The Dos and Don'ts of Car Shopping

[Rahmota]

I finally broke my 91 Pontiac. Of course sliding on the ice into a fence post and a tree will do that. But got 175$ out of it at the scrap yard.

Looks like I'll be back in the market though. What peeves me about dealerships is I have a sum total of 600$ to spend on a car right now. Thats not the payments, thats not the down payment, that is the entire acquisition budget for another car. You walk into a dealership with that kind of budget and they either laugh at you or they try to sove a pice of junk off on you that is only ready for the junkyard and unsafe at any speed assuming it even moves. But ohwell plenty of good cars sitting in people's yards just waiting.

[Misanthropical]

When we went to buy our car, I knew what I wanted and what we could afford to pay.

We went down to the lot and the guy started talking to my husband. My husband told him that I was the one deciding on what we were getting, so the guy started talking to me. We looked at one Corolla and I wasn't impressed and it was too expensive. The guy went to talk to his boss and said they couldn't come down on price. I told him that was fine and told my husband that it was time to go.

Then the guy remembered that they just got one in, but it hadn't been put on the lot yet. It was a newer model than the one he had showed me before and had more features, plus was the right price.

So, my husband and I both took turns taking it for a test drive and decided to take it. I love my car.

[moekosowl]

smellystudent, a friend of mine had a similar experience at a Vauxhall dealer in Ripon...he was very satisfied. I've found people from Yorkshire to be very friendly and open, kind and with great senses of humor and really good at advice.

[Rapscallion]

We have? Wow!

I think I need to brush up on a few things...

Rapscallion

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Another one--I don't know this from experience but it was from a Dilbert book. Specifically, Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel.

If your salesperson happens to be female, do not patronize her

The story was that this 19-year old girl was selling cars, and she had a guy come in and tell her she couldn't know anything about cars, and that she probably didn't make enough to buy one of the cars she sold. So she asked the guy how much he was willing to spend, he told her "anout $14,000, she got him to test-drive a Geo Metro, and ended up selling it to him for the full price of $13,995, with no negotiating.

D'oh!

[bean]

For what it's worth, out of the 7 cars I've owned now, only 1 came from a lot.

The last one I got at a lot - I'm the first to admit the salesman was aggressive about getting the sale. When he saw I wanted to "think about it", he took me to see their other cars that met my criteria. That being "it has to be Honda with a VTEC engine in a manual transmission, I won't even consider automatic, 2000 or newer".

I did get them down $2000 on a 2001 Accord ($8600 + TTL on it, paid cash, 81k with power everything and CD player). Their sticker price 10600, "no haggle" was 9400, and my uncle is good friends with the used car manager of the lot I should point out Honda VTEC engines only come in mid to top of the line Honda vehicles (in North America anyway).

I almost did walk on it though - I did tell the salesman to hold it for me and that I needed to think about it - driving around, 15 min later, he called my cell and said "I know you want to walk from it, what's wrong? Tell me what you want". I'd been working with him 2 days and having him call me when I was actually trying to pull the money out of the bank for it was annoying (but normally would have been a good or obnoxious move). I will hand him one thing, he didn't try to BS me on the car at all, he knew I know my cars and was pretty much along for the ride on the test drives.

[Trisnic]

I deal with customers at a daily basis on my tech support job. I don't like the "I'm better then attitude" thing either.

I agree with some other things that you said too but...

I brought my whole family when buying my first car. I was 22 and wanted to get a new car. I knew what type I wanted in general but not the specific model. I went out with my dad and my friend and my husband (and my mom and brother sometimes too). Most of what we did was window shopping where we went to stores when they were closed.

It was a GREAT bonding experience as I had not really been around my dad too much for years before that.

I am an introvert and a timid person really. All I really want is to be left alone and to make a decision myself and with the support of my family and friends. I had my fianaces in order by getting pre-approved with the bank.

In the end car buying went from fun to very stressful due to having to deal with the bullying, sneaky, arrogant sales people (a few were fine but for the most part).

NO ONE has the right to tell me that bonding with my family was wrong.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

"If your salesperson happens to be female, do not patronize her"

And by the same token, if your customer happens to be female, do not patronize her.

I've had salemen absolutly REFUSE to deal with me, instead talking past me to my boyfriend, even after repeated told "Hey, she's buying! I'm only here for the ride! Talk to her." and after ME getting annoyed and saying "Excuse me. I'm the customer. Not him." Finally, I said, "Talk to anyone but me about this one more time and I am gone. Okay?"

So the fker addressed me and started telling me how pretty the upholstery was. So I just said, "Okay. I get it." pulled the keys out of my pocket and headed for my car, telling BF "Enough horseshit. Let's go."

I've had something like that happen more than once.

[tollbaby]

My aunt doesn't take any BS from anybody, and has always handled car salesmen and mechanics on her own (that's another story in and of itself... I'm petrified of having to deal with mechanics because I haven't got a clue about cars!).

That's why I'm taking my auntie with me when I'm finally ready to go car shopping

[Melxb]

I remember the first time I went to buy my first brand new car in 1999. I went to a local Saturn dealership with my uncle and my dad. I was 22, a new college graduate with my first grown-up job. I had no idea how to go about buying a car. I wanted a Saturn merely for the fact that they don't haggle with the price. The sticker price IS the price. I had been pre-approved with a great interest rate through my credit union so I knew what I could and couldn't buy.

As soon as we stepped on the lot we were approached by a salesman who was my age I'd guess. He went straight for my dad, being the eldest of the 3 of us. My dad just looked at him and said, "She's buying the car, not me." You know what happened? He talked to ME the whole time. He didn't talk down to me, he asked specifically what I wanted, what I needed and what he thought would match me. I was so nervous, but he was so nice and just plain pleasant to be around. He didn't talk down to me, he explained the difference in engines between the two models I was deciding between and he never once asked my dad if he was paying for the car. I walked out 2 hours later with a brand new Saturn SL2 and a great appreciation for good car salespersons. I have since recommended him (he's still there 8 years later) and the dealership to anyone looking for a Saturn. He'll earn my business when my Blazer kicks it and I get a Vue.

[protege]

He'll earn my business when my Blazer kicks it and I get a Vue.

If you get one, go for the V6...the inline-4 doesn't seem to have enough power. Or, at least my mother's doesn't...especially when it's loaded

[Auto]

Good car buying advice. But I disagree with two points.

First, I don't care if the salesman doesn't like it, but I want friends and family along when I shop for a car. The salesman knows what he's doing, I don't. having family and friends present make it more likely I can resist the salesman's tricks and attempts to pressure me.

For most people, buying a car is the second most expensive purchase we'll ever make. I want all the help I can find. If the salesman doesn't like that, I'll just think he's trying to make it easier to screw me out of my money.

Second, I never tell how much I'm willing to pay. If I say $500/month is my max, then -- no surprise -- I'll find myself arguing how much car I get for $500/month.

I'd rather decide first what I want to buy before I start haggling over price. And how much I can afford to pay is none of the salesman's business.

[Seshat]

More tips for buying used cars:

* Get a professional mechanical test. You're not looking for it to pass perfectly, you're paying for a professional to find out if it's structurally and mechanically sound. If you can, also pay for an estimate to repair the faults, and for the pro. mechanic to tell you which ones are safety issues.

* Know how much you want to pay, after repairs, for a structurally and mechanically sound car.
Those in the car-repair industry can get cheaper repairs, and thus a cheaper total price. If you're not in the industry and don't have a helpful friend/family member in the industry, don't buy a wreck. It's not worth the safety risk.

* Ignore the doodads. If the car can't be made safe for the price you're willing to pay, you don't need that fancy DVD-TV player built into the back seat.

* Know your needs. You need a safe car (yeah, I harp on that), but also think about what you intend to use the car for. Buy a car which fulfils your everyday needs well, and your regular-but-not-everyday needs reasonably well.

* If you have an occasional need, such as 'every second year we go on a long trip halfway across the country' consider the extra costs of owning a larger car that would suit that. Extra insurance, extra repair and maintenance costs, more garage space, more difficult parking, and of course the gas. Compare the costs of owning that car for two years vs owning the small city runabout that would suit everything else, and then get rental prices for renting the big car for the trip.
Only buy the bigger car (rather than renting one for the trip) if the math adds up that way.

* If you're on good terms with your regular mechanic, get them to show you how to do a preliminary structural-and-mechanical-soundness test. This will NOT be enough to choose a car, it will only eliminate the worst of the cars, thus potentially saving you money on your professional mechanical checkup.

* If you find a car salesman who seems to be genuinely interested in helping you, work with him. Help him (or her) help you find a safe car that fills your needs, in your price range. It can be done!

[HYHYBT]

First, I don't care if the salesman doesn't like it, but I want friends and family along when I shop for a car.

Besides, as far as family goes at least, they're going to be using it too

[symposes]

my first dealer bought car was a saturn.
It was booked at 4000, the dealership was asking 3000.
We asked our salesman what was wrong with the car.
he said, "Nothing, Its just that noone wants a car with 125k miles on it."
needless to say, i liked the car, and we bought it so fast, that they didnt have time to bring out everyone for the saturn cheer...(first time buyers of saturns, are supposed to get thanked for buying a saturn... i think...)