Car Buying Tips & Information

Car & Auto Articles

Reasons for Buying a Car

Besides the obvious reason, that a car is now considered a necessity in most urban areas.  One of the reasons to consider when buying a car is if the vehicle being purchased is a good deal.  Is it in good condition?  How long a life does it have left?  Is it an excellent ride? Does it have a great warranty, etc.

As we said, it’s virtually impossible to get along without a car and if you can’t afford a new car, following are some basic reasons you should consider when making that all important car purchase.

Is it a good buy?

The best time period to buy a car is later in the month.  Usually, there are numerous rebate programs and bonuses offered by month’s end based on a dealer’s monthly sales quotas.  The idea is, sometimes dealers fall short of meeting their sales objectives if their performance is assessed by the end of the month.  This happens more often than not.  The result of this is good news to most car buyers.  Since dealers are more desperate to meet their quotas, they now have no choice but to sell the vehicle at a lesser than normal price just to make the sales they need to meet their goals.

Peace of mind

Sometimes dealers will do a “dog and pony show” just for them to make that sale.  The result is that car buyers then end up with features that they realize later on they do not really need with a price they actually could not afford.  The moral?  Don’t buy more than you absolutely need.

Always remember to trust your instincts.  If ever you feel in doubt, the answer to that is don’t -- do not let yourself be pressured into making that purchase now.  This is the common strategy of car dealers where they would compel the customer to buy that car, now, this moment, today!

Do not forget that you can always sleep on it and then decide.  This is a lot better than making your mind up now and forever holding your peace.  If the car is gone the next day, there’s probably a good reason why you shouldn’t have had it in the first place.

First Impression

First impressions usually last.  Though not always true, in buying cars, you can gather a great deal of information by just observing how car salespersons deal with you.  Usually, these non-verbal signals are fairly correct enough to give you a good idea of what to expect from the salesperson and your car purchasing experience.

If at any time you feel that the person selling you the car is not trustworthy or you simply do not like him or her, always remember that you have the option to leave.  And, time is precious, especially yours.  So do not waste it.  You are always free to politely walk away, anytime, anywhere, and in any way you like it.  But if there are just a few car dealers in your area, you may want to linger for a few moments more and wait until the negotiations you have with your dealer breaks down and you simply have no option but to run off.

The Invoice Price

Another thing to consider when buying a car is the invoice price.  Make sure to ask that you see the invoice.  If dealers are working their tails off against it, you have enough reason to believe that the car being offered is an unpleasant deal.

Usually, the price on the invoice is the cost the dealer paid the manufacturer for buying the car.  This is before any rebates or incentives were included.  Once this is known, only then will you have an idea as to how much the dealer could profit from each vehicle sold.  Knowing this information could enable you to feel more confident in negotiating the price.

You may also run across this occasionally when purchasing a “used car.”  This would occur primarily where you are buying a very late model used car with low mileage and still under the factory warranty.

The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price

In layman’s terms, this is commonly called the sticker price.  This is the price one usually sees in the window of the car that is being sold.

Never ever consider paying the amount stated on the sticker price.  This amount is just the starting point to your negotiations with the dealer.

Incentives

There are instances when manufacturers provide the dealers with a little something extra, like money, rebates or a bonus because they were able to sell cars that are either overstocked or undersold.  Make sure that before actually purchasing a car, you were able to know if that car you are buying has some dealer incentives attached to it.  If so, take off that amount from the car’s purchase price and have yourself a very good deal and hopefully, a very good car as well.