Things You'll Need:
- A car you're interested in buying
- A salesman (or saleswoman)
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Step 1
First, I think it's very important before you set foot in a car lot to do your homework, both on the car you're interested in as well as the dealership itself. Two good places to start on learning a car's true value are Kelly Blue Book and N.A.D.A. I'm going to provide links to both below. As far as learning the reputation on a dealership, ask as many friends and family members that you can about good and bad experiences they've had.
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Step 2
After you have a good idea of what you want, the next step is going to the car dealership itself. The main thing to keep in mind here is your body language. Trained salespeople can recognize an impulse buyer by their behavior, no matter how much they verbally say, "I'm just looking." You also want to be polite but say very little in the beginning. This tends to throw salespeople off guard a little, making the "talking" types more likely to tell you possible things wrong about the car you wouldn't even think of asking!
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Step 3
This doesn't happen as much anymore, but don't fall for the "I need to discuss this with my manager" technique (where the salesperson is really taking a coffee break for 5 minutes). This is sometimes used when you make an offer, and the salesperson comes back to you and says "Sorry, I tried but that's not good enough." If the salesperson is not the decision maker when it comes to offers, ask to speak directly with the person that has that power.
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Step 4
If at all possible, have cash for the vehicle (see some of my other money articles if you're tired of being in debt) so you have a visual of what the salesperson is going to lose if you walk away. The ability to walk away is your strongest negotiating tactic as a customer. You don't have to be mean, but you should be firm enough that you know the value of your own money and what you want to do with it.
