems like a really nice guy, right? $5 a day is $150 a month, is $1800 a year, is $9000 over 5 years too much you paid! Think about it).
Both Julee Mitchelsin & David Maillie are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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