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How to Get The Best Deal on a Car

Buying a new car can be an overwhelming experience. Short of buying a house, it’s one of the most expensive purchases you can make. And on top of that, there are a number of specs, safety features and functions to consider, too. 

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In an effort to lighten your stress load, we checked in with three auto experts to get their take on how to get the best deal on a car, and what factors to consider before making your final decision. 

Do Your Car Dealership Research

1. Choose the Right Dealership

Laura Gonzalez, marketing manager at Audi Bellevue, says you can find the right dealership by reading online reviews at sites like Yelp, Dealerrater.com and Edmunds. Gonzalez also recommends checking out dealership websites to narrow down which ones are worth shopping at. “Anywhere a dealership lists its cars for sale online will give you a feel for the dealership,” she says. 

Sean Pour, co-founder of nationwide car buying service SellMax, says reputation is less important for new cars because you can have dealerships bid against each other for the best price (more on this later). “On the contrary, if you’re buying a used car, then check out the reviews on Yelp, as reputation is important when buying a used car,” he adds. “You want to make sure you’re not purchasing a lemon.”

2. Find a Trustworthy Salesperson

Gonzalez says finding the right salesperson goes hand-in-hand with reading dealership reviews. If people are taking the time to write glowing reviews online, you can feel confident that the salesperson is trustworthy. “The odds are that if numerous people have a good experience with them, you will, too,” she adds. 

Gonzalez also recommends reaching out to friends and family members who have recently purchased a car to gauge their experience with the salespeople they interacted with.

3. Go in Prepared

Pour warns that salespeople are “trained to make you emotional and possibly even purchase things you may not have wanted.” He believes being prepared and informed is more important than finding the right person. 

There are a multitude of resources available to help you research price points and special features, so you are getting the best deal. 

Gonzalez recommends using the following sites to research the market value for vehicles you are interested in purchasing:

Cars.com

Cargurus

AutoNation

Craigslist

To dig further into fair market value and also peruse car reviews, anticipated maintenance costs, and reliability metrics, Gonzalez suggests these sites:

Edmunds

Kelley Blue Book

Consumer Reports

Gonzalez says there are enough research tools available to avoid the expense of hiring someone to do the heavy lifting for you. The only outsourcing she recommends is reaching out to recent car purchasers to get feedback on their experiences.   

4. Know What You Can Spend

Greg Mahnken, Credit Industry Analyst for Credit Card Insider, says before heading to the car dealership you should check your credit scores and credit history. The lower your credit score, the higher your interest rate will likely be, and thus the more you will pay monthly as well as over the course of the loan. 

Mahnken also recommends checking out what kind of rate you can get on an auto loan from your bank before going to the dealership. “Having a pre-approval before walking in gives you a good idea of what kind of car you can afford, and at what interest rate,” he advises.

5. Know What Type of Car You Want to Buy

If your heart is set on buying a Honda Accord, realize that there’s not just one model and style out there and adding on features will also increase the price of the car. 

TrueCar.com, for example, lists 13 different styles for the Accord, ranging from an MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) of $24,650 for the base model LX to an MSRP of $36,880 for Touring 2.0T. 

There are a ton of features available – or not – for any vehicle you are looking to purchase. Make sure that when you find a car in your price range that it includes the features you are expecting. You don’t want to realize in February that the car you got a great deal on in June doesn’t have the heated seats that you wanted.  

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How to Negotiate a Car Deal

1. Get the Car Price Down

Gonzalez shares that one of the easiest ways to drop the price you pay is to get car dealerships to compete for your business by following these simple steps:

Narrow your results

Visit multiple dealerships

Request the bottom dollar price for the vehicle

Share the prices between the dealerships

See who can beat the lowest price

Gonzalez adds that it doesn’t hurt to try to play a little hardball as you might wind up with a price you didn’t expect. On the other hand, if you get too aggressive and selling you a car becomes too much of a hassle, the dealer or salesperson may walk away.

If you are buying multiple cars at the same time, don’t overlook the leverage this gets you. You may also get a better price on an older model of a vehicle, “especially when a redesigned model rolls into the showroom,” says Gonzalez. Dealerships want to move those older models out of the way for the newer version, Pour concurs. 

2. Secure Some Vehicle Add-Ons

There are a couple ways you can negotiate vehicle add-ons like maintenance or accessories for your purchase, according to Gonzalez:

From the Dealer: The dealership isn’t wiggling on the price, but you keep insisting on a lower cost. To get your business, the dealership might provide an extended warranty, free services like oil changes, or some accessories for your car like fuzzy dice for the rearview mirror.

At Your Request: You may be able to get some items added on, even if you are comfortable with the price point. Gonzalez recommends asking a question such as, “I’d be much more comfortable at that price if you threw in [freebie] at no extra cost.”

3. Navigate Trading In Your Car Carefully

When it comes to trading in, Pour recommends you negotiate the price of the car before you discuss the price for your trade-in. 

“A lot of times they (the dealer) will try to give you a high price on your trade-in so you think you are getting a really good deal,” he says, “but they won’t budge much on the selling price of the new car.”

Gonzalez adds that you are not always going to get the best deal for a trade-in from a dealership. “Dealerships tend to pay below market value for trade-ins because they need to make money off it,” she says, “so that’s not the best bet.” However, listing your vehicle for sale yourself requires some extra work on your part, so consider the effort you want to put in before making this call. 

4. Decide How Many Times You’ll Visit the Dealership

Gonzalez says the number of visits you make to a dealership depends on whether you are comfortable with your purchasing location. If you intend to shop around and compare prices, you might be back and forth from a location a few times. If you know where you want to buy the car, who you want to buy it from and what you are willing to pay, you can get it done in a single trip to the dealership.

“A caveat is that you might not even have to leave the comfort of your home if you buy online,” says Gonzalez.

5. Consider How You’ll Pay for the Car

Dealerships that offer in-house financing earn money off the interest you pay on the vehicle, so paying cash doesn’t always ensure that you’ll get the best deal on the vehicle. 

“If you have a good credit history, you will likely qualify for the best finance deals,” says Gonzalez.

Mahnken adds that “auto loans come in many shapes and sizes,” and there are a few ways you can finance a car: 

Through your bank

A bank that partners with your dealer

The automaker itself

A dealer-financed option such as buy-here-pay-here

Having your credit checked by a bank or dealer may temporarily lower your credit score for a short period of time, Mahnken warns; however, he also advises that it is OK to comparison shop for your auto loan because “most credit scores group together multiple hard inquiries for auto loans in the same time period.” 

Once the loan goes through, it will be on your credit report so be sure to pay on time, Mahnken says. This will help you keep your credit score solid for the next time you have to go through the laborious process of purchasing a vehicle.

Using the tips provided by our experts, the car shopping process should only get easier every time you have to go through it. 

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