Kelsey Mays
Staff Writer
Bright colors — red, silver, blue — shimmer in the afternoon sun. Eyes dart nervously around, from one slab to the next. Then, The Hand appears.
“Hi, welcome to our lot!” The Hand extends, exposing a silver Timex beneath its shirt cuff. A flashy smile, slicked back hair and a freshly pressed pinstripe-tie combo. The Hand takes no prisoners: it listens briefly to your story and nods in faux-sympathy, takes you on a ride in one of these cars, and ends up selling you on a vehicle you don’t want and can’t afford. To quote the Borg, “resistance is futile.”
Car shopping is something all college grads eventually have to do. So what can you do to avoid being a hopeless victim of the car buying process?
By reading this, you’re already on the right track. The Graphic has researched, interviewed ordinary folks and walked the lots to help friends buy their cars — all for the sake of your vehicle-shopping experience. As a bonus, Philip Reed, an automotive consumer advice columnist for Edmunds.com, weighs in with plenty of useful hints. With all this in hand, we present some car-buying tips for shopping pleasure.
1. Do your homework. Know the car you’re interested in, as well as any comparable vehicles. Become an expert on that particular class of cars: know the suggested (MSRP) price of every vehicle in the segment, including the cost of options and accessories, as well as the projected reliability and resale values. Also, read a few professional car reviews to get an editorial opinion of each vehicle in your class.
“Your attitude is driven by your level of knowledge,” Reed said. “If you have a lot of information and know your stuff … the negotiating will come naturally.”
2. Consider all your options. Although the realm of financing is beyond the scope of this article, you should carefully consider your budget. Most college grads won’t have enough credit to lease a car, but if you want nicer wheels, consider buying a car a year or two used. “A lot of cars drop 30 percent or more in value after their first year,” Reed said. “Then they’ll drop 5 percent in the following years. If you can find where that line starts flattening out, you can maximize your money.”
3. Don’t feel pressured. Know your price range. Don’t allow the dealer to up-sell you to a more expensive car. Stick to your guns on the type of car you came to buy, and know both your payment and dealer options.
Don’t feel pressured into buying a car you don’t want: “Say you’re getting more and more roped in and you don’t like the direction it’s going,” Reed said. “Worst-case scenario, you could say you’re going to the restroom and just walk out.”4. Be patient. The car-buying process usually takes a few weekends, and can’t be done in a few hours.
“There’s the type of buyer that walks into the dealership and says, ‘get me done,’” explains Reed. “They have no idea of the financing of the car, of what their options are and what situation they’re in.”
5. Fight for your price. Cross-shop at least three or four dealerships on the same vehicle model, and be willing to tough-talk each into a better sale.
“Get different quotes,” Reed said. “Anyone who is going cross-shopping for big-ticket items should become an expert on that market.”
Above all, realize that car-shopping can be an interesting, engaging experience. Take some time to find an honest dealer, and you’ll never have to meet The Hand. It wouldn’t hurt to realize that dealers are still human beings, too.
Reed experienced a dealership on the employee side, and sees things completely differently: “It definitely changed me,” he said. “I’m more sympathetic towards them now.”
If you’re auto-illiterate, it isn’t the end of the road.
“You can always take someone along who knows about cars,” said junior Katie Vaughan, who purchased a vehicle last summer. “As long as you have knowledge — even in the form of someone else — it makes all the difference in world.”
For some, car shopping is akin to getting a root canal. To you, we hope we’ve given a good dose of Novocain.
03-31-2005
