Americans so love getting cars that it has nearly become a spontaneous purchase. This cannot be very sensible, given the cost of cars, which rank only in back of buying a house as your biggest lifetime expense. Think of the extent you go to when purchasing a house, but don’t think about when it’s a car.
If you buy a house, there’s someone alongside you every step of the way, starting with the broker who must find the right house for you. You may even obtain an lawyer to make sure the contract is done up right, along with the title company which won’t let you pay for the home without a clear title. When you elect to buy a car you will be by yourself, with no-one to assist you. It should be quite possible to stroll into a dealership, and leave later that day with all the paperwork and other aspects completed. There is a price, though, and in most cases it is that you spend more than you normally would.
Something you must do is go to one dealership with the firm intention that you will under no circumstances buy a car while you are there. Make a pact with yourself that you will limit yourself to examining cars, and test-driving them. Then you will leave to complete some research at home. Search online and check the costs of the dealers, if there are option prices and what the safety ratings are, and don’t forget manufacturer to dealer incentives that may not have been disclosed to you. Find out before you actually go into the dealership, how much you can afford to spend, and don’t get talked into a more expensive car under any circumstances. If you cannot take care of the payments, you will be the one who will suffer the consequences, having your car taken away by the bank.
Demand to check out all calculations that the financial director does. Dealers can make extra money, very easily, in the monthly payments, by including in only a couple of dollars a month that you will never know about. You may for example point out that you can afford $600 per month, and the salesman, knowing full well that he could give it to you for $570, tells you he has a deal for $590. Amazing that’s great, is what it is likely you think, but back at the ranch you are going to be paying an additional $20 per month. Keep them honest and don’t permit them to take your money. What works well is usually to jot down notes about everything that you learn, even the salesman’s talk. That way there is no doubt and hopefully integrity can prevail.
You might as well help to make buying a car a satisfying experience, so keep the upper hand, and remember it is your new car. If you don’t like the way the situation is going, and don’t trust the people you are dealing with, go somewhere else, because the decision is yours, not theirs.
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