How to Buy a Car Without Losing Your Shirt

When you walk into a car dealership to look for a car, who do you think has the advantage? Does the customer have the advantage, since he has the money? Not on your life! Even if you buy a new car every two or three years, the salesperson who is about to greet you talks to at least three or four customers EVERY DAY! The dealer has this down to a science, and you don't. This book will tell you what to watch out for, and how the salesperson is trained to control the customer. I became a car salesman after I went shopping for a new pickup truck in 1979, and the dealership offered me a job because the salesperson couldn't control me, and couldn't break me. In fact, I bought another brand entirely, because I got such a great deal. But I just could not turn down the kind of money I could make selling what I knew were the most reliable cars on the road, so I took the job. Every dealership belongs to an organization that employs Psychiatrists and Psychologists to interview customers, and determine what words and phrases the salesperson should use at each point in the selling process. I can help you negotiate the best deal. More than that my experience includes working as parts, service, and warranty claims manager for two smaller sports car dealerships, and as a service writer for a larger dealership, as well as working as a sales representative for three different dealerships in two states. I have also worked as a mobile home sales rep, a motorcycle, ATV, and Personal Watercraft sales rep, parts guru in the same shop, and parts counterman in a boat dealership. This book is twice as long as most books of its kind, and I go into how to not get ripped off by the service department, and how to handle warranty repairs, and I even discuss phony warranty claims, and how you can help the manufacturer control this cost of doing business, which I believe amounts to hundreds of dollars of the sticker price on every new car. Then I tell you how to get the best deal on financing, and whether you should finance or pay cash, if you can afford it. I tell you all about dealership added accessories, like rustproofing, fabric coatings, and paint glaze, and about extended warranties. Topics in this book include:

Pay Plan for salespeople, mechanics, and service writers, and how that affects their conduct

The Five Principle Steps in selling a car

The Test Drive

Negotiating the Deal

The F & I Guy (Finance and Insurance) aka Customer Service Manager (LOL)

Delivery (No, not to your house, at the dealership, but they call it delivery)

How to see and read the invoice, or determine the dealer's true cost

How to determine the Actual Cash Value of your trade, or any used car

The Quota System, and how it affects the dealership and you (including the best month to buy and the best TIME of the month to buy.)

Getting the best financing deal

Buying a used car

Dealing with the Service Department

Warranties and Warranty Work

How to choose between the dealer and an independent shop for after sales service

Keeping an eye out for phony warranty claims

The most important thing to look for in test driving a used car, and why you should always do this

Why your salesperson is your best asset in the dealership, and why you should not buy a car over the phone or over the internet

Dealers who say they have only one price--you can do better at a conventional dealership if you learn to negotiate the best deal

"Bird Dog" fees your dealer will be happy to pay you

When you have finished reading this book, you will be ready to buy a new or used car, at the best possible price, and what to do when problems arise after the sale. I also suggest that you "practice" buying a car from other dealers before you shop with the dealer you are most interested in buying from. And I advise you to check with friends about what they think of the dealers they bought from, and find out whether there is a high turnover of personnel there.