How To Negotiate a Great Price on a Used Car!

Negotiating a used car deal can be somewhat daunting, because unlike a new car deal you can't simply go and look up the car dealer's cost on a used car. You can get an idea of what a used car's value is by going to YourCarValue.com , but you can never know for sure what a car dealer actually paid for the vehicle, nor can you know what amount of money he actually has invested in the vehicle when you have to add in reconditioning costs, transportations costs, detailing costs, etc.

So then, how do you negotiate a great price without getting taken to the cleaners?

First, let me say that it is very important to negotiate the price of the car you are interested in without involving financing or a trade-in. Don't get caught up in negotiating a payment or a trade-in allowance. Keep both a trade-in and financing out of the price negotiation completely.

Ideally, you should arrange for your own financing ahead of time by visiting my websites at Car-Loan-Quotes.com .

You should also keep the trade-in out of the deal until after you negotiate a price on the car you are buying. Only then should you introduce the trade-in into the deal. This way they can't artificially inflate the selling price in order to give you an artificially inflated value for your trade. If you allow them to do this it will distort the whole deal, and you have no way of knowing exactly where you stand.

Now having said that, once you find a vehicle you would like to buy then don't be afraid to hit them with a low offer. In fact, offer them $4,000 or $5,000 less than what they are asking. They probably won't accept it, and they will come back at you with a price much higher than your offer. Just hit them low again. Come up from your original offer $500. Be polite, but be hard nosed with them and don't let them intimidate you.

You are in control of the negotiating process simply because if you don't like what they are offering you can get up and go some place else. Tell them that you are going to buy a vehicle right away, and if they want your business they will have to come down to your price. Be respectful, but be BOLD! If they know you are really going to buy right away they will come down on their price to get your business. Maybe not all the way, but some!

Keep going back and forth with them on price, coming up in small increments ($200 to $300 at a time) until they won't budge any more. That's when you'll know what their bottom line is. You may have to actually get up and start to walk out to squeeze the last few dollars out of them. Let them chase after you and convince you to keep negotiating!

Once you are sure you have them pushed as far as they'll go you have to simply make a decision whether to buy the vehicle at that price or not. Remember, you can always go some place else, compare prices and use these same techniques all over again.

One last thought . . . Take your time and think everything through. Sleep on the deal until you are absolutely sure this is what you want to buy. Often, a deal will look entirely different to you after you sleep on it. A car salesman is trained to get you to make an emotional buying decision right on the spot. They don't want you to think about the deal. Don't fall into their trap. If you do you will probably regret it later.

Stay in control and make an intelligent and logical buying decision . . . Not an emotional buying decision. You have to live with this decision for a long time, so be sure of what you are doing.

On more final thought . . . the car dealer will try to sell you an extended warranty before the whole deal is over with. You may or may not want to purchase one. I can tell you from experience that it is a good thing to have some warranty protection on a used car. Just remember . . . a car dealer will mark-up the price of an extended warranty anywhere from $500 to $2,000 and more! You are much better off buying direct and saving yourself the big dealer mark-up. Visit my website at Used-Car-Warranty.com for additional information on saving money on an extended auto warranty.