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Shopping for a new vehicle can be very exciting and is one of the largest single item purchases you will make throughout your lifetime so it shouldn’t be taken too lightly. If you are set on the vehicle you wish to purchase, then you should do a bit of light homework on your vehicle before entering the dealership to buy it:

• Locate all other dealerships for this brand of vehicle within the vicinity that you can contact for price matching/beating or at the least ensure that you are not getting a bad deal from the sales rep you are directly dealing with. With each dealership, ask what dealership specific perks they offer on new vehicle purchases. Sometimes, these perks differ from competing dealerships and could save you hundreds of dollars even if the vehicle price is the same. This may help you decide on which dealership you wish to purchase from also. A simple internet search or phone book search should list the dealerships in your area. If there is a small town close by, they may have a dealership there too. The more you dealerships you find, the more options you have to play them off each other for a better price.
• Knowledge is key, so the most powerful artillery you can arm yourself with is knowing the dealer invoice pricing. The dealer invoice pricing is the price
  
  the dealership pays for the vehicle. This way you know exactly how much large the profit margin is they are making off you when they sell at full retail price. In the United States, this information is freely available over the internet. In other countries such as Canada, this information is protected, but paid services such as www.carcostcanada.com can be used to reveal this info. If you are serious about purchasing a particular vehicle, then it is worth the small fee to find out the dealer invoice pricing. Without this information it is very hard to gauge whether you are getting a good deal or not. It’s even difficult for you to judge whether your expectations of a good deal are realistic.
• The final price of the vehicle is of course the main concern, but there are additional discounts that you may not be aware of which you should inquire about in order to get the most for your money:
  o    Dealership specific perks such as free lifetime oil changes, free accessories, etc.
  o    Any factory  rebates being offered on the vehicle you are purchasing
  o    Any dealer incentives being offered on the vehicle you are purchasing
  o    Any graduate rebate programs available if you are qualified.
  o    Any customer loyalty programs available if you are qualified.
  o    Dealership finance/lease rates compared to a vehicle loan from the bank
• Research your car and what others have actually paid for it recently. Search internet forums for this information because many buyers are willing to post their buying experience and what they paid for their vehicle. You’d be surprised the variance you get from different people and dealerships. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples, meaning you are looking at someone’s posted experience of the exact model with the same options as the vehicle you wish to buy.

We’ve all heard stories of dirty tricks that dealers use to sell their vehicles. Dishonest and borderline legal tactics used to strip money out of unsuspecting buyers, but you should not be afraid of this – you should be PREPARED! I’ve been involved in purchasing many vehicles for myself, my family and friends and to be honest, I’ve never run in to outlandishly dirty tactics (knock on wood), but there are some common dealer tricks they always attempt that you should be aware of and know how to handle:

• They ask you what kind of monthly payments you can afford. At first, this may seem like they just have your best interest at heart. But in reality, all they are going to do is take the full retail sale price of the vehicle and divide it by the number you gave them to find a term length to meet your payments. In the end, you are paying their full asking price and probably loads of interest over the adjusted term. Also, this starts off the negotiations on a bad foot. They have set a benchmark for the price and you will have a hard time chipping it downwards from the full blown retail price – you should always try to work the deal from the lowest price upwards [More on this later]. What you should do when asked anything remotely similar to this question is politely shoot down their question and tell them that you are not concerned about monthly payments, you are concerned about the final overall price of the vehicle. You want to negotiate the final price of the vehicle as low as possible before deciding how you are going to pay it out.
• They try to up-sell you on features you don’t really need or want. Nowadays the up-selling of features on a vehicle happens before you even step into the showroom. Many manufacturers deliberately offer special option packages (or upgrades) for their vehicles which add many features for an additional cost of course. Often, the one feature you really want cannot be had unless you are willing to pay for the entire option package which comes with many other things that you don’t really want or need. The only real way to combat this is to know exactly what you want and/or need before negotiating. Being wishy-washy about your decisions just shows the sales rep that you can be preyed upon for more up-selling tactics.
• They run back and forth between you and their sales manager with the current “best” offer and take their sweet time in getting back to you. Often this is a psychological game they play. By taking their time, it appears that they are really try to get the best deal for you, but often they know right away whether the deal proposed is acceptable or not. But, this is sometimes valid as each sales rep has a certain amount of price flexibility they can do before they need to get approval from the sales manager to proceed with the sale. If you indeed surpass the sales rep’s allowable discount price, then first of all well done! Secondly, be prepaid to wait it out to hash out an even more exceptionally good price if possible. If this really annoys you, then demand to talk to the sales manager directly.
• After the vehicle price negotiation, you are surprised with additional service and/or administration fees. The best way to avoid this is to ask earlier on in the negotiations if the price you are discussing is the entire final price of the vehicle. Be prepared to pay things such as A/C tax, Tire Levy and Block Heater on top of the vehicle + PDI and local taxes. You should be working with the true end all price you will have to fork out to give you the proper numbers to make your decision with. If your sales rep is shady enough to try to pull these additional fees on you after you spent a hour or 2 negotiating the supposed final price, make it a deal breaker if they do not waive those fees since they were not up front with you about them in the first place during the negotiations.
• They try to sell you extended warranties, rust-proofing and/or undercoating. This one is not really a trick, but depending on how you value such things, you may find yourself over extending your budget. These items are generally discussed after the vehicle sale price is negotiated and thus are purely additional costs with no room for negotiations. I’m all for protecting my newly purchased vehicle, but these extras make me wonder why the manufacturer didn’t include them on their vehicles in the first place if it is supposed to protect them so much – in general I am not too concerned with these extra protection packages because the vehicle is new and has the manufacturer’s warranty for many years to come.

Negotiating the best deal is like fine art requiring intricate brush strokes in order to unveil a masterpiece. There is no one guaranteed way to achieve the best deal every time as it depends on so many factors out of your control such as the mood of your sales rep, the demand and availability of the vehicle you want, etc. But, here are some useful tips that are within your control and should help when attempting to bargain for the best deal:

• First and foremost, establish with your sales rep that you are indeed a serious buyer and that you are willing to buy today if the price is right. This is like teasing a hungry dog with a juicy steak. You will have the full undivided attention of the sales rep if they get the real sense that you are willing to sign a bill of sale. This is generally easy to do if you are already set on the vehicle model, color and options already. Just relay what you are looking for and ask how soon they can have one here for you.
• If your dealership has the exact vehicle you wish to purchase sitting on their lot (or at their warehouse lot), you will generally find that a better deal can be had. The reason is because it costs them money to have it sitting around unsold, not to mention getting rid of it means they can bring in something else to sell for even more profit. In addition, the shipping costs have already been paid to bring that vehicle to the dealership. If they had to order another vehicle, they would have to incur more shipping costs to bring it over for you, and thus will be less likely to bargain lower than normal. Let them know that you are totally aware of this extra cost you are saving them buy taking the vehicle off their hands for an even more attractive price.
• Spend a lot of time with the sales rep from the moment you start asking questions about the vehicle, test driving it to the moment you finish bargaining with him. The more time he invests with you trying to make the sale, the more likely he is willing to bend over backwards for you to seal the deal. As most sales rep’s work off commission, it would be extremely painful for them to spend 4 hours with you just to watch you walk away in the end.
• Be prepared to walk away and make it evident. Whether you believe it or not, what your sales rep fears the most is a reasonable buyer who is legitimately willing to purchase today walking out the showroom doors. They know that the likelihood of you returning is very low because if you didn’t get the deal you were looking for, you would probably go to another competing dealership. This is a slight double edged sword. You need to know when to stop pushing your lucky by threatening to walk away if you really want to make the deal too.
• If you know the dealer invoice price, always work your negotiations from the invoice price upwards. Never fall into the trap of dealing from retail pricing downwards because it is much harder to knock down the price. Start with something like “Since the dealer invoice price is $X, I think a reasonable offer is $X + $Y.” To set your $Y factor at a reasonable price, take in to consideration that the dealership needs to make a small profit as well as pay commissions to the sales rep.
• Somewhere during the negotiation process, casually mention that you are aware of their competing dealerships (same dealerships within the surrounding areas that you can go to for the same vehicle) and hint that you are willing to go there to get the best deal if you are unsatisfied with the one they give you.
• Get accustomed to the “uncomfortable silence” that comes hand and hand while sitting down as a key player at the bargaining table. When you make a bargain proposal, there generally is what seems to be an endless amount of time before a response is provided. During this uncomfortable silence, where you have absolutely know clue what they are thinking and start wondering if you have pushed your luck too far, many people tend to fold and immediately propose or agree to something less favorable for themselves in order to move the conversation along again. Big mistake. You should use this to your advantage. Remember, they want your business at least as much as you want their vehicle – really you are in control of the instance.
• Buying near month end is sometimes and advantage for you as sales quotas and new inventory are coming up. They may be more anxious to meet their projected goals if they have not yet or make room for the next batch of inventory, and thus be more willing to deal a better deal to you.
• This may not always be a possibility, but sometimes it is much easier to get a better deal if you deal directly with the sales manager in stead of a sales rep from the showroom floor. The sales manager does not really work off individual vehicle commissions and his time is a bit more valuable so he doesn’t have the luxury of time like the sales rep. Instead, he is more concerned with moving the inventory out as fast as possible and meeting dealership sales quotas in order to get dealer incentives from the manufacturer or personal bonuses. So, you may be able to bypass the whole tortuous negotiating process by slamming a reasonable deal down and pulling out a pen willing to sign immediately if he agrees. Not only would you bypass the uncomfortable negotiating process, you eliminate the game of your sales rep needing to ask the sales manager for approval since you are talking directly to him already. Unfortunately, sales managers are not always willing to make a sale and will often refer you to one of the sales reps on the showroom floor.
• If you know the vehicle you are purchasing very well, then don’t be afraid to talk like you do. If the sales rep thinks you know a lot about the vehicle you are buying or even vehicles in general, it will keep them honest and afraid of fabricating something silly to help make the sale. Basically, no you will get some respect and no bulls–t. A good way to do this is to ask a non-typical question about the car that he cannot answer and then answer it for him when he fails.
• Unfortunately, hopefully this has changed with recent times, but there is still that old school mentality out there that women buyers are easy prey for dealerships because they are not as knowledgeable about the vehicle industry as men generally are. If you are a woman and are unfortunate enough to be dealing with such a sales rep, then you may not be given the best deal possible. To eliminate this possibility, it might be worthwhile to have your significant other or a good male friend present regardless.
• Regardless of whether you are a female or male buyer, it may be advantageous for you to have someone else with you during the entire process from shopping for a vehicle, test driving it and negotiating a price. Firstly, there is power in numbers. Your sales rep may now feel like he has to satisfy both of you in order to make the sale, requiring him to dig deeper to do so. It’s also harder for him to pull a fast one over you if you have someone else there to defend against what he claims. In addition, if your friend knows how to play the game right, he can play both sides but in your favor of course. By this I mean he can act as the intermediary between you and the sales rep pretending to help convince you to buy this vehicle (which both you and your friend already know you want) but also suggesting that the sales rep should lower the price to $Y to make it possible. Furthermore, your friend can point out reasons why you shouldn’t buy this vehicle or things that are not desirable about this vehicle, making it harder for the sales rep to convince you to buy it – and hopefully requiring him to offer a better deal to make up for these negative points. You can see how this can be quite handy if done right…
• Always have something bad to say about the car that you don’t really like or at least harp on some trait that a competitor’s similar category vehicle has which is better than theirs. This gives them the impression that you are not 100% devoted to purchasing this vehicle and are willing to walk away if you don’t get the “right” deal for substantiated reasons. This may make them more willing to offer you a better deal in order to swallow what you don’t like (whether it is something you truly dislike or not).
• You have to realize that at some point you have gotten the best deal possible. Some folks are hell bent on getting an even better deal because if they are willing to go lower, then they can go even lower right? Wrong! Remember, dealerships are a business and they must make a profit. What you are trying to do is minimize the profit they make off of you, but it has to still be worthwhile for them to sell you the vehicle, otherwise they plain simply won’t. This is one of the reasons why it is good to know the dealership invoice pricing. You can calculate how much they are making and be comfortable knowing that your offer is reasonable to them. Generally 3 – 4 percent over the invoice pricing would be a bottom line for a sale to go through. On highly demanded vehicles, it will be harder to negotiate to the 3 – 4 percent over invoice pricing mark..

Don’t be timid in asking questions, once you buy the vehicle there are no do-overs. Plus, most sale reps have faced it all, from aggressive buyers to outright unrealistic buyers who want the vehicle for free. Be polite and respectful, but don’t be afraid to ask uncomfortable questions that will help you negotiate a better price. Questions such as:

• What is the lowest price you have ever sold this vehicle for? Don’t expect an honest answer from this one.
• What is the dealer invoice price on this particular vehicle? Generally, they will not divulge this information to you. Good to confirm your quote.
• What is the discount limit you are authorized to give customers before you need to get the sales manager’s approval? Might be hard to get an honest answer out of your sales rep, but whatever he tells you allows you to instantly bypass this discount limit because if they are authorized to give it, they are certainly willing to accept that offer and possibly an even lower price.
• Can you throw in <option A,B,C> for the same price?  Sometimes it is much easier to get options thrown in to the vehicle rather than reducing the dollar amount as options cost less than their advertised prices. For example, if you wanted to reduce the vehicle price another $100 dollars and they are unwilling, but you ask them to throw in the all-season mats for free which are retailed at $130, but really only cost them $60.
• How much commission do you make on this vehicle? This is good to know so you can factor that in to the reasonable price above dealer invoicing you be should offer.

We here at PricelessSavings.com hope that the contents of this article will help you save a few bucks on you next new vehicle purchase. If you have any success stories and/or any other tips to add, please write to us and we will add it to our article for others to read. Good luck!