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Old March 8th 05, 08:15 PM
Ad absurdum per aspera
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> http://www.fightingchance.com
>
> HIGHLY recommended. Also, make a trip to your
> bookstore and buy some books on how to buy a car.
>The best one I know of is "Car Buyer's and Leaser's
> Negotiating Bible" by William Bragg.


Don't forget _Don't Get Taken Every Time_ by Remar Sutton. The latest
edition(s) are worth a look even if you read it back in the day --
there's an interesting new chapter on how dealers as well as consumers
use the Internet. It also goes through scenarios that describe how
different personality types and demographic groups get ripped on the
individual deal and get permanently upside-down over time.

Sutton is also very big on private-party sales within your network of
family and friends and neighbors as a good way to pick up a quality
*used* car. The catches, of course, are that you have to be flexible
about make/model/year and the timing of the purchase so as to take
advantage of what's available, and that it'll often have to be a cash
deal. But I must say that I've gotten the most satisfactory deals in
this manner.

But let's suppose you want a new car. The advice in this thread
should, if not make you a budding professional shopper and/or business
negotiator, at least give you a concrete idea of how best to proceed
and what specifically to look out for.

If after doing your homework you decide you wouldn't find it amusing
and rewarding to sally forth and try to best the car sharks at their
own game, you might try auto brokers -- independent ones, services of
the warehouse shopping clubs, whatever. (Don't forget to perform due
diligence on them first, of course.) The broker has to make money out
of this somewhere, so you won't get the rock bottom price that you
yourself could hypothetically extract by using well-honed negotiating
skills upon a hungry dealer. But if the broker is reputable and
talented, it should still be a substantially below-sticker price and a
low-hassle experience.

Another important way to keep both cost and hassle to a minimum is to
have in place your own financing arrangements through your own bank,
credit union, or whatnot before ever making contact with a dealer.

Best of luck,
--Joe

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