The Art of the Deal: Secrets from a Used Car Salesman

[onedef92]

How to Haggle: Secrets from a Used Car Salesman

November 19, 2013 at 11:43 am

1. Vehicle price is always thousands too high. Have price in mind they cannot match and ask for their best deal in the first 10 minutes — or you could spend 6 hours at the dealership. I got a dealership to drop $3,500 on a 2011 Hyundai just by showing them a competitor’s ad. They called to confirm and made a quick counter offer as I was leaving the shop because they were stalling. It took me from $18,500 to $14,999. Nice birthday present for my wife and enough money to take her dinner too.

If you ask for a supposed low price based on their inflated sticker price, you may wind up with that number. So ask for a number they cannot give you, then negotiate to meet close to your number. And remember, ask them to pay for tax, title, license or to give you new Michelin tires at no cost. Belief me, they will be asking you in a few minutes to pay a higher interest rate or take even less for your trade-in. Ask first and keep them on the defensive.

2. Your trade-in is worthless to them — until they sell it. They will not offer you half of what your used trade-in is worth. Research, check Blue Book before you approach this subject. And don’t even imply you have a trade-in until you have gotten a bottom-line, firm offer in writing on the actual car you want. They can always change their offer if it’s not in writing.

3. Know your credit score and what interest rate you qualify for. It’s recommended to get financing at your local bank, credit union. It the dealership beats their best offer, take it. If not, tell them you will pay cash or have financing settled. They will hate that.

4. Dealerships routinely charge for little stuff that you would automatically say NO to if you knew. Like washing the car’s exterior and cleaning the interior for $100 while you do paperwork. The extended warranties are also a waste of time and your money.

5. Always check the ads/internet for a comparable model at a better price. Bring the ads with you and tell them to honor it, or you are heading down the street to do business. Polite, but very firm.

6. If you dress casual and plain, chances are the heavy-handed closers will overlook you for a pretty girl or a rich-looking guy on the lot. You may get lucky and find an honest salesman who actually wants you to get a good car at a decent price.

7. If you go into the financing office, they are in control. Either you take charge or they will find a way to squeeze money out of every pore in your body. No extended warranties, no extras, no customization.

8. After you have hit the salesperson with enough NOs, his manager gets involved automatically. Be polite, but save your right to leave the dealership and do business elsewhere for him. If he sees you hemming and hawing, he’ll work that weakness to his advantage.

9. Bottom Line: Research before you approach a car dealership. Use reputable dealers. Be firm. Forget about being fair to them. Get the bottom-line price in writing (email is not as good). Act on a good deal. Pay cash if you can. And be off the lot in 2 hours or less with your new auto.

[C5SilverBullet]

Some good info lots of bad. The worst is the extended warranty, ALWAYS get one. I've never bought a car that didn't have one. You can also negotiate the price of the warranty.

[Ryan Bell]

Originally Posted by C5SilverBullet

Some good info lots of bad. The worst is the extended warranty, ALWAYS get one. I've never bought a car that didn't have one. You can also negotiate the price of the warranty.

I came here to say that too.

If I'm looking at something like a V12 Benz, I'm getting an extended warranty. Period.

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by C5SilverBullet

Some good info lots of bad. The worst is the extended warranty, ALWAYS get one. I've never bought a car that didn't have one. You can also negotiate the price of the warranty.

Agreed, especially if you are buying a vehicle that can be quite pricey to work on like a Mercedes, Acura, BMW, etc. The last time I bought a new car they really tried to work me over for paint treatment and other doodads but I stood firm. However, I did let them sell me a 4-year extended warranty for a couple thousand, taking me to 7 years, because I plan on keeping the vehicle at least that long and it's worth the piece of mind.

Now would I buy an extended warranty on a base model Kia or Chevy? Probably not. If the car started having issues out of warranty I'd probably just dump it.

[DJ_Critterus]

Originally Posted by C5SilverBullet

Some good info lots of bad. The worst is the extended warranty, ALWAYS get one. I've never bought a car that didn't have one. You can also negotiate the price of the warranty.

For a new car, yes. For a newer used car, yes. For an older used car it probably isn't worth the money.

[Yerf Dog]

Originally Posted by C5SilverBullet

Some good info lots of bad. The worst is the extended warranty, ALWAYS get one. I've never bought a car that didn't have one. You can also negotiate the price of the warranty.

Wait... aren't you a car dealer?

I've never purchased an extended warranty.

[Hoog]

Originally Posted by C5SilverBullet

Some good info lots of bad. The worst is the extended warranty, ALWAYS get one. I've never bought a car that didn't have one. You can also negotiate the price of the warranty.

How many times have you actually needed it? I've owned a shit ton of used cars over the last 30 years. My total expenditure on items that would've been covered by an extended warranty is less than $2000. No way I would've come close to breaking even.

[onedef92]

6. If you dress casual and plain, chances are the heavy-handed closers will overlook you for a pretty girl or a rich-looking guy on the lot. You may get lucky and find an honest salesman who actually wants you to get a good car at a decent price.

True. I know a Corvette nut who years ago was in the market to buy a new LT-1 Corvette Coupe and had a certified cashier's check in the amount of $40K in the pocket of his raggedy bib overalls. He was dressed like a bumpkin on a dare because he heard a local car dealership had a snooty reputation for judging books by their covers.

The saleshole steered him toward every budget-minded, entry-level vehicle on the lot (read Chevette, not Corvette) despite the customer's multiple objections. Finally, he had enough and called the manager and salesman to the office to vent his frustration and reveal his intentions to buy elsewhere.

They both practically ate his ass on the spot to get him to buy the 'Vette from them, but he balked and took his business elsewhere.

[onedef92]

Originally Posted by Ryan Bell

I came here to say that too.

If I'm looking at something like a V12 Benz, I'm getting an extended warranty. Period.

Or a VW Phaeton, I might add.

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by C5SilverBullet

Some good info lots of bad. The worst is the extended warranty, ALWAYS get one. I've never bought a car that didn't have one. You can also negotiate the price of the warranty.

Bought my '87 vette from the sponsoring dealer of the old vette club....

used, in '92, the car was 18 grand out the door, engine lasted maybe 2 months something gave out on the intake, they fixed it free.....I don't remember having any warranty, if so I didn't pay much....

A new Dodge D50 pickup had a piss poor 5 speed in it, constant shifting and clutch problems.....sued the dealer/chrysler over it....won..... 650 buck payout on that one....

Can't think of anything I have ever had fixed on any of my cars, been about 1/2 a century......

[VITE1]

So basically know what your car is worth for trade in and the real value of the car you plan to buy.

[DAB]

bought a new chevy truck in May. dressed normal for me, jeans and shirt and boots. got the deal all done, and here comes the warranty boy.

you would think that they would have a nice, organized presentation for the money involved? noooo, the guy grabs a blank scrap of paper and starts drawing lines and scribbling numbers and stuff. i'm thinking, "this is your presentation?, Pass".

and....you know how the packaging for anything Apple is so nice and refined? you would think chevy would learn something, and they would hand you your paperwork in a nice folder, all organized and stuff? nope, they grab a business envelope and stuff it all in there. and don't tell you to keep the little bar code tag attached to the keys (it's important later on)

c'mon chevy, you can do better.

[onedef92]

Originally Posted by VITE1

So basically know what your car is worth for trade in and the real value of the car you plan to buy.

A good rule of thumb I've heard (on used car pricing) is discount 50% off the asking price and that will get you close to price of the vehicle at auction. Start your bid from there.

[Sea Six]

Originally Posted by onedef92

6. If you dress casual and plain, chances are the heavy-handed closers will overlook you for a pretty girl or a rich-looking guy on the lot. You may get lucky and find an honest salesman who actually wants you to get a good car at a decent price.

I went to the Ferrari dealership in Orlando back around 2003. I pulled up in a beat-up old Dodge B150 work van. Rust, body damage, terrible paint job, the works. And I was wearing old jeans and an old shirt with food stains on it.

Didn't matter. That salesman was all over me. He saw right through it. He showed me several cars and I finally settled on a nice little used 328.

Later, while we were waiting for financing paperwork to come through and after he had seen my credit score and the info on my application, I asked him why he didn't immediately think I was just some bum who couldn't afford anything on his lot. He just laughed and said the car you drove in with and the way you are dressed doesn't really matter, not in that dealership. They are used to dealing with their customers and they've come to know them very well. They know a live one when they see one.

He also mentioned that people tend to come in whenever they have spare time... they may have just been gardening, or whatever. To him, the way you carry yourself and the way you speak tells him everything he needs to know about you.

[C5SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by Hoog

How many times have you actually needed it? I've owned a shit ton of used cars over the last 30 years. My total expenditure on items that would've been covered by an extended warranty is less than $2000. No way I would've come close to breaking even.

On the current car:

Water pump - $700
Oil changes - $300
Backup sensors - $500
HPFP - $1200


I only paid the $50 deductible 1 time.

[C5SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by Sea Six

I went to the Ferrari dealership in Orlando back around 2003. I pulled up in a beat-up old Dodge B150 work van. Rust, body damage, terrible paint job, the works. And I was wearing old jeans and an old shirt with food stains on it.

Didn't matter. That salesman was all over me. He saw right through it. He showed me several cars and I finally settled on a nice little used 328.

Later, while we were waiting for financing paperwork to come through and after he had seen my credit score and the info on my application, I asked him why he didn't immediately think I was just some bum who couldn't afford anything on his lot. He just laughed and said the car you drove in with and the way you are dressed doesn't really matter, not in that dealership. They are used to dealing with their customers and they've come to know them very well. They know a live one when they see one.

He also mentioned that people tend to come in whenever they have spare time... they may have just been gardening, or whatever. To him, the way you carry yourself and the way you speak tells him everything he needs to know about you.

That's why he is a salesman at a Ferrari dealer (where they make big time $$), never judge a customer by the clothes they wear, or the car they drive up in.

Working at Ford when the new GT500 came out, we had a guy in sweat pants and a torn up shirt come in and start looking at it. I noticed none of the salespeople talked to him, so I went over and greeted him, etc. He wrote a check for sticker on the car. He was a big shot local attorney who had just been out in his garden (forest almost) trimming. He still has the car, and I get invites to his parties all the time.

I also rubbed it in the salesmen's faces when I got a commission check for $2100 for 30 minutes of work.

[onedef92]

Originally Posted by C5SilverBullet

On the current car:

Water pump - $700
Oil changes - $300
Backup sensors - $500
HPFP - $1200


I only paid the $50 deductible 1 time.

That's a good comprehensive warranty. Most of the ones I've researched balk at even minor repair items, let alone oil changes.

[mrvette]

Originally Posted by onedef92

6. If you dress casual and plain, chances are the heavy-handed closers will overlook you for a pretty girl or a rich-looking guy on the lot. You may get lucky and find an honest salesman who actually wants you to get a good car at a decent price.

True. I know a Corvette nut who years ago was in the market to buy a new LT-1 Corvette Coupe and had a certified cashier's check in the amount of $40K in the pocket of his raggedy bib overalls. He was dressed like a bumpkin on a dare because he heard a local car dealership had a snooty reputation for judging books by their covers.

The saleshole steered him toward every budget-minded, entry-level vehicle on the lot (read Chevette, not Corvette) despite the customer's multiple objections. Finally, he had enough and called the manager and salesman to the office to vent his frustration and reveal his intentions to buy elsewhere.

They both practically ate his ass on the spot to get him to buy the 'Vette from them, but he balked and took his business elsewhere.

An amazingly similar story from decades ago, happened to a friend's father.....he ran around in a clapped out Pontiac, but owned about 1/2 of Monkey Co......dressed like a hayseed.....

[Sea Six]

Originally Posted by C5SilverBullet

That's why he is a salesman at a Ferrari dealer (where they make big time $$), never judge a customer by the clothes they wear, or the car they drive up in.

I guess so.


I will also say that I didn't exactly get the same treatment when I pulled that stunt in my local Chevrolet dealership.

I did it again when I bought my 04 Vette in 2005. I was basically ignored. After about 20 minutes of salesmen walking right past me, I was sitting at a little table when a new salesgirl came out and asked if she could help me with anything. I pointed at the new Corvette with 7 miles on the odometer and asked her if she'd like to sell me that car. Her eyes just about popped out of her head.

[C5SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by onedef92

That's a good comprehensive warranty. Most of the ones I've researched balk at even minor repair items, let alone oil changes.

BMW certified pre-owned warranty. I almost forgot, they put 4 brand new Bridgestone Potenza RFT's on it, those cost over $1500.