How to Negotiate a Good Deal on a New Car

The time comes around every so often when you need a new car. You feel excited at the prospect of getting a new car, but also apprehension for the monthly payments that will follow, along with the process of haggling with the car salesman. If you take a few minutes to learn how to negotiate a good deal on a new car, you can alleviate much of that apprehension. Read on to learn how to negotiate a good deal on a new car.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet access
• Credit report
• Kelly Blue Book values

1. Get your credit report. You will most likely have to get a loan for your new car, which means someone will be looking at your credit report to decide on approval and the interest rate. You want to know where you stand before going into the dealership.

2. Find out the value of your trade-in. You can use the Kelly Blue Book website to find out the value of the car you intend to trade-in. Also, if you still owe money on your trade-in, you need to find out the principal balance to be paid off. Hopefully, the value of the car will be more than the balance of the loan. Knowing this information will give you some ammunition in case the dealership tries to low-ball you on your trade-in.

3. Research prospective cars: You may have that car in mind that you desperately want, but you should take the time to do some research. You will want to know the cost, options, service records, warranties and depreciation of the car to name only a few important items. These are all bits of information you should bring with you when you begin to negotiate with the car dealership.

4. Make sure that the MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) to the specific car you are considering buying. This is to make sure that all of the options listed on the MSRP are indeed installed on that specific car.

5. Don't pay for options you don't need. Things such as extended warranties, undercoating, gap insurance and added security systems that are offered by the dealership are incredibly marked-up. If you really want these add-ons, which you really do not need, you can get them from another company at a much cheaper price. Remember, the add-ons are how the dealerships make their money.

6. Shop at the right time. Timing is everything when it comes to shopping for a new car. Visit the dealership at the end of the month when salesmen are trying to make quotas and add some money to their paychecks. They are more likely to make a good deal on a new car at this point. Also, trying shopping during August and September. This is when the next year's new cars are coming in and dealerships are trying to get rid of the new cars from the previous year.

Tips & Warnings

• Be refreshed and well-fed when you go in to haggle over a new car. You want to feel your best and be thinking clearly. The car salesman will be throwing a lot of figures at you, and you need to understand them and realize what is a good deal and what is not a good deal.
• Get your credit report a few months ahead of time just in case there are any mistakes on it that may need to be corrected.
• Don't buy a car on your first visit to the dealership. Impulse buying can lead to buyer's remorse and to bad decision making. Go home and think about it before committing to a decision. Also, walking out is a good negotiating tool because it gives you the power.
• Don't buy a car without a MSRP sticker on the window. This sticker is required by law to be on all new cards and is not to be removed by the dealership. It details all of the features that are supposed to be on your car and will hold up in a court of law.

Resources

• Receive new car quotes from invoice dealers.com.
• Find Kelly Blue Book value for new and used cars.
• Get your credit report from all three major credit bureaus.