Most people are familiar with Donald Trump’s groundbreaking book on negotiating business transactions named “The Art of the Deal.” But a general manager who works at a large car dealership shares his views on the art of the car deal and what people can do to get the price they’d like.
One thing he says is useful is to use knowledge as a bargaining chip when negotiating a deal for a car. You need to walk in with an accurate pricing on the car you want. You can do this by calling around and finding out what the going price is, and researching prices on the Internet.
Armed with this information, you have an edge during the deal making process because you’ll know exactly what a good price is. If the car salesperson tries to convince you that the price he or she is offering is the best they can do, you can say, “But I’ve got a lower price according to another dealership.
Use LeverageLeverage is something you can use to shift the power over to you instead of the car dealership. The first thing you should realize is that you already have the power in negotiations because you’re the buyer. You don’t have to buy from the dealership and can walk out the door at anytime. This gives you a tremendous advantage. Don't get squeezed into a car deal you don't want because you don't have to take it. Period.
When you start negotiations, your first words can set the tone. If you come across is pensive, unsure, and intimidated, your salesperson will pick up on this and try to leverage this into a better profit margin for the car business.
However, if you walk in at ease with yourself, and state in the beginning that “What happens in the next few minutes could benefit you and your business in the future,” or in other words, you’ll do some good word-of-mouth advertising to bring in more business. This puts pressure on the salesperson and gives him/her an incentive to do the best in working out a good deal for you.
You can also start off the conversation by asking, “What are you pricing these cars at right now?” The question seems innocent enough, but it gives you an advantage because it means you know what the cars are going for, and a sale is not necessarily a given unless you get a good price.
Believe You Are RightIn some cases car salespeople will say, “I can’t possibly give you the price you’re asking because we won’t be making any money on the deal.” At this stage, two things can happen. You can doubt your facts about the cost of the car and give in to a higher price, or you can stand firm and refuse to give in because you know you’re right.
By this, it doesn’t mean coming off as self-righteous or overbearing, but being confident that what you propose is fair and that you won’t take anything less.
With this sort of confidence, you’ll take the upper hand in negotiations. And if the car dealership won’t budge, you can thank them for their time and walk out the door. If you do this, you're sure to get a phone call later offering you a better deal. And if they do call back, turn them down because they weren't up front enough the first time you were there to give you the deal you wanted.
But one warning, if you do get a good deal, make sure the car dealership doesn't try to cheat you out of your savings by inflating the MSRP price, adding unnecessary fees, extras, a higher interest rate, or lengthening your car payment periods to recoup some of the "lost" profits.
Source:
Edmunds.com