A Crash Education on Car Shopping |
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Aubry Ann Maquiling
8 January 2013
Any experience, whether you like it or not, is a form of education. However, just like any experiential endeavor, prior education as a sort of guidance is necessary to get you into a position of advantage. Car shopping is exactly like that. You can learn from it as you go but you'd need all the information you can get relative to a particular transaction so you can get the deal you can afford.
Clarity of what you want will boost your confidence during price negotiation and keep you from wandering aimlessly over different attractive car models, wasting precious time and thus money in the process. Start by figuring out what needs does having a new car serve you. Make a list of the most practical cars you can acquire given your personal or family financial realities. Answering the questions that come along with such a process will make you see clearer about what car acquisition really meant to you.
Whether you are buying a brand new ride or a bumper-repaired secondhand car, what is important is you test them before actually acquiring them. Sometimes, the one that had already gone to a bumper repair feels more comfortable than something that came straight out form the assembly line.
Take advantage of a salesperson's desire to meet his/her quota. This commonly happens every month. This would be the time a car salesman would mostly likely be softer when haggling. They will forego the monetary incentive of making a big sale just to not look bad to his/her supervisor by not meeting his/her sales quota. As a buyer, it is an situation you should take advantage of.
To be effective in negotiations, you must be as ready to walk away from a negotiation as you are in paying for your desired purchase. Don't hesitate to walk out at the slightest hint of insincerity from a dealer you are talking to. You should take the fact that there is no scarcity of car dealers in the market as your advantage.
Do background check of the dealers you intend to canvass in the process of scouting for the best car for you. Get a better appreciation of their financing offers, trade-in policies, and other marketing incentives they may use to lure in buyers. Make this marketing offerings work for you when negotiating for the final price.
Seek your friends' opinions about certain car models and features, even cars on sale with slight bumper repairs, especially the ones you are interested in. This will help you form better criteria on qualifying the cars you'll find in the process of canvassing for the best car unit you can avail. Opinions based on personal experiences are more honest than all the marketing lines that car brands would pull to entice you.
It is not only important that you acquire the best quality car available for you. You must acquire them with the most reasonable price you can win. You can achieve that by negotiating intelligently. You should make maximum use of the education you earned from this article.