In this article today I’m going to discuss several tips, tricks, and tactics that you can use to buy a new car from a dealer without getting skinned alive and actually beating them at their own game.
Throughout the history of the world, car dealers have come up with thousands of ways to take advantage of unsuspecting customers and get more money for the car then you may actually have to pay. In this article today I’m going to talk about several ways that you can get deals on new or used cars from dealerships.
The first trick is to figure out the dead cost of the car. The dead cost is the amount that the dealer paid for the car after factoring in different things like rebates and incentives that the dealer received directly from the manufacturer. It can be a little difficult to figure out this dead cost but if you dig around a little bit you can find it most times.
To figure it out you’ll need the dealer invoice and any price incentives as well as holdbacks and dealer rebates. You can go online to find some of this information from car websites like Edmonds.
The next tip is to get the dealer to reduce or drop any add-on fees and costs of options. Dealers are notorious for coming up with add-on fees such as a sales promotion fee or a floor plan assistance fee or a window etching fee and most of these fees are pure nonsense. Look through the paperwork before you purchase a car when the dealer writes up your order and you should be able see a list of these different fees. Don’t be shy about demanding that these fees be removed.
The next trick is to buy a quota car. Most people have never heard of quota cars but they are incredibly common. A quota car is basically any car on the lot that the dealer needs to sell in order to make his or her quota for the month.
Quotas come in many different forms and they can include a certain number of cars that a dealer has to sell in any given month in order to reach a bonus from the manufacturer. Many times if you really get your timing right you can get the dealer to sell you a quota car sometimes even at a loss or no profit just so they make their quota.
A common strategy for getting quota cars is to visit many different car dealerships towards the middle of the month. Tell the sales manager that you’re looking for a quota car, be incredibly upfront about it. Then leave your business card or your phone number and tell them to give you a call when they can’t reach their quota.
You likely won’t hear back from them till the very end of the month so expect that going in. You may have to talk to the general manager as opposed to regular salespeople because sometimes salespeople aren’t aware of manufacturer quotas.
So there you have several tips and tricks that you can use to get the best possible price on a new or used car from a dealer.
J.P. Morton runs a portable work bench web site where he also reviews the best little tikes work bench for your little helper. He has been an article writer online for well over 10 years and also enjoys rock climbing and white water rafting.
Tags: car websites like Edmonds, holdbacks and dealer rebates, rock climbing and white water rafting