A car dealer has revealed five things people like him don’t want you to know because they take money out of your engine.
Ray Shefska, who spent more than four decades in the industry, encouraged drivers to gain vital knowledge to get a better deal.
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In a YouTube video with his son Zach, Ray walked viewers through a simple five-step process to reduce the price of their next vehicle.
He emphasized that the most important thing is to do your homework before even setting foot in the dealership.
Be sure to thoroughly research the specific car you’re targeting, which can often be done through several free online services.
This could even result in the car being priced below the RRP, according to Ray.
Know the data
The first thing you need to do is go into detail about all the statistics and data about the car.
Vehicle perception services are a useful tool and are often very affordable or even free online.
They can provide you with important information, including how many of your potential cars are stocked in your local area, how many have sold in recent months, and even recommend a fair price.
For example, if you discover that the car you’re looking for is having trouble selling or that supply is much greater than demand, you’re more likely to be able to negotiate a discount.
As such, try to target cars that dealers are having trouble switching (as long as this is not due to any fault) as they will often be more willing to reduce the price to secure a rare sale.
Find out how long it has been on sale
Similar to the first point, knowing how long a specific car has been on sale at your local dealership is a great way to save money.
Fundamentally, dealers want engines that sell quickly and don’t sit on their books and take up space on their forecourts for long periods of time.
Again, vehicle information sites are a useful hack.
You can search for a specific model and find examples at local dealerships that have been in business for a long time.
Ray explained: “Dealers like to move their new cars within 60 to 75 days at most.
“[They] it would be more favorable to transfer an older unit at a discount.
“It helps [them] and that helps me.”
Look for potential incentives
Now, the first two steps should have already guaranteed a small discount, but it is important to know how this is actually done.
Often, manufacturers offer incentives to dealers, allowing them to reduce the value of the car to motivate sales while still making the same profit.
Check to see if there are any national or regional discounts applied to the car you’re looking at, including customer discounts and promotional offers.
If most of your discount is covered by one of these, then the dealership isn’t taking as much as they could.
In this case, establish the numbers and try to make them eat up a little more of your margin to get some extra money.
Check the forums
Forums can be a great way to get in touch with other drivers and see if anyone is getting you a better deal to offer your dealership.
You can search by dealership franchise, model, or even join an online automotive community to see what the current price is for a specific car.
There are plenty of dedicated sites out there, while Reddit is also a good option for the casual shopper.
For example, if you find a customer buying the same car as you in a nearby area for a lower price, you can ask your dealer to match that amount.
If they refuse, take your customer to another dealership to get a better rate.
Get pre-approved
Finally, Ray had a useful trick for anyone trying to negotiate a financial deal to buy their car.
Around 80% of cars in the UK are bought through finance, according to the latest figures, so the vast majority of drivers have had to negotiate a loan.
The racing genius asked Brits to get pre-approved at a set rate and term by a credit union, community bank or other financial institution independent of the dealership.
As with local price comparisons, you can take this offer to the dealership and ask them to beat or match it.
Again, if they decline, just accept their independent offer, but they will likely try to do better so they still earn their commission from the deal.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
