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5 Questions To Ask Before You Say Yes to a New Car Deal


These questions will help you know if you're getting a clean deal on a new car — before you sign a contract.
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#4, #5, and the bonus.
4 and the bonus fall under the same category, With the reduced inventory of all dealerships the vehicles are not only hard to get a hold of but will tend to start having more miles. You shouldn't let the vehicle not being there slow you down, because any dealership that is willing to go Out of there way to get you exactly what your looking for is doing exactly that, going out of there way, and those are the kind of people you want working with you. I am a big advocate of buying from people you trust and buying locally to keep your local economy healthy and these two don't take some of those important things into account. If you like where you live you should definitely buy local, that way your tax dollars go back to your teachers, roads, police etc.
Can you deliver the car? not usually... at my dealership we do not have an insurance manager and business manager doesn't pitch anything, what he does do is let you know what the options are for taking care of your vehicle. better advice than this is to bring a book and eat before you come, if you are worried about buying something you don't need then do some research online.
If there are any fees they will be disclosed on a form call a disclosure sheet, that has all the fees and out the DOOR PRICE!!!! ,that you sign after you carefully READ. All this crap about surprises only comes when a buyer wants to get something added and thinks its free because they have purchased a car.
Deliver a car PLEASE THIS IS A $20 TO $30 THOUSAND DOLLAR PURCHASE. if I buy a car I want to inspect it before i drive it off the lot. plus If I have any question I want to talk to the manager or the owner to get a good understanding,
If they offer you other products thats fine JUST REMEMBER YOU CAN SAY NO!!! DAH!!!
As far as extras on a car or if the dealer puts something on the car it is usally on added on the MSRP sticker. However , if you got up off your lazy behine to at lease go look at the car or truck you could ask question as to why the extra equipment.
Iam just saying car buyers
The other one is the doc fee...this is not negotiable, the dealership sets a price and all customers pay for it even the employees. If we reduced the price for one customer then its discrimination to other customers who paid the price stated on the purchase order. Yes all dealers charge a different amount however they are comparable to one another. Call your local dealership and ask what is the cost of the doc fee? If you're like most customers, you've done your homework and at this point know what your paying for the car so don't let a couple hundred dollars stop you from purchasing the car of your dreams.
When your new car has been misused for demonstration drives to prospective customers, you had no control over who has driven it, how fast it was driven, whether or not the engine received warmup before maximum acceleration attempts, or the skill and caring of both the driver and any accompanying salesperson. Neither one are ponying up the money to buy your car: you are.
One of the biggest scams in the car selling industry is to use a new car as an undocumented demonstrator. If that practice is fine with you, great! It is your risk. It should not be the risk of any other buyer who wants a truly new car, not a slightly used demonstrator that comes without any documentation of how those "300 miles" referred to by Edmunds as an acceptable limit. It is a bitter injustice to sell a car as "new" when in fact it has been used as a demonstrator.
Q1: this is a very appropriate question. There are still "old school" dealer ways where charging excessive fees are done, in order to recuperate profit lost. NYS dealerships will charge DMV ($250avg) but portions are refunded back to the customer, because it is illegal for NYS dealerships to profit on DMV fees. That is why this and these other fees are not taxed by the state. Then there is also, NYS Doc ($75), NYS Inspection ($10) and NYS Tire recycling fee ($2.50 per tire). Then there are other possible fees, such as bank acquisition fees, for leases. This is standard and often misunderstood. This is NOT a dealership fee. So threatening to go somewhere else that doesn’t charge this is moot, because it’s the financial institution. Whether Toyota, Nissan, Chase, HAN, etc.
Q2: follows suit to question 1. NYS is one of the states that “cap” dealerships, regarding state documentation fees. NYS is only $75. So walking away from a deal for something so small is kind of silly. What, why not discount the vehicle? If we negotiated a deal, we have already set a fair price. Fees are not profit, at least not in NY.
Q3: Like someone pointed out in their comments. You should ALWAYS go to the dealership. Using car buying programs are good and all, but you should work with vehicles that are in inventory. Yes there is the option of getting a car for a client, if necessary. However, you will get a better understanding of the average sticker price of a car that actually exists. Often car buying programs that do NOT reference a dealership’s vehicle can NOT be used as a bible of how “cars should come.” Whether foreign or domestic, cars are built with regards to standards, within a region (NE, SE, SW, Central US, etc…). IE: wanting a very specific 4WD/AWD luxury vehicle, when you live in Texas or Florida, when most of the ones being built only come as 2WD, or vice versa in NY, or NJ.
Q5: You can’t complain if you didn’t inspect the vehicle, if there is damage on a car. What happens if the car was chipped or in an accident when being brought to a buyer? I’ve seen dealership delivery waivers that absolve a dealership of any responsibility, should this happen. We don’t have any such thing at my place. Most of our customers, if not all, want to come and look over the car first hand, before taking it home. This I strongly recommend. Places that offer to deliver to you, such as luxury dealerships, have an additional fee (which includes shipping insurance) to transport the vehicle to you, but only after all paperwork are signed. The only thing is the shipping receipt, of course. Seriously, is it worth spending $500+ to deliver a car you can pick up on your own, if it means a couple of hours of your time? Hey, if you have money like that, then God bless.
Not to mention what Karenbrwon said, in her comment. Identity theft is very big right now, and dealerships do not want to be fined by state or federal regulators.
Bonus: This may happen. A vehicle may not be available at the time of your inquiry. If the dealership thinks it can be gotten for you, within 7-10 business days, then why not? Of course this may change, if it’s at the end of the month. Remember Dealerships do not set “Special” Manufacturer rates and rebates. The banks and manufacturer do! So don’t take it out on your sales person, when all they’re trying to do is earn your business. If you feel something is shady then, by all means, be wary. If you want to buy from someone reputable, then do your research! If you can research a vehicle, then a dealership and it’s personnel shouldn’t be any more complicated. By the way, lots of dealerships do NOT have drivers to go pick up a car. My dealership we, the salespeople, will go and get the vehicle for you. So that is time off the sales floor. And, if that happens, that is less opportunity to sell vehicles. It is actually not in the best interest for a dealership to do this. So why wouldn’t they not want to sell the car for less? No offense but sticker price is not ripping you off. That is the price the manufacturer feels is a fair purchase price.
IF you have a business, and you are requested to special order a product for someone, eat the additional shipping price for expedited shipping, sell the product for cost, clean, inspect/assemble, then possibly deliver it, at no additional cost, technically your business is losing money. If you get a minor kickback or incentive from the product manufacturer, is it enough to cover the additional costs you incurred, not to mention your overhead? In another article, Edmunds talks about “Holdback” If a dealership sells a vehicle for cost, holdback would be used to cover overhead expenses. (Gas, electric, water, car wash, heat, cleaning facility, paying personal etc, etc.) do you think $300-$600 covers all that? Yes there’s a law of averages, but if everyone is trying to negotiate cost and less holdback, do you really think a dealership is profiting? Fair business is fair business. We are in a capitalistic society. Profit is supposed to be earned. And, as another comment said, this business should be kept locally. Of course, this is why you should look for proper customer service. If you are going to spend money, at least be treated properly.
just saying.
The "loyalty bonus" is something the dealer gets, when you don't shop for competitive quotes.
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I miss the days you could actually order a car with the features you wanted and omit the ones you didn't.
Just do business with a reputable dealer. CHeck their bbb rating or google reviews. Be honest with them and make sure you are happy with the deal overall.
I promise with all of the regulations and compliance measures out there, you aren’t being ripped off these days. Happy shopping
OK, no problem, find three relatively minor issues – battery brakes oil pan gasket. Dealership says no sweat we’ll fix them. Getting closer to the “hand shake“.. I ask about the status of the CVT… it is a known issue on many Murano’s. OK we talk about it – I’ll go to the local Nissan dealer. They check out the CVT - Bad news the AT fluid is mixing with the transfer case fluid…. from what I know this is a major red flag with this model. Requires a new transfer case. A pricey part approaching $5000 to replace. Car is at the previously mentioned dealership and I’m sitting tight waiting for what they can do for me. I also am concerned about what warranty they will provide. The car has 75,000 miles, looks great and runs really well with the exception of the pinky transmission. Stay tuned – appreciate any input as to what comes next. RWG