Advice On Buying A New Car

posted on 10/08/2009

I recently just made a vehicle purchase of a new 2010 GLK 350 Mercedes Benz. There are many factors to consider when shopping around for the best deal. There are so many dealerships of the same model vehicles around a particular area that it is not too difficult to visit each one to get the best deal.

First of all, it's important to do your research online on the desired vehicle(s) you are looking to purchase. A couple of legitimate websites to consider are edmunds.com and kbb.com as well as local dealership websites. Those websites provide consumers with great information of prices in the particular area you are searching. Researching a vehicle will allow you to choose from different options that can be added to a vehicle thus increasing the price.

Second, instead of actually driving to dealerships it is important to either email or call local dealerships with the vehicle you are searching for including any different options you would like added. This allows the salesperson to give you an approximate quote of your desired vehicle. This is very tricky though as well since salespeople will say anything just to get you to come to the dealership. Once they get you in the dealership they attempt to make a sale from you.

Next, once you go to a dealership to test drive the vehicle(s) and discuss options with a salesperson you should take documents of prices with you from other dealerships that have emailed you back. Also, having copies of invoices from edmunds.com and kbb.com would be helpful also. Those websites present invoices of the average price a consumer in the area paid for that particular vehicle. Having this information with you will allow you to know the approximate price of the vehicle provided so the salesperson will not be able to sell you higher.

The goal is to negotiate with the salesperson into a great deal. No one should pay the MSRP value. Typically you can talk the salesperson to lower cost to the invoice price which is about 5% less than the MSRP. Ideally when walking into a dealership you want to know what you're talking about and be able to understand everything. If not, a salesperson can lead you in the wrong way making you think that their idea of a great deal is hardly a deal at all.