This post was written by me through an activation with HireInfluence on behalf of Kelley Blue Book. Although I received compensation for participating in the campaign, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
So many people are afraid to find ways to save money on purchases, even big purchases such as for a car. This may be that they are too afraid to negotiate to get the best deal, which can then cause them to spend thousands of dollars more on their car purchase.
I completely understand this. I remember buying my first new car and how I was afraid to negotiate. I didn't really know where to begin.
I didn't want to start too low because I thought I'd offend someone, and I didn't want to start too high because I didn't want to lose money (who wants to do that?!).
I honestly had no idea what I was doing!
Whether you are purchasing a new or used vehicle, there are several car buying tips and tricks you should know of so that you can walk away with the best deal possible. There are so many options and extras that come up when buying a car, which means there are many ways for you to end up leaving confused or paying more than you should be.
Even if you get a discount, such as a car manufacturer discount, you should still negotiate. Many times, those friends and family discounts mean that you are not able to haggle at all, which can lead to you actually paying a higher price.
Cars sales are meant to be negotiated, whether it is a brand new vehicle or a used one. If you don’t haggle, you will most likely lose out on a lot of money, because negotiating is expected.
Here are my tips to save money on your next car purchase.
Check out Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor.
The Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor tells you what you should pay for your next car based off of what other people have paid for the same vehicle in your area. The Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor provides a fair market range of what you should pay, so you can be sure you’re getting a fair deal.
After all, if you were in the process of buying a car, you wouldn't just go to the dealership and pay the price that is on the window (or, would you?!).
The first question you probably ask yourself is what should you start the negotiations with? This question throws so many people off, and it makes so many people afraid of negotiating completely.
Kelley Blue Book Price Advisor helps you to analyze actual prices that people are paying for cars in your area. So, this tool can show you what you should pay for your car, so that you know where to start the negotiations at, and what would be too much money to pay.
This can greatly help you in the negotiation process, so that you can save the most money.
Bring your car search into focus with Kelley Blue Book. Visit KBB.com to learn more about their car shopping tools and resources.
Don't just think about the monthly payment.
You should not just care about the monthly payment for the car that you are thinking about purchasing.
You should only purchase what you can actually afford. Just because the monthly car payment looks affordable, it doesn't mean that it actually is.
There are car payment terms that are as long as 96 months, which is just crazy to me. A car salesperson may stretch out the car payment so that it looks to be more affordable for you, but you should be aware of the whole cost, which includes things like interest and taxes.
Please, please, please, look at the whole cost and see if that's actually an affordable amount for you to be paying.
Shop around.
You can shop around at car dealerships both online and offline.
I recommend shopping online before you go to a dealership, this way you can be prepared by learning as much as possible in advance. You also won’t be wasting your time at car dealerships that can't get down to the price you want.
What other car shopping negotiation tips do you have?
Subscribe to get the free Master Your Money course!
Join the free email course and finally learn how to manage your money better, pay off debt, save more money, and reach financial freedom. Get our newsletter and get access to the freebie:
These are great tips.
I’ll be in the market for a new car in a couple of years. One thing I’ll be looking for is the cost of care and repair. I’m on my second car which is a Nissan. My first car was a Ford and I was pouring hundreds, if not more, into it every year to fix something that was beyond regular car maintenance. I haven’t had that with my Nissan. I’m putting more into it now that it’s 10 years old and has over 100k miles but it’s mostly maintenance because of the age and mileage versus repairs.
Thank you Leah!
Different manufacturers offer incentives at different times throughout the year. Find the brand you want and determine when they offer their best deals. If you have time to be patient, then you can save thousands this way.
Yes, great tip!
Great tips, Michelle! Dave Ramsey always says that wealthy people ask “how much?” whereas broke people ask “how much down and how much per month?” It’s an important distinction, for sure! Dragging a low monthly car payment out for years ends up costing an obscene amount of interest.
Be sure to take into account maintenance costs.
Two years ago, I bought a used car, a 2014 Jeep Compass. It had everything I wanted: more space than my old 2000 Camry, Bluetooth, and decent gas mileage, but nothing I didn’t need. Who needs to pay $3,000 extra for a mid-sized SUV with seat warmers and a back-up camera? No thanks!
It’s a great car, but now that it’s pushing 4-5 years, I’m surprised at how multiple little maintenance costs are adding up. I drove my Camry until 250k miles, until it blew its head gasket, and it still ran like a champ. Even though I got a good price on the front-end, the fat tail costs on the back-end may make my little Compass a bad bargain.