Beyond the shadow of a doubt, auto shopping has always been a male dominated task; and with good reason. No matter how honest a dealership or car lot is, a fast majority of us, the female shoppers, are filled with fear; panic settles as a knot in our stomach; our hearts pound inside of our chest as we reach for the door to enter the showroom (if we even get that far).
Both personal experiences and stories of horror are the inspiration of this writing (one of my friend’s was told, “A Red One”, when she asked a dealership’s sales associate as to the type of car her husband was about to test drive). Why is this? Because ever since the automobile was invented by Henry Ford, men drove the cars, took them in for maintenance, and did the car shopping while the female’s stayed out of the picture, only called upon when the time came to pick out the color.
There is one word that can give the auto shopping women their much deserved glory. That word is "knowledge."
Now, how does a female, as well as any male, who does not know a lot about automotive technologies and their dealings acquire the proper information and know-how, get through the car buying process in one piece? It must be a trustworthy source, filled to its brim with information for every type of car, truck, SUV and van (mini included). Not only should it showcase the best vehicles on the market (with all of the splendid options that are available), but also the ability to view the color chart that goes along with them. Most importantly, it must list the price that the dealer pays for said vehicle(s) and all of its accessories, and be able to explain to you in plain English how much money you should allow the dealer to make on the purchase of your new vehicle. This source is www.edmunds.com.
Edmund’s has calculators on site for you to use for computing payments and such, as well as devices to calculate what you should pay for your vehicle. If you’re trading in a car against the purchase of this new one, Edmund’s has calculating tools for that, too, so you will be able to adequately play (and hopefully win) in the numbers game.
Next, you’ll need to know some financing tricks of the trade. Many dealers will come back to you with a monthly payment instead of a full, actual purchase price for the car, possibly even attempting to set you up with a lease instead, so be on your toes and ask questions.
Other than all of the number crunching you’ll be doing in the upcoming weeks, you’ll need to be aware of some brutal tricks that dealers have been known to play in the past:
- If your sales associate takes your car for a drive doesn’t immediately give you back your keys, they are trying to keep you there. Get your keys and leave.
- Check to make sure all exits have handles on the door so you can exit at any time
- If you are asking about one particular model (which you don’t see) and the sales associate doesn’t offer to find you one immediately without taking you for a drive in something else, they will never get you the car that you want.
Not all auto dealerships are connivers and evil people, but you need to keep your guard up throughout the entire car buying process. If at any time you are feeling pressured or unsure about the dealings going on, leave. You can try being polite, but if it doesn’t work, you don’t owe these people anything. Remember, you are the one who wants to go for a drive, not the one who’s taken for a ride.
