Dealer Tricks

We are making you aware with the very common but unnoticed dealer tricks which make you realized that you have been fooled once the deal is closed!

I am new at work!

Salesperson tells you that he is new on the job, just out of training, in a probation period, and he needs to make a few good sales to keep his job as a sales person. To further this trick he will give you business cards with his name hand printed on them because he "needs to make those sales before I can get my own personalized business cards." By doing all of this, the salesperson hopes to make you feel as though they are going through this with you as a learning experience and that they are just as new to this as you are. In fact they may even try to make you the teacher so that you feel more in control.

What to do?

There are two ways to avoid this scam. The first of which is identifying it. Tell the salesman that if he is such a rookie, you really need to see someone who knows about everything you will need. To keep you as his customer, this will force him to start acting as though he know what he is doing. The second is to play along with it and be in charge of the situation. Ask for everything you want and when he says that he doesn't think his sales manager will go for any of that, tell him you need to see his sales manager because his lack of training and experience is not helping you buy your car. Either one of these solutions will make the salesman feel as though his trick isn't working and he'll either shape up or you can deal directly with the sales manager.

Controlling the conversation

Dealer often try to "control the conversation" when making a deal with you for your new car. They have many ways to try to do this but the most popular is asking too many questions and answering all of your questions with questions. They will need to ask several questions in order to determine what you're looking for but once you get past those questions, the rest are designed to keep them in the drivers seat and to not give you a chance to stop and think about what's going on. It's hard to think about what's going on when someone is throwing a million questions at you.

What to do?

Don't be afraid to ask them for a minute to think or to step outside. You are the one in control, not them. Make sure they understand that. If a salesman is answering all of your questions with questions, ask him repeatedly. Don't answer his question with out having yours answered first. Let him know that you would like your question answered by telling him, "You didn't answer my question" or "You shouldn't answer a question with a question." They don't like to feel as if the control is being taken away but stay calm and firm and turn the conversation into yours. You may have to try a couple of times if they seem unwilling to give up that "control" but sooner or later they will have to concede. If they are stubborn and refuse, ask for a different salesperson or the sales manager. If they will not get one of these people or tell you that everyone else is busy with other customers, leave or go out in the lot and find a different salesperson. If they refuse to make the deal on your terms, there are 10 other salesman walking around the dealership waiting for a potential customer. Go out and grab one.

The most famous question

How many times have you heard a salesman ask, "What do I have to do to get you into this car today?" This is their famous question. All salesmen ask it and for one simple reason, you feel obliged to answer which gives them more leverage to work with. When you answer this question, suddenly they have something else to bargain with. If you tell them it's the payments, they'll tell you they can work on those for you. If you tell them it's the color, they'll tell you they can find your color.

What to do?

You can avoid the famous question by either telling them that there is nothing that could get you into this car today (unless of course it was free) or simply tell them that the price is just to high. This answer gives you some leverage because now they will try to work with you on the most important aspect, the price of your new car.

Take it or leave it

A salesman will act as if he has cut every corner for you he could possibly cut and will give you the "this is it" phrase otherwise known as "take it or leave it." When a salesman does this it is to scare you into thinking this is the best you are going to get anywhere so you better buy it now.

What to do?

When a salesman says this, your best option is to say "leave it" and leave. As you are leaving the salesman will either try to stop you and give you a better deal or let you go if that is in fact his best offer. If this was in fact his best offer, it will still be there if you shop around and then go back.

I'm good. I'm helping you!

This trick is played as there is a good salesman and a bad salesman. Your salesman will act as the good salesman who is supposed to be on your side. He will try to act as though he is willing to help you with anything you need to get into your new car. The part of the bad salesman will be played by another salesman or a sales manager. The good salesman will try to take all of your offers while the bad salesman will shoot down all of them. This is played in order to wear down the customer until they are willing to agree to other terms just to get out of there.

What to do?

When going through all negotiations, do it one issue at a time. This in turn will wear them down and they will be less likely to shoot down every offer you make.

to handle dealer?

Let the salesperson know that you are in the market and looking at different vehicles.  A quality salesperson will be able to explain the benefits of his car over the competition.

Take a test drive, but don’t talk price.  Dealers love to negotiate with you right after the test drive, when you are at an emotional high.

Don’t be pressured into making any commitment regardless of what the dealer tells you.  If you rush into a deal, you may end up with Buyers Remorse.

Beware of the phrases like : "The best price is what ever price you’re willing to pay", " Let me go check with my manager", "If I give you a good price, are you prepared to do business today?" etc. The purpose of these questions is to get a commitment from you without the dealer committing anything to you. If you say yes to any of these questions you are simply narrowing the range of negotiations and the dealer will continue to negotiate until you start saying "NO".