Leave Your Emotions at Home (Car Buying Tips)
This particular article is not in The Car Buying Bible's 162-page car buying guide although it comes from the same writer.
In most cases, when we decide to buy something, we are acting on our emotions. There are the exceptions when logic does take control (such as spending $200 to replace a hot water heater for your house). With cars, in particular, the average customer seems entirely driven by emotions. Many seem to leave logic at home when they head for the car dealership. They've got it backwards. Leave the emotions home and bring logic with you. Emotions will cost you a lot of money. Logic will save you a lot of money. In the end, logic can still get you the car and after the emotions have worn off, you can have the same car for a much lower payment.
The car salesman knows that people get emotional. In most cases, the problem isn't getting people interested in the car. It's in getting to an agreeable deal that satisfies both parties. The more emotional you get over the car, the weaker you will be to negotiate. Consider this extreme example.
Once, I witnessed a horrific transaction. That's a strong word, but it really was shocking. The poor girl sat at the negotiating table and the salesman had her convinced that she wasn't offering enough for the car. I'm unclear how he did it, but nevertheless, he did. In the end, the girl paid $12,000 too much for the car. Unbelievable? Well... yes, except in this case, her emotions completely obliterated her ability to think rationally. Afterward, this salesman explained to me how powerful the fear of loss is. This girl was so desperate to have this car that she didn' t even attempt to stir the waters to talk the price down. The result? He walked all over her to collect a whopping $4,000 commission check on that transaction.
"Do you love your wife?" he asked me. Of course I do. He then explained, that as much as I love her, that I would find a way to love her more if I knew I was about to lose her. People are motivated by two things:
1) The pursuit of pleasure;
2) The avoidance of pain.
The second of these is by far the strongest motivator.
This is exactly why you need to leave your emotions at home with you. The price negotiations are designed to push these two hot motivational buttons. You get to the point that you love the car and want it and then the dealer tries to make you think that the deal might not happen. Suddenly, you're thinking, "I could get by paying $50 more a month than I had planned." Just like that, you're paying $3,000 more on the car than you had planned.
I had one customer who left the negotiating table on three different occasions. He walked out when the deal wasn't going his way. He wasn't emotional at all about the car. He was fighting for every penny and he fought hard. In the end, the dealership only made about $40 profit off the deal. It was perhaps a combination of the sales manager being sick of dealing with this guy and this guy's attitude that saved him thousands of dollars.
Always be willing to walk out on the deal. Let your salesman and the sales managers know that you're willing to walk out. If they can see that you really would leave without buying, then you're headed to some great offers. Even with a small profit on selling to you, they have moved a car out of their inventory.
Find great car buying tips and the best all-around car loan calculator in The Car Buying Bible's 162-page car buying guide.
In most cases, when we decide to buy something, we are acting on our emotions. There are the exceptions when logic does take control (such as spending $200 to replace a hot water heater for your house). With cars, in particular, the average customer seems entirely driven by emotions. Many seem to leave logic at home when they head for the car dealership. They've got it backwards. Leave the emotions home and bring logic with you. Emotions will cost you a lot of money. Logic will save you a lot of money. In the end, logic can still get you the car and after the emotions have worn off, you can have the same car for a much lower payment.
The car salesman knows that people get emotional. In most cases, the problem isn't getting people interested in the car. It's in getting to an agreeable deal that satisfies both parties. The more emotional you get over the car, the weaker you will be to negotiate. Consider this extreme example.
Once, I witnessed a horrific transaction. That's a strong word, but it really was shocking. The poor girl sat at the negotiating table and the salesman had her convinced that she wasn't offering enough for the car. I'm unclear how he did it, but nevertheless, he did. In the end, the girl paid $12,000 too much for the car. Unbelievable? Well... yes, except in this case, her emotions completely obliterated her ability to think rationally. Afterward, this salesman explained to me how powerful the fear of loss is. This girl was so desperate to have this car that she didn' t even attempt to stir the waters to talk the price down. The result? He walked all over her to collect a whopping $4,000 commission check on that transaction.
"Do you love your wife?" he asked me. Of course I do. He then explained, that as much as I love her, that I would find a way to love her more if I knew I was about to lose her. People are motivated by two things:
1) The pursuit of pleasure;
2) The avoidance of pain.
The second of these is by far the strongest motivator.
This is exactly why you need to leave your emotions at home with you. The price negotiations are designed to push these two hot motivational buttons. You get to the point that you love the car and want it and then the dealer tries to make you think that the deal might not happen. Suddenly, you're thinking, "I could get by paying $50 more a month than I had planned." Just like that, you're paying $3,000 more on the car than you had planned.
I had one customer who left the negotiating table on three different occasions. He walked out when the deal wasn't going his way. He wasn't emotional at all about the car. He was fighting for every penny and he fought hard. In the end, the dealership only made about $40 profit off the deal. It was perhaps a combination of the sales manager being sick of dealing with this guy and this guy's attitude that saved him thousands of dollars.
Always be willing to walk out on the deal. Let your salesman and the sales managers know that you're willing to walk out. If they can see that you really would leave without buying, then you're headed to some great offers. Even with a small profit on selling to you, they have moved a car out of their inventory.
Find great car buying tips and the best all-around car loan calculator in The Car Buying Bible's 162-page car buying guide.
posted by Brian at 8:26 PM
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