Another trick employed by used car dealers is appraising your trade-in car at a far lesser price than what you initially offer.
Car Dealer Tactic #5
Some car salespersons connive with mechanics just to undervalue your trade in car. If you think your car is worth more than it really is, then you hope that you just might get a clever salesperson who will give in and agree to an excessive price for your trade in. Now you might be pleased by this, because you may be thinking that you are ‘putting one over’ the dealer. Not so. Generally, the sales person will look up on the computer or in the Car Dealers Price Guide to find out the going price for your trade in and will start from there. And if you don't watch out, you might end up shouldering all the car costs in the end. How, you ask? Well, when the dealer charges TOO much for your new car.
Let's say the car dealer contacts you before your new car is delivered. When the niceties are over, you will be told that there is an issue with the trade in. You will be asked to bring the car into the workshop for further inspection. When your vehicle has been in the garage for 60 minutes, (having nothing done to it), the salesperson will tell you that the mechanic claims to have found it is really only worth $500 less than what they have offered for it. Thus, the salesperson gets to pocket an extra $500 if you give in and agree your used car is really worth far lesser.
Car Dealer Tactic #6
Salespeople sometimes quote prices of a car excluding the on-road costs. If you don’t specifically ask for on-road costs to be included, the salesperson will most likely give you the excluding on-road costs price. Of course, you have to be guarded because your contract may be drawn up on this proviso. Trouble is that when you are ready to sign, the ‘quoted’ price of the car, will then be understated by many thousands of dollars.
To make sure this does not happen to you, shop around for car prices online. There, you'll get a wide array of information on car trends, models, and car price range. Armed with such knowledge, you are at a much better bargaining position with the car dealer. You know what your used car is worth in the market, and you know how far a leeway you can go without losing too much at the bargaining table.
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