ALT-10 A Womans Car Buying Guide
Car buying, like root canals is an equal opportunity experience. After retiring from 40 years of industrial sales, I sold cars for a year at two Ford dealerships and I can tell you that the grind is the same for men and women. In fact, women hold up better than men.
A salesman will greet you at the door and take your keys to the used car sales manager if you are trading in. He will schmooze a little to size you up and find out what you will buy (as opposed to what you want). A walk on the lot followed by a test drive is foreplay for the "deal".
Several trips to the manager's desk by the salesman will bring a set of diminishing price cuts until the manager comes over to close. It is an ironclad, subject to firing rule that "nobody walks til the manager talks".
After a two to four hour grind, you will buy the car because you do not want to repeat the process anyplace else.
It ends at the F&I guy (finance and insurance) where you will be given further opportunities to enhance dealer profits and find out the real deal on down payment and monthly payments.
You will probably never run into the people you are dealing with at a Mensa meeting. Salesman's pay is commission based upon percent of profit over dealer invoice. Since no one pays more than dealer invoice, salesmen are paid a "mini" commission of $50 to $100 per car sold depending on the dealership. A top tier salesman may sell 20 to 25 cars a month, so you do the math. They change jobs almost as frequently as you change the oil; that's how I know that it is the same at all dealerships.
So here's what you do when your last car purchase has turned into a clunker and you have to go to the car store.
1- Research the Internet to help you select a manufacturer and model. Sticker and dealer cost are available at these sites.2- Research your trade in value keeping in mind that you will get less than Blue Book since the dealer must make a profit on the resale. If you have doubts, get a quote from Carmax who pay top dollar.3- If you must visit a dealership prior to buying, lunch time gives you a ready excuse to leave before the fun begins. You may prefer another time so establish a time you have to leave to pick up your daughter (even if you have no children).4- With a good night's sleep and anxieties at low ebb, you are ready to slay the dragon. The last business day of the month is always a good time when monthly dealer quotas are hanging in the balance. Take all your paper work with you.5- Set aside four hours. Always be polite but firm. Angry people can be manipulated.6- If things aren't working out, leave. Again, polite but firm. If there is a better deal to be had, the sales manager will give you his best shot on your way out the door.7- It helps to have a financing alternative ready. Listen to what they offer because some of the deals are pretty good.8- It won't do any good to hurry the process.
Don't fall in love with a hunk of metal regardless of the color and don't worry about hurting the salesman's feelings by not buying. There is an old saying in all the dealerships that you can tell if a customer is lying because his lips are moving. And anyone who enters a dealership without buying is called a stroke so these folks are not your buddies.
Drive your new car home and take a long shower.
