What should I know before going to a car dealer?

What should I know before going to a car dealer?

James Bell (Publisher, Auto Reviewer) gives expert video advice on: When is the best time to buy a car?; What should I say to the car salesman during the test drive? and more...

The most important thing to know before you go to a car dealer is an awareness of the product that dealer has. You don't want to learn everything from the salesperson. The salesperson is going to present you things that will help you to buy that particular vehicle, possibly not things that help you buy the right vehicle. You want to do some investigation in order to know the product line. Know your credit score so you can make sure that if you do finance the vehicle through that dealer, you can get the very best rate. Be prepared. It would be very unwise to walk into a dealer and say something very general like, "Show me a pickup truck." The car salesperson will think, "Ah! We have somebody here who doesn't know that much about our product line. I can probably sway them one way or another." It would be most advantageous to know that, for example, if you walk into a Ford dealership, the pickup trucks are the Ford F-15 or the Chevy Silverado. Have some knowledge before you come in the dealership door. Otherwise you may be exposing yourself to a shifty salesperson.