How To Prepare Yourself For A Visit To A Car Dealership

Visiting a car dealership can often seem like a daunting prospect to many people. Tales of pushy car salesmen and women, being pressured into buying a car you don’t want, and poor part-exchange values for your existing car seem to be the common factors that make buyers unwilling to buy a car from a dealer.

But what if I told you that the process of buying a car from a dealer doesn’t have to leave you feeling like you have got a raw deal? Car sales are all about tactics. Today’s blog post will teach you how you can play them at their own game so that you benefit the most!

Should you part-exchange your car?

The answer to the above question is “it depends”. Whilst you might hear people telling you that you would be a fool to part-exchange any car at a dealership, the truth is it can sometimes be beneficial for you to do so.

For example, if your existing car is only worth about as much as you would pay for a month’s rent or mortgage payment on your home, you may as well trade the car in as you wouldn’t have to spend time preparing and advertising your car for sale privately.

But if your car is worth a considerable amount of money, you would do well to make an effort to sell it privately so that you have an even bigger deposit available for your new car.

Be prepared before your visit

One of the ways that car dealers can make big profits is if they have buyers that don’t know what car they want to buy! In these situations, it is too easy for them to persuade buyers into purchasing expensive cars, or perhaps cars that don’t fully meet their requirements.

In the above cases, the cars sold are usually ones where the salesperson can make a lot of commission on the sale. Or maybe they are cars that have been sitting around in the showroom for a while, and they are offered a bonus by their managers if they sell them this month!

Before you head down to your local car dealership, make sure you know what specific make and model of car (or shortlist of cars) that you are thinking of buying.

Car salespeople will have a tough time with savvy customers because such buyers will have researched the market beforehand and know how much they should be paying for a car based on its condition, age and mileage.

Time your visit well

The key to getting a good deal on your next car is to time your visit to the dealership of your choice in advance.

Special offers and promotions aside, buyers can usually get a great deal on their future car by visiting a dealership on the last day of the month, or even just before a public holiday such as Christmas!

Oh, and make sure you check the Big Motoring World opening times (or whatever dealership you are visiting) before you set off, as you don’t want to arrive when the showroom has closed early on Sunday or just before a public holiday!