Things Not To Say To A Car Salesman. New Car Buyer Top Tips.
According to car salesman Mark McDonald of motortrend.com, one of the biggest complaints people have about buying a new car is the inability to get straight answers to simple questions. But here’s the key: It’s all down to timing.
Any of the following questions, if they’re asked too early, leave a car salesman no choice but to sound evasive. This is because he or she can’t answer them without more information. Here are DirectAsia’s top three questions for new car buyers to avoid.
“Hey dude, how much is this worth?”
A car salesman cannot put a number on your trade-in after looking at it for five seconds. Plus, if he gives you a number, it won’t be a “suggested value” like you get on a website. It will be a number that he is actually prepared to write you a check for. Give him time to do the math.
“What will my payments be on this?”
This depends on a lot of math. Final sale price (+ pay-off on your trade) + the number of months you’re willing to finance + money down + your credit rating. In short, there are too many unknown variables to answer that early on.
“What’s the best price you can do on this?”
The worst question of the lot. If you’re not ready to buy, don’t ask. You’ll just look like an amateur. A variation on this is “What’s the lowest you’ll go on this?” It’s the same as a car dealer asking “What’s the most you’ll pay?”
What To Do Instead
If you want direct, accurate, and detailed answers allow your salesperson to ask you the questions he or she needs to give you informed answers. Otherwise, the answer you get is going to be worthless.
Car salespeople aren’t the equivalent of the latest James Bond bad guy (Spectre we’re looking at you), but they can prevent you from getting the best price for your new car. Do your research before you buy. More on this in the next post in this series.
Insider’s Tip: Beware of buying insurance offered alongside something else e.g. hotel + travel insurance, or new car + insurance. You are not technically obliged to buy car insurance from your car dealer. The confident new car buyer will always shop around to get the best price.
Offset the COE Blues
Going direct with car insurance from DirectAsia can save you up to 25% on your policy. It is super quick to get a quote. Especially since the price of a new car + COE is becoming eye wateringly expensive. Every saving counts!
*Compared to leading car insurers. 16% of DirectAsia customers would save $300 or more compared to the estimated average premium across leading insurers. Cheapest based on average price of more than 12,000 cases, compared to leading car insurers.
