Rule 4. Car dealers can only take advantage of you if you let them
You may have heard of the original ‘Golden Rule’ – whoever who has the gold makes the rules. It is amazing how many people forget this as soon as they walk into a car showroom, and immediately capitulate to everything the car salesman wants them to do.
The car sales process is cleverly designed to extract the maximum amount of money from your wallet as possible. You are led along a very specific path, ultimately arriving at the destination of buying the car that suits the dealer best (see Rule 5), using their finance and with as many extras attached as they can fit into your stretched budget. But they can only do all this if you let them.
Turn the tables. Make them prove that their car is better by comparing it to others. Make them work harder to get your business by shopping around for a better deal.
Be polite and reasonable, but don’t be afraid to tell them if they are not doing a good enough job at earning your money. Walk away and find a dealer who will treat you and your wallet with more respect.
If they don’t listen to what you are asking for, don’t accept it. Make them show you a car which meets all of your needs, not the one that they really want to sell but doesn’t really suit you. If they don’t have a car that suits, go elsewhere.
Basically, don’t take any crap and don’t give them your money unless they have genuinely earned it. They’re all paid on a commission basis, so you are personally paying them to sell you a car.
Next page: Don’t get distracted by their tactics
