Car shopping is a big moment. It’s not something people do often, and it’s a shame that people rarely look forward to it. Buying a new car should be a grand experience, filled with excitement and gratification. However, people are often intimidated by the various prices and fees or worried about the negotiation process. If you are one of those people, don’t fret. Here are a few tips to get you happily through the car buying process.
Start With… Homework
Okay. This doesn’t sound like a fun start, but believe me it is. Here is where you get to decide the car that will fit your lifestyle and learn a bit about yourself in the process. Do you have aspirations to go off-roading or do you want to start a family in a few years and need a little more room in the back? These are the big questions you need to start asking yourself. Here are some other examples:
- Why do I need a car?
- What’s my lifestyle?
- How much can I afford?
- Should I go for new or used?
- Do I need more than five seats?
- Do I care more about drivability or safety?
- How soon should I buy a car?
Come up with as many questions of this nature as possible, write them down and then answer them one-by-one before moving on to the next stage.
Select the Car of Your Dreams
After scanning through catalogues and clicking through review sites it’s time to decide. What is it going to be? A Honda or a Jeep? A Civic or a Wrangler? The car you choose should be accommodating and affordable, but most importantly, it should fit your needs and wants. A vehicle is not something you should just settle with. Use the questions you answered in the previous step to guide your research. Come up with a list of cars that match you to a T and then move on to the actual shopping process.
Find Out What the Dealers Pay
Here is where a site like Unhaggle comes in handy. Unhaggle offers a free dealer cost report for a wide selection of vehicles. The report includes information such as MSRP, dealer invoice price and mandatory fees. You can learn how to access the report on this page.
Ask: How Will I Pay?
Know your bottom line! Will you be financing the vehicle or are you able to pay up front? How you pay will play a large role in how you buy your new car. You can also choose to get a loan from the bank or from the dealer, although that is not encouraged, since it limits your negotiation power later on. Having a strict bottom line will give you leverage. You know how much the dealer paid and you know how much they are charging. Your bottom line should be somewhere between those two numbers.
Access Dealer Cost Reports and Get Free Quotes
Once you have calculated what the dealer invoice price is, what the average Joe pays and your bottom line, go and fill out a PDF form supplied by Unhaggle. Get in touch with a dealer and ask them to supply a free quote for you. This will help you gauge how close your bottom line is to the amount on the quote. Remember, just because your numbers don’t match with what’s on the quote doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get that price. Here’s an example of a from that you can fill out:
Compare Prices
Call up some dealerships and ask for quotes on the vehicle that you want. Be confident, you have already done a lot of research and you know what you are talking about. See if their numbers match the ones you have. Give a few other dealers a call and see what answers you get. Alternatively, you can sign up for the Unhaggle Premium service for $99. The service locates dealers in your geographical area and gets them to compete, offering you the best price.
Use a Monthly Payment Estimator
Now that you have a base price to work with, it’s time to calculate some other fees and taxes that are included in the car buying process. Yes, cars are expensive, but adding up the numbers is not complicated. Unhaggle supplies a Monthly Payment Estimator that calculates pre-tax incentives, mandatory fees, sales tax, after-tax incentives and total amount if paid in cash, in addition to the base-price options. The estimator will then present the monthly cost of owning the vehicle.
Understand All the Fees
It’s easy to be discouraged at this point. Remember when we were just researching for our dream car and not calculating our life savings? Well, don’t be daunted by the prospect of fees. The better you understand them, the more reasonable they become, and knowing which ones are mandatory and which ones aren’t is fundamental.
Determine Which Additional Features You “Need” vs. “Want”
Another area that will bring your cost up is in the features. Dealerships offer numerous packages that will soup up your vehicle, but might serve little purpose. If you are going to open your wallet for additional features, make sure that it is worth the money and there isn’t another alternative.
Shop Around
When buying a car, you don’t need to get everything in one place. Sometimes shopping around for different features or packages will save you money in the long run. Even before you go into the dealership, shop around the market and see what insights you get. The more you know, the more tactful you can be when it comes time to negotiate. You should also what deals may be available to you, which you can find on this page of our website:
Make an Appointment and Display Your Knowledge
Finally, approach a dealership and negotiate a deal. Understand that fairness is the ultimate goal. You don’t want to lowball the dealer out of profit and you don’t want to be ripped off. Reassure them that you have done your research and that you know what you are talking about. Mention that you have spoken with other dealerships, but don’t tell them the numbers.
Remain Calm and Patient
It might get a little tense, but be patient. No matter how many times they tell you that your numbers are wrong to counter your offer, have faith in the work you did. Hold your ground and wait.
Be Confident Either Way: Sign the Paper or Walk
Whether the dealer agrees or declines your offer, you should keep your head up. Continue the conversation even on the walk out. Odds are they will accept your offer if it is indeed fair. And if it isn’t, why bother? There are other dealerships out there – many happy to do business with well-informed, polite people, who are eager to purchase the car they want for a fair price.
