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My sister wants me to go with her so i can help her pick out a used car, and she wants me to deal with the salesman so she can get the car for the best price.
Any ideas how I can out-smart and confuse the salesman to get the best price?

13 Comments »

1. 

   point out EVERY flaw in the car as you see it. if you see a minor ding in the body, point it out. if a light bulb is out, point it out. check the fluids, if any of the fluids is a millimeter low on the scale, point it out.

   car salesmen, especially used car salesmen, try to make the car look like an excellent car, regardless of its condition. after you point out about 5 or 6 (minor) defects in it, it will be hard for them to keep the price where its at.

   point out a bunch of flaws, then offer a price lower than what they are askin for (not too low, be reasonable) and work your way from there.

   good luck.

   Comment by Isaac Y — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

2. 

   you cant outsmart the salemen……its THEIR job….go easy on them….the customers are the biggest liars in the business

   Comment by mitsu_tunerai — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

3. 

   Hit yourself with a hammer first and knock out your arrogance.

   Comment by Ron — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

4. 

   just keep telling them that they are busting your balls.

   Comment by bassdog65 — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

5. 

   Pretend to be deaf. Write notes to the salesman, shrug your shoulders, smile and nod…

   Comment by bob_ber_down — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

6. 

   just pretend like you dont want them around, whatever price they com up with and go to their boss with refuse…ask to deal directly with the sales manager….if you find a car you want go in about 1 hour before they close for the night best on a friday or sat. night. they want to get out of there and want to make a quick deal

   Comment by pickles — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

7. 

   If you have information about the conditon of the car,mileage, and some features, such as airbags, radio or cd player and, things such as motor size ,like v-6 or v-8,sunroof,and conditon of the body(paint job), go to http://www.kbb.com and fill in the answers and it will tell you the value of the car and see then what the used car dealer is asking , and then you know if he has over priced the car.

   Comment by carla b — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

8. 

   go to kelly blue book and edmonds online, there u will be able to get invoice prices and what you should have to pay for a car from dealers. the only thing it wont help is with the add-ons the dealer put on a car like undercoating, paint sealers, and pin striping ect. good luck

   Comment by koma — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

9. 

   First of all, salesmen are indeed truly just trying to get a sale. don’t blame them for trying to rip you a new one, it’s the manager or the finance officer that gladly does that for you! Managers train their people to steer the helpless customer to a car and persuade you with the car’s "value".

   If you nick at that "value" over and over again, you can save money. Tell them, "Look, I would like this car, but am only willing to pay this ___." He will then go to his sales manager and they’ll run the "numbers" and come up with something in the general ballpark, but a little higher. Be careful, you need to know how much you want to spend and for how long. If you have a down payment, you are in the advantage.

   If it comes down to the sales manager talking to you, just tell him you don’t want to waste time and proceed to walk out. If the manager is reasonable and your offer is reasonable, you’ll be stopped and a deal will be struck. Don’t play the numbers game, they can sell ice to an eskimo. They’ll throw a bunch of numbers in your face and eventually you’ll be so tired and will either pass out or sign the agreement.

   Be reasonable and know what you want before you go. Salesmen will steer you to another car if it will make them more money. If you tell them that the car goes for $20,000 invoice and they throw at you that there’s $2,000 in add-ons you tell them you didn’t order them and don’t feel you have to pay for that. If they can get you a car that meets your needs without the extras, then that’ll be great. More than likely they won’t and will be willing to negotiate. Don’t be bullied into a deal. Some salesmen are jerks and if you sense that in one, ask for another one. If there is no nice saleman, go to another dealer.

   Comment by martin m — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

10. 

    Just relax, most salesmen are hard working guys that know a lot about the product they sell. and quite often they know a lot about the competition. Some of the other posters had some good advice, do a little homework, check out consumer reports, look at edmunds, but take their hokey TMV pricing with a grain of salt, edmunds sells magazines not cars. Some of their pricing info is way out in left field, i mean just plain not gonna happen. If you feel like your salesperson isn’t listening to you, or trying to get you to buy something you don’t want, A ask for a different salesperson or just leave.

    And do not be afraid to make an offer, and don’t be afraid to say no to the offer they make you, this is called negotiating.
    Be nice to your salesguys, you get more by being pleasant than you do by being rude and abrasive, salespeople are human too.

    Comment by kiakrash — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

11. 

    You just made your first mistake!!!! I do this every day of my life, you do it once every few years. Who do you think is better at it? Regardless of how smart or savvy you are, nothing beats experience.

    Don’t ever go anywhere trying to out-smart someone at their own game, you can end up getting the short end of the stick. Go in honest and humble and work a good deal for yourself, it’s that simple.

    Comment by jay — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

12. 

    Checkout this site it has information on buying used car :http://carbuyersdirectory.blogspot.com

    Comment by wiredmesh — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

13. 

    Take an indian friend with you, they will confuse and bargain the hell out of him.

    Comment by Ali K — September 10, 2009 @ 4:16 am

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