Buying a car can be a daunting and stressful experience. Luckily for you our Lismore Banking Advisor, Sarah, who has had over 14 years of experience in the motor industry working at some of Australia’s biggest selling manufacturers including Mazda, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi, is here with the secrets to car buying you won’t hear.
Make an appointment
Once you’ve done some research and narrowed down the cars you want to test drive, call the relevant dealers and make an appointment. They will make sure there is a car available and the sales person has blocked out time to assist you.
If you are going to be short on time, for example you are test driving in your lunch break, by calling ahead to make the appointment, the dealer will adjust their process to fit into your timeslot. If you want a longer test drive, most dealers will accommodate you by allowing you to take a demo vehicle away for a few hours or even overnight. Don’t be afraid to let them know you like their car and you’d like to borrow the car for longer or overnight.
Dealer sales targets are always monthly
There are specific times in the month that dealerships are more motivated to do a great deal, and this is because they are trying to hit their sales target. Some people think this means if you go into the dealership in the last day or two of the month, you will get the best deal. The reality is they will already be so busy trying to deliver all the cars sold in the previous week, so you would be unlikely to get a great deal because they won’t have time to serve you or be able to deliver the car before the end of the month.
Keep in mind that the ideal time to buy is around the 22nd-25th of the month. The pressure is already on the dealership to get to target, they know whether they are likely to make their target or not, and if not, will be starting to panic. This allows them time to source a vehicle and prepare it in time for delivery. The exception to this is if you buy a demo or a used car, as these can generally be delivered on the spot.
Sales people are generally professional, motivated and helpful
Their pay is usually structured around not only their sales numbers, but their customer satisfaction scores. If they don’t get high customer satisfaction scores, or they don’t get enough customers returning these surveys, salespeople will miss out on their bonus and be performance managed.
Your sales person really does want to help you
All those questions they ask is about them trying to narrow down a plethora of options most customers are not aware of, to the most appropriate few they can then present to the customer. The misconception here is the sales person is trying to rip off the customer, which isn’t the case. The reality here is the sales person is not in control of the price, their manager is. The sales person just wants to give you excellent service and try to earn your business that way. As a customer, be honest with your sales person. They have a great depth of knowledge about their own product as well as their competitors and are a wealth of information.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions or divulge your personal situation, they want to help. They know that the hard-sell, high-pressure tactics of old do not work in the modern marketplace, with information so easily accessible via the internet. Excellent customer service is what they rely on to win business.
You will always get the best deal when you are ready to buy
Sounds simple, right? But so many people ask for the best price because they want to go away and think about it. The best price is always held up the sleeve of the sales person until the customer has made the decision that they want this particular car.
If you know you want to buy their car and it’s just down to price, tell them that. They will not say no to a sale over a few hundred dollars. They will say no if the sale will be a loss, so as long as the sales person is still negotiating with you, there may be room for a discount. If they say no, and you are willing to walk away, they are probably not able to do the price you are asking for.
Being willing to be flexible can mean you can get a cracking deal
There are always old stock cars around that the dealer is desperate to get rid of. Dealers will even take a loss on deals to clear out old stock, rather than pay high interest on it. So, ask your salesperson if there are any old stock models. Be flexible when enquiring about these. Just be aware that the most popular colour and model combinations never become old stock.
Have your funds arranged before heading to the dealership
Getting a loan pre-approved will help you decide and put you in a greater place of power with the dealer. Always get your approval for more than you think you will need as 99 per cent of customers end up spending more than they originally anticipated. They might add accessories, come across a higher-specification model that’s at a really good deal or not get as much for their trade-in vehicle as they expected.
Even though you have your loan pre-approval in place, your purchase contract should still be ‘subject to customer’s own finance’ to allow you to cancel the deal if your finance approval changes in some way you weren’t expecting. Making sure to mention your own finance means you can’t be forced to take the dealer’s finance if you decide to cancel the contract under this clause.
Remember, everything is negotiable! The car price, the accessory prices, the paint protection, window tinting and extended warranty so be prepared to negotiate and get the best deal that’s right for you.
Before you go for a test drive, make sure you get your car loan pre-approved from Summerland. Check out our competitive rates with fast pre-approval, so you can get behind the wheel of your new car sooner.
