Buying a Car for the First Time...

[Churchill]

You can ask any dealer to provide the CARFAX of the vehicle you're looking at, if they give you some other bullshit company tell them to go and get you a carfax or you're going to take the VIN and walk away.

Using a credit union for the loan is a good idea.

Uh, be patient, what you want will pop up, trust me. I've searched for rare cars for awhile and every time I get the one I want a better deal pops up moments later.

I wouldn't drop 25k+ on a used vehicle unless it was something awesome: ie not an Explorer. Try to find a better deal or go older to get something cheaper, or better yet, search craigslist and stuff like that since a lot of people tried to sell trucks when gas was high and still are. I buy through craigslist more often than anywhere else.

[Azkarin2]

I'm looking for a Limited with 4WD and hopefully a V8. Two weeks ago when I started I was all excited and had my hopes set on getting one by the end of the week. Now that I've dealt with shitty salesmen and did a ton of research I'm more realistic and patient. And knowledgeable thanks to yall. I'm much more prepared to sit and wait for what I want and pay what I want. All of the dealer tricks (bait and switch, mentioning payments instead of sales price, etc) I've encountered and its been fun knowing that they are just full of shit. The number one thing I've learned is that car salesmen all suck.

[Dimmauk]

I'm looking for a Limited with 4WD and hopefully a V8. Two weeks ago when I started I was all excited and had my hopes set on getting one by the end of the week. Now that I've dealt with shitty salesmen and did a ton of research I'm more realistic and patient. And knowledgeable thanks to yall. I'm much more prepared to sit and wait for what I want and pay what I want. All of the dealer tricks (bait and switch, mentioning payments instead of sales price, etc) I've encountered and its been fun knowing that they are just full of shit. The number one thing I've learned is that car salesmen all suck.

As someone that has a family full of car salesmen/saleswomen, I can tell you that you are correct about them all sucking. I will also say that they work crazy long hours, and make alot of money if they are good at selling. I would never ever want to sell cars.

[MrW]

The one thing that drives me over the edge is the old "I can get you a deal, I'm talking thousands" ... What the fuck does that mean??? That's when I say "Seriously, you can stop bullshitting me or find someone else that won't". Sadly, it is one of the only ways that tells them I mean business. Sometimes you just need put your foot down.

[Melchiah]

Never, ever, ever give the salesperson the impression that you *need* a car. That's like a chum trail. They need to make you an unbeatable deal, and that's the impression you have to give them. Even if what you are driving is about to fall apart and you really do need something in a hurry, don't let them know that. If you have a clunker, have someone else drive you to the lot. This is a game about information, whoever keeps the most secrets wins.

I just bought a new 09 Mustang in October. What I did was visit Ford's website and make a virtual build of what I wanted, and print it out with the MSRP. This gave me a baseline price I could expect to spend, which ended up being $23,880. Once I had that information, I called all of the local Ford dealerships, got a salesman and told them what I was looking for. I gave them my phone number, told them I knew what the sticker price on the package was, and to call me back if they could find one and give me a better price on it.

As it happened, the only car in the southeast that perfectly matched what I wanted was in Chattanooga, TN, about 150 miles from Birmingham, but I didn't know this. Four dealerships of the 7 I called got back to me and gave me prices, which I recorded on a legal pad. One of them slipped up and told me that the car was at a dealership in TN. Back to the info game, this got recorded as well, because the guy who actually owns the car is more likely to give you a better deal than another dealer who has to transfer it. So I googled Ford dealerships in TN, and I found on their inventory the car I wanted at Marshal Mize Ford in Chattanooga. So I called them and got a price.

At this point I just let all of them simmer for about two weeks, and declined every offer they made. Finally, a Birmingham dealership called me and offered $20000. Because I knew about Ford's college student incentive($500) I asked him if he could do $19,500 with that incentive and he bit.

Now that we had agreed on a sale price, I talked to him about my trade-in. When they ask about trade-in before a sale price is agreed on, just tell them you think you still need the car for your son/wife/whatever. Spring the trade-in on them after a sale price is agreed on, because they will raise the sale price if they think you want to trade in.

I ended up getting $1800 for my trade in, which I felt was pretty fair since I only paid $4000 for it in the first place. That knocked the bottom line from $19,500 to $17,700.

Also, never feel like you need to take an offer to keep from hurting a salesperson's feelings. They are animals and they don't have feelings, just a nose for blood. And remember that this game is all about who has the most information. Do your homework, find out about incentives, make offers at the end of the month, and know what you can spend and don't over-obligate yourself. Lots of people figure a car purchase based on how much they can spend a month and this is a mistake in the long run. Interest rates go up with the term of the loan, get a number in your head of what you think the car is worth and what you can spend overall and then make your decision. Happy hunting!