Unless you’re very well versed in negotiations and car mechanics, you might feel very intimidated about buying a new car. However, if you properly prepare beforehand and come into any interactions with salespeople or car dealerships from a place of knowledge, you may find that your car buying experience goes much better than you anticipated.
To help you get to this point, here are three things to do before going into a car dealership.
Find The Right Dealership To Buy From
To make this whole process a lot easier on you, you’re going to want to ensure that you’re working with a good dealership from the get-go.
To find a great car dealership near you, Mark Riddix, a contributor to MoneyCrashers.com, recommends that you do quite a bit of research online. You can research on websites that rank dealerships and check out the Better Business Bureau to see if they are certified or have any negative claims brought against them. You can also look at their online reviews and see what past customers have to say about working with them. This can give you some great insight into what your experience might be like and if others would recommend you going there to buy a car from them.
Figure Out Your Financing
It’s easy to feel like you’re getting in over your head with everything you have to know and do when buying a new car. But one thing you’ll want to be sure that you’re on firm footing about is your financing.
Before you go into any car dealership, Caroline Moss, a contributor to Todays.com, advises that you speak to a few banks or lenders about what type of car loan you may qualify for. Ideally, you should come to a car dealership with your financing already in place so that you don’t have to even worry about figuring this out with the dealership themselves. You’re much more likely to get a better deal financially by going this route.
Start The Process Online
Choosing what kind of car you want and then finding the exact vehicle that you should purchase can be a hard process. What can make this even more difficult is if you’re dealing with a pushy salesperson, too.
To reduce these problems, John M. Vincent, a contributor to the U.S. News and World Report, recommends that you spend the least amount of time as possible at the dealership by starting the buying process online beforehand. Most dealerships have their inventory online and can even let you speak with a salesperson through chat or email to answer any questions. This can help you get in, get your car, and get out in a much smoother process.
If you’re going to be heading to a dealership soon to purchase a new car, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you prepare for this exchange.