The Art of Negotiation: Buying A Second-Hand Car
Aside from a house and college education, a car is often the most expensive thing you will ever purchase. However, unlike with tuition fees and a real estate property, negotiating over the price of a car requires careful planning. But, to begin with, I’d like to make an honest confession: I’m in no way good at negotiating. Over the years, I have confirmed it myself during the times I had to bargain for big ticket items, particularly for a car. A few months ago, we bought a second hand car. Although I hemmed and hawed when the dealer started putting out numbers, I made sure to see through the process, otherwise, my wife would take the reins. I know there are a lot of improvements I have to make with my bargaining skills, so I did my research and asked the experts for some negotiating tips when buying used cars for sale in Singapore. Let me share with you the things that I learned along the way. Knowledge Is Power To start with, you need to know that in negotiations, knowledge is power. In the car buying business, the salesman typically has the most information. For instance, if an average buyer walks into the dealer, he’ll immediately inform the salesman which car he wants and how much he’s willing to pay per month. As a salesman, the seller is more likely to give away no information that would actually help the buyer. Information like how much the car really costs, how low they can sell it for and what the real value on the buyer’s trade-in is.
Having this scenario, it’s obvious that the dealer has the upper-hand. After all, he’s one with all the information. Hence, to bargain for the price of a car, you need to keep your cards close. Do not tell the dealer exactly what you’re looking for and how much you can pay on a monthly basis. Find out as much information about the car first before walking into the dealership. How To Negotiate For Used Cars Purchase a car that is at least two years old. A car that’s at least two years old is typically new enough to look presentable and probably hasn’t had a lot of problems before. But apart from this, a brand new car’s value drops to as much as 55 percent of its original price after two years. Read Consumer Reports annual auto issue. This report is issued every April and has a used car section that provides a list of the most reliable used cars as well as the frequency-of-repair records for the recent model years. It can help you create a list of used cars you might want to consider. Get your estimate. Once you have the list of potential used cars, find out what the price is for the cars you’re considering by shopping around the car dealerships in your area. Look for the one that offers the best prices for the car you’re considering and from there, work your way to negotiate so they give you the lowest price possible. Good luck!