Car Buying Tips - Loose Lips Sink Ships

When it comes to buying a car what you don’t say can be your biggest and best car buying tip.

Feeling a bit lazy and don’t want to read the whole article?

OK… no problem… here’s the most important car buying tip once you’ve got yourself on the dealership car lot… DO NOT talk about or otherwise negotiate based on hitting a monthly payment.

There you go… that’s it. That’s numero uno.

But please read on… there’s more amazing money saving car buying tips.

You know what you want your monthly payment to be… you’ve done your budgeting homework (if you haven’t then get the hell off the car lot).

No body that you come in contact with at a car dealer should have any idea what you want your monthl payment to be… nobody… so don’t even answer that question!

The probabilities are high that the sales people will try to get you to commit to some sort of monthly payment figure. When this happens just politely remind them that the focus is on the price of the car not your monthly payment.

Walking into a car dealership and begining the car buying process is an aniexty filled event for most people. Generally we don’t like confrontation it’s just human nature; and most people regard any type of negotiating process a form of such confrontation… a battle… a struggle over that damn price.

Hello internet… hello www.informationsuperhiway.

Today… the average potential car buyer has the aforementioned at their disposal and as such has a tremendous tool that we of a few years back did not so readily have… information.

So use it.

Don’t go anywhere car shopping until you’ve done your homework. Shop and compare car prices, get a quote, check on your insurance coverage, check your credit, and qualify for a loan… and do it all from the comfort of your favorite chair at your house. Folks… this is powerful stuff you have at your disposal when it comes to getting your best car deal possible!

But even after you’ve taken the time to educate yourself, there are still some things you’ve got know once your on the car lot… things you just shouldn’t say… so let’s take a look.

Stay focused and keep the conversation focused with whoever you talk with on the selling price of the car… do not slide into the murkey waters of monthly payment discussions… do not do it.

Monthly payment’s are a function of several mathematical variables that can be introduced beyond the selling price of the car such as down payment in form of cash - trade - or both, your interest rate, and the length of the loan… so just don’t give the sales person the opportunity to work and swirl these variable around at you trying to hit a monthly payment…. you’ll probably lose track and lose money.

Why is the monthly payment approach from a car dealership such a common tactic?

Ok… shhhhshhhhhh… I’m going to tell you…

(Whispering)… because they can make more money.

So, you may very well hear the approach… “If I can get you in this car for $300 a month….”

If you listen real close to the sales person (or if you missed it have them repeat it)… you’ll note that they don’t say for how many months that $300 per month is going to last. A key element to be sure.

So, if the sales person can get you to commit to that nebulous monthly payment, both the sales person and the dealership now have you on the road to profit city….

If you’ve looked around my website you’ll know about the three basics business areas of a car deal: the price of the car - the financing - the trade in (the trade in may or may not be there but the vast majority of us do trade).

If you’ve just allowed the sales person to pull you into the monthly payment vortex… you’ve just about lost sight of the price of the car (cha-ching) and now you’re about to go work with their finance manager on accomplishing those monthly payments (cha-ching again)… so you’re just about to contribute to the profit margin of the dealer in two of the three areas… ouch!

Is it all just smoke and mirrors from the car dealer?

Let’s talk about that next time… in the mean time take a cruise around my car buying site… it’ll save you some money.