Buying a car doesn't have to hurt

JEFF POLO

When someone thinks about buying a car, the first thing that they usually feel is fear. No matter what we label it as – distrust of dealers, bad product or getting the right "deal" – what we really fear is loss.

What does that mean? It means that we are either scared of losing our hard-earned money or losing face in front of our family or peers.

Buying a vehicle, new or used, is probably ranked right up there with root canal work on the scale of popularity. We often hear our friends bragging about their "new" vehicle, but they never say how wonderful the process of getting it was. We certainly hear about the horror stories of buying a car (maybe that's because they're more fun to tell), but not too many people have good things to say. It doesn't have to be this way. All you have to do is follow a few easy steps that will make your search easy.

First of all, before you start looking, decide what your budget range is. The most important thing to do for yourself is to make the financial decisions first. If you are financing or leasing, make a decision on the maximum monthly payment you want to make. If you are buying outright, that decision becomes how much you want to pay, total. Once you have done that, make a commitment to yourself not to exceed those levels. These days, it is much too easy to go over your budget. One of the greatest causes of discontent in a vehicle purchase is exceeding your realistic goals.

And it is very easy to buy something more than you needed or planned. Can you imagine? You can add a DVD player for only $30 per month. How about the trendy hybrid vehicle that gives you four more litres per 100-kilometre range but costs $5,000 more? These are things we don't pay attention to at the time of the transaction, but we're quick to blame someone else if we reconsider afterwards. We are all responsible for our own actions. The only way someone can "sell" us on something is if we are open to their offers.

The second step is to decide what type of vehicle you want. Is it a minivan? An economy car? Whatever it is, once you have made your spending decisions, you can do your product homework. You can shop online for new vehicle retail prices on each manufacturer's site. Be careful when comparison shopping. Domestic manufacturers usually have large rebates on their new vehicles, whereas imports do not. There might be little difference in the retail price of domestics versus imports, but the rebates and discounts can mean a difference of thousands of dollars. In fact, it's imperative that you research transaction prices, rather than retail. It is important that you check out the current offer sections as well as newspaper ads. These ads will give you general ideas of what transaction prices are. Read the fine print, of course, just so you know. When you investigate payments, check for down payments required, so that you are aware of everything involved.

For used vehicles, the local websites such as buysell.com or canadatrader.com are great to get an idea of market values. The used vehicle market is very similar to the stock market. Values fluctuate. Be careful to use average values for all vehicles listed in order to get an idea of price ranges. Most vehicles you see online are sale priced. Be careful to read the full ad to check whether pricing is for the vehicle only or after trade-in or down payment.

If you are planning to trade a vehicle in, use the same process to determine your trade's value as for purchasing, but remember that your trade-in will not be credited at retail. Trade-ins legitimately have to be at wholesale prices, which are less than you will see online for sale. That being said, the tax savings many times makes up for the difference.

Now you're ready to go shopping! When you go to a dealership, all salespeople are trained to ask you questions to find out what you are looking for. They will ask you, among other questions, what type of vehicle you are looking for, why you are looking to buy something and, of course, what price you're prepared to pay. Make it clear what you want and remember, in most cases, the salesperson you are talking to neither has the authority or knowledge to approve the transaction for you. The management makes that decision, so don't take what they say as anything but suggestion.

The stereotypical battle of the dealer versus the consumer does not have to be. The salesperson is just someone trying to earn a living. If you deal with a reputable dealership and you have done your homework, you will discover that the concept of dealers having huge mark-up is just a myth. If the vehicle is too cheap or too expensive, there must be something out of the ordinary.

If you choose your vehicle and dealer carefully and you deal fairly and with knowledge, you will be treated well and get what you are looking for.

Enjoy your new car!

Jeff Polo is general sales manager at Deer Lake Chrysler.

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