Probably not the most severe of the car buying mistakes people make but it does come to my mind.
I guess really this would fall under the category of patience, or the lack thereof.
But, it does amaze me how many people seem to have great patience and shop around for their best price when they are looking to buy clothes, shoes, groceries and the like, but when it comes to car shopping they head to their closest dealer.
If you have to patience to shop for your other consumer goods you should muster up the patience when you are car shopping to visit dealers not only close by but in the surrounding area as well. It could save you much money.
Every car dealer is not the same!
How could they be?
At the very least, each of their employees is going to have a bit different personality. Each dealer, depending upon when you visit them is going to be in the middle of a good month, bad month, or in between month. And this alone is going to certainly have an effect on how willing they are to put together a good car deal for you.
When you shop around may find that even the prices on the cars may vary somewhat. This is because the MSRP is determined by the manufacturer who considers many factors before pricing and shipping their cars to a particular automobile dealership. A couple of which is geographic and demographic.
Getting back to the personalities involved when car shopping, I mention in this website that salesperson shopping can be a source of great savings (or expense) to you when it comes the to car buying process.
By visiting various car dealers, you will also not doubt come across a litany of personalities. If you find a salesperson that you can tell enjoys working on and putting deals together and isn’t afraid, or isn’t offended by receiving and considering offers, you should make a note of that and get their business card.
Nothing is more frustrating when trying to work a car deal than having to deal with a salesperson that can’t seem to understand their primary purpose is to sell you a car. And if it takes some negotiating to produce a win – win situation, then that’s what they should do.
Before you head out, check out the dealers C.S.I. (customer satisfaction index) this is an industry term that can be found in such publications as J.D. Power. Also check with the Better Business Bureau, and even ask friends and neighbors about their experiences.
In fact, jump online and go to GreatCarRates.com and do some online car price and shopping so you’ll have some solid numbers in mind. You can even find the best deals right from your computer with reputable businesses such as ValuePriceing.com.
The bottom line is you should visit various dealers and even get outside your general geographic area because things do change.
Don’t be lazy, and don’t car shop when you are tired or feeling beat down. This will end up costing you big money. Be patient and persistent when you are in the car buying mode you will reap the rewards.
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