[Veronica]

Hi everybody! I’ll be buying my next car soon. It will probably be a used car. I will be paying a nice down payment and getting pre-approval from my bank.

Please give me all your tips for saving money at the dealership.

[Carolyn]

Don’t know what kind of car your looking into getting but Imported cars are about to get tariff taxed at 25% starting April (I believe)
that will bring a cars price up for sure.

[Candice]

My ford is at over 213,000miles and still going strong.

It’s all in how you maintain any vehicle, really.

[Mary]

Don’t be afraid to walk away. Don’t let them bully you into getting more car than you can afford. They will ask you what you want to pay monthly, and work on it from that point.

It’s wrong. You will overpay like that. Find a car in your price range. Be firm.

There seems to be less wiggle room in a used vehicle, but I have walked out of a dealership because they were pushy, because they wanted to deal with my husband, or because they refused to deal in price.

When you buy the vehicle remember that you will have to pay sales tax when you get it licensed.

Make sure you have enough saved for that. They can put the sales tax in the loan, but then you are paying interest on it.

Go looking now. Get a feel on what they offer, what warranties, do you feel comfortable with that sales person. Go to several reputable dealers. I live in the country.

The nearby dealers are considerably higher than the ones in the city. Years ago I tried to buy a truck local.

They would only come down $500. I drove to the city and told them I was looking at that specific truck and what could they do.

At first not much. When I said I would go back to the other dealer they ended up dropping $5,000. Times are changing, and it may not work on a used car, but worth a shot.

My last new car they wanted to give me oil changes instead of dollars off. If you live close to the dealership it might work for you.

I wasn’t driving over an hour to get my oil changed.

[Sue]

I bought a new car yesterday. They gave me $1,500 off the price for financing it. I can pay cash and I asked another $1,000 for my trade in. That was not a problem.

If I pay the 36 payments, the interest is only $1,700 so that almost makes it interest free.

When I get my first bill, I intend to pay it off in full.

I did also put $3,000 on my credit card that pays 1.8% cash back. Oh and my county sales tax is going up .5% on April 1st.

I got the car I wanted for the price I wanted.

I know not everyone can pay cash for a car, but I have saved for this.

[Sarah]

I actually love buying cars-it becomes kind of game for me LOL! I usually find 2-3 dealers that have the same or similar car and play them against each other.

“X can give me this car for $$, can you beat that?” type of game.

Sometimes they’ll want to see the deal from the other place, so I have it in writing/email.

Works well most of the time. I saved $100/month on my last car!

[Patricia]

Don’t be afraid to go to another town or state in our case. I knew the vehicle I wanted, went in by myself and was treated like I had three heads at our local Chevy dealer.

I walked out, went to get a pedicure & while in the chair found the vehicle online.

Called, made a deal, wired the money and picked it up a few days later and get this- it as $9,000 cheaper for the identical vehicle!

My hubby was so proud of me!! I was proud of me! Do not be afraid to walk out! My hard earned money is better in my pocket!!

Good Luck!

[Winter]

Negotiate… Negotiate! They’ll say “this is the lowest I can go.” Go lower. Cars are very marked up.

Do not buy a warranty at the dealership.

[Sharon]

I need to buy a car and so last week I went to look at a few at a dealership. I told the salesman I wanted a used car.

I told him I wasn’t gonna buy another new car —— I did last time and I’ve kept it for 17 years.

And yet all he wanted me to do was come and sit in this new Toyota, just sit in it and see if you like it.

Great price, he said. All new, he said. Warranty, he said.

I had to leave.

[Joan]

Always buy at the END of THE MONTH. The managers have quotas to meet/exceed and so they will give better deals if you buy on one of the last days of the month.

Don’t tell them what you can afford as a monthly payment.

If they keep pressing you on that, say that you’re considering paying cash.

(You can still finance).

[Sarah]

When your at a dealership they will push for you to apply there for financing. You have to be super strong and refuse if you want to go through your bank instead.

Also ask the bank exactly what you need to get from the dealership to finalize your loan.

[Nicole]

Depending on your state, a prior salvage may be an option. There was one I was looking at that hit a deer, saw before and after pictures as well as records of repairs.

Once a title is salvaged, the state has to inspect it to be on the road again.

Definitely depends on how the car was salvaged, floods are a no, but sometimes hail or body accidents are totally fine.

Credit union finances 70% of cars worth, but prior salvage titles are generously lower than that as well as with low miles most the time.

The Explorer that hit a deer was listed for $16k and 70% of the value was $23k. Could be an option.

[Lynn]

Not much leeway these days negotiating, used cars are in demand! On the flipside, higher tradeins.

YES, Win win toyota, honda, subaru.

[Mebrati]

Take a mechanic with you. The car has a plug that connects to a code reader that tells you what is wrong with the car.

Look up the car by its vin number to see if it has been in any accidents.

If so, you can barter for a lower price.

The car dealership won’t be expecting you to do this.

Make them fix the problem first before you buy it.

[Nesha]

There isn’t much to negotiate these days.
Used cars are still pretty expensive.

We bought a new car this winter, and it had to be ordered.

It took 8 weeks. There was no negotiating.

[Ancella]

I would probably go ASAP. Trump announced 25% tariffs on foreign cars yesterday. I looked online expecting prices to change at a moment’s notice, but they have not yet.

I actually purchased a preowned car last Friday at a Toyota dealership in Richardson, Texas and asked about the tariffs and a business office person said 3 popular models, Corolla, Camry and RAV were going up 25% soon.

A 25% tariff also applies to parts.

I think this will also increase used car prices because people will try to save with those

[Annette]

There are heaps of websites to help people understand what the true price of the car should be. That is the number you need to focus on.

All the rest is just math, math is that often meant to confuse and bewilder.

Don’t br afraid to walk out.

Toyota and Honda are historically theist reliable.

[Elizabeth]

If you live in an area where undercoating is not necessary, like in the Southwest/part of country with low rainfall, tell them you’re not paying for it and to take it off the final price.

[Cynthia]

Stretch the payments out as many years as it takes and then double up on the payments when you make them every month, you’ll save a lot on interest

[Mike]

Your feet are the best negotiating tool…
First make the salesman go back for approval of at least 2 offers… then tell them you are hungry and will be going down the street to (know of a restaurant nearby) think about it… they will rarely let you walk off the lot if they can go lower…

If they don’t want you to leave, let them know you need a lower price…

[Author]

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