Steps to Buying a Car Made Fast and Easy

It is no longer necessary to spend hours on the internet or visit a half a dozen dealerships to make sure you get a great deal on your next car. I am going to show you how to get your local dealer to give you a great deal without it being a long drawn out painful process and I should know. I have been providing car dealers with automotive sales training and automotive management training for 25 years and I know all the tricks. With the influence of the internet, manufacturers' programs, competition and the economy the old strategies for buying a car are now outdated and will actually make buying a vehicle more painful than necessary.

Auto dealers know that there is no shortage of information to you as a customer and are now using documentation to replace long painful negotiations. Car dealers are replacing traditional automotive sales training with education on how the sales and management team create a customer positive buying experience using transparent documentation to make the purchase process easy and fast. Auto dealers are no longer interested in a long drawn out processes anymore than the customer is. Because of these changes it is no

longer necessary to spend 3 weeks in research, shopping a 1/2 dozen dealerships and then countless hours in painful negotiations.

6 steps that will guarantee a great deal without wasting time:

1) Approach the auto dealer as a buyer. Your best strategy when buying a car is to identify yourself as a buyer, not a shopper. Don't be defensive, present yourself an easy buyer to deal with. The customer that approaches a car dealer defensive and pushy tends to cause the dealership personal to respond the same way.

2) Price is not your greatest concern. Let the sales person know that price is not your biggest concern but that the car is your main focus. This will be music to the sales person and make them butter in your hands. Let them know that you know price is easy once the car is right. This is going to make the sales process quicker by reducing confrontation and later make getting your best terms even easier.

3) Determining right car for you. Contrary to outdate strategies the best way to determine the right unit is not online or on the phone but at the dealership. A trick to make sure you are on the right vehicle is to look at the vehicles just above and just below what you think you want. Any interest in either of the other two product choices means you are not yet on the perfect product for you.

4) Test drive the vehicle. Driving the vehicle will actually save you time negotiating and makes the dealership feel like they have done their job and provides them with more confidence in giving you their best price.

5) Request computer documented proposal. Ask the dealership to present their offer to you electronically. The most progressive, customer satisfaction-driven dealers today utilize technology to provide

the buyer with computer generated proposals. Full disclosure proposals will include price, trade figures, purchase and lease payments, down payments and interest rates all at one time. Ask your dealer, "do you use Epencil or electronic proposals to document your offer?" Computer generated documentation avoid wasted time in the negotiations and unnecessary games. Car dealers know that time is important to the 21st century buyer and is using technology to improve and save time in the buying experience.

6) Determining a fair price? Franchised automotive dealers in the US operate on about the same net margins as a grocery store--(2% net margin - after all expenses). Most transactions generate more money to state and local taxes than profits to the dealer. For instance, the taxes in California are 8.75, so if the dealer has a gross mark

up (before expenses) of 6% on a 20,000 car, they will have a gross profit of 1200 while the state will collect almost 1800. Keep in mind the state isn't even in the car business. Based on the taxes collected use your own logic to make sense of what a fair price to offer the dealer is. Your dealer will love this logic and remove time and pain from the process.

It is outdated thinking that you have to shop 5 locations to get a good deal. The next time you are ready to are ready to roll in something new just follow my steps; let your dealer know you are there to buy, be sure you are on the right car, ask that they present their proposal electronically. Lastly let them know you have been trained how to buy a car from automotive sales trainer Grant Cardone and I guarantee you a great deal!

Grant Cardone, Automotive Sales Trainer and NY Times Best Selling Author

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Comment by DealerELITE on November 17, 2010 at 8:10pm: Great article Grant!

Comment by DealerELITE on November 17, 2010 at 8:10pm: Great Article Grant !

Comment by Grant Cardone on November 17, 2010 at 11:01am: dealers should make this article available to your clients... either by disseminating this via your newsletter or copying an posting online, at your website or copying and placing where buyers can see it...