Consumer Rating On Extended Car Warranties
The Art Of The Car Deal
The wheels of your old ride are falling off, the roof leaks, the tires are bald and every time you crank the engine it sounds like the local teen band tuning up in your garage. Even your spouse agrees it's time to
Hold it right there, pal! This is probably the second largest purchase you'll ever make, and you're cruising for a financial bruising if you're not willing to do at least as much research as you would when buying an off-the-rack suit at the mall. Nearly 17 million new and an untold number of used cars were sold in the United States in 2005, and the amount of money consumers overspent would pay off the national debt.
Anyone who's bought a car since 2000 and didn't wear out their mouse surfing for information on the Internet before going to the showroom probably could have saved the equivalent of a year's fuel costs. It's all there, readily available and most of it is free.
You know the car and the cool gadgets you want and you know what the dealer paid. Now what? Experts agree that it's always a good idea to make the salesperson aware that you have the true numbers and know how to use them. Always remember that you're the boss.
That doesn't mean that you should enter a showroom with an attitude. Both parties are on a mission: his is to make as much money as he can; yours is to make sure he doesn't. Opposing goals for sure, but when an informed buyer does business with a professional salesman, a fair deal can and should be struck.
One top salesman reminds buyers that car dealerships are buyers first.
"The manufacturer didn't just loan us those cars out on the lot and hope we sell them, " says Joe Pisciotta, an assistant sales manager in St. Louis. "We bought every one of those cars and our job is
Consumers should listen when pros like Joe Pisciotta are willing to talk about the intricacies of buying and selling cars. Now in his 19th year of pounding car lot pavement, the decidedly non-fast talking Pisciotta was the top salesman in his 27-state region for five consecutive years.
He dispels the myth that salesmen and dealers make huge amounts in commission on every car they sell. "I average about $300 in commission on each sale, " Pisciotta said. "The dealer also gets his share, in addition to manufacturer incentives. That's a fair profit because I do a lot of work. I'm not going to work from 7:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. five or six days a week for 70 grand a year."
Do Your Homework
There's that word again. Pisciotta emphasizes the importance of knowing everything you can about the car, prices and consumer reviews before entering the negotiation phase. "Don't start your new car hunt without information. "Use the Internet, " he said. "Knowledge is power and the Internet has all the information you'll ever need." Managing to suppress a sigh, he added, "The Internet has made everybody smarter."
Some of the more informative Web sites that offer reviews, pricing information and other buying tips include:
Autobytel.com
Autoweb.com
Caranddriver.com
CarPoint.com
Carsdirect.com
Consumer Reports (consumerreports.com)
Edmunds.com (edmunds.com)
Fightingchance.com
IntelliChoice, Inc. (intellichoice.com)
Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com)
Theautochannel.com
The Internet is your most valuable resource, but nothing can replace the intimate act of getting behind the wheel for the first time, inhaling that new-car aroma and peeling out of the dealer's lot for a test drive.
By Dan Allsup -
Dan Allsup is a St. Louis-area freelance writer and corporate communicator.
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