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6 Questions To Ask Your Dealer Before You Buy A New Car

Many people dread buying a new car for fear they will be taken for a ride by the dealer. Car sales people know that buying a car is an emotional decision and they often play to your ego or lack of knowledge. However, I’m going to show you how to turn the tables and be a more educated buyer by giving you 6 questions you should ask before you buy a new car.

1. What is your best cash price?
Before you step inside a car dealer you need to have some idea as to what kind of car you would like and do some preliminary research on the web to check the prices in your area. Otherwise, you will have no way of knowing whether you are getting a great deal or are paying full sticker. The sticker price is just the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP). All dealerships have room to negotiate. Your goal is to get the car for the lowest price, theirs is to sell at the highest price. The dealer will always try to talk about monthly payments because they can hide the real price in the monthly payments. So you need to be firm and ask; what is your best cash price? This gets the dealer away from talking about monthly payments and back to the price of the car. Once you nail down the best price then you can talk about monthly payments and any trade-in you may have after they have answered all of your questions.

2. What is the warranty period?
By law, all cars sold in the U.S. have a warranty period. You will want to find out how long the car will be under warranty. The dealer will make any necessary covered repairs while the car is under warranty.

3. How long is the maintenance coverage?
Many new cars being sold today also have limited coverage for scheduled maintenance. You will want to find out if the dealer offers it on the make and model you are interested in. If they don’t offer maintenance you might say something like, “if I buy the car from you today will you be willing to include 12 months of free scheduled maintenance?” If they say yes, check the paperwork to make sure it really is free and that they didn’t try to add it to the price of the deal.

4. What is not included in the warranty or maintenance?
You will also want to find out what isn’t included in either the warranty, maintenance or both. That’s because when items break that are not covered under the warranty or maintenance it will come out of your pocket.

5. Can I have a test drive?
Always take a test drive. Listen to how the car sounds, steers and breaks. Also, make note of the controls and where they are in the car. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and use anything that you are dissatisfied with as a basis to negotiate a better price.

6. What is the lowest finance rate you are willing to offer me?
The dealer will always ask if you will be financing the car. It is usually their first question. I always tell them no at the beginning. This doesn’t mean that I won’t change my mind later. The last question I ask usually is “by the way, what is the lowest finance rate you are willing to offer me?”

Now that you are in the driver’s seat you are ready to negotiate a better price when you buy a new car.