Buying a Car

Anyone that has ever owned their own car has had to go through the buying process. Now a lot of people get easily confused or cheated out of a good deal that they could have saved hundreds of dollars.

First off there’s a big difference between buying it from a person and buying it from a dealer. When buying from a person there’s a lot of room to bargain, but if you’re buying from a dealer you have the security that if it turns out to be a terrible car that you have somewhere to go to. These two benefits are the major differences that people decide which path to take.

Despite where you buy from it is always good to get the Blue Book (kbb.com) value unless it is a new car. New cars have suggested retail prices which can only be negotiated later on in the buying process. With used cars especially from people, the key is to never give an opinion on the car. You need to make sure that you ask a lot of the important questions regarding the features and what is important to you. Also make sure you point out all of the faults in the car if it is rust, worn tires, or stains in the seats. Some of the common things to ask when purchasing a Jeep is the miles, if anything has been replaced, how old the tires are, any custom body parts to it, what it was mainly used for, and how much off-roading was done with it.

If you ever come across a car that its listed price is more than the Blue Book price make sure you point that out in the next portion. If it is the exact thing that you want and a good price and the person was very honest about the faults then you can continue into the bidding. What is nice about personal selling is that you can talk about the terms of the car without needing buying power. It doesn’t matter if you’re ready to buy the car today or next week, you can talk about price without having any commitment.

The first offer is usually made by the seller it’s the price that they put on the “for sale” sign. This is always much higher than what they are actually willing to sell it for. Often, the seller will say “Look, I’m selling it for ____ but I’ll give it to you for ____” This is to make you feel like they’re doing you a favor. Selling and buying cars is a psychological thing and a lot of buyers are afraid of being rejected. However, you need to remember that the seller feels the same way. Whenever negotiating, make sure that you point out all of the faults in the car. Then after the seller makes their initial offer, give an offer that is 40% under what you would be willing to pay. The less that the seller lowers it in their next offer, do the same back.  So if they offer 10% below what they offered before only 10% more of your last offer. If anything you will be better off offering only 5% more.

Do not ever ask for their minimum price, never actually give how much you would be willing to pay for it, never believe them when they say they are working with you, and never be afraid to walk away. With car dealers this is even more crucial. When buying a new car you cannot begin to make offers until you show that you have credit and would be able to finance a loan or pay for the car in some manner. Once you do that, then you will need to visit various dealers and talk them individually down. Once you have the lowest price they will offer, get it on paper, and take it to another dealer asking for a better price. Something to remember is that dealers are individually owned and they are selling these new cars at a very high margin. They will compete with each other; all you have to do is identify proof.

Personally, I have bought from both and found each experience very interesting and enjoyable. When I bought my own Jeep, I ended up saving over $5,000 by simply bargaining with the dealers. They own the store but you are the business that keeps them alive.