Getting the best deal on a used car is easy with our motor trade secrets guide

Have you ever wondered what really goes on in a car dealership? Do you walk onto the fore court with trepidation and anxiety? Is it all just another stressful experience that you could do without?

Well don’t worry because we are going to reveal some motor trade secrets that will enable you to walk into any car dealers with confidence and get the best deal.

This information is not freely available and there are plenty of websites out there that will charge you a fortune for this. So why are we giving it away? Simply because this site is designed to GIVE the used car buyer the best information available FREE OF CHARGE.

This motor trade secrets guide is based on genuine motor trade experience and will be constantly updated and extended to include more tricks and tips that will benefit you.

Thisfirst chapter is designed to compliment our Buying guide for used cars and help you get a better deal on your next used car. We want you to get the used car you want for the best price possible. Whether you are buying a Ford or a Ferrari, we want you to buy it cheap. So read on, save money and be happy.

Before we start lets consider a few things. First and foremost, the car dealer is not “the enemy”. As with any business, their objective is to maximise profits. They have processes in place that have been developed over many years and are designed to tilt the deal in their favour at all times.

Remember, they are dealing with customers every day who want to wring every last penny of profit out of their product. The motor trade is one of the only retail environments where the customer expects a huge discount regardless of how well the product is priced. People just don’t like used car dealers making money.

I’m not suggesting you feel sorry for the dealers but you must understand why they do things the way they do. The motor trade is a hard business to survive in and there is a lot of pressure on the salesmen. Therefore their sales processes are designed to get the customer into a corner (without realising it) and close the deal whilst retaining a healthy profit margin.

If you walk into the dealer fully prepared and know how to avoid being penned in by the sales process, then you can tilt the deal in your favour.

So don’t treat the used car dealer as your enemy, don’t be hostile and defensive. They are expecting you to put up barriers and know how to use that to their advantage. By being open and friendly you will catch them off guard, they will think you are an easy touch and they will drop much of their well-rehearsed sales pitch.

Before you even set foot on the used car dealer forecourt you should have read our buying guide for used cars. If you have, you should have a very clear idea of what used car you want, how much you want to pay and how you are going to pay for it.

Make sure you have loan and finance quotations written down and take them with you to the dealer. If you have a good credit score there is no reason why the dealer should charge you an inflated rate of interest, so have your best quote ready, it may come in handy.

The salesperson is relying on the fact that you need his help choosing and financing your car, if you have this done in advance then you will be in a better position to negotiate a deal that suits you.

Did you know you could get a better deal by timing your visit to the dealer correctly? There are times when the dealers are at their most vulnerable and it is in your interest to know when.

• Used car Salespeople, Sales Managers and Dealerships are all paid bonuses for reaching targets over the course of a month. At the end of the month they often have one last big push to try and improve their figures. Your deal could potentially be much more valuable to them on the last day of the month and they might be more flexible than usual.
• The last weekend of the month can also be good as the salesmen are often on extra cash incentives for weekend targets. Your deal could mean a cash incentive bonus straight into their pocket on top of their wages.
• A used car dealership will stay open until the last customer leaves and many open until 9 or 10 pm at night. If you turn up 5 minutes before closing the chances are they will be preparing to go home after a long day and may want to rush a deal through just to get home. Remember, if the salesperson stays on then so does the Sales manager and the Business manager. You may not be popular but you might get a better deal.
• Every night the Sales manager or the Dealer manager will have to phone in the figures to the owner. The last thing they want is to phone in with no sales but sometimes on cold and wet weekdays this will happen. A customer who walks on to a used car fore court on a dark, cold and rainy evening when no deals have been done is in a good position to get a deal.

When you walk onto a forecourt or into a showroom you should expect to be pounced on by an eager salesperson. Many people find this irritating but walking into a showroom and being ignored is even worse. The salespersons objective at this point is simply to get you sat at their desk.

Most people will at this point, put up their barriers and try to get rid of the seller. This is because they are totally unprepared, they don’t know what car they want and they want to look around in peace. This is just the kind of customer the seller wants. They will generally diffuse the situation by asking leading questions; questions that cant be answered yes or no. For example; “How far have you travelled today” “What car are you driving at the moment?” These questions make the customer drop their guard.

Most customers are quite happy to talk about their own car, after all they really want to know what they will get for it in part exchange. The seller will use this to their advantage and will probably ask, “Would you like me to appraise your car for you?” at which point the customer has dropped their guard even more and says, “Yes please”, the seller responds “No problem, follow me”, straight to their desk! Bingo, you are playing their game (and you don’t even know it).

If you are in this first contact situation, don’t put up your guard. Remember, you know what car you want, so they cant sell you something you don’t want. You just want a good deal on a used car, so make friends with the seller now and use it to your advantage later.

Exchange first names and ask them questions; “how long have you worked here?” “What car do you drive?” get a conversation going and even if you have a car to part exchange don’t tell them yet. If they ask, say you don’t want to part exchange. They will now have to try a different approach to get you to their desk.We have established that you are at the dealer because you have followed our buying guide for used cars and know what car you want. They have a car that matches and you want a deal. You have studied the price guides and know what you want to pay and you have the cash or a finance quote arranged. So why not get straight down to business?

When it comes down to it, even after correct preparation, buying a car is still a daunting task. Having studied our buying guide for used cars, you should be more confident than usual, but you still need to be bold and take control of the situation. Tell the salesperson that they have the car you are looking for and you want a test drive.

At this point the salesperson will think its their lucky day and will invite you to their desk. Remember you have come out to buy a used car and if the price is right you will do a deal, if its not you will just walk away. You hold all the cards. You will be the one who closes the deal, not them.

When doing a deal, a used car salesperson will get you sat comfortably at their desk, offer you a nice cup of tea and then start to fill out a form with your details.This form will consist of your contact details (so they can follow you up if you don’t sign today), your payment details, part exchange details and details on what cars you are interested in. This is not just a general enquiry form; it is an integral part of the sales process.

Whilst filling out the form they will build a picture of the customer and their requirements. They will ask you if you need finance and how much you can afford to pay each month. If you tell them you can afford about �200 a month, they will often respond by saying, “up to?” This is a way of getting you to increase your budget so they can work a better finance deal. For themselves!

Never agree to a used car purchase based on a monthly payment, this is what many customers do. For example, the customer reveals they have a budget of �200 a month, up to �250 for the right car. The Seller says, ”Good news Mr customer, we can get that car within your budget. How does �248.50 a month sound?” “Great”, replies the customer. Believe it or not many people will sign finance documents without even knowing what rate of interest they are paying. The dealers use this method to charge a higher rate of interest.

When they ask about finance, tell them you have shopped around and have already got finance in place. When they ask your monthly budget tell them the best quote you have been given and how long it is over. When they say, “up to?” say you are not prepared to pay anymore than your best quote - why should you?

They will ask if the finance has been agreed and which bank or loan companies it is with. Tell them.

Next, they will ask you about your part exchange. Tell them you do not want to part exchange your car (even if you do, tell them after you have agreed a deal on your new car) and that you will deal with it yourself. You just want a straight deal on the car you are looking at, no finance and no part exchange.

At this point the salesperson will probably tell you that they are going to get the keys so you can go on a test drive. They will in fact go and report to their sales manager and tell them the story so far. The used car salespeople get immense pressure from the management to steer you into the sales process, so far they have failed and may get an ear bashing

The sales process relies heavily on getting a monthly budget and a part exchange figure from the customer. This gives them 4 figures to manipulate when doing a deal; the price of the car they are selling, the monthly payment, the part exchange price and the cost to change. They will often draw 4 boxes and put amounts of these figures in and then slowly adjust them. They will ask you what is more important, getting more for your part exchange, reducing finance payments, or cutting the cost to change?

This often confuses customers into picking one figure; the seller can then adjust this figure to a satisfactory amount for the customer and close the deal. Whichever figure the customer chooses the seller is making up for it on the other 3. This process is very complex with many variations and can be manipulated in countless ways. It takes a lot of training to understand fully but all you need to know is; this is not the way to get the best deal for you.

Make it clear to the seller that if the car drives ok and they can do you a good deal then you will buy it. Once again this will throw them off track, after all, the test drive is normally the time when they come into their own and hit you with their sales pitch.

Use this opportunity to ask them about the car, not about the price. The salesperson has no authority to offer you discount but should have decent product knowledge so find out anything else you are not sure about before returning to the fore court.

Make sure you have read our used car checklist and inspect the vehicle accordingly. Once you are satisfied with it then it is time to negotiate.

This is now quite a simple process because you are only dealing with one figure, the price of the car. This is not a situation the seller is comfortable with because they cannot employ their sales process and manipulate the figures. You are in the driving seat; you want the car, they want your business.

Hopefully you would have studied the classifieds and the prices guides and have a price in mind that you are prepared to pay. Offer the dealer slightly less than you are prepared to pay and say that you feel this is a fair price. They will tell you they don’t think it is feasible and ask you if you can offer any more, they will ramble on about overheads, preparation costs etc . Stick to your guns, tell them it is your final offer, take it or leave it.The Salesperson will now have to go and see their Sales manager; they will not be looking forward to this. The Sales manager will probably be unhappy at doing a deal this way and will tell the Salesperson in no uncertain terms

Remember the Salesperson spends their entire time trying to please the customer on one side and their manager on the other. The reason they can be so pushy with the customer is because of the pressure coming from above.

Have you have ever been on a dealer forecourt and the Salesperson just won’t leave you alone? They insist on getting your number and invite you inside to discuss your requirements? The reason they do this is because of the pressure they are under. It is the perception of the management that everyone who walks into a dealership is in the buying process and will continue to wander from dealer to dealer until a good salesperson sells him or her a car.

In reality this is true, many customers having just signed on the dotted line, say, “I didn’t expect to buy a car today”. They have been led down a path by the salesperson, a path that invariably ends in a sale.

The Sales manager will tell the salesperson to go back and get some more money out of you. They may try and offer you a deal on an extended warranty or other add-ons (so they can earn some commission) instead of a discount on the car (remember the car should come with some kind of warranty, if you want to extend it later then buy direct from the warranty company). Once again you should just hold firm, tell them you will leave if they cannot do the deal. Do not go to your target price yet-you may not have to.

Next time they return they will either; shake your hand and do the deal (if so then great) or more likely they will try to call your bluff and once again ask you for an improved offer. In this case, and to show you are true to your word, you should thank them for trying so hard but explain that you are now going to leave. They will not want you to leave. They will do everything they can to keep you at their desk and they will certainly have to tell the manager before you walk.

This is make or break time for them, they called your bluff and you started to walk. They have one option left and that is to bring a manager out to speak to you. They will introduce a fresh face and try to smooth talk you. You must still remain firm on your initial offer. They will push and push and may ask you if you can even budge a small amount, like �50. Tell them that you were honest and explained after the test drive exactly how much you were willing to pay for the car.

If they have started to ask for very small increases to your offer, then the chances are that they will do the deal. If they are still telling you there is no way they can do that price and that a deal is out of the question, the chances are they really cannot afford to do it. If at this point you feel that they are going to let you walk, then its time to make an increased offer. Don’t go straight to your final figure - go halfway towards it. Say that you understand their position and that you are willing to move slightly to get the deal done today. Hold out your hand to shake theirs.

If at this point they still don’t deal its time to walk again, and if they let you walk (this is very unlikely) you still have one final offer to put to them, as you are about to leave.

In almost every case, these tactics will get you a better used car deal than walking into a dealer unprepared. You don’t have to be rude, aggressive or an expert negotiator to get a good deal, you just need to know the rules and play the game correctly. When all is said and done don’t pay more than you are prepared too. If you can’t get a deal at the price you have in mind then you are probably being unrealistic.

So do you research, follow our guides and get your self a good deal.

If you do have a vehicle to part exchange then we strongly recommend that you try selling it yourself. Having just got a great deal on a used car why not get a good price for the car you are selling? Obviously this will require some effort but if you follow our guide ‘how to sell my car’, the process should be fairly easy.

To make life easier try selling it before you buy your next car or arrange to collect your new car a few weeks after you sign the order form, giving yourself some time to try and sell it.

If after reading our guide you really don’t fancy selling you car yourself or you are unsuccessful, then you must be prepared to take a loss and part exchange it with your dealer.

Contact the salesperson after you have done the deal and signed the order form. Tell them the sale of your old car has fallen through and you need to part exchange it. Ask them what is the very best price they can give you for it. They will only ever give around trade price so don’t expect much more. You can get a valuation for a small fee from Glasses website to give you an idea of the trade value.

If you are buying a new car you may get a slightly better offer for your car but a dealer will always want to buy at trade price. Part exchanges are generally sold on into the trade or sent to auction. If they are suitable for retail you may get a bit more but not much. Only part exchange as a last resort or if you really don’t have the time or inclination to sell your car your self.

Thanks for reading the first instalment of our motor trade secrets guide. We hope you found it useful. We are constantly writing new content so keep an eye on our site for future additions.