Why is it so complicated to buy a new car?!?

Question

I've got the worst headache from e-mailing back and forth to the car dealer. ugh. Why is the car buying process so difficult?!

Answer 1

It is a classical battle of the educated and familiar (dealers) vs. the inexperienced (buyers).

Dealers want to sell you the most fancy and costly vehicle they can get you to buy with bells and whistles you don't need and probably can hardly afford. They make their funds in proportion to the sale. They are good at manipulating the buyer, especially the naive ones.

The buyer usually has a limited idea of what he wants and is easily swayed by a good sales person. Go in only after you have done your homework and know what you want, what you can afford and after you have your financing approved. Financing at a dealership is usually unwise; leasing is usually even worse.

Knowledge is power. Get the power on your side by education - educate yourself!

Answer 2

Look, I am in the car business and I do handle the internet leads that come into our dealership. Like a previous person answered, you are not being taken seriously without actually coming in. First, you can't buy a car over the phone or the net. They are only tools for you to get questions answered about the car. NOT PRICING! Second, let's say you live in a metropolis and there is a similar dealer 30 miles away. You e-mail the dealership out of town and he gives you a price. What's stopping you from printing it out and taking it to a closer dealership? They obviously will honor the deal so that they get the sale. In essence, the salesman from the other store did all the work for you and he didn't get a penny. You're not going to drive 30 miles just to get the same deal. People wonder why car salesmen are the way they are. Third, I'm sick of people thinking car dealerships jack the asking price up by thousands of dollars. Most new cars are only marked up 7-8 percent. The salesman only gets his commission off of this mark up. So if he sells it for invoice price, he makes pennies. In summary, my advise to you is, if the car you've been e-mailing about is the one you really really want, go to the dealership, negotiate a fair price, buy the car and drive home happy.

By the way, that is a shameless plug by Greg K. He only has a sliver of it right. A good car deal should last no more than an hour. If it does, it's because the customer is being difficult. Remember folks, there is not thousands upon thousands of dollars of mark up in cars. If a sales manager is willing to let you leave the dealership, you are at your best deal. He will not risk the chance of you leaving and going somewhere else. Another thing, Kelly Blue Book is just a guide to go by. THEY DON'T BUY AND SELL CARS!!!! You will get for your car what they are going for at auctions if you have a trade in. I could go on, but i don't want to make this a novel like Greg K. did.

Answer 3

The first thing you need to do is get off the computer and go to the dealership. Right now you are not being taken seriously because you are not there ready to buy. The car business is a right now kind of business. People who are serious about buying go to the dealer, pick out the car, work figures that are agreeable and leave in a nice clean new car. People who are not serious play on the computer and take up a lot of leg work for a sales person who is simply trying to provide a living and the manager who is giving him/her the prices to give to you is not concerned until you show up. I am sure the salesperson is just as frustrated with you. Do them a favor, set an appointment and make the car deal happen!

Answer 4

You are trying to get the dealer to reduce their price, the dealer wants to make as much as possible. You either have to be willing to deal with the negotiations, pay more, or not buy a car!

Buying a car is one of the few things that you can try to get a better price by negotiation. Try walking into the local grocery store, and picking up a steak that has a price tag of $15.22 on it. Walk up to the cashier and offer them $11.85. After they stop laughing at you, they will tell you that the price is on the item, and that is what you have to pay if you want it!

There is a price on the car. You want to pay less. You can try to make a deal, but do not moan and groan about the "process". You could just pay the asking price!!

Answer 5

I am in the auto industry and I help people purchase cars. I am not a car salesman, but I do feel sorry for the people who are tricked into working for the dealership. Most are not horrible people and the majority don't make it, because the pay stinks, the hours are bad and they don't feel good taking advantage of people.

The best way to buy a new car is to first test drive all the cars you are thinking of, then filter down to your top choices. Next, go to a website, like Cars Direct and get an idea on how much the car should cost. This is for you to get an idea, not final pricing. Take the information to a local dealer and speak to a salesman. First, make sure they have the car you want (or as close as you would like it to be). If they don't show you what you want, just thank them politely and get in your car and drive away. Don't waste their time or yours, because they don't have what you want (they probably won't trade for it either, unless you are going to make them a nice commission). When you find the car you want, DO NOT tell the salesman that you've been running all over town looking for this specific car. You will need to fill out a credit application, which gives the dealer the right to run your credit as many times as they feel is necessary to get you approved on a loan. The more times your credit is run, the lower your credit score will drop, however your signature on the credit application gives them the right to run your credit as often as they would like. Next comes the negotiating. Don't be intimidated by what they say. Don't believe the salesman, his manager, the closer, etc. You have an idea of what you think is fair, based on the Cars Direct price. Stick to it and you can even let them know this is what you were quoted. Don't get emotional! Don't let them know your feelings! This is business and you need to be very firm and business-like. You can say NO to them. In fact, you need to say NO to them quite often. Don't feel guilty - the saleman has chosen this career and it is not your responsibility to make him wealthy. You should play this game for at least 45 mins to an hour, so the salesman has some time invested (if he doesn't have time invested, he won't push his manager to approve the "deal"). You want the saleman to work for you, not against you. When they are within $300 of the Cars Direct price, you can give in and agree to the purchase.

Next, you will meet with the F&I guy. This guy will try to sell you extended warranties, Lo Jack, an alarm system, chrome wheels, maintenance contracts, undercoating and paint/fabric protectant. These products are good, but know that you are going to pay the F&I guy a nice hefty commission, so my recommendation is again to say NO. If you are feeling sorry for the saleman at this point, still say NO to these products, because the salesman doesn't get a penny of the commissions from these products. You may get hit with a high interest rate. My recommendation is to make sure they give you an "option contract", which gives you a time frame to get your own financing. Make sure they mark the option box (you can take the purchase order to your local credit union and get a better rate). Also, it typically does not make good sense to give up a rebate to get a low interest rate. A $4,000 rebate is better than 0% for 48 months (you aren't paying that much in interest and a smaller loan balance is better for you). The F&I guys will have you sign contracts. Briefly read the title of the document (which gives you a good idea of what you are signing). If you don't understand something, ask. If you don't understand his description, ask him to restate it. Don't let them intimidate you - its your money and your neck is on the line - you are signing a legally binding contract. If you don't get a good explanation, just get up and walk out the door. Don't turn back either!

After all your contracts are signed, you need to do a final inspection of your new car. Make sure it has all the features that the window sticker shows (Monroney sticker), plus any add ons that are on an addendum sticker. Make sure there are no dents or scratches. Make sure the interior is clean with no stains. Make sure the mileage is accurate (you don't want to buy a dealer demo, unless you don't have any other choice). Let the salesman explain all the features, ask him questions if you have any. Thank him for doing an excellent job, ask for his business cards, so you can refer him business and drive off in your new car.

The entire process will take about 3-4 hours, but if you do this in a manner similar to my description, you will get a fair price and you won't feel cheated when you leave. If you complete the process in a shorter amount of time, then you have given up too much.

There is another way to buy a car, but very few people know about it. Go to your local credit union and ask if they have an auto buying service. They do all the work for you and you don't have to negotiate with the salemen. If they are a good auto buying service, they will get you a price close to the Cars Direct price, get the features you want in the color you want, but most importantly you will save hours of frustration and aggrevation.

I hope this helps.

Greg

Answer 6

It does not need to be that tough.....not sure what kind of car you are trying to buy but IM me....I can simplify things for you (no, I am not a car salesman!!)

Answer 7

What's the back and forth for any way?