Outsmarting Car Dealers – 4 Tricks to save money

Buying a new car is going to have you forge out quite a bit of money. Chances are that you will end up overpaying because of the manoeuvres of cunning salesmen at car dealerships. However, there are some ways with which you can outsmart their shrewd tactics.

1. When you decide to trade-in your old car for a new one, it is common practice for the car dealer to start really low. Bear in mind that your old car will almost certainly have a higher value than what he is claiming. So, make sure you do your research in advance. There are various resources online which will help you determine a fair price for your old car. If the dealer notices that you are armed with information, he will be less inclined to make an unfair deal.

2. Many dealers use the tactic of offering you really low prices and then once they start that you are getting interested, they will move on to higher priced cars. Once you have been lured inside their showroom they will subtly switch their promotional attitudes to other pricier cars. To counteract this tactic you can either tell the dealer upfront that you will only be going to the showroom if they can assure you that that bargain car is still available, or else opt for online shopping.

3. Another common practice is for the dealer to try to sell you several protection services for the car which in reality you won’t be needing. Buying a car is a tedious and stressful process and dealers are well aware of that. By the time a buyer has made up his mind which car to buy he is going to be stressed out by all the cars he got to see, all the details he tried to understand and all the test drives. The dealer will use this to his advantage to try to get more money out of your pocket. He knows that all you want is to leave with the new car and get it over with, and he will thus start throwing extended warranties and protection services in the deal. Try to be aware of this, even though you may be tired of it all. Chances are you won’t need all that protection. Do try to read through the fine print so as to see what you are actually paying for.

4. Many dealers can mark the interest rate up. Many customers are unaware of this and end up getting ripped off. There is a tendency for the customers to take the interest rate for granted as they assume if came from the bank. This is true, but there might be dealers who decided to put more interest on top of it. To avoid this try to learn what your credit is and talk to your bank directly so as to be aware what you would qualify for and the applicable interest. In such a way a crafty dealer won’t make more profit because of your lack of information.