So many people fret buying a car because car salesman have a notorious reputation.  Most people will tell you they can’t trust a car salesman, and there is reason. Salesman have a historical and notorious reputation.  Just watch this Dateline NBC clip here.

When you walk into a dealership, the number one thing a salesman is looking for is a trusting individual.  The more trusting you show yourself to be, the more likely you will be targeted as a good candidate for higher pricing. So, you may wonder, how does a trust person act versus a non-trusting person?  Should you question the dealer about everything?

Absolutely not.

The one difference between the two is simple, and comes down to one element:  It’s having knowledge–being educated on the product you plan to buy. Are you surprised?

You don’t have to have eyes for lies.

If someone is trying to sell you something, the only way someone is going to take advantage of you if is you lack knowledge.  If you are educated on the product you wish to buy and the process of buying (which I am not going to talk about here), who can fool you?

Very few people, let me assure you.  As an expert in deception, I will tell you this is the 101 of buying a car or any product for the matter.

When I buy a car, the first thing I do is research what cars interest me. I learn about them.  I read about the options, features, models and their differences, reliability reports, safety tests, owners complaints for various years, and even recalls.  I want to know what potential problems I might face. Once I have this knowledge, I am ready to go to a dealership to test drive the vehicles I like.  At this point, I know what concerns I need to investigate. All cars have issues, I assure you.

If a salesman tries to tell me that a vehicle I am interest in is perfect, great, etc, I will immediately look at him with concern, and salesman pick up on this.  I also won’t hesitate to identify the problems I have found with their cars.  Be prepared, however, they will try to convince you there are no problems, but they are not your source for this information simply because their goal is to sell you a car, so they are never going to tell you information to cause you not to buy a car.  This is the second fundamental of buying cars or any product for the matter.

Which brings me to a third key element.  You don’t go to dealers for them to sell you a car.  You go to dealers for them to answer your questions (Can I test drive this/open the trunk, etc.) and for them to assist you to buy a car. There is a key difference.

I think many people will be surprised to see the recalls on cars. It’s very unnerving, and when you read owner complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, you often find repeating themes of issues–so you know these are not rare events.  Tip:  Don’t read the year you are looking at only — read back a few.  A good consumer can rule out cars simply on the basis of recalls.

One car manufacturer was on my list of cars to check out until I read their safety recalls, and I saw that they had a catastrophic failure with the cars frame rusting out.  The recall was good to see, but what shattered it for me was they were only recalling cars in the salt belt, where salt is applied to the road.  So if you live in a southern state, and move to a northern state where salt is applied, you could face a major disaster with your car and never know there was an issue. That failure could be life-threatening.  That destroyed my confidence in that manufacturer, even with some of their vehicles getting high reviews.  It speaks of the company behind the vehicle.

I am sad to report that in nearly every visit I make to a dealership, I often find I know more facts about the cars they are selling then they do. Towing capacity is one area that nearly every salesman I asked (at various dealerships) gave me inaccurate information.  When I retorted back that what I researched doesn’t jive with what they are telling me, they get notice I am not an easy target and most waffled in their answers at that point–clearly unsure of the answer.  In the same respect, salesman aren’t as anxious to work with a tough customer because you aren’t an easy sales, but that’s okay! Many never even call me when I request data, but I’m not there to make friends. I’ll just call another dealer.

Also, if a dealer tells you things–make him back it up.  If he says for example Toyota has fixed the problem, which one dealer told me, tell them to show you the literature that identifies the fix. Then investigate it yourself at another time. Is what the salesman saying true?  Can you find supporting data?  Does it make sense?  Are their a lot of owner complaints after the fix?  Many times you will find recalls do not adequately fix problems, simply because there are plenty of customer complaints that continue about the same issue after recalls. One car I looked at clearly has this issue.

Research. Research.  Research.

Once I settle on the car of my choice, I also don’t haggle with a dealer. What’s the point?  I want to know what a good price is.  Again, knowledge is key.  There are great websites that track sales data of cars, and show you what the average price paid for the vehicle you are looking at is nationally, regionally and locally. Dealers also say they offer special Internet pricing.  Sign up to receive that, but also visit other dealers in person and call around on the phone (sometimes prices are better in person than on the phone, other times they are better on the Internet than at the dealer).

Learn about holdbacks (profits dealers calculate in to each sales).  Then come up with the price you think is reasonable and you are willing to pay based on solid data, and contact dealers to see who is interested.  Your research of calling around for pricing will give you a high and low point of purchase. Work from that.

I often find by shopping around, prices can vary by as much as 10% or more.  This is an important step and why haggling has no purpose.

And if I had a good salesman along the way, I will always call him with my final purchase price after I have done all of my homework, to see if he can or wants to meet the final price I have come up, and I know I can get elsewhere.  If he can meet it, he can get the sale, but so far that has never happened.  That’s his loss, not mine.

Remember, when people sell products, they are in the business to sell, so you must do your homework. They are never going to give you information that will cause you to second guess a purchase. Ever.  Remember that and be educated, knowledge and informed, and you are on your way to getting a good deal!

Here are some good websites to help you with your purchase:

Auto Safety Data (IIHS and NHTSA, plus other important considerations)
http://www.informedforlife.org

NHTSA (has owner complaints and recall data for vehicles)
http://www.safercar.gov

US News Ranking and Reviews (provides great data on prices paid for cars in your area)
http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/