Car Dealers And Car Sales - Know The Nuances Of Negotiation
As much as car dealers in their eternal wisdom would like to have you believe that
they always are acting for your benefit and in your interest when conducting their business of car sales, you must know that nothing can be farther from the truth.
Of course, it is not correct to paint all car dealers with the same brush, but invariably you will find that the dealer through his shrewdness of sizing up customers will try to make you spend more than necessary and will in all probability guide you to a product on which he would be getting the maximum commission.
This is again fair enough, after all each one of us is here to look after our own interests, but when some dealers (through gift of the gab) misrepresent facts and in the process cajole you to take a wrong decision is what has upset customers and earned the dealer community a dubious image.
You can sense it the moment you enter the showroom. These guys have been in the business long enough to know how to draw the attention of customers to something that is in the dealer's favour and very few customers have managed to survive their salesmanship.
Let us look at some of the typical ways they try to get the better of you in negotiations.
a) Since they have honed this skill of negotiation and practice it daily, they are able to engage the customers in small talk and get his attention. They then gain the trust of customers through their knowledge about the product and maneuver the customer into a position from where he would find it difficult to say no to buy that product.
b) Consumers do not have access to a lot of information on the actual costing and hence have to believe the dealer when he talks about slim margins and how they are finding it difficult to survive. Consequently you end up purchasing something that the dealer recommends and not what you initially set your mind to. Many companies offer great incentives on volume sales and that is something you as a consumer will never get to know.
c) Car dealers know the new as well as the used car market much better than you and that gives them the flexibility over pricing and deciding on what they should pay for your old used car.
d) Dealers also have an understanding and form a sort of cartel in not offering discounts beyond a point, thus leaving the customer with no choice but to buy from one of them. This is especially true of local neighbourhood dealers and may not apply to the dealers of another city or town.
e) Dealers are great at sizing up customers and can make a decent estimate about a customer's propensity to buy based on the body language and through some initial questions.
If you go in fully prepared, you are sure to get the best bang for your buck. Finding a car dealer who has your interests (as well as theirs) in mind will also ensure this!