| Before buying a new car it is always important to do as much research about the car, or cars, you are looking at. It is odd that as consumers, we research just about everything we buy. Yet when it is time for buying a new car, we often pull up to the dealership and wander around until a salesman tells us about the cars that happen to catch our eye. With the Internet at our disposal, we can easily transform from a customer without a clue, to a well informed consumer with a plan of action for buying a new car.
When looking for tips on buying a new car, the most often passed along is to know what the dealer paid for the car. Knowing the invoice price of the car, or what the dealership paid, is the best piece of knowledge when walking onto a new car lot. The question is, how do you get this information. Certainly the salesperson is not going to readily divulge this information. The manufacturer isn�t going to be extremely helpful either. So unless you know somebody in the business, all seems lost right? Wrong.
By making a call to the Consumer Reports New Car Price Service you can find all the information you need to arm yourself when buying a new car. For the $12 fee that is required, you receive the invoice price (what the dealership paid), the sticker price (what the dealer wants you to pay), current rebates offered for the car in question, factory to dealer incentive, plus the invoice costs and sticker prices for the different options and packages that are offered for that car. The report can be sent by either fax or mail and saves new car buyers an average of $1,300.
Of course, you can�t merely walk into the showroom with this piece of paper in your hand and expect the salespeople to tremble in fear offering you free floor mats to leave them alone. How to buy a new car with this information is to use it as a bargaining chip. If you go in and tell them exactly what they paid for the vehicle and the sports package, the salesperson and the sales manager will know that you did your homework. It will cut down on the hemming and hawing allowing the two of you to get down to real bargaining.
Other things to know when you want to understand how to buy a new car is the best month to buy a new car and the best time to buy a new car. Traditionally, October used to be the best month to buy a new car since they were clearing the lot for the new arrivals in November. However, nowadays new vehicles are rolled out in a more staggered fashion. Although the new cars are typically brought to the lot around this time period, it is wise to do your homework. This can be as simple as calling the dealer pretending to anxiously be awaiting the arrival of the new 2008 models. As for the best time to buy a new car during the day, there are two schools of thought. The first says salespeople are eager to get a jump on a great day so an early morning visit to the showroom is best. Others believe that right before close is best so that the salesperson can log one more sale for the day. So the best time to buy a new car is when you are at your sharpest wits. If you are a morning person, charge down there first thing in the morning. If you need plenty of coffee just to start your car, opt for the closing hours.
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