How To Negotiate Car Price

By: W Roberts

Break Studios Contributing Writer

Buying a new or used car requires knowing how to negotiate a car price. Buyers shouldn't walk into a car dealership without being well prepared to deal on the car. Whether buying from a car dealer or from an individual, an educated consumer will get the best price.

Know your budget. Know how much you can spend on a car before making a choice. Some car dealers may talk you into something more than you want to spend. Be firm and hold to what you want to pay.
Research the cars you want to buy. Don't walk in off of the street and decide on the spot which model you want. At a car dealership you don't have time to look into the reviews. Spend time looking at some of the online car review web sites.
If you aren't paying in cash, go to a local credit union or bank and get an approved loan for the model you want. With the loan process already taken care of, you have more negotiating power when you want to deal. Getting financing from the car dealer removes some of your negotiating power since you have to provide financial details to them.
Credit unions can provide a market price for a vehicle you are looking to purchase. Make sure you know about how much that car should cost before you look at it.
Once you have a price in mind stay firm. Car salesman may try to talk you into other models or add-ons for a car that you may not be interested in. There are many cars out there and you can wait for the right deal, even if you have to walk away from some.
If you are trading in a car, make sure you know the value of that car before you start to negotiate. You may think you made a great deal on the price of the car you are looking to purchase and then the dealer may give you a really low price for your trade-in. Which makes the entire deal not so great.