Negotiating Debt

Being a good negotiator doesn’t have to be difficult. Sooner or later everyone has to negotiate with someone if they want to get a good deal on a purchase---especially on a new car where there is a lot of room to save money by negotiating.  To negotiate debt is really what's going on here.  Unless you're planning on paying cash, you are about to take on lots of debt and it's your job to make the amount of debt as small as possible.  The salesman's job, of course, is to try to make your debt as large as possible.

When you are trying to negotiate with a car dealer, remember that they are very practiced in the art already. You will need to know how to get through their “car speak” in order to be successful with your negotiating.

Since you now know how to calculate your offer, you are way ahead of the game.  You already know what the dealer paid for your car, which will give you confidence in and of itself.   One way to increase your confidence is to get a copy of the paperwork from a friend that recently bought a car.  This way you can become familiar with what you will see on your paperwork. They are all generally the same.  This will take even more guesswork out of the experience. You are negotiating debt here; trying to negotiate it down.

If you’ve followed the above mentioned tips, you will also be pre-approved for a loan. This is huge.  The key is for you to get in and out of the dealership as quickly as possible because the salesman will definitely find more loopholes the longer you stay.  When you walk in to the dealership with a pre-approved loan, you've just taken some of his bullets away.

Here are a few tips for successful negotiating:

•  Remain positive and confident, even if you have to fake it.
• Don’t talk down to your opponent; if he senses you are on guard, he actually has the advantage...stay 'politely confident'.
• Show up prepared and ready to counter anything that may come up with your paperwork.
• Bring ads from other dealerships with you as an extra weapon in your folder. (We'll cover the "folder" in detail soon.)
• Finance your loan before you arrive at the dealership so as to avoid paying unnecessary extra fees and being scammed.

Bring a friend with you for extra support---just his or her presence will calm you.

   
           
Whenever we feel rushed about anything, we tend to stop thinking.  And that's exactly what the following dealer tactics are designed to do to you---make you buy before you've had time to think too much about the price.

The following out-and-out lies are designed to try to force or rush you into a buying decision... You have to remember that they are trying to negotiate you into paying more money just as you are trying to negotiate paying less; it's a natural 'dance'.  Only it's almost as if it's a car dealer's job to lie.  And that's where they get most folks:  Most buyers don't lie as a habit on their job all day like the dealers do.  So when a dealer lies, he's so practiced at his craft that he seems believable; he doesn't seem like he's lying.  Heck, if they're good, most people want to believe them! 

Here are some of the things you should expect to hear:

1. “These cars are flying off of the lot. It may not be available for the same deal tomorrow”. (Take your time---don't allow this to make you buy today.  You'll see that if you threaten to leave they will ease up and change their strategy.)
   
2. “This deal is only good for today. If you come back tomorrow I can’t guarantee that the deal will be the same”.  (See #1 above.)
                       
3. “I’m an honest man. (or something to that effect) Look at how many cars I’ve sold this weekend” (This is where he will show you his list of sold cars. If he does this, then tell him that he obviously doesn’t need your money).
   
4. “I hate to tell you this, but I have another offer from a man who is willing to pay more money than this. I'm just waiting for the paperwork to be done”.  (If he says this, congratulate him on that deal and tell him that, unfortunately, you can't pay that much.)
   
5. “To cover the overhead costs, we have paid $26,000 for this car (Just check your paperwork in your folder to prove him wrong).

Negotiating successfully all boils down to being prepared.  Preparation is everything.

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