Reflections on Buying a Car
I bought a car yesterday, with all the low drama that negotiating for big-ticket item can bring. (The research for it has been occupying much more of my spare time than I care to remember.) A few observations:
- Bargaining could be more honest if negotiations for a trade-in and the car purchased were done separately. Dealers, being better at negotiating that most everyone anyway, would still make out like bandits, but they wouldn’t have to do it through obfuscations.
- As it is, there are at most only two numbers that matter: (1) the amount you sell your car for and (2) the amount you buy theirs for. The higher (1) is and the lower (2) is, the better off things are going. The smaller (2) is, the better off things are. But when you are up on the one hand and down on the other, it can be difficult to understand whether you are doing well or ill. Odds are, because the dealership has the greatest assets in the negotiation and is better equipped to marshal those assets in its own favor, you are doing ill.
- Neither the down payment (if you’re not paying cash for all of it) nor the taxes and fees are part of the negotiation. It is wise to know them both ahead of time.
- I have known the general manager at the dealership for nearly ten years, and I count him a friend. I even attended his wedding. That said, the word friend sounds predatory and aggressive when said at the wrong time.
- I would totally hire a professional advocate—if not a lawyer, then a legal assistant perhaps, or B.A. in sales—for bargaining. After all, spending $500 to save $1,500 is a net benefit. (Entrepreneurs: Get on it!) Of course, that’s not counting the fact that the dealerships probably would buy off all the advocates under the table and/or played them off each other. (Entrepreneurs: You’re all sellouts!)
- I wish we could get by with having no car at all, but if we must have one, then I’m pretty happy with the one we got.
