Who Needs a Car buying Strategy?
27 May 2009
Why do you need a car buying strategy? If you don’t have a plan for where you want to go, you will end up exactly where the car dealer wants you. And that means more profit for him and greater cost to you.
You had better have your own strategy in place. The agent’s job is to meet his sales quota. He can make it easier for himself by maximizing his profit on every deal. Perhaps by guiding you towards a more expensive car than you had in mind. Adding on a few extras.
Insurance, service plans, dealer finance etc may not be the most cost effective options for you. It pays to know in advance what the alternatives are and which model and features you really need.
Once you know what you want, the next part of your strategy is knowing when to go shopping. New models are out from August to November. If want the latest model, that is the time to go. Just before then, the dealer may be trying to offload old stock. That could be an opportunity for you if you dont mind an earlier model.
The end of the month is good because they will be trying to hit that quota. The pressure is on them to get you to buy now rather than later. Use that to your advantage. If they see that you are ready to leave, it might encourage them to improve the deal.
On weekdays, there are fewer shoppers around. The dealer will be more anxious to make the sale. If you are the only potential customer, he doesn’t want you to walk out. You can always do that if you don’t like the offer.
It’s a big commitment to buy a car. You don’t have to rush into it. But it’s exciting too and it’s easy to be swept along by emotion. The salesman knows that and will try every trick in the book to play on it. He try to convince you that this deal is only available today. It’s not true.
If you are not sure about the car or any aspect of the deal, or you are feeling under pressure, walk away. It is much easier to do that if you have prepared in advance. You will be able to get the same model, at an equal or better price, next week or the week after.
Having your own car buying strategy can put you on an even footing with the salesman. In tough economic times, you need to make sure you are getting the best possible value on a car that suits your requirements.
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