How to Seal the Deal When Buying Your Next New or Slightly Used Car

How to Seal the Deal When Buying Your Next New or Sightly Used Car

by James Hamel

Buying a new is the second largest purchase anyone will ever make after buying a home. Since so much of your hard earned cash will be going towards this new ride full of all the latest toys and options don’t be afraid to demand the utmost in customer service. The same is true when you are buying a Certified Pre-Owned car.

Contrary to popular opinion most car dealers really only want to make their customers happy and that includes you. This is true whether you are buying a new or used car from a dealer. But in order for dealers to make you happy that sometimes means you have to tell them what you need.

Picking out which car, truck, SUV, crossover or minivan that you want to buy is totally up to you as is deciding whether to lease or buy. But what happens after you pick out the car and have negotiated your monthly payments? You may think your job as the consumer is over but that is far from true. This is actually the time when people make the biggest mistakes as consumers. So no matter if you are buying Certified Pre-Owned, used or new all these same rules still apply. Here are some tips to help ensure you don’t make any mistakes.

Dealer Extras

When you finish negotiating the terms of your contract and enter the finance office of a dealership you will then be faced with a number of choices. Do you want any of the dealer add-ons or don’t you? While there are many smart dealer extras to invest in there are also a number of them that are of questionable value.

For example, if you are financing a vehicle for 5 years and the car you are buying only has a 3 year warranty it is a good idea to invest in an extended warranty. Just be careful to buy a warranty through the manufacturer. They are more expensive than ones through aftermarket firms but manufacturer warranties cover more parts and are always accepted at dealerships across the country. The reason? Manufacturer extended warranties make it far easier for a dealership to file a repair claim.

If you are leasing a vehicle you can also invest in extra “damage coverage” at the end of the lease term. (Yes, you can lease Certified Pre-Owned cars and many people do just that.) If you have kids or dogs that might not be a bad idea because they have a propensity to cause a bit of wear and tear on a vehicle’s interior. This coverage also covers dings, dents, tire and brake wear. A good idea if you don’t want to ever have to worry about unexpected expenses at the end of your lease.

There are also countless other options and extras dealers offer like bike and ski racks, seat covers, pet barriers, different grilles and much, much more. These all depend on if you like the look of these extras or need them because of how you are going to use the vehicle. Just realize that you will be financing the cost of these extras over the life of your contract so it might be smarter to just buy them from the parts department. Either way the dealership still gets paid so they won’t mind.

There is one dealer add-on that you don’t really need new or used. While interior scotch guarding can be helpful if you have an accident prone toddler in the back seat, the exterior “Perma-Plate” is really just a very expensive wax job. As your vehicle left the factory with the most advanced paint protectants already in place this is an exercise in the pointless. The same goes for rust-proofing. When was the last time you saw a new car covered in rust?

Double Checking the Contract

After finalizing which dealer add-ons you want it is of the utmost importance that you read your finance or lease contract line by line. With any car purchase there is no 3-day cooling off period in which you can cancel the sale as with some other products. So once you sign on the dotted line and drive off the lot that vehicle is yours.

The most important things to double check are the interest rate, final selling price, any discounts, cost of dealer add-ons and if you traded in a vehicle make sure that this is in the contract as well. Realize that people who work at dealerships are human and can make mistakes. A good idea is to bring a trusted friend or spouse with you so you have another set of eyes to double check the finance contract.

Vehicle Delivery and Walk Around

While you can always have a dealership deliver a new vehicle to your home or to your work what would you do if there was a problem with it when it got there? And besides, many workplaces frown on their employees taking care of personal business during work hours.  That probably won’t matter as much if you are, in fact, the boss.

When accepting delivery of your new or used car you absolutely must do a vehicle walk around. This is especially true of Certified Pre-Owned cars. This entails walking around the vehicle at least four times looking for dents or paint damage and spending five minutes in the interior looking for tears in the upholstery and trim. Also be sure to check that the power windows, locks, air conditioning, wipers, headlights and stereo are all in optimal working condition.

If at all possible, however, do try and pick up your vehicle at the dealership. That way if there are any dents or damage to interior trim you can just send it back to the dealership service department and have it taken care of right then and there. Who really wants to have to go back and forth to the dealership anyway when they have a new (or lightly used) car?

Note: No Need to Get THIS excited about your new car but enthusiasm is understandable.