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Page 5 of 5
Now here's the scenario that will greet you when you visit an auto
dealer. A sales rep will quickly be assigned to you and will pepper you
with questions on the type of car you are looking for and your budget.
If you have done your homework, you can provide information on your
preferred vehicle, maximum kilometres ("clicks" in local slang) on the
car and the earliest model year you are willing to accept.
You should however be very conservative when stating your budget, to allow room for negotiation if you find a car you like.
The dealer will show you the various vehicles that meet your
specifications, and you are welcome to test-drive any or all that you
like. (You must have a valid licence to take a test-drive).
Then comes what is almost certainly the most hated part about buying a
used vehicle: the negotiation.
Once you have decided there is a car you
would like to buy, there starts a long-drawn out process, with the
dealer quoting a price that is way higher than what it is worth. If you
are aware of the market value of the car, you should then offer a
counter-quote lower than that value. This is typically laughed off by
the dealer and the back-and-forth negotiation culminates with him
offering to "speak to my manager and see what he can do". The dealer
then disappears for a while, finally reappearing with a "final" quote
that's still higher than what you should be paying.
Strange as it may seem, this very same scene plays out at virtually
every used car dealership; an annoyingly repetitive but seemingly
unavoidable part of the buying process.
Should you accept this "final" quote? Seasoned used car buyers we spoke to were unanimous in their answer: No.
If the dealership was the first you visited, you should definitely walk
out and visit other used car showrooms to compare prices and other
choices in vehicles. Note down all the quotes you have been given, then
go home and do some research on the vehicles, the model years, and the
market price.
Once you are equipped with this information, you can revisit the
dealership and then negotiate, negotiate, negotiate till you get a
price you can live with. Most car salesmen get a percentage commission
from every sale, so expect them to fight for every dollar. If the last
quoted price is way higher than the market value, be prepared to walk
away. There are always other cars and other car dealers.
Another word of advice when buying from car dealerships: If a quoted
price sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.
Be wary of bargain vehicles, car dealers are not known to be
large-hearted when it comes to selling.
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