I HATE Buying Cars!!!

I've been reaching out to a few friends of mine over the last few days simply asking what are some things that they either don't like or don't understand about the car purchasing process. I've gotten a myriad of answers ranging from "Why are salespeople so pushy?" "How do I REALLY know what I qualify for?" "How can I make owning a vehicle more friendly on my monthly budget?". So, I'll do my best here! I've sold well over 350 vehicles in my 2 and a half year career so hopefully I can shed some light.

"Why are sales people so pushy?"

I've been on both sides of this coin. Early in my career I was WAY more pushy than I am today. I was trained that way by my managers and thought that was how things worked. At this point in time I was living in a scarcity mindset, which I think a lot of other salespeople have a tendency to do. Thinking that this one opportunity was going to be the only way that I would pay my bills for that month. So I would exhaust all the fancy little catch phrases until I got someone to say yes. I think it's important to understand that there will be some stressful decisions to be made during the process of purchasing a vehicle. My suggestion is to make those stressful decisions at home before you ever step foot at the dealership. The old school mentality in the car business is to create as much emotion as possible so people will say yes. It's an emotional decision. I get it. However, in today's day and age there is so much information available online! Do your research! Know what you can afford. Know what features you want. Go online and read reviews of sales people at the dealership you plan to purchase from. Do your homework! I actually think customers are pushy HA!

"My credit is bad. Why can't I buy anything that I like?"

Great question. I get this ALL the time and have dealt with it myself. 99% of the time people who have bad credit(myself included) have earned it! We have proven at some point in our lives that we were unable to pay our bills in a responsible manner. I'll wear it. I sucked at being responsible during parts of my life and didn't understand how important credit was/is. In order for someone with less than desirable credit to get approved for a vehicle there are a couple of things that you can do in order to improve your circumstances. 1. Put some money down! Show the bank that you're serious about rebuilding your credit. 2. Get a co-signer. This one is a little bit more difficult in my opinion because people with great credit don't take chances with their credit. When it comes to us selling the vehicle we would actually love to sell you whatever you wanted to buy. My job is to sell cars, a lot of them. Not to tell people that they can't buy something. However, most reputable dealerships don't do in house financing. We simply provide the vehicle and try to connect a customer with a reputable lending institution. Be careful where you go with bad credit. Some places will sell you a car with an astronomical interest rate and never report positive payment to any credit bureau. This is important. Your credit will not get better without positive payments being reported!

"Why would I lease when I'll never own the vehicle?"

Leasing! Ahh, my favorite word. Most of our parents hate leasing because they still remember the awful open-end lease practices of dealerships back in the 80s. I really don't blame them. However, times have changed and there are regulations on EVERYTHING. Leasing is the most affordable and low risk way to own a new vehicle. There are several reasons why. When you lease a vehicle you're simply paying for the amount you would use, as determined by the manufacturer and your lease agreement. The customer pays the difference between the residual value and what they purchase it for. Yes, you can negotiate on leases. You don't have to pay sales tax! You pay a personal property tax once a year on the vehicle where as your local sales tax is included in the monthly payment of your vehicle. Gap insurance is included in your monthly payment as well. Gap insurance is simply extra coverage that would pay for the entirety of the loan, including inequity, in the event of an accident. You're covered under factory warranty the entire time you drive the vehicle. Odds are that you wouldn't ever own your vehicle anyways. Most Americans trade vehicles every 3 years or so. That is the length of the typical lease term! Dealerships want you to lease. Here's why: It creates low mileage vehicles for our pre-owned inventory. Customers typically will use our service department while they lease for warranty purposes. It helps with brand loyalty and an increase in repeat customers. People who typically lease with a certain sales person at a certain dealership are highly likely to return and do it again. Oh I almost forgot. You can purchase the vehicle that you lease at the end of your lease term. Typically for less than you could if the same vehicle were sitting on the used lot.

Hopefully this will help in the purchasing of your next vehicle! If you guys have any questions please don't hesitate to let me know!