Dealing with a salesman while purchasing a new or second-hand vehicle is quite challenging for the buyers. Most salesmen are trained to handle customers from the psychological point of views. Here are a few simple techniques to cleverly deal with them.
Make prior research
The first step in dealing with a salesman is to let them know that you are very well aware of cars. You must do a short research about the vehicles that interest you, prior to going to a dealer. Literally, you can get generous information with just a click of the mouse over the internet. Look for different manufacturers, and read reviews posted by real-time users. However, don’t rely completely on such reviews, as some of them could be fake. A few renowned automobile websites like Edmunds, Top gear, etc., can give you sufficient information about various cars and their availability. Make a note on the price of those cars you intend to buy. Don’t forget to bookmark the pages for future reference. When you have gathered enough information, you could easily face your car salesman with confidence. In addition, your salesman cannot dupe you with wrong information.
Express your confidence
Express your boldness and confidence with the salesman, right from your first approach. Remember that most salesmen will try to analyze your intention and weak points by making clever conversations with you. Pay complete attention to his/her behavior. Listen to his/her words patiently. Clarify your queries immediately, in case you have any. Don’t let them know that you have already researched about the car you are about to buy. Doing so might alert them and let them use some other business tricks to trap you into their deal. As mentioned earlier, listen to their conversation patiently as if you are completely unaware about that car. Express your confidence in every move you make inside the dealer’s premises. You may have this quality naturally; if not, just act as if you have it.
Let the salesman make his offer first
After clarifying your queries with the salesman, information about price and availability of the car might be the only unknown matter. Even if you know the price of the car from your earlier researches, don’t utter any word about it to the salesman. Allow him/her to open up the price details first. Make a note of it. If you find their offer quite expensive, don’t argue with your salesman immediately that some other dealer offers the same car at a lower price or so. Kindly, inquire your salesman about the supplementary features that will be included in the mentioned price. Make sure that you grasp complete details about the manufacturer’s warranty, service tax, insurance policies, free services and maintenance, availability of service stations, repair kit, etc. If you are quite happy with their offer, don’t let your salesman know about it. Because, once he knows your affirmative mood, he/she might take advantage of it.
Negotiate
Don’t forget to take a test drive of the car. If you are planning to buy second-hand cars, don’t hesitate to take an experienced mechanic with you as your friend. However, don’t let your salesman know about it. If you are completely happy about the car, inform your salesman that their price is quite expensive for you to afford. Inquire about special discounts or offers they might have on the eve of Christmas or any other festive season. When your salesman recognize that you are a bit concerned about the price, he will make a short discussion with his manager. Most probably, he will return with a reduced price or with any other suitable offer. If that suits you, proceed affirmatively. Else, don’t hesitate to negotiate again. No salesman will make a deal without profits.
Walk away
Even after making a few negotiations, if you are not happy with the salesman’s offer, just walk away from the showroom. There would be many other dealers with better offer. Make sure that you never argue with your salesman. If you are lucky, the salesman might offer a better price when you are about to leave. However, don’t expect it to happen with every salesman you might meet. Think positively and find another dealer. Listen to their salesman’s information with patience, as if you have not visited any other dealer earlier. If you have worked your research part very well, probably you will finish your deal successfully within two or three visits to the dealer. By the end of your deal, you would have sufficient knowledge on how different salesman make their businesses using similar techniques.
