How To Buy A New Car and Avoid Scams

Using our advice and tools, you'll get a great deal that is still more than fair for the dealership. If you aren't prepared then prepare to get ripped off, it's that simple. People have no problem taking weeks to plan a vacation, but don't spend a few hours doing research before they buy a $30,000 car. You will be able to save a ton of money if you follow our advice.

• We uncover dealer scams
• Don't get fooled by the cash flow shell game
• Learn to negotiate the lowest price
• Find out the best time of year to buy a car
• Take advantage of online tools to get the best deal
• How to formulate your best price offer
• Guide to car dealership fees

The Best Price Doesn't Mean You Got a Good Deal

A good deal means that you were treated fairly and the dealership made a reasonable profit. The most important thing you will read here on CarBuyingTips.com is to make sure that you don't just focus on the final price. Dealers will play the "Cash Flow Shell Game" so they can rip you off while making you think you are getting a good deal. An example:

• They give you a very low price
• Finance manager sneaks in fees
• The dealer undervalues your trade-in
• Your loan APR is increased

Click for an Explanation of the Cash Flow Shell Game

The buyer in this example thought they were getting a good deal because of the low price, but they actually got ripped off. We will explain all of the tricks to look out for and teach you how to avoid becoming a victim. To save the most money make sure you read the whole site. Don't just read half and think you have all the facts.

Begin by getting the lowest price using services like TrueCar and CarClearanceDeals. Don't stop there, if you miss one valuable topic on CarBuyingTips.com it can cost you thousands of dollars. Make sure not to be a "monthly payment buyer" and only look at what your payment will be - that is the worst thing you can do. Doing this or becoming a "trade-in buyer" is exactly what the dealer wants and you will play right into their hand. Once this happens you will get ripped off, I guarantee it!

When is the best time to buy a car?

There are two "best times" to buy. The end of December is a good time. Everyone is out buying XMAS gifts, leaving dealer lots void of customers, motivating them to cut prices and break year end sales records. Another good time to buy is July through October as dealerships sell off cars at lower prices to clear space for the new models.

All Prep Work Can be Done from Your PC, Tablet or Smart Phone

The last time I bought a new vehicle I was able to do all my homework without leaving my house. Back in the "old days" you would waste hours at many dealerships. Luckily the internet was invented so now you don't have leave the comfort of your couch. There are many great sites that allow you to relax, research and get quotes. Once you have determined the dealer with the best price, you take all of your research to them and calmly negotiate the best deal.

Exclusive to visitors of our site, try the CarBuyingTips.com Car Buying Service. It gives you special friends and family pricing, leverages volume buying power of large companies, employers, or membership groups. Choose your car and configure options online. You will get an instant price quote from a local dealer in the network. If you don't enjoy haggling, you'll love our car buying service.

Invoice Prices, Rebates and Incentives

As you follow this guide you will find that there are a few critical pieces of information that you will need to make sure you are getting a great deal. They are invoice price, rebates and incentives. We will cover these in more detail later but you should know that when talking about rebates and incentives there are some that are well advertised and some that are "secret" between the manufacturer and the dealer.

The most important thing to remember about the invoice price is that it is not the amount the dealer paid for the car. We will show you how to calculate what the dealer actually paid later in this guide.

What are secret incentives?

Secret factory to dealer incentives can be $1,000-$6,000 in addition to known rebates! Because of these secret incentives, if you buy a car at invoice, the dealer earns thousands more. You should haggle over this incentive, as many dealers willingly give up all or part of this incentive, making your cost lower.

If you want the most accurate, complete and up to date data for these three important items, I'd recommend buying the data as part of the FightingChance package. They will also make somebody available to talk to if you have questions about anything that comes up as you go through the purchase process.

Get all of the in depth details in our chapter on dealer invoice pricing >

Competition Gets You the Best Deal

Enter the dealership armed with "The Folder" that I will talk about in Chapter 3. Once they see that you are prepared it will work to your advantage. The deal will now proceed on your terms, not theirs. Don't enter a dealership without having multiple price quotes or you'll overpay by thousands. Commissioned salespeople fear "The Folder" because they know you did your homework. They rely on uneducated car buyers who don't do any research before they go shopping.

Top Recommended Car Price Quote Sites

TrueCar takes the haggle and hassle out of new car buying. Using their service you will get a Guaranteed Savings Certificate that will lock your price. This approach is perfect if you don't like dealing with all the normal negotiating hassles.
Get a Hassle Free Price from TrueCar.com

CarClearanceDeals.com searches clearance pricing from their network of dealers to get you the cheapest price. Use their simple form to select the make and model and start saving. Remember to get quotes from the maximum number of dealers to give you the upper hand.
Get a Quote from CarClearanceDeals.com

Cars.com gives you free, no-obligation quotes from up to 3 dealers. Just select your make, model, color and options. Getting quotes from multiple dealers pressures dealers to give you a discount.
Get a Quote from Cars.com

Edmunds.com offers the largest dealer network, offering you better choices when buying a car. Edmunds allows you to select dealers within 50 miles of your zip code and avoid dealers that you don't want to deal with.
Get A Free Price Quote From Edmunds.com

CarsDirect.com lists your purchase price online instantly with better prices than dealers and cool 360° views. As you check off options, the screen shows invoice price, MSRP and your low CarsDirect price.
Get A Free Price Quote From CarsDirect

The CarBuyingTips.com Car Buying Service lets you get a guaranteed price quote without leaving your house. This exclusive program leverages volume buying power of large companies, employers and membership groups to get you a low price on a new car.
Get Started with the CarBuyingTips.com Car Buying Service

Autobytel has 20,000 dealers, they give you free no hassle low price quotes, list car prices and dealer cost.
Get a Quote From Autobytel

Roadster Concierge Service for California Residents will get you a great price and handle everything for you. They will deliver your car to your home. The service is only available in California.
Buy a Car Using Roadster

Click Here for More Detailed Reviews

Use Competition for All Aspects of the Deal

Competition also works to get you the best rate on your loan. The dealer is not the only one that can finance your car, online lenders are available. Once approved you will have a check in hand and know your interest rate before you even set foot in the dealership. You can use your low rate to negotiate with the dealer or use your online financing if they won't match or beat the online rate. We will cover this topic in more detail in our chapter on auto loans. Remember, price is only one component of a complete deal.

Learn more in our section about getting multiple price quotes in advance >

TrueCar gives you a great baseline on pricing. Check the curve to see how your quotes stack up to what other have paid. If the TrueCar price is better, print out the Guaranteed Savings Certificate and head to the dealership for a hassle free deal. Remember, you still have to pay attention to the other aspects of the deal that we discuss.

Source: carbuyingtips.com

Hail Damage At The Car Lot

Customer Care

How To Quickly Decode Your V.I.N. (Vehicle Identification Number)

What 17 Numbers and Letters Can Tell You About Your Car

The VIN can tell you everything from where the car was made to what size engine it has.

A Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is the string of 17 numbers and letters that an automobile manufacturer assigns to an individual vehicle. The VIN can reveal a number of things about a car, including its airbag type, country of origin, engine size, model year and trim level. Typically, the VIN is stamped into a plate that's mounted on the dashboard near the windshield or on the driver-side door jamb. It's also stamped on the engine's firewall.
The article "Making Sense of Your VIN" explains what each element of the VIN represents, but if you want to get a free, quick, personalized VIN readout, try the VinDecoder.net Web site. It is a search tool that can translate your VIN in a matter of seconds. You may have to deal with a few ads that surround the data, but the information is accurate and worth a look. We entered a few VINs from former Edmunds long-term test cars and found some interesting information.

First up was the 2013 Scion FR-S. There was one item that stood out. The VIN decoder shows the manufacturer is Subaru, not Scion. This is not an error. The Scion FR-S and its twin, the Subaru BRZ, are the product of a joint venture between Subaru and Toyota. Both cars are manufactured at Subaru's plant in Japan.

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt had a hidden bit of trivia in the fuel type. It erroneously says that the Volt can run on E85 ethanol in addition to gasoline. It can't and it won't any time soon.
General Motors originally intended to launch the Volt with a flex-fuel variant, but the emissions package was not ready for the first model year, according to the automaker. The E85 compatibility was apparently incorporated into the VIN data before GM decided a flex-fuel version wouldn't be ready in time for 2011. Since then, no flex-fuel version of the Volt has surfaced. It appears the plans have been scrapped.

We were curious as to what the VIN looked like on an electric vehicle so we decoded the VIN on the 2013 Tesla Model S. The information is pretty thin and goes to show that your results may vary, based on what the carmaker supplies. We might have stumped the decoder tool: It wasn't able to identify Tesla Motors as the manufacturer. It also doesn't show anything about it being an electric car.

The 2012 Fiat 500 is a reminder of just how globalized carmakers have become. Fiat is an Italian company that now owns Detroit-based Chrysler and manufactures the 500 at Chrysler's plant in Toluca, Mexico.
Notice that the 10th element in the VIN is "C." The letter represents the 2012 model year, but it could also mean 1982. Because the model year is represented by one character (letter or number) in the VIN and the VIN can only contain 17 characters, the code for model years has to be recycled every 30 years. So while one letter can represent more than one year, it should be pretty obvious whether the car is a 1982 or a 2012 — or 2042, for that matter.

Source: edmonds.com
 

A Design Of Cars To Come

Tips When Buying A Used Car

Out With The Old In With The New