What Should You Not Say to a Car Salesman?

Car salespeople have earned themselves a bad rep for being deceptive and time-wasting tactics to force a deal out of you.

Many buyers cite dealing with salespeople as one of the worst parts of purchasing a new car, so be sure to be clear and firm when dealing with dealers. Doing this may help avoid awkward situations.

1. Don’t Say You Love the Car

Car purchases can be emotional experiences for customers. Simon points out that salespeople can take advantage of this by exploiting your desire for one vehicle in particular and preying on this passion, hoping you become repeat buyers and thus help the dealer make more money through referrals or speaking about it with other people.

An initial question from car salesperson may be, “Do you love this car?” They hope that answering yes will create the impression of highly desirable customer and allow them to negotiate more smoothly with you.

However, if you don’t agree, salespeople will know you are less interested in purchasing the car as they are. This may prompt them to try harder at selling you the vehicle at a higher price or use other strategies like haggling over trade-in values or offering extended financing terms which could end up costing more in the end.

One of the most commonly employed tactics in car sales is delaying negotiations. They will go back and forth about various combinations of purchase price, monthly payment plan, down payment amount and aftermarket options that may wear you down and cause you to accept an inferior offer.

As much as this experience is frustrating for you, it can also be damaging for the dealership. Your extra spending could cause more harm to your wallet than good while adversely affecting your credit rating could make getting another loan difficult or impossible.

Focus on obtaining the overall value of the vehicle you are buying instead. Simon suggests asking about its history and researching its values online as ways of doing this. Bringing along a calculator may also help. By sidestepping car salesman tricks, you can ensure you obtain the best price while making sure that you enjoy driving it home!

2. Don’t Say You’re Ready to Buy

An automobile purchase can be one of the biggest purchases people ever make in their lives, making dealer negotiations one of the most feared aspects of purchasing one. Psychological warfare plays a part in buying cars; saying anything that gives the salesperson an unfair edge could cost you big in terms of both time and money.

Saying you are ready to buy right now gives off an impression that you are eager and willing to conduct business, but this strategy could backfire – dealers may see you as prime candidate to be sold a vehicle at an increased price point.

One tactic dealers employ is asking what your maximum monthly payment would be. While this can provide them with an idea of your financial capacity, don’t use this number as the basis of any negotiations; dealers will use your maximum monthly payment number as leverage against you when trying to negotiate, and may focus on it while trying to squeeze a few extra dollars out of you – potentially costing hundreds or even thousands more than necessary!

Dealerships may use price discrimination, which allows them to charge customers the amount that meets their willingness and ability to pay for a particular product. You can protect yourself by withholding any information regarding your budget or financial status until a firm offer has been presented by a dealership.

Before divulging your color preference, it would be prudent to inform them that while pearl white BMW may be your ideal color choice, other options may also be possible depending on what deal is presented to you. Instead, suggest they let you drive away in one and they could possibly find another for sale instead.

Avoid telling dealers you are only interested in trading in your current vehicle if possible; doing so can give them an unwarranted sense of urgency, leading them to push for lower pricing than may be acceptable to you. Instead, it’s best to simply tell them you don’t intend to trade just yet.

3. Don’t Say You’re Ready to Sign a Contract

Purchase of a car can be an exhausting and stressful process that often feels like psychological warfare. Sometimes the dialogue becomes heated, and unintentionally saying things which give salesmen ammunition to manipulate them further. Knowing what not to say will help ensure you receive the best deal on your next car purchase.

At one of the biggest purchases most people will ever make, car salespeople use your emotions against you to their advantage. One such tactic they often employ is asking if you’re ready to sign a contract right away; their hope being that if you cannot answer immediately they may tempt you with one offer over another that comes along.

Do not fall for this trick – instead tell the salesperson you will only sign a contract once you’ve found the ideal offer and given yourself more control of the process. They will have no choice but to work harder toward reaching a compromise with you and making you happier in the process.

Another common tactic used by dealers is asking you if you’re “ready to buy today.” This could be a telltale sign that they have your credit report and are trying to estimate your ability to pay. No matter whether they do or not have it, always focus on purchasing price instead of monthly payments; if salesman starts talking payments instead of purchase price. Walk away immediately from dealership where he or she tries selling you something!

Saying you are “ready to buy” can also be misleading and inviting dealers to use an unfair and inefficient pricing strategy known as price discrimination, in which each customer’s willingness and ability to pay is considered differently when pricing. As an example, poor credit buyers would likely pay more while buyers with excellent credit might get discounted offers based on price discrimination techniques used during negotiations. In either case it can lead to unfair and inefficient results for both dealer and buyer.

Avoid saying anything like, “I don’t plan on buying this car” as this will put the salesperson on edge and may make them think you are uninterested in making a deal. Instead, tell them you have your eye on a particular model, but if their price can’t match those offered elsewhere you will keep shopping around for deals elsewhere.

4. Don’t Say You’re Ready to Take the Car Home

Car buying can be an emotional experience, and you might find yourself getting carried away. But it is essential to remember that purchasing a vehicle will likely be one of your largest purchases ever, so any salesperson that takes advantage of your emotions could turn it against you and result in bad deals for yourself. In order to protect yourself against this happening, make sure you avoid saying certain phrases to car salesmen when making your offer.

Car dealerships employ numerous tactics to wear down buyers and gain control of the negotiation process. For example, they may prolong it by repeatedly offering different combinations of purchase price, trade-in value, interest rates and down payments; additionally they may provide various aftermarket options during this time.

Focusing solely on monthly payment schemes may seem like a good deal; in reality, however, this amount could exceed what is actually affordable to pay for the vehicle. To protect yourself and ensure a good deal, always negotiate on total price instead of monthly payment schemes.

Once again, it’s best not to tell a car salesman you are ready to purchase a car; this could give them the opportunity to offer something less than satisfactory or meet your budget if you say you are.

As much as it might be tempting, avoid providing your credit card or driver’s license number to salespeople. Doing so allows them to run a credit report and determine your creditworthiness – this could potentially impede negotiations on price of vehicle purchase. It may also be wise to visit multiple dealerships before making your final decision as this can help avoid being taken advantage of by car salesmen or make sure you receive the best possible deal and reduce unwanted voicemails or emails from them after your purchase has taken place.