Hi everybody, I’m glad you joined us. Now, the reason I want to talk with you and I love to talk with you like this on the video, is the fact that Daria and I are now in the market for buying or leasing a car. Today, I’m kind of talk about buying I think, well let’s start buying first, although really, some of the things I’ll tell really relate to buying or leasing. And I think what I’ll do is an another video, let’s talk specifically the pros and cons of leasing. You know, let’s do it that way.
First of all, in 5 or 10 minutes I’m not going to give you everything you need to know about buying your car. It’s not going to happen. But this is in very, very good website and I’ll tell you as we go, worth investigating. But what I want to do, especially at this time of the year, when a lot of the new of models are coming out, although some of them are still, I don’t get, is to give you some guidelines, so going into the showroom, things to say, things not say. And well talk more about it as we go, in terms of the written articles and the little straight tip, straight talk tips we put on Dolans.com. So there will be plenty of ways to talk, about something that’s really important to all of us. For some wacky reason, in America we love our cars, alright, enough.
I think the thing to remember is this, is that there are a lot of very, very reputable new car sales people. In fact when the process is as instead of looking as a very nice people, we’re shopping around, which we’ll discuss. So I don’t think it’s safe to say that all new car sales people are corrupt or in all financials are corrupts or all talk show hosts are good. But let’s me just tell you one thing, when you go in to a new car showroom, it’s a little bit battle, because here’s the deal, you’re looking to get the car, stupidly as you can, and the salesman is looking to get the best profit that he or she can make for himself and the company. So the answer is you’re going with the little bit of an attitude.
Number 2, you’re looking around the car, by the way MSRP, forget it. Unless it’s the hottest latest Corvette or let’s say, or it’s the only Porsches made in North America, okay. MSRP, Mass Manufacture’s Suggested Retail Price is simply a fantasy, it’s simply a guideline, we’ll talk more as we go.
One thing you want to be aware of is that if you go around the showroom and you see, you know you see a car that you like and you want to know more about it. May be you’d want to take a drive, what they’ll often do, what the new car sales person will often do is either ask for your social security number which I never give out to anybody, or your driver’s license.
Now you say well, “I got to give a driver’s license because I’m taking, I’m driving a car”. And I guess that’s okay, but here’s what I want you to do, not many people will tell you this. When you’re at home, if you can or at work before you know, the day before you leave home, when you will work Friday, when you’re going to go look for car Saturday, make a copy of your license. Don’t hand the original license all the way. A copy of your license and here’s what I want you write across it, credit check not authorized. It’s against the law for them to check your credit.
Here’s what the game with some of them. When you give them your license which they ask for, they’re going to go make a copy of it, okay and they check your credit literally before they come back. So, it’s not of your darn business, no credit check authorized.
Best times of the year to shop, the difficult to tell you now because the cars are coming all over the place. But usually at the end of the month is pretty darn good, when sales people are trying to make their quotas as a general rule, number one. Number two around the holidays like Christmas, when people are much more concerned about they're attributing it in buying gifts, and on rainy days, why? Because, there’s not a lot of traffic on rainy days not a lot of traffic in the new car showrooms in that days. Also, if you’re looking to buy often at the end of a model year, now that depends when the model is, June, July, August, September, Septemberith, buying at the end of the year generally makes the most a lease in. How about leasing? Usually, at the beginning of the year because it’s at the beginning of a lease of a modeled year when the bank set the residual value. Don’t be confused we’ll about it when we’ll talk leasing. The residual value is the value of the car at the end of the lease, the higher the better, we’ll explain as when we’ll talk leasing. But basically, leasing, beginning of the modeled year.
Nothing you want to look at also, and these are little tidbits that you’re just not going to read or hear much about. If you want to see how the car has been on the lot, well how do I that? Car’s been on lot like 60 days, what does that mean? That means, that Car Company would just go financing a floor plan, financing a loan for that car and it’s been there for 60 days or more. How do I find out? Automotive News.
Automotive News Magazine, trade magazine available in some news stands, some major bookstore news, you know magazine newspaper store and in many large libraries. How about another little tip? Are you ready?
When in the inside of a driver’s door, there’s often a white tag to view different color, which gives you the manufacture’s date. And the will give you some idea how long this car’s been floating around. So the date on which the car was manufactured, usually it’s on the driver’s side. Take a look at that, don’t go alone. Don’t go alone when you go buy a car or to lease a car, I’m not saying you bring your, your crazy shopper friend with you who’ll buy anything. But it’s often harder to sell to people or harder to sell two people than it is to sell one. So don’t go alone when you go to a new car dealership, either to buy or lease.
I got some great leasing tip to tell the truth, but will do that in another video.
Sometimes, if you placed an order for a car that the dealer does not have in inventory, you might get a better deal. Why, because the dealer’s not financing it, it’s not sitting here as a part of the deal as your floor plan so you may want to compare. Same car, ordering it, ordering means they don’t have it yet, or pricing it against the one they have in inventory may be worth it.
Don’t fall into this trap by the way, I know it’s a pain. It’s a pain to sell you a car elsewhere. Generally, do it. I’m not saying every new car dealer’s smoking mirrors in the tray in value and stuff like that. I know that cash is king. I’ve done it many times, by the way sell it privately. Daria did it, yes, Daria did it, last year she sold her car for cash and it went out with cash in a pocket.
Sometimes the math is a little sketchy on trade ins when relating to the new car price and putting down and stuff like that. Okay, a new car dealer has a right to make a profit with no problem with that. But be careful with some of the high profited items like, rust proofing, glazing, undercoating, credit life insurance when something happens to you. you should be insured, but not from the deal as credit life insurance.
I’ll give you another, extended warrantees. Generally don’t like them from the dealer, generally, certainly not from the dealer because I’m worrying about the dealer going out of business. There’s a very good website called WarrantyDirect.com. WarrantyDirect.com deck peek at, it’s a good warranty information there. Watch out for low interest rates and stuff like that. Low interest rates, 0.9 %, 1.9 %, 2.5 % but be careful, I’m not saying it’s bad but I’m saying, there are two things you should know.
Number one, often goes to the people with the best credit and it’s often for one or two years, be careful. What happens in year 3 or 4 if you go that long. So watch out for low interest rates financing.
A couple of steps before you go in to credit, before you go in to a car dealership. Do you want to be really, really smart? Get a copy of your credit record, see what it says, make sure it’s correct, you should do that anyway. Anyway, get a copy of your credit report. Get the money first, go to you local credit union, go to your local bank. Even to your brokers’ firm to see what in fact they’re may be able to do. Go get the money first or at least pre approval. Let me say I’m waking with the checklist necessary get pre-approved.
I think that, and two last things, the most powerful tool you have, and I know it’s difficult some times, is to turn your heel and walk out the door. The hardest part for me as a new car person or a new car dealer, the hardest part of the sales for me to get you in the door, whatever you got there, I’m happy to have it. I know that if you’ll leave, number one, you’re likely not to comeback and that’s one less potential sale. So you’re greatness negotiating tool is the ability to say, thank you. Keep that in mind.
And last but not the least, no big deal. I should’ve started with this one because it’s so obvious, Edmunds. E-D-M-U-N-D-S.com. Edmunds.com, KBB, KellyBlueBook.com, lots of good information relating to dealer costs, options costs etc. Anybody who walks into a new car dealership without having gone on the internet and it’s not all the end to all be all answer. But at least gives you info or reference. If you don’t use the internet or all your incredible information available there, you’re nuts. You’re a lamb to the slaughter.
As I said before, books have been written, tapes have been done, videos have been done on buying a car, we’ll talk more about it. Some of the other strategies, some of the things never to say to a “Didn’t do Car Sales Man”, we’ll talk about it again, we’ll also talk in an upcoming video about buying versus leasing, today—that really talk buying.
Do your homework, understand the battle, understand the process, go with the friend, get your money first and do your homework. Good luck. Happy shopping!
Smell of a new car is beautiful.
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