Dealer (2024)

FAQs

What not to say to dealers? ›

Counter the monthly payment conversation: Your dealer may ask what you're hoping to pay for your car each month. Instead, tell your salesperson that you'd prefer discussing the car's out-the-door price and fair market value. If need be, you can always discuss refinancing your car loan down the road.

However, you can use the guideline of 2 or 3% on less expensive brands, and 5 to 10% on luxury brands as a rule of thumb. Regardless of if you're buying a Kia or a Mercedes, the reality is there isn't too much room to work with when just looking at the mark up. This is where factory incentives come into play.

For decades now, car salespeople have constantly gone to “talk my manager” for permission to negotiate during the sales process. This tactic, paired with countless other dealer antics is very frustrating for customers. If you're unfamiliar with your salesperson saying “let me go check with my manager,” you're lucky!

A good car dealer will have their fees for the new car purchase clearly outlined so the buyer can visibly see and understand what they are paying for. Some bad car dealers bury hidden fees in paperwork so buyers don't see them or really know what they are paying for.

Paying cash may hinder your chances of getting the best deal

"When dealers are negotiating the purchase price, they anticipate making money on the back end, via financing," Bill explains. "So if you tell them up front you're paying cash, the dealer knows he has no opportunity to make money off you from financing.

Tell the salesperson that you simply want what you know it's worth. Provide the figures to back this up, along with printouts from several pricing sources. This defuses any attempt to pull out a used-car pricing book so the salesperson can “prove” that your figures are too high.

When negotiating, it helps to be able to justify what you're asking for, he adds: “Instead of saying, 'I want to pay this,' try something like: 'I've looked at five or six different cars that are similar to yours in the market. The price range goes from $19,500 to $20,700. I'm comfortable making an offer of $19,100. '”

If you want to beat car dealerships at their own game, you need to first understand the true market value of what you're buying and trading in. You should also get quotes via phone or email before you physically go into the dealership, and then skip all the extras they'll push you to buy.

Should you tip a car salesman? ›

In the United States, it is not customary to tip a car salesperson. However, if you feel you received exemplary service and expect to buy from the salesperson again in the future, perhaps slipping the salesperson something extra would help you be remembered.

"I Have a Trade-In"

Telling a salesperson upfront that you have a trade-in adds another ingredient to the car-buying stew they'll cook up for you. The more numbers you have in the game, the more chances they have to manipulate the final price or monthly payment.

The MSRP is the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price. Note the use of "suggested." Both the shopper and the dealer will start from different places. Also note that the invoice price is what the dealer pays the automaker for the car, so you cannot go that low. A realistic offer is 5% below the market value of the car.

Your best bet is to buy between October and January 1st. December is particularly ripe for deals, discounts, rebates and other incentives as well. This is because car salespeople are aggressively working to meet their monthly, quarterly and yearly quotas.

However, blurting out "I'm going to pay cash" to a car salesperson will likely get you a lousy deal on your car purchase. As the margins dealers traditionally made on car purchases have slimmed, auto retailers now make more and more of their profit from the financing deals they place on new and used car financing.