How To Buy A New Car And Twist A Few Scrotums
Apr 21 '04 (Updated Apr 22 '04)
The Bottom Line stay calm & cool - don't let the Squids in your neighborhood sucker you in
I finally bought a new car today. I have been putting it off because I loved my previous car, my 1994 Toyota Celica GT Hatchback. When I first bought it, that car turned some heads! I had to give my baby up today because I have another baby...a real live 6-month old who needs a mom who drives a mini-SUV type vehicle and not a speedy sports car. SIGH!! I remember punching the gas pedal on my Celica. That car would fly up hills and pass everyone. My heart used to race and pound when....(getting tissue out now).
Ok enough blabbery about my old car. I'll tell you about my new car today and what I had to do to get it at the price I wanted. I purchased a 2004 Honda CR-V 4WD EX today (I smell a review coming).
DISLCAIMER: When I say "salesmen" I mean women too.
RESEARCH AND RESEARCH SOME MORE:
It really pays to do your homework. Find the following basic information before ever stepping foot onto a dealership:
1) Invoice price (find it from these websites):
www.edmunds.com
www.intellichoice.com
www.kbb.com (kelly blue book)
2) What model/options you want
3) Safety rating/crash test ratings
4) insurance rates for the car you want
5) financing - how will you pay? In my case, cash. If you are going to take out a loan, start shopping around for the best interest rate loan before you even go to the dealership.
Obviously there have been entire books written about how to buy a car. I bought three such books and read them from front to back cover...reviews will be following soon!
Without going into too much detail about the technical aspects, the following observations seem to be true:
How to Lose Money
1) impulse buying = having to have the car NOW and TODAY. Shop around as far in advance as possible. A desperate customer is a car dealership's best friend.
2) getting duped by the dealership by accepting their interest rates because you didn't want to shop around. They'll kill you on this one if you don't watch out.
3) not doing any research before buying.
4) not shopping around and getting prices from different dealerships.
5) becoming emotionally attached to the car/salesman/dealership. Don't start falling in love with the chunk of aluminum. It's just that. Metal. And don't let the salesman become too "chummy" with you. That's exactly what they want.
Some emotional smoothies used on me by salesmen when I went to three different dealerships: You have a baby? I do too...blah blah blah...Hey my wife's Asian too and blah...blahh...Really? I went to that school too...blahhhhh....they try to find something to relate to you and use it to their advantage. Call me paranoid. Maybe they are just trying to be friendly, and it's OK to be friendly back but just don't let down your guard.
____Note to Salesmen out there:____
If you see a couple with a baby, go up to the baby and really blab about how cute the baby is and really make a lot of buttery comments. I noticed men are not good at this. If I were a salesperson, I'd swoop on the chance to act all sugary sticky sweet to their baby! Get them where it matters...in the heart!
If they have a pet, act all sweet to their pet too. Pat the cat's head, the dog's nose and talk about your pets or the pets you knew in high school and how you'd really really like the kind of pet they have but can't afford it because you are too poor and destitute...etc. Inject patheticism into your affection for their pets.
Another thing - don't dare forget your customers names. The sales guy today forgot our names and had to ask twice. I found out he was only selling cars for 2 weeks...no wonder. Also, dress nice, do not slouch and go "uhhhh..." a lot. And for goodness sakes, quit drooling!
______End of lesson to salesmen. Normal people can keep reading now.____
The books I have read suggest you go through several car buying agencies to purchase your car. Honestly I didn't have time to do this, and those services cost money. Usually several hundred dollars.
But if you want to do it yourself, the books that I bought suggest you do a "bidding war" with your fax machine. That is, get written quotes from several dealers and pit them against each other to get the best price.
I don't own a fax machine, so I did my own bidding war today with my cell phone. Before I went into the salesman's office - let's call him Ike - I searched my purse for the business cards of the other dealer's salesmen. I sat down at Ike's desk and before he could even open his mouth to start discussing the price, I was on the phone to Wheel-N-Deel Dealership (fake name).
"Wheel-N-Deel, I am sitting in Clown City Honda (another fake name) right now and I want to know what your best price is for the 2004 Honda CR-V automatic EX model." I get their quote and scribble it down.
Then I call Lemons-R-Us (can you guess this is a fake name too). I do the same thing. Then I go back and forth between Clown City, Wheel-N-Deel and Lemons. I keep calling the two dealerships numerous times while speaking to previous salesmen I have actually met. I don't know if this stunt will work with salespeople you have never met, probably not.
It was funny to hear the prices drop by a hundred dollars each phone call to the same dealership, then another hundred, then another...until Ike's manager, whom we shall call Squid, got mad at me.
Mental Games:
Squid says to me: this is insane! I don't want to waste my time sitting here while you call different dealerships sniggling over a hundred dollars each time! Every time I say this price, you go and call the other dealer and they keep dropping the price by a hundred...then I got to go back to my manager and blahdy blahdy...
My actual reply: too bad. I am just trying to get the best deal. Don't you lay that guilt trip on me.
Squid: My boss is getting mad at me you know.
Me: That's your problem, not mine. Just give me a good deal and I'll buy today. (Note - you better mean it if you say this)
Normally I do not like to get nasty, but I won't let a salesman talk to me like that. Don't let any of them give you the guilt trip. Stay cool and calm but speak your mind. The minute you even hint at acting all scared and submissive, you are done for.
Between the phone calls, Squid would show me a technical looking paper with all kinds of numbers in computer print out.
Squid: "See this? We are losing money on this deal..."
Me: I don't care if you are losing money. It's not my concern. Just give me a good deal. The reality: no way are they losing money.
Squid: "Do you know we have to advertise and...."
Me: I don't care what your advertising fees are. Just give me a good deal.
The reality: advertising is a part of doing business, don't let them try to tell you that you have to pay for it. The dealers get all kinds of incentives and hold backs the public doesn't even know about.
I called Weel-N-Deel back and got another price from them, they went even lower. I told Ike and Squid their price. Squid asks me what price do they need to beat for me to commit. I told them Weel-N-Deel's current lowest price. Squid & Ike disappear to talk to his "manager" for the fourth time. When he was gone, I called Lemons-R-Us and the salesman there told me his lowest price, but the catch was I couldn't tell Clown City...shhh, he said - but I told anyway...what, does he think I am that stupid?
What did I do? I told Squid that while he was gone, I called Lemons and got an even lower price. Squid was really furious at me. He yelled, "YOU SAID YOU'D COMMIT TO THIS PRICE!". I told him I wasn't under any commitment. No papers were signed.
Ike, at this point, was useless and he only sat in the corner silently watching us tear each other to bits. He was definitely inexperienced and nervous (but watch out for the experienced ones who act 'dumb' too - that in itself could be an act...but Ike was really green).
In a one hour period, Squid tried the: guilt trip, the numbers game, the 'poor me we gotta make a living too' game, the I-gotta-ask-my-manager game and the anger game. Almost every game in the book. I could see them coming. Each time I told him to stop quoting me numbers. I told him I didn't care about his numbers. I only cared about my numbers. I know now that his flubbery was all an act, because in the end, he was so calm like nothing ever happened.
Finally, Squid asked me what price I wanted to pay. Name me your price, he says. I tell him my offer. I tell him I want the car for this amount, with everything included: tax, doc fees and license.
While Squid is gone with Ike in tow (again), I call Lemons-R-Us and ask my guy if he can beat the price I am asking. He says NO, so I know I hit the lowest I could go in this bidding war.
Dirty Deals and They're Done Dirt Cheap
Squid agrees to my price and we agree on the final offer. Then he finds out I am trading in my car. "What? Did Ike ask you if you were trading in a vehicle?" he asks. No, I said. It was true. Never tell the dealership you are going to trade in your car until AFTER you agree on a price. I think Ike was going to get a tentacle slapping from Squid when we left.
Of course some books say you should never trade in your car but mine was in fair shape (in Epinions language, a 'somewhat helpful' condition). I checked the Kelly Blue Book value before trading in and it was $2,250. I got $2,500 for it so I didn't get taken too badly for my trade in. A lot of money will need to go into that Celica to make it sales ready: bald front tires, missing stereo knob, busted lock on passenger side, leaking oil, 120 thousand miles, a chain link fence gouge along the passenger door, dings and scratches on the door panels, pits and dings on front hood from gravel, a seat belt light that always stays lit (I spilled coffee in the latch), smoke coming out from tailpipe when I start it up, missing drive shift panel, drive shift lights do not go on, etc. ...phew.
While Squid was gone, Ike whispers to me: "I am taking you with me when I go car shopping!" and I know he wasn't trying to butter me up because the deal had been done...with Squid doing all the work!
Then he leads me into the finance & insurance office. From what I read on intellichoice.com, the F&I officers are usually very suave and in some cases more experienced than the salemen. They will try to sell you all kinds of stuff you don't need to make more money. He butters me up first by telling me how I crunched everyone's male parts today and that I was ruthless and if he could hire me as a salesman he would. Then...
he offers me rustproofing. I turn it down. He offers me extended warranty. I turn it down. He stopped right there. He wasn't going to get anywhere. It was very short and sweet...as was the ride home.
Books I recommend and will soon be doing reviews on:
The Insider's Guide to Buying a New or Used Car - Burke & Stephanie Leon
Don't Get Taken Every Time - Remar Sutton
What Car Dealers Don't Want You To Know - Mark Eskeldson
With the trade in and my offer, I got my new car for below invoice price including tax, license and doc fees.
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Epinions.com ID:
tanu
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Location: Honolulu Hawaii
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 17 members
About Me:
Back from hibernation...but still lurking...July 2007!!
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