Genuine Advice for Buying a Car from a Dealership

Yesterday, I bought a car.  I don't have it in my possession yet because the DMV has not yet become an instantaneous service (ha!) so I won't actually be driving around for a couple of days.  That being said, the hard part is over.  I had to learn a LOT about negotiating, car dealerships, the make and model of car I wanted, and sales in order to make the process happen in a way I was comfortable with.  The entire thing, from first contact with a dealership to signing a sale agreement, took just under a week, and that could have been substantially shorter if Christmas hadn't fallen in the middle of the week.  In the blurbs below, I hope to impart to you the essential nuggets of wisdom I learned in my research, in the hopes that you will have a good car buying experience next time you're in the market.  For curious parties, here is a lengthy article that I found illuminating.

1. Do your research online ahead of time.  Look at what cars have what features, and figure out what's important to you.  Do you want excellent fuel economy?  Top safety rankings?  Something that looks bad-ass?  Find one or more cars that look like they would meet your needs.  If you have access to a Consumer Reports account, that site has valuable information comparing cars within a size class, which I found very useful (read: the most useful thing in selecting a car by a mile).  It can also tell you how the reliability and safety of a car has performed from year to year, which can be particularly helpful in selecting used cars.  Speaking of selecting cars...

2. Select an appropriate price range of vehicles before you go to a dealership. Know exactly what you can afford (consider total price and monthly payments, assuming you are financing), and look only for cars within that range.  If you can't afford a BMW, then let it go, my friend.  Don't test drive something you shouldn't buy.  Cars are expensive to buy, expensive to maintain, and they are a terrible investment, so now is not the time to get vain and fancy.  That being said, it's also usually not wise to buy a $1500 used car if you can comfortably afford something much better; you'll end up throwing $3000 into it in repairs and then getting rid of it in two years, so it's not actually saving you any money.

3. Be aware of your sales person and his/her techniques.  Okay, I'm just going to talk about this person as if he is a male because there's a 99% chance you'll talk to a salesman rather than a saleslady.  Basically, your salesman has two entire personae.  The one you'll see is friendly, attentive, helpful, respectful, a little corny with the jokes, interested in your questions, and always always always looking out for your best interests.  The one behind the scenes might still be a nice guy, but he is 100% ulterior motive.  First off, this guy wants your money.  The more the better.  Never forget that his job is not to save you money or get you a good deal.  His job is to maximize profit because his paycheck is based on commission.  This puts you at direct odds with the salesman, assuming you want to save money (and I'm guessing you do).  The guy will act like he's on your side (which is why all offers and financial decisions have to come from someone else, be it his manager or some other department) but he isn't.  Now, to be fair, both of you want you to walk out of the dealership having purchased a car, but that's about where the common ground ends.  Some common tricks and why they do that:

• Making you wait endlessly.  This occurs mainly before and during price negotiations.  The idea is that you'll get impatient and agree more readily to unfavorable terms as long as you can get the hell out of there.  You can proactively avoid this if, when your sales guy says he'll be right back, you tell him exactly how long he has before you walk out (and you really have to be willing to leave).  You can also do what Dan and I did, and after a long interval, just start standing up and stretching, then looking like you're ready to put coats on.  Amazing how quickly people will get it together when you send the "I'm leaving" signal.
• Using bad penmanship and nonsense scribbles to confuse you.  Watch any car salesman discuss prices and options with a customer, then watch what happens when he gets a blank piece of paper and a pen.  It's kind of amazing to see, provided you have no stake in the agreement.  He will write down every number he says, sometimes more than once, along with terminology and notes that go with these numbers.  They will be arranged on the page in a way that makes no sense after the fact, and will often be so hard to read that you have no idea what's going on.  The idea is for him to sound like an expert and for you to get flummoxed.  People don't want to inconvenience others and they don't want to sound stupid, so instead of asking for clarification, they say "oh, sure, that all seems fine."  While this conversation isn't binding, these terms will end up in a contract that is.
• When financing is involved, focusing on the monthly payment rather than total price.  Car dealerships make good money off of car loans, which is why there are always cash-back offers and other incentives when you finance with them.  The longer the term of the loan (how long you have in order to pay it back), the more money they make.  If the salesman says he can get you a $22,000 car for only $200/month, there's something fishy there.  Look at the loan term, the interest rate, and the down payment before you sign anything.  When negotiating, get the total purchase price to a number you're comfortable with, THEN talk about loan terms.  If you want to skip financing with the dealership, you can get pre-approved for an amount at your local bank, and then the financing terms are not a part of the car negotiation.
• Manipulating your emotions.  Depending on the stage of the negotiation, the salesman will want you to feel different things.  When I took the Fit for a test drive, the salesman asked me what I liked about the car.  The trick is that, by having me say all the good things about it rather than him saying it, I got myself excited about the car without feeling like I was being sold to.  Salesmen will keep pictures of their families on their desks for background guilt trips when you're really pounding them on the price.  I also had several dealerships not-so-subtly accuse each other of unnamed trickery when I would say "well these guys are offering me this price, so can you beat that?"  Rather than saying, "nope, can't go that low" they would say, "I don't know what they're doing over there are Dealership A, but that price is a lot lower than we're able to do, no matter how we crunch the numbers."  The idea is that, knowing that you're basically already a lost sale because they can't hit that number, they hope to plant the seed of doubt in your head about the other dealership, possibly contributing to the deal falling through.

4. Watch a lot of Pawn Stars (or similar shows).  I wish I were kidding, but this was one of the most important factors for me.  I watched a lot of negotiations and learned, by example, what good and bad deals looked like.  Never take the first offer.  There is always room for negotiation.  Know ahead of time what number(s) you find acceptable.  Know what other people are paying for the same thing.  Keep your guard up until the deal is final.  Be aware of how you are being manipulated.  Walk away if anything is dishonest or suspect, or if you smell bullshit in any way.  Being willing to walk away is one of the most important aspects of any negotiation.  If you're not willing to sink a deal when it no longer meets your needs, you are giving up a great deal of leverage.  Remember that you're the one with the money, which puts you in a position of power.  You've got the upper hand, so don't give it up.  If you're buying a new car or a widely available used car (or if you're not married to a particular car), you don't need any specific dealership nearly as much as they need you.  A salesman will act like he's doing you a huge favor by entertaining your request for a car, but the real arrangement is that you're doing him a favor by allowing him to offer you a car.

5. Read every line of every piece of paper.  Ask a question about literally everything.  Bring someone with you for support and a second pair of eyes.  Don't let a salesman rush you through anything, encourage you to sign something without reading it, or tell you what something "basically" says.  You're not signing what they're saying out loud, you're signing a piece of paper, so be aware of what you're agreeing to.  Dan and I considered tanking the entire sale when a question we asked got two opposing answers from two different people at the dealership.  It ended up being a difference of about $40, but if we hadn't gotten clarification on it, we could have ended up owing an extra $500 simply because the first guy answered our question incorrectly, either because of a language problem or old fashioned dishonesty.  Ask questions, be clear with your terms, and make sure the sales people are clear with theirs.

6. Contact multiple dealerships in whatever way you're most comfortable.  I had two distinct rounds of car pricing.  The first time, I called half a dozen dealerships in the area, told them I was looking for a quote, received their initial offer, told them I wanted a price more like x, waited for them to call me back, and kept going like that.  By the time I realized that the first offer I had gotten was the best, the dealership, like the bag of dicks they were, pulled it off the table and said that they didn't have the flex cash (bullshit sales incentive) to offer it at that price anymore.  Suddenly I was back to square one and it was Christmas.  For the next two days, I sent online inquiries to many of the same dealerships, plus a few others I hadn't contacted before, and started negotiating over e-mail.  This system was much easier for me for a number of reasons (not the least of which was having everything in writing already, plus the fact that I can't hear for shit over the phone).  I ended up making a great deal over e-mail, then just finalizing things in person at the dealership.  Using e-mail allowed me to be more thoughtful in my responses, wait for other offers if I wanted, ask questions as they arose, and forward quotes from one dealership to another.  Because I had already gone for a test drive and I knew a rough range of prices that I could expect, there were absolutely no drawbacks to doing negotiations over e-mail.  So whatever way you want to negotiate, go for it.

7. When you're finally ready to visit a dealership, be prepared for a lengthy stay.  Both times I went to a dealership, it took about an hour longer than I thought was necessary.  I test drove a Fit and got a quote from a place down the street, and was there for well over an hour, nearly two.  I was starving.  I was grumpy.  I wanted to leave.  When Dan and I went to make my actual purchase at another dealership, I came better prepared.  I ate shortly before we went, brought snacks, and mentally readied myself for a long, boring visit.  We were there for exactly two hours, and about an hour of that was wait time between various things.  Waiting for the online guy to come over and "say hi" to pass off the sale to the in-person guy.  Waiting for the car to be ready for a test drive that we didn't need to take because we had already done that.  Waiting for things to get photocopied.  Waiting for the finance guy to be ready (this was the wait where we got ready to leave and then were served more or less promptly thereafter).  Basically, if you are going to a dealership for any reason, bring something with 3G service and probably a snack.

8. Don't worry about the stuff they seem to focus on in movies from the 80s.  A firm handshake and eye contact might help you in the business world, but ultimately your negotiating tactics and your emphasis on price will be the largest factor.  You don't have to dress fancy (your credit score speaks volumes more than your shoes), you don't need to have good posture, and you don't need to call everyone "Old Sport" like Gatsby does.  If you remember what I said in #4 about you being the one with the power, then obviously there's no need for you to put on a show for them.  They are the ones putting on a show for you, so let them run around like maniacs while you sit comfortably in your jeans and sneakers.

9. Know what you're getting for the money.  You don't need a warranty beyond the one that comes with the car, but if it makes you happy, then okay.  The finance guy at the dealership wanted to sell me a paint sealant and a fabric coating and an anti-theft system (the car already has one, but this one would be, like, totally awesome) and a seven year service warranty and and and...the bottom line is, if you add up the amount that the warranty costs you and then add up how much you can expect to pay out of pocket without the warranty, the numbers almost always work out in favor of skipping the warranty.  If it makes you feel better to have the warranty, especially if you don't have AAA or anything like that, then go for it.  But just be aware of what you're getting and for how much money.  Know what the warranty does and does not cover.  In addition to that, understand all of the elements of the purchase price and get this number up front ("What is the number I would have to write on a check to drive the car off the lot?").  For example, in addition to the cost of the car itself, I paid for the taxes (6.25% in MA), the registration/RMV fees, and documentation fees, which all together were nearly an additional $1,500.  This process was pretty straightforward because, whether it's just Honda or how many dealerships operate these days, there was no attempt to slip in unmentioned costs in the sale right before I signed anything.  Sure, they wanted to sell me warranties, but there was no high-pressure push to switch to buying the more expensive Sport model or adding options or the dreaded "undercoating".  Granted, you should still keep an eye on every item on the bill, but I did not find this part to be as full of bickering and itemizing as I dreaded.

10. Be aware of timing.  Dealerships have sales quotas for each month, quarter, and year.  I chose to buy a car at the end of the year not just so it could be a birthday present from me to me, but also because I knew dealerships would be particularly desperate to make sales.  With new 2014s coming in (although, surprisingly, Honda isn't putting out a 2014 Fit), sales numbers getting wrapped up for the month/quarter/year, and the low volume they do over the holiday season, I knew I would be more likely to make a good deal now than any other time of year.  It also helped that I was becoming increasingly desperate to shorten my commute from ~90 minutes round trip to more like 45 minutes - but don't tell Honda that!  Basically, if you can wait for the right time to buy a new car, try to hit them when new model years are coming out, when quarters or years are wrapping up, or any time sales are slow.  Also, dealerships are much busier on weekends, so go on a weekday if you can.

This won't help much if you're doing something drastically different from what I did, which was buying a new car with no trade-in.  When you get the trade-in involved, negotiations become complicated (one article I read suggested breaking this up into two steps and doing the trade-in in a private sale).  For used cars, you run into problems of people buying the car you wanted before you make a deal, having trouble comparison shopping because there are rarely identical used cars, and spending a lot more time inspecting individual vehicles and doing test drives.  Hopefully, however, my advice on research and negotiation will help regardless of the sales situation in which you find yourself.

If you're interested in the numbers involved in my purchase, I'm happy to share the information upon request. Once I actually have my car in my possession, I will also happily tell you whether or not you should go to the dealership I went to, but the Yelp review will have to wait!  Fingers crossed for a timely RMV process (har har!).

On Turning 30

The impression I get from the world is that I'm supposed to have very strong negative feelings about turning 30.  My twenties should represent my youth, my blossoming into adulthood, the time when I am free and doing whatever the hell I want because I'm a grown-up now wooooooooooooo.  Therefore, because apparently all change must be a) comprehensive in every realm and b) bad, the progression from twenties to thirties represents the death of everything fun, youthful, carefree, exciting, and unrestricted.  The thirties, they say, is a time of bleak, hopeless responsibility.  You no longer have options, you have obligations.  Your partner becomes the ol' ball and chain.  Your exciting career is now just an endless string of identical days with no chance of advancement.

Suddenly, things on the "to do list" get removed, not because they've been completed, but because they are considered no longer applicable.  You didn't go to grad school yet?  Looks like that's not going to happen.  Not married or even engaged?  Enjoy your life as a spinster.  Fat and out of shape?  Start buying stock in the Big and Tall store because you have selected this body for the rest of your natural life.  Haven't had kids yet?  Well, I hope you enjoy years of expensive IVF with your poor-quality eggs.

I know this sounds exaggerated, but the societal pressure to "achieve" before 30 is really a bit insane.  As you move through your twenties, you realize that almost all athletes in their prime are younger than you, sometimes by a significant margin.  People you looked up to when you were younger had already done amazing things by the age you are now, and you're still just high-fiving yourself when you pay all your bills on time.  As humans, we feel compelled to compare ourselves to each other.  It's the thing that makes the single person enraged upon seeing engagement photos on Facebook.  Or what makes someone seethe quietly at their younger sibling's party celebrating a big promotion.  We judge ourselves by those around us, often rather unfairly so.  Not only do we ignore the different circumstances that we all face, which fundamentally alter the paths we're on, but we also fail to examine the practice of this comparison at all.  We don't ask Why am I even worried about someone reaching this life milestone before me?  Instead we get jealous, or worried, or self-conscious, or all of the above.

That being said, I've had a helluva run these last couple of years.  I fell in love, bought a condo with this person, put two stupid dogs in that condo, accepted my partner's proposal, and married him.  I earned two degrees in a field I care deeply about, worked for 7 years in one school, then took a new job (for much better pay) at another.  I lost 60-odd pounds, taught myself about nutrition and exercise, deadlifted my own bodyweight, then trained for and ran (shuffled?) a marathon.  Despite my insane anxiety about it, I also learned how to drive (with the help of several patient friends) and finally got my license at age 29.  In fact, I'm in negotiations as we speak to buy my first car, a brand new one at that.  That being said, I'm not a flawless person.  I haven't gone to the gym since starting my new teaching job four months ago, so my weight isn't as low as it was in the spring.  Despite being financially secure and well-paid, I still handle money like a poor person who never expects to have a savings account -- there's no sense in having a rainy day fund if every day is rainy, eh?  My increased workload and lack of free time means that I've been an even worse friend than usual, rarely thinking to initiate social outings or connect with a friend just to see what they've been up to.  In fact, with a birthday party planned for tomorrow evening, I dread having the reality of my poor social engagement reflected in the short list of guests who will be attending.  I can tell myself that it's hard for people to get to these things with all the travel around the holidays (especially teachers who have this whole week off, so they often stay out of town the entire time), but I can't help but think that if I were a better friend to them, they'd make the effort.

I like to think that I have a pretty healthy view of this non-transitory transition into my thirties.  I have a great career I'm passionate about, an awesome husband who got me Star Trek: TNG pajamas for Christmas, two dogs who love me almost as much as they love carrots, a happy and healthy(ish) family who all like each other (more or less), a home that I co-own, friends who are amazing even though I take them for granted sometimes, a body I'm more in tune with and happier with than ever before (and the knowledge, willpower, and skill to shape it how I want), and I'm still pretty good at Rock Band even though I don't get to play as often as I'd like.  I still have a lot of work to do, in both my personal and professional spheres, but I also know that my 30th birthday is neither the beginning nor the end of anything.  It's an arbitrary date, nothing more.  Maybe I'd feel differently if I hadn't done so much with my twenties; it's hard to say.  All I know is that, for the next couple of years anyway, the battle will now move from "by the time you're 30" to "before it's too late to have kids."  You ever notice how, once a woman gets married, it becomes everyone's business when (or whether) she'll begin gestation?  Not sure my wedding invitation also included an invitation to my womb, but apparently it was implied.  The average age of first births to women with college degrees is thirty.  And that's the average, which means half started above that age.  So cool your jets, people.