First Visit To The Car Dealer
When is the best time to buy a car?
People often think there are lots of hard and fast rules about the best time to buy a car. I think if you polled many salespeople they'd all have a different answer. I don't think there's a definitive date or time, but there are some points that make more sense that others: end of the quarter, end of the month, you know, if the dealership hasn't been having the best of sales experiences there could be extra incentives there. It's also known in the sales community that mornings are good because salespeople love to get that first sale under their belt and feel like it makes them, it gives them a good "mojo" for the rest of the day, if you will. So I don't think there's a real standard answer to it, but it does make sense to visit more towards the end of the day towards the end of the month, end of the week to hopefully take advantage of quotas that haven't been filled.
What should I expect from a car salesman if I am a first time car buyer?
First and foremost, I would not tell a car salesperson if you are a first time buyer, because you may be exposing yourself to some underhand tactics. Having said that, not all car salespeople are "slimy", and you might also get some very good assistance. It's most important to be informed and really know the product and your buying needs before you go into the door for the first time.
What should I know before going to a car dealer?
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.
What is the typical buying process at a car dealership?
The first think to think about when buying a car is to do your investigation. Spend some time online, read the car magazines, get to know the product line to make sure you're focusing your search on the car that's going to meet your needs. Go to the dealership, meet the vehicle. Make sure it's the right size, right dimensions, has the sort of fuel economy and power that you're interested in. Test drive the vehicle, really build a bond with the vehicle or very quickly identify that the vehicle doesn't meet your needs. Following this, you might need to shift to look at a different type of car. If you identify that this is the vehicle you like, then you want to get into a negotiation of the price. Get that down to a level that you're happy with and then purchase the vehicle.
What should I say to the car salesman during the test drive?
During the test drive, you want to make sure that you control the salesperson because he or she sees that moment as being a very prime selling time. You're developing a relationship with the vehicle during the test drive, so the car salesman is going to want to make sure that you're finding all the good spots. You also want to them to be quiet, so you can make sure that you find anything that's bad. Respectively say to the car salesman, "This is my test drive, I would prefer if I could hear this vehicle at this part." If that person doesn't respond properly and continues to talk or suggest things that impede you from having that experience, that should be a red flag. Possibly, you're dealing with a car salesperson who is not going to be reputable, or potentially he or she is hiding something about the vehicle, that you definitely want to know before you purchase.
Who should I be wary of at a car dealership?
Car salesmen have a generally bad reputation in society because of some of the tactics that they pull on potential consumers. Car dealerships generally have very bad reputations for many very valuable reasons. If you feel like you're being handed around from sales person to sales person, you're not being given the respect as a consumer who might be parting with a great deal amount of money. You should feel wary at a car dealership if you feel you are being sold options by the salesman that you don't really require, or you feel like you're not getting the kind of attention you require. These are things to look out for at a car dealership. The number one piece of advice that I always pass to potential car buyers is, if you don't feel 100% positive in the process as you're going through it, walk out the door. Find that same vehicle down the street or in a different part of town. No car dealership has a vehicle which is one in a million or very unique. There's other examples of it out there. If you don't like the process at the car dealership, walk out.
Should I go to the car dealership by myself?
I would think that going to a car dealership by yourself is really a reflection of your own confidence or comfort in the negotiation process. If you bring somebody else with you to a car dealership, it gives you an ability to ask the salesperson to step away so you can have a private conversation. It really is a personal thing. It's not a necessity to take a companion when first visiting a car dealership. However, if you're the type of person that's concerned about the negotiation process, then it might be a good idea to bring somebody along with you.
