The purchase of a motor vehicle is an exciting time for most people. It can also be a very costly experience. However it needn't be. You’d be surprised just how much you can save on your purchase if you are prepared to invest a little time to do some research, and then play the negotiating game.
How much can you save? A man in Brisbane who had recently studied my audio course,
How To Negotiate And Get The Best Deal Every Time says he saved $6,765 on the purchase of a new prestige vehicle three months ago using this system, while a lady in Melbourne saved more than $1,000 when she bought a second hand car.
Here’s what I suggest you do when buying a new motor vehicle. By the way, I won’t win any friends from most motor vehicle sales people who read this!
Firstly decide on the make, model and options that you want and which dealer you would ultimately prefer to buy it from. Whilst service will be available from your nearest dealer regardless of where you buy your vehicle, it’s still a good idea to establish a relationship with your local dealer to ensure that you can get help when you need to negotiate this later on.
Go visit that dealer and introduce yourself to the sales manager if possible. Tell them that you’d prefer to deal with them if possible. Most dealerships pay commissions to sales people so if the sales manager will deal directly with you, this will save the company commission which can be passed along to you as an extra discount. Ask for a full demonstration of the vehicle and take as much time as you like. The more time this person invests with you, the more flexible they are likely to become later on. I’ll explain why later.
Ask this person, "What is your best possible price if I place an order with you right now?"
They will probably ask you if you have a trade-in and I’m going to suggest that you leave your trade in out of the equation right now. Tell them you will probably sell it privately and I’ve got a few ideas for you on this too, that I reveal in my audio course,
How To Negotiate And Get The Best Deal Every Time. All you want now is their best price on the vehicle, without a trade in.
Avoid answering questions like, "So what’s the best price you have already?" Whatever the price they quote you, visibly "flinch". "How much? I’m sorry, but you’ll have to do better than that!" and shut up.
Once you have their "best price" thank them, and promise that you’ll get back to them before you buy anything. Incidentally, it is unlikely that this is their best price at this stage.
Now that you have a starting price, it’s time to shop around. Select another dealer and repeat the procedure. Take lots of time and get the full demonstration again and get their best price.
Now it’s time to shop by telephone. Let those fingers do the walking. Call every dealer in your city if you need to. Tell them you intend to place an order today if you can get the right price. Tell them the best price you have, and ask them if they can beat it. Remember no trade in.
Once you have a price, call another dealer and see if they can do better. Repeat this over and over and don’t be afraid to go back to a dealer you’ve called and tell them you have a better price, and ask them if they are sure about the price they quoted you. You’ll soon get a feel for what the bottom line is. One of these sales people may even tell you what their purchase price is.
Now don’t get me wrong. I believe both parties should be happy with the deal. Indeed if I were you, I’d show concern for every dealer you speak to. "I don’t want you to lose on this deal, but I don’t want to pay more than I need to! So what’s the very best you can do for me?"
A professional sales person and dealer shouldn’t do business with you if it’s unprofitable for them. We train automotive salespeople, but the sad fact is we don’t get to train many. There are still a great many out there who are not skilled or professional; or interested in developing these skills. However these people will save you money because you can out negotiate them.
Now it’s time to go back again to the two dealers you visited in person. This time take a friend. Only deal with the person you met before and have them go over everything again. Everything! The truth is by the time these sales people have invested this much time with you, and spoken with you many times by telephone, they will be very keen to get something, anything, out of the deal to compensate them for the time they have already spent with you. Tell them both you would very much like to do business with them, but there’s a problem. You have a better price. Can they help you? Then go back and forth by phone between these two dealers until one drops out.
Like I said, I won’t win many friends here amongst car dealers but this procedure can save you a fortune.
Once you feel you have the best deal possible, I’m going to suggest you do something very strange.
Before you place your order, get on the telephone to some interstate dealers. See if they can do better. We’ve discovered that in some smaller cities, because of lower overheads, dealers can do better. We also discovered that in some big cities, because competition is so fierce, dealers will go even lower than in some other cities.
I personally saved an extra $10,500 last year, by ordering my new prestige vehicle from a Wollongong dealer rather than a Melbourne dealer where I live. That’s right I found a Wollongong dealer who would supply me with the same new car I wanted, for $10,500 less than the already remarkable price that I had from Melbourne dealers. Strange but true! Two weeks later while in Sydney on business I picked up my new car and had a very pleasant drive back to Melbourne saving $10,500 extra.
Here are a few extra tips once you’ve purchased.
Be careful that you don’t fall into the trap of paying top dollar for optional extras, insurance or finance. Remember to negotiate on these too. Very often this is where car dealers make their money, rather than on the vehicle itself. Go slow and shop these prices around as well.
Remember don’t rush. Don’t be pressured into believing that "This is the only car available" or that "If you don’t decide now, you’ll miss out". .
There will always a better deal, another opportunity just as good. Have fun with these ideas and please leave something in the deal for the poor car dealer. Make sure he or she feels good about the deal and offer to send all of your friends to them, and then really do this to help both parties.
About Wayne Berry
Wayne Berry is a best selling author, professional speaker, trainer and business coach. He has presented his unique Australian Top Gun® Programmes in more than 14 countries around the world and shared the stage with other leading international presenters such as Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins, James Rohn and Dr Denis Waitley. Wayne is known for his programmes on selling, negotiating, sales management, leadership, team building, personal development and motivation.
© 2003 Wayne Berry All rights reserved worldwide
Used on this site with the permission of Wayne Berry
