New car buyers guide by Auto Cheat Sheet.

Love buying a new car?

Love buying a new car?

Love buying a new car?

New car buying tips & advice.

Buying a new car should be fun and exciting not stressful and frustrating. Next to purchasing a home…buying a new car is the second most expensive thing most people will purchase in their lifetime. The average person buys a car about every three years and believes they’re experts at negotiating. Car dealers are professional players, how can you expect to win a game if you don’t know the rules?

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New Car Clearance Prices

Many vehicles are priced well “Below Dealer Invoice!”

How to buy a new car and save money

New car dealerships are always in fierce competition with each other and they will do just about anything to keep you from buying a vehicle from the “other guy.” Knowing this and using competition to your advantage, will guarantee you get a new vehicle and a great deal.

Getting the lowest price is only one aspect of making sure you receive a good deal. There are several areas during the new car buying process where a dealer can take advantage of you.

To make sure you receive a good deal on your next car. Follow the below steps to maximize your savings and guarantee you get a great deal when buying your next new vehicle.

    1. New Car Quotes – Research vehicles online and get several free, no-obligation quotes to get a feel of the market and demand of the vehicle you’re considering.
    2. Negotiate Vehicle’s Price – Work dealers against each other by email or phone to guarantee you pay the lowest available price and avoid haggling with salesman.
    3. Get a New Car Loan – Arrange financing before contacting a dealer to protect yourself from costly car dealer finance scams.
    4. Extended Auto Warranty – Request a couple of free online quotes to use as leverage to negotiate a better warranty price with a dealership.
    5. Car Insurance – Check insurance rates on the vehicle you’re buying so you can budget the amount into your monthly budget.

You can complete the above steps from the privacy of your own computer. Once completed, they will provide you with the information you need to level the playing field and protect you from paying too much for your next new vehicle. The only thing left for you to do is test drive the vehicle and sign the paperwork.

If you catch a dealer at the right time, he may sell you a vehicle well below cost.

  • The vehicle may be getting old on the lot.
  • The new car may be costing the dealer money in interest and fees due to age.
  • The dealer may be one or two sales away from a sales quota that pays a huge bonus.

If you happen to inquire about the right vehicle at the right time you may be on the receiving end of a once-in-a-lifetime deal…you just never know.

Car selling hasn’t changed, car buying has

The way dealerships sell cars hasn’t changed much over the past decade. However, the way people buy cars has. A few short years ago if you wanted to buy a new car. You’d have to waste all day visiting one dealership after the next, spending endless hours looking at vehicles and haggling with salespeople in the hopes of receiving a good deal.

“The Internet Has Changed The Way People Buy New Cars”

Other than visually inspecting and test driving the vehicle, you can do 95% of your new car shopping online from the comfort of your personal computer. More and more people are using the internet and its vast wealth of information to research and compare new vehicles before visiting a dealership. Savvy car buyers understand they can do their pre-shopping online, avoid the dealership, and not have to deal with the frustration and aggravation of haggling with salespeople and their managers.

New car shopping on your mobile device

Anything that can be done on your home computer can also be done on your smartphone or mobile device. You can research and compare vehicles or even get new car price quotes sent to you on your Smartphone, tablet or iPad. Anywhere you have an internet connection, you can do your new car research online.

What new car dealers don’t want you to know

What car dealers don’t want you to know is that new cars are commodities. They all must pay the same price for a new vehicle from the manufacturer. It’s ultimately up to the individual dealer on how much they’re willing to discount the price of the car.

A dealer in Seattle will pay the same price as a dealer in Miami. If you live in an area where there are nine dealerships selling the same brand of vehicle, you’ll want to get more than just one or two prices from a couple dealers. You will want to inquire with each dealer to find out which one will be the most flexible with discounting the vehicle.

Car dealers know smart car buyers shop online, they also understand if they’re going to compete with other dealers in the area, they must be aggressive when pricing their vehicles online.

  • Additional charges in the form of fees are a very scratchy topic because: you’ve done your homework, negotiated the best possible deal, and when signing your paperwork there’s a higher price than agreed upon.
  • A doc fee of $500 can raise your monthly payment by approximately $10 a month depending on your loan term and interest rate.
  • Some dealer’s will negotiate this additional charge with you, if you find one that will remove the fee, they will most likely discount the car the same amount as the fee and leave the doc fee on the paperwork.
  • Ryde Shopper - has one of the largest new car dealership networks in the world. Select the make and model you're interested in and they will instantly search clearance pricing within your local area. Don't forget to select as many dealers as possible to increase your chances for the greatest discounts and savings.
  • Motor Trend - is one of the best kept secrets on the Internet. Best known for their automobile magazine, MotorTrend's referral service is 100% free and there's no obligation to purchase. Just pick the vehicle you're interested in, select all your local dealers, and receive deep discount Internet pricing.
  • Cars Direct - has been in business since 1998 and has all the right tools to help you find your next new car. They offer a no-hassle experience from configuring a car to making the final purchase.
  • MyAutoloan - will shop the best loan rates for you. You submit one free, no-obligation car loan quote through their secure web site and within seconds you'll receive up to 4 loan offers from their auto lending partners. You can select the one that provides you with the most benefits and savings.
  • Auto Credit Express - was founded June 1, 1999. They are one of the leading bad credit auto loan providers in the US and Canada. If you have bad credit, no credit or been turned down for an auto loan because of a low credit rating in the past, chances are Auto Credit Express can help.
  • Instant Car Loan - has been providing safe and trusted auto loans for over 10 years. They'll find you a fantastic deal on your next car loan.
  • My Free Score Now - will allow you to receive all of your personal credit reports and scores from all three bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion) by signing up for their free trial.
  • View all car buying tools

Research. Compare. Find.

Compare new car prices, invoice prices & true dealer costs in your local area.
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How car dealers make money selling new cars

Receiving the lowest price is not your only goal when buying a new car. There are several areas a dealer can attempt to make an excessive profit from you when selling you a car.

  • The list price of the vehicle.
  • Low balling or undervaluing you trade.
  • Adding points to your interest rate.
  • Insurance and maintenance packages.
  • Additional fees or phony charges.
  • Dealer added options.
  • Extended warranties.
  • Manipulating money down.

A dealer can secretly manipulate one or more of these areas during the negotiating process. For example, if you focus on one area such as the “list price” of the car. The dealer may lower it and increase his profit in a different area such as “undervaluing your trade” or “adding points” to your interest rate. Dealers are experts at this game and have fine tuned their skills with decades of experience.

As you move on to other areas, the dealer will play “cat and mouse” with you until you get tired and make a costly mistake. This is why dealers and their salespeople drag out the car buying process in the hopes of wearing you down.

Read more on how to negotiate a new car’s price here.