Car Buying 101

When visiting car dealerships, it is important to understand what type of car lot you are visiting. If you are going to a new car dealer, you will need to arm yourself with much different information than if you were visiting a used lot. Visiting a new car dealer gives you a certain edge in that you can arm yourself with much more information about the car you want. You can do enough research to find exactly what the dealer paid for the car, the invoice price, and how much the options and packages cost the dealer as well. This information is readily available for a twelve dollar fee from the Consumer Reports New Car Price Service. Another aspect of new car dealers in that the sales staff is generally more experienced. They know the right words to say, and the right time to say them. They also know that at certain times of the year, they need to make room for the newer models by getting rid of the older ones. Car dealerships cannot flood their lots with the latest models if the lot is still crowded with last year�s models. The previous year model cars are still new, but they can often be purchased for a great deal if timed properly.

If a new car is out of your budget, or you just don�t want to purchase something that will depreciate so much in such a short time, then a visit to a used car dealer may be for you. Unfortunately, the stock at a used car dealership changes frequently. One of the best sales tactics is for a used car salesperson to inform a prospective buyer that someone else is extremely interested. This is an especially strong incentive to buy when the customer finds the exact car they are looking for. Unlike the new car sales staff, the used car dealers can use this sense of urgency to their advantage. Since it is hard to find information for cars unless you know what is in stock, one tip is to use the Kelly Blue Book. This book contains information about different makes and models as well as different years. A buyer can also check the value of the car compared to the condition of the vehicle as well from the Blue Book.

Another choice to make when looking at buy a car is whether to visit one of the local car dealers or look online. Online shopping can sometimes find better prices and a larger selection, but most local car dealers will take a trade in, and they are close by should the car have any problems.