There are different types of car buyers and the dealership adjusts their selling tactics according to it. It would be great to know what type of shopper you are and to take the maximum benefit of it.
1. Likes to do business face to face: This kind of car shoppers like to do business the old fashioned way. They directly enter the dealership and slowly gain knowledge of the intricacies of buying and then try to figure out the best option for them. They like to do all the things in the same day: choosing the car, test drive, inspecting and negotiation. Although if you are tuned in to this tactic over the years it can be good however the major flaw in this is limiting your options to one dealership and not having the benefit of comparing other models which are now available easily.
2. People not yet decided: There is another major section of car shoppers who fall in this category. They do not have requirements properly thought over before going to the dealership. This helps the dealership as they will try to move you towards a maximum profit car for them. You should always know what are your requirements and needs from the car. You can then find the right car for yourself and once this is done only then should you enter the dealership.
3. The jumper: They are those who already have loans pending on their current car and still would like to jump to another car. They are those who owe more money on the car they have than what it is actually worth and still would like to go for another one. By doing this their mountain of debt would keep rising. Hopefully you are not one of them.
4. High focus on monthly payment: People who have a very high focus on monthly payment and do the deal based on them fall in this category. The problem with this is that if you are focusing on monthly payment you loose track of the overall price of the car. The dealership guys love these people as they can easily add extras on the car and get a higher price while reducing the monthly payment just by increasing the payment period another 6-12 months. It is always nice to do negotiations around the actual price of the car and when it comes to negotiations only go for interest rate while negotiating.
5. High focus on trade-in car: Many buyers have a very high focus on the car they have brought in for trade-in. This has been their daily driver for years and still works great. They might have great memories with the car and so are bit emotional about the price they get from it. By focusing more on trade-in they might loose on the overall deal. The dealership in these cases gives a bit better price for the trade-in while compensating it in other areas like putting added accessories which give them high margin but do not benefit the customer much. If you really think your trade-in might have a better price than what the dealership is offering you can always sell it yourself.
6. Focusing on leasing: These buyers want to go for a lease vehicle. Although they might have chosen the car but still a lot of attention should be payed while doing the numbers. You should try to get a three year lease which requires zero down payment, having low monthly payment and the mileage limit which suits your usage.
7. The internet buyer: As we move towards a more connected world more and more buyers are getting tech savvy. With the ease of usage the numbers are increasing not only among young buyers but also older ones who like the ease of buying from their home instead of spending a hard day at the dealership. It involves locating the vehicle, asking quotes and comparing prices from several dealership. It has been found by many surveys that the aggregate deal which a buyer gets from these is much better than the traditional route.
If this sounds a bit more complex you can call the internet sales manager of the dealership in your area. He will be more open with the prices and the entire process could be much less hasty.
8. Test drive guys: These type of buyers are looking to test drive every option in the car they want and see the functionality. They do not go on the numbers the same day. Ideally such guys go over to become the internet buyer once they have finalized the car and the features they want.
9. Agree to everything: They are the laid back negotiators and more easily agree to every opinion of the salesperson. While in the F&I room doing the final deal they will agree the various other things offered to them like extended warranty,fabric protection,etc. As the payment is made in monthly installment there might not be a huge spike in it however you can end up paying from a few hundred dollars to a thousand dollar or more overall for the car.
10. Cash buyer: These types of buyers make the payment of the car in cash or have a loan pre-approved for the car. This helps a lot by helping to negotiate for the overall price and without other things like interest rate or trade-in value distracting the deal.
There is no ideal way to buy a car and you should go with the way that suits you the best however you can get good benefit by first being a test drive guy than a internet buyer and closing the deal as a cash buyer.
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