Smart Car Shopping 101

Easy tips for the car buying season

By CHRIS CICCONE | AOL AUTOS

Let's paint a picture ... (cue the 'Jaws' theme music). Your hands are trembling from the anticipation -- no -- the fear of what lies ahead. A vast sea of warm black asphalt, its surface covered with a plethora of shiny new vehicles waiting to be bought, patrolled by a predator unlike any other. A predator that skillfully blends in with its surroundings, can sense you coming from the nearest Home Depot and is occasionally adorned with gaudy gold and Johnston & Murphy alligators. This predator, the car salesman, somehow greets you at your car before you can get the key out of the ignition and then the fun begins. But don't fret, because this car-lot shark can be turned into a guppy if you are mentally prepared for the adventure. Take heed of the basic concepts below on your next car buying excursion and you'll be fine.

1. Research, Then Research Again: The Internet is a wonderful place. For car shoppers it offers some of the best consumer information available. Make an effort to research the vehicles you are interested in and you will not be sorry. Be sure to get the invoice pricing and latest incentive information on the models you are considering. Know the options available and find out how it stacks up to the competition. Get educated before heading out to the dealer. Here are some places to start:
· Reviews, pricing and detailed options
· Incentives and rebates
· Compare your choices

2. Get Your Own Financing: If you want to make your buying process less stressful and gain an advantage, secure your own financing before walking onto the lot. Simply contact your bank or credit union and ask to apply for a car loan. This can be done over the phone, via fax or even online. By doing this you determine ahead of time what your finance rate is and what your monthly payments will be. Not only are you armed with this knowledge now, but you can use it to your advantage later. See, the finance manager, like the car salesman, also works off commission and by securing financing for you through one of the many institutions he or she works with, they make money. If you come into the deal with financing secured, it will place them in a position to try and beat it. If they beat it, you win. If not, you know what you need to pay for the car per month and just need to deal with the final sale price of the vehicle.

Keep this in mind: For every $10,000 financed you will approximately pay $250 a month. For every $1,000 of down payment you will reduce your monthly payment approximately $25.

3. Are You Leasing or Buying? Let's keep this one short and sweet. If you are the type of owner that keeps a vehicle longer then three years, then you should probably stick with traditional financing. If you are the type of owner that wants a new shiny ride every two to three years, then leasing is your friend.
· Find out more about leasing here
· Get easy financing tips here

Model Overview	Get a Quote
Toyota Prius	Price Quote
Honda Civic Hybrid	Price Quote
Smart Car	Price Quote
Toyota Camry Hybrid	Price Quote
Toyota Yaris	Price Quote
Toyota Corolla	Price Quote
Honda Fit	Price Quote
MINI Cooper	Price Quote
Ford Escape Hybrid	Price Quote
Kia Rio	Price Quote

4. Know What Is on the Lot: Some dealers, key word here is 'some,' may artificially create demand for a car by employing a simple trick: hiding cars on the back lot. Let's look at an example: Say you are looking at a hot new sports car or family sedan and you want it in a popular color combination, like black on tan leather. A sneaky dealer might place only one of these color combos on the front lot and hide the rest. You only see one left and the car salesman is able to capitalize on this by saying it is the last one and they can sell it at a premium. In some cases this might be true, but you can avoid the situation by looking at a dealer's inventory online (through the manufacturer Web site or the dealer's Web site), or simply walking around to the back storage lot and browsing the cars.

5. Look Out for Dealer Add-Ons: Be sure to look at the car's sticker price very carefully because there may be some additional costs you dont want or need. If the dealer has added extras, there should be a smaller sticker to the right or below the MSRP pricing. Sometimes this sticker is hand-written or printed out and combines the add-ons with the MSRP for a final vehicle price. These additional cost items are often pinstripes, wheel locks, mud flaps, door edge guards or trunk organizers and may cost you an extra $500 to 1,000. Thats $500 to $1,000 for items that you probably dont want, need nor do they even remotely cost that much. You can get wheel locks at the parts counter for about $35. Door edge guards are pieces of rubber molding that don't cost much and pinstripes ... who wants pinstripes on their car anymore? Don't be fooled into thinking these items can't be removed either, they can and should be, especially if you don't want them (wheel locks are a good idea if you have expensive rims though). Lastly, do not allow the dealer to make you think that they are reducing the cost of the vehicle by removing these items. These shouldn't have been there to begin with, you didn't ask for them, so the cost of these little things should not be a factor in the negotiation.

6. Just Walk Away: The most powerful tool you have in your arsenal during this car buying adventure is the ability to walk out of the dealer showroom. Even if you know you want a new car you should be prepared to walk away from a deal. The dealer wants to make an emotional connection with you and the car you are looking to purchase. That makes it easier for them to sell a car with their goals in mind, not yours. You need to understand that if you are not 110% happy with the deal on the table, you can walk away. There are other dealers around you can go to, the car won't disappear and, if the salesman is good, they will call you back within the next day or two to try and make the deal. So remember, walk out if you are not happy.

And last but not least ...

7. Be Respectful of the Car Salesman: No matter how much we joke about the lot sharks or how many bad salesman stories we hear, you have to remember these are normal people trying to make a living and provide a service. One of the best things you can do is be respectful, treat them kindly and be honest. Tell the salesman what your goal is for the day. Be upfront and provide some basic information and it is you that control the experience. Are you just there for a test drive? How long have you been in the market? What are you looking for? But be nice about it. If you show them kindness you will be treated the same way. Also, if you are dealing with someone that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, ask the sales manager for a new salesman.

So that's it folks, some simple tips to prepare you for the car buying experience. At the end of it all make sure you are happy with what you buy and enjoy the drive.

Read about Car Ownership:
- Is Your Car Loan Upside Down?
- Best Cars for First Time Buyers
- Consumer Reports Cost of Ownership Comparison
- Looking for the Smart Car?

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276 comments

Smithdeane 09:13:34 AM Oct 15 2008

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went looking for used truck (bigger xtra cab to fit my kids in ) , dealers were rediculous despite overloaded lots of trucks -no one wanted to sell at current fair value ,( those vehicles are still there 2 mo later) Oh well , I got my first new vehicle , for a good price and supported my country with a quality american truck purchase of an american company . (after 20 years in garages I know American made is the Quality mfg)

BPMotoring 03:15:44 AM Oct 15 2008

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Well said......Type your own comment herThe way you represent car sales people is so cliche...not that there aren't some of those dinosaurs still out there. It is stories like this that make people anxious to shop for a car. The only reason cars are marked up is because there has to be somewhere to go when the buyer wants a ridiculous price for a car. There is markup in EVERYTHING you buy. There wouldn't be anything for sale if there was no profit in it. Everybody has to eat. It just so happens that cars are one of the few products that you can access a full disclosure of the actual cost.

Tillielily 10:57:07 AM Sep 14 2008

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Quote:"WMechaneer 02:32:50 PM Jul 07 2008 Report This! The best advice anyone can give a purchaser is that they be good customers rather than antagonists. Treat someone like an enemy, and they quickly BECOME ONE! Treat them fairly and they react in a like manner to cut you some slack. Seller and buyer aren't FORCED to relate, except by economic reality. YOU AMATEURS try to take advantage of some professional that does a job fifteen times a week, and YOU will be the automatic LOSER! Be an informed buyer; seek only those possessions you actually need and can afford to pay for, leaving everything else on the "luxury" list, and YOU WILL PROSPER. Expect to be given everything you ever wanted, and absolutely right now is a sure path to financial ruin. I know, as family members have lost big on the Las Vegas RE market, all from their own ignorant greed."Thank you. That needed to be said

Tillielily 10:50:56 AM Sep 14 2008

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Sbassmaster: 1.-- PLEASE DON'T SHOUT! 2.-- I have always owned small cars, with the exception of a '53 Studebaker and a '95 Chevy G20 cargo van, I'm going on 72 and am still here. Safety is built into the driver, and excepting seat belts and airbags, not into the vehicle. Ranting that only large vehicles are safe is a marketing trap that preys on people's fears. The other side of this situation is - try driving any size vehicle off a 5-story building onto a concrete road and then rate its safety. The only difference a vehicle's size makes in this situation is the size of the pile of twisted metal. Here's the kicker: Doing this is the equivalent of the forces involved in the average head-on collision! 3.-- I plead with everyone that they should at least perform some basic research into accident statistics before running around repeating some lie that's been propagated by those who stand to profit from it (just follow the money!).

subvet704 12:45:52 AM Sep 14 2008

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As much as you hate to hear that the reality is that in many cases it is true. Several factors can affect the resale value of any car, truck or van. Is the manufacture offering special financing? Something like 0% for 60 or 72 months. How does the market view your car? Get real when ******* $4.00 a gallon you couldn't give away a car that only got 13 mpg. Check the used lots. If you see your car often then that means they can get one at auction anytime. By the same token if you have a car that is a high selling item (one of the top sellers) then a dealer will have plenty to choose from. Honestly a new car, any used car loses between 25 and 50% of its value in the first 2-3 years.

Gfkdzdds 09:02:30 PM Sep 13 2008

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The article makes a few well worn comments but the last portion about car salesmaen being "regular people" is laughable. They are about as regular as a loanshark. Just got done having a dealer tell me my 2007 with 6K miles lost over 40% of it's value since I bought it new. When I pointed out that they were selling the same brand , same year at less than a 10% discount to the original price the guy told me to take my business elsewhere. I have yet to meet a car salesman who was honest. I think the internet has made them all grumpy since all their little secrets and prices are now well known

Dolfanman93 03:08:26 PM Jul 19 2008

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The Iowa Owl is RIGHT! How did an informative , well- intentioned article on car shopping become a name calling " Blame Game" episode regarding High Oil Prices?Besides, there is NOT just ONE reason for High Oil and Gas prices anyway. It's a combination of things that BOTH Parties need to be called to task for doing or NOT doing. A little conversational maturity would be GOOD here.

Aleclint 07:14:17 PM Jul 16 2008

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After reading the comments posted here, I am amazed that your readership is so totally lacking in maturity. Their vocabulary is so lacking that everything said must be reduced to expletives and name calling. People get a vocabulary and grow-up. - The Iowa Owl

Barbarasasson 11:23:54 AM Jul 16 2008

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Hey WMechaneer,Grow a brain, gas prices went up when democrates took over congress a few years back. Bush has nothing to do with the price of gas. we need to drill, we need nuclear power, wind power and we have coal that we can turn into gas. And, by the way, we have three times as much oil (from coal) in this country than the Saudis. We can do nothing today, so let's look down the road like about 5 years from now. we need more refineries. Get the enviroment nuts out of the picture and the rest will take off. So like I said grow a brain.

Canesnccpl 10:06:39 AM Jul 12 2008

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Negoitating in the Raleigh Durham area doesn't do any good...I have never seen so many car dealers that could care less about making a deal!! They will actually let you walk away and not call you back even if you come back with a counter offer. They are only discounting a few vehicles like the big big pickup trucks. The crossover vehicles like the Taurus X that they have had the same inventory for the past 4 or 5 months they will not come off the sticker price at all. Same for Dodge or Crysler minivans. They have row after row of the same inventory and will not come off the sticker price but about a thousand dollars no more...they claim at least in this area people are buying them...doesn't explain the same inventory...don't come to Raleigh NC to buy a car...anyone buying a car in this town right now is crazy...hopefully soon they will come to their senses and so will anyone that buys a car in this town....

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