The #1 Mistake When Buying a New Car

Besides not being prepared with a dealer price quote and having the TIP (True Internet Price) of a configured car printed out to present to a salesman, the biggest mistake you can make is to negotiate the sales price in terms of monthly payments.  Every single dealer we spoke with agreed that each of their salesman’s first tasks is to uncover your monthly budget.  It's in their interest to finance your car through them.  It's in their interest to focus all negotiations around that financing. That's why, when you're discussing the sale price, the sales person will probably want to talk to you about your "desired monthly payment."  If you give them your monthly budget you have just lost!  Our Advice: Only negotiate the price of the car.  You must negotiate in two phases: first for the price of the car, then for the financing or the value of you trade in.

Separate all items that are part of the negotiation. The dealer will want to lump all of the terms together and make it seem like you’re getting a bigger deal then you really are. These are the items you want separated and detailed.

Be prepared when visiting a dealership with your Price Quote, TIP and know what you can afford monthly by putting in a sales price of a car using our Auto Finance Calculators