Confessions of a Used Car Salesman

Consider the car lot as a battleground, with you on one side and the  used car dealer and his sales manager on the other. There are psych wars and price wars that go on, albeit mostly on paper. But yes, once you are in there, you must come prepared.

Some ways you can “gear up” for the used car lot are: 1. Come in December; and 2. Come with your own financing.

December is often a desperate time for used car dealers because almost no one is spending on cars. At this time, money goes into gifts and all the holiday merriment. Everyone in the used car lot is feeling the pressure to make a sale. When you step in there, you can practically ask for all the perks and they will give it to you. Try it. Ask for free detailing, lower interest rate on used car prices, and a new window tint; you might just get it.

Also, when you come, come with financing. Financing is another service that the used car dealership offers. Without ready financing, they will push their rates and their options, further blurring what should be the focus of the day: the overall price of the used car and what your trade (if any) is worth. So get your own financing. In the end, you will most probably be better off with the third party’s terms anyway.

Many a used car dealer will tell you that the tricks of the trade are pretty much standard. You will get it at whichever used car dealership you go to.

A common trade tactic is the four-square. This is a simple piece of paper that’s folded in four.  The used car dealer will write down the purchase used car prices and the trade value on the top deck, and the downpayment and monthly payment on the lower deck.

You will be initially presented with the top deck. The used car dealer would run through this fast, even if you register some dismay (for the trade price, maybe). He will try to get you to focus on the bottom deck, which contains the down payment and

the monthly installment. Moreover, in the scheme of things, the numbers filled in these squares are from the sales manager, not the used car dealer. They usually have this setup wherein the manager sits in the “tower” and the dealer goes back and forth – from you to the manager – as negotiations go on.

Be observant because if they have it their way, you and the sales manager will be negotiating the downpayment and the monthly installment. The essential numbers would have been forgotten. Focus on what’s important: your used car’s price and your trade in’s trade price, whether it be used cars in Toronto, used carsin  Vancouver, or used cars / auto hebdo in Montreal.