online edition - PRO Sports Club

can wait, shop in December when they are hungry forChristmas cash.Be prepared to leave. Once you find the car youlike and you ask to see the number, the game reallybegins. They will actually ask you what price you wantto pay. Don’t fall into this trap. Tell them you want theirbest deal without all the dickering. When they comeback and give you the numbers, say ‘thank you’ andtell them you want to think about it for 24 hours. Thenactually get up to leave. They will stop you and ask ifanything is wrong or if there is a price that will makeyou stay. They don’t want you to leave. They will goand try to get a lower price from the sales manager.Keep doing this until the price matches what yourresearch suggests or it fits your budget.Don’t tell them what payments you can afford.You already know what you can afford. It is easy fora salesperson to manipulate monthly payments byextending the term. Focus on the price of the vehiclefirst, then worry about the payments.Don’t tell them you have a trade until after you havenegotiated the price. Again it is easy for them to playgames with the trade numbers to make the vehicleseem less expensive. From your research you shouldhave a decent idea what your trade is worth.Make sure your trade is in perfect condition. Don’tgive them any opportunity to nickel and dime you.The Auto Salon has several packages designed tohelp in this area.The Finance OfficeOnce you have agreed on the price, it is time to workout all the terms and do the paperwork. Most of thepaperwork is very basic but there is a lot of it. At thesame time the finance person is going to try to sell youwarranties, protection packages, gap insurance, etc.They will also try to convince you to finance throughthe dealer rather than your credit union. These arethe areas where dealers actually make a large shareof their profits.Many of these products are actually good but tendto be very expensive. The trick is that because theyare spread out over 60 months, they seem cheap.Evaluate each item separately and don’t be afraid tonegotiate. If you are leaving a small down paymentand financing a large portion, make sure to get gapinsurance. If you total the car, it will pay off the loan nomatter what the actual value of the vehicle is.When evaluating the protection packages, keep inmind that The Auto Salon offers the exact services atabout a quarter of the price.Driving AwayEnjoy your new vehicle and feel proud that youconquered one of life’s great fears and hopefullysaved some money in the process.PROCLUB.COM 47