Proven Car Buying Advice that Will Save You Thousands of Dollars.

Welcome Car Shoppers!

My name is Giovanni Beilman and this is my online guide to effective car shopping. If you have ever felt overwhelmed or confused by the car buying process then you are in the right place! I am going to walk you through all the steps of buying a car and teach you how to save loads of money along the way. The truth is, it takes more than a few clicks on the internet to avoid paying too much for a vehicle these days.

Let's Get Started:
For those of you in a hurry I have created the quick start guide below as a summary of the lessons I teach in my new car buying guide. It might be a good idea to keep a copy of this page in your car so you can review it while shopping and negotiating. Keep in mind this is only a summary and I recommend you read everything outlined in the new car section.

6 Simple Steps to Getting the Best Deal on a New Car

Step 1: Get Your Car Loan through a Bank or Credit Union BEFORE Shopping.
Financing your new car through the dealership is a big mistake. Not only are you likely to pay more in loan fees and interest charges, but the dealership only works with lenders who provide them a commission for referring you. Because of this fact, they will steer you towards loans that give them the highest commission.

Another important part of securing your loan in advance is that it simplifies the car purchase by eliminating opportunities for the dealership to manipulate you. It keeps the focus on the price of the vehicle instead of monthly payments.

Finally, knowing your loan situation in advance will tell you how much you can afford to spend on a vehicle.

Read More: Calculating Your Budget and Car Loans.

Step 2: Sell Your Old Car Yourself - Do Not Trade It In.
The most you will ever get from trading-in your car is wholesale value. For less than $50 and 7 hours of your time you can get about 25% more for your car by selling it yourself. This also simplifies your new car purchase by not having to factor your old car into the negotiations.

Read More: Trade In or Sell Your Car?

Step 3: Do All of Your Research, Model Comparisons, and Test Drives at Least One Week Before Negotiating.
Finding the make and model you want and actually buying a car are two completely different processes. It is important to keep the two separate to keep your emotions in check. You should not begin discussing car prices until you know exactly what make and model you are buying. You want to get all of the test drives and feature comparisons out of the way before it comes time to negotiate.

Read More: Choosing a New Car and Test Drive Tips

Step 4: Get 3 Online Quotes from 3 Different Car Shopping Websites.
The goal here is to get a discount before you even walk into the car dealership. Almost every dealership has internet salesmen whose job is to provide you with a compelling quote in order to get you to visit them. Use this to your advantage by submitting a quote request on sites like Cars.com, Edmunds.com and Vehix.com. Allow 2 business days for everyone to get back to you. Compare the offers to your own research (described in the next step).

Read More: Internet Car Prices

Step 5: Know What Price You Should Pay for Your Car.
Here are the numbers you need and where to get them…
- MSRP and factory rebates/incentives from the manufacturer’s site.
- Invoice price and destination charge from Vehix.com or Edmunds.com
- Sales tax % for your state. Try http://www.zip2tax.com/z2t_lookup.asp

With these numbers you can calculate a target price for your negotiations. In simple terms, the MSRP minus the invoice price equals how much negotiating room you have. My recommendation is to start with 1% over the invoice price. Some websites show an average of what most people are paying, but you can usually do better than that.

Don’t forget to subtract factory incentives from the 1% over invoice price. Just because incentives are “free money” does not mean the dealer should use them to get more.

Read More: Car Deal Comparison

Step 6: Negotiate Your Deal.
Start with the best online price quote you got from Step 4. This is the first dealership you should visit since you already have a discounted offer on the table. Make sure they have the model/color car you want listed on their website inventory. Bring a copy of the email price quote you received.

Identify the car you want to your salesman. When they ask about test drives, colors, and options tell them this is the vehicle you want. Explain you have already done extensive research and you don’t need to discuss this stuff.

When they ask about trade-ins and financing tell them you already have arrangements with these things. You only want to talk about the price of the car.

Tell them you will buy the car today for your target price. Give them the price you will pay for the car (invoice plus 1% profit margin minus any manufacturer rebates.)

Here is an example for a car with an invoice price of $20,000
- $20,000 + 1% profit margin allowed for dealer = $20,200.
- Minus $1500 manufacturer’s cash back offer = $18,700
- Add sales tax (6.5% as an example) = $19,915.50
- Your final price = $19,915.50 paid through your lender.
- Write this number down and hand it to your salesman.

Read More: What a Good Car Deal Looks Like

Congratulations! It really can be this simple! After the price is confirmed, contact your lender and make the appropriate arrangements. Take extra time to make sure you understand everything you are signing. Refuse all additional warranties, car protection plans, and insurance policies. You don’t need any of them!

Need more help? Read the complete New Car Buying Guide or let me do all the work as your personal Car Buying Consultant.

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All the Best,

Giovanni "G" Beilman

(more about me)

PS - The average American family buys a new car every 3 years. Imagine the amount of money you’ll save (not to mention headaches) by using my proven strategies over and over!

Questions? Send Email to G [at] StreetSmartCarDeals.com