Do
your research
Best time to buy
Negotiating for the best price
Use incentives and rebates
Trade-in your old car
Beware of dealer add-on’s
Do your research
Determine which car is best for your needs and
price range. Narrow down your choice to the exact
car you want to buy: pick the make, model, and
options. Be flexible and have some backup choices.
Shop around for car insurance before
buying a new car. Get
multiple quotes from various insurance
companies or contact your insurance agency
to compare the
cost of car insurance between various cars
you are interested in. By avoiding cars that
are costly to insure, you can save thousands
in the long run. Check here for the top-10
stolen cars and high risk cities.
Research the actual invoice cost, the Manufacturer’s
Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), the cost for extras,
dealer holdbacks, incentives and rebates. Dealers
aim to make at least 3-4 percent above the invoice
cost. However, they still make a profit selling
the car to you at invoice cost if the dealer
gets a holdback from the manufacturer.
Best time to buy a new
car
End of the month is a good time to buy when
car dealers are trying to boost end of month
numbers. September and October are also ideal
times when new car models arrive and car dealers
are making room for the new models. Last two
weeks of December are also ideal when most people
are holiday shopping and the dealerships are
near empty.
Negotiating for the best price
Once you have inspected and test driven the
car. Ask for the best price. If they ask you
to make an offer, politely refuse and ask for
the best offer again. Never accept the first
offer. From your research, you should know the
invoice price and the sticker price. Ask them
to make another offer. Accept once you feel that
they have given you a reasonable offer. Shop
around at 3 or 4 dealerships to get the best
price. Also, let the dealer know that you will
be shopping around and you’re ready to
buy when you’re offered the best price.
Use incentives and rebates
An incentive is anything that gives you an added
reason to buy a particular car. It can be in
the form of a rebate or low-interest financing.
You can usually go online to search for incentive
or rebate for a particular car. This is good
to know before going to the dealer as you can
use it as leveraging power and know that the
dealer is getting this extra profit.
Trade-in your old car
If you decide to trade-in your old car, first
determine your car’s trade-in value on
Edmunds.com or go to 3 to 4 used car lots telling
them you want to sell. Bring up your trade-in
car once you have negotiated the price for the
new car.
Beware of Dealer add-on’s
Dealers will try to make money from items that
you don’t really need. These can add thousands
to the final price and you can always get them
elsewhere for much cheaper. Decline the following
if they are offered to you: fabric protection,
undercoating the car, extended auto warranty,
anti-theft devices, paint protection, and detailing.
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