Work Life Tips

Even though the honeymoon might be over for you and your car, it may surprise you to learn that auto dealerships are all-too-happy to court your Cadillac. Even though the salesperson may act indifferent toward your trade, the fact of the matter is that some of the dealerships best profits are realized on reselling cars they take in trade.

To get the most for your trade, clean the car up before you go the dealer and check with online used car pricing guides (such as Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds) to find out what your car is actually worth in trade. Only then can you begin to negotiate intelligently.

Why leave your home? There are so many online resources available to today’s consumers that buying a new car can be done almost entirely from home. Instead of wandering car lot after car lot, narrow your choices down by researching your options online. You can:

• Build your car online, carefully considering options in the comfort of your own home instead of succumbing to last-minute, high-pressure sales tactics at the dealership

• Crunch the numbers by researching transaction values (what buyers are paying for the car in your area), or what Edmunds.com calls “true market value”

• You can request car quotes from multiple dealers online (doing so puts you in a much better negotiating position)

*If you’re comfortable with online transactions, you can complete the transaction online conducting dealer communication by e-mail and having the car delivered to your doorstep. In this case, paperwork would be completed by mail.

If you are uncomfortable transacting business over the Internet and prefer to do your new car search the “old-fashioned” way, there are plenty of other resources available to you.

Some magazines offer new vehicle reviews. You can subscribe to the publication, view it at your local library (some will even let you check out back issues), or buy it at your local book store. You may also want to pick up a copy of Consumer Reports New Car Buying Guide, which is thick with new car reviews and tips on buying a new car.

Everyone has a theory about the best time to buy a new car to get the lowest prices. As it turns out, however, there really are certain times of the year when you can get extraordinary deals:

• December—it’s the end of the year and the dealers are worrying about making end of year quotas

• July through October—dealers are trying to make room for the new model year cars

Very often there are unadvertised factory to dealer incentives during these periods. Even if the dealer splits the incentive down the middle, you still get a great deal.