5 Ways To Possibly Outsmart A Car Dealer

Posted by Nurul Islam on February 1st, 2019

When it comes to buying a car, negotiation is one of the most important parts. Car buyers who would want to maximize their savings will likely take the negotiation route and take the best deal offered. However, a car salesman is someone who sells cars every day for a living, which makes them hard to outsmart. If you, the buyer would want to maximize your savings, the car salesman will want to maximize his profits. To be able to get a win-win situation out of this, the buyer and the seller would need to meet halfway and get the best of both worlds by negotiation.

Negotiations are hard for people who don't have experience in negotiating with things, especially when it is trade related. Furthermore, there are salespeople who use tricks to make the buyer consider their offers. Knowledge and experience will help in maximizing your savings by negotiation and avoid getting the short straw. Before you negotiate, you should know the common tactics of salesmen that you might encounter when buying a car.

4 Common Salesman Tricks

1." Scarcity" trick

When buying a car, the salesman will likely try to get you into buying a certain unit as fast as he could. This is because negotiations tend to be less effective the more time it takes to finish. If the salesman can see your eagerness to buy, chances are you'll hear the words "This is the last model in this area", prompting you to buy the car immediately.

2. "Being the expert" trick

A buyer who knows less about cars will be more susceptible to this trick. An inexperienced buyer will likely believe the car salesman, which will try to use phrases like "this car runs well" or "we've tested it and make sure that everything's fine."

3. "The good price" trick

"This is already a good price for this model", "You can't find it anywhere with the price near this one". A dealer will always tell you that the price is already good, and you'll believe it if you are not aware of how prices work in a car dealership.

4. "You need this" trick

A car salesman will try to offer you additional purchases that you might or might not need. For example, they might offer you to add

5 Ways to Outsmart the Car Salesman

1. Set your number early

This is one of the most important part of haggling with a salesman. You should want to make your first price as low as possible. Your first price will not likely be the price that the dealer wants, but it is a good start.

2. Do your homework

By doing your research, you will likely avoid some of the tricks mentioned above. One of this is 'the good price" trick. If you researched the prices of related cars online or locally, you can tell if the price being offered by the salesman is really a good price. Take note that before buying a car, you should have a basic knowledge of parts and other technical terms. If you're planning to buy a Honda Accord, you should know everything about a Honda Accord to avoid being sold with a unit that doesn't fit the standard.

3. Shop at multiple dealerships

Dealerships have a fierce competition when it comes to selling cars. You can use this as an advantage when negotiating with a salesman. Try mentioning that you can have a better deal from another dealership and see if the salesman can drop the price for you.

4. Be specific in what you really want

Do you really want that matte black bonnet? Will buying that really makes the car better? Think about your needs and wants when buying a car. The dealership will try to make you purchase additional products in order to get additional earnings.

5. Time your shopping

Timing your shopping can be a huge advantage when shopping for a car. There are what you call the sales season for cars such at the end of the month or at the end of the year. These are the times when the dealers want to get enough sales to reach their quotas. In order to reach it, they are more willing to give the car at a lower price.