How to Negotiate a Deal

Before you negotiate the purchase of a car, you should know which car you want, what the dealers cost is and how much you can afford, and what your trade-in (if any) is truly worth. To check trade-in values on most cars visit http://www.kbb.com/.

Be sure that you have shopped around and looked at price ranges for the type of vehicle you are looking to purchase before negotiating a deal. The more knowledge you have before you make the purchase, the more negotiating power you will have when it comes down to making the deal happen.

You have probably been warned about pushy car salespeople and how they use pressure sales tactics to try to get the consumer to buy immediately. Car salespeople are under a lot of pressure to move cars off the lot and they are not paid if they do not sell. Go onto the lot expecting this pressure but do not allow it to keep you from what you came there to do, get a good deal on a good car! 

First, let the salesperson know that you are and educated buyer and have done your homework. Let them know what you want and what you have to pay for it. If they cannot help direct you to a car that meets your needs within the first few minutes tell them you are going to look at some other dealers. This will put the pressure of making the deal squarely on the salesperson's shoulders and you will have shown that you mean business.

Dealers often lower their asking price on a vehicle if they think a serious buyer is about to leave their lot for a competitor. It is important not to jump out of the new car and right into the negotiation. Take your time and do not be to hasty, the dealer will see this as a weakness and begin to be very pushy. Sometimes they may not budge on their asking price and you may have to continue shopping elsewhere to find the car you can afford.

Buying a car is an emotional experience. We love the color, the style, the shine and the newness but do not let these emotions play into the hands of the salespeople, they are trained to spot our desires and use them against us to make an ill-advised purchase.

If you have done your homework on your desired vehicle and are patient with the salesperson, you are likely to get your car at thousands less than what the original sticker price displayed. Keep in mind that there will always be another car and another sale out there. Do not feel as if you need to be pushed into a bad decision when buying your car.