Don't Get Taken Every Time : The Ultimate Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car in the Showroom or on the Internet

by Sutton, Remar (Author)

• ISBN13: 9780141001494
• ISBN10: 0141001496
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

For fifteen years, automotive consumer expert and former auto dealer Remar Sutton has helped hundreds of thousands of car buyers to get the best deal in town. This completely new edition protects car buyers from the dealers' latest secret weapon-the Internet. Even the smallest bit of information entered on a Web site can give dealers what they need to take unfair advantage of their customers. From shopping and negotiating to financing, Sutton exposes car dealers' scams and gives you step-by-step instructions on how to get the best deal. With vital information about Internet shopping, privacy issues and how to use the Internet safely, and taking on the dealers, Sutton's guide is a must-read before stepping into a real or virtual showroom.

Table of Contents

A Day in the Life of Killer Monsoon	p. 1
What's Happening to the Automobile Business?	p. 17
The Bad News	p. 17
The Grim Reality No Buying Service Wants You to Know	p. 24
Is There Any Good News Out There?	p. 34
Want to Stop Other Sites from Tracking You While You Explore the Brave New Automotive World (or Anything else) Online?	p. 35
Forearming: So You're Determined to Skip the Dealership Entirely and Buy or Lease on the Web?	p. 39
Inside the Dealership Family	p. 41
Killer and His Family	p. 41
Who's Who Inside the Dealerships	p. 46
Who are the People Behind Those Web Pages and Online Services?	p. 57
Dealer-Controlled Sites and Buying Services	p. 57
"Independent" Internet Buying Services	p. 58
"Prospect Aggregators"	p. 59
Manufacturer-Related Sites	p. 60
Sites That Deal Exclusively in Used Vehicles	p. 60
Sites That Offer Only Financing or Loans	p. 60
Information-Driven Rather Than Product-Driven Sites	p. 61
Where's the Money? Understanding Automotive Sales Tactics and Realities	p. 62
Well, Just How Honest are Car People?	p. 65
The Salesperson's Greatest Talent	p. 66
The Salesperson's Favorite Targets	p. 68
Profits, Not Profit	p. 69
Supply and Demand	p. 71
Killer Monsoon's Favorite Selling Techniques	p. 71
"Will You Buy a Car Today at Some Price?"	p. 72
"If I Can,... Will You?"	p. 73
The Sincere Salesman-in-a-Contest Ploy	p. 74
The "I'm Salesman of the Month" Routine	p. 74
The "I'm a Trustworthy Salesman" Ploy	p. 75
"Setting You" on a Car: The Demo Ride	p. 75
The Old Confuse-Them-and-Control-the-Sale Ploy	p. 76
Justifying the Sale	p. 77
The Ploy of Bringing You to Their Reality	p. 78
The "Other Customer" Ploy	p. 80
The Old "Lease 'Em a Car Instead" Ploy	p. 81
The Return of Balloon Payments	p. 82
Dealerships' Favorite Selling Systems on the Showroom Floor and on the Web	p. 83
The "T.O." System	p. 83
The Four-Square System	p. 84
The Note System	p. 86
The Tower System	p. 87
One Price, No Hassle Systems	p. 87
"YoYo" Selling or "Spot" Delivery	p. 89
"Credit Doctor" Scams	p. 91
The Advent of Major Dealerships Designed Solely for Subprime Borrowers	p. 93
Welcome Centers	p. 96
Getting a Deposit	p. 96
"What 'Unauthorized' Credit Report?"	p. 98
The Raise	p. 100
Lowballing	p. 101
A Look in the Mirror: Know Yourself	p. 102
"In the Bucket" and "Dipping": The Problem with the Chases	p. 104
Singing the Blues: The Trouble with the Allgoods	p. 107
The Newest Toy: The Problem with the Estrums	p. 111
Facing our Foibles: The Problem with All Car Buyers	p. 112
How Naive Are You Really?	p. 113
Are You an Impulse Buyer? Impulse Buyers Are Favorite Targets	p. 113
What Should You Buy?	p. 114
Need Versus Want	p. 114
What Can You Really Afford to Pay Per Month?	p. 117
New Versus Used: What's Better for You?	p. 119
American Versus Foreign: Is There a Meaningful Difference?	p. 125
Will You Be "Trading Down"?	p. 126
Things that Impress and Terrify Salesmen: Traits You Can Cultivate	p. 127
Taking Control and Staying in Charge	p. 127
Wariness on the Web	p. 129
Indecision	p. 129
Lack of Enthusiasm	p. 130
Non-Romantic Attitudes	p. 131
Patience	p. 131
Impatience	p. 131
Steel Boots Prevent Shot Feet	p. 131
Know Your Present Car	p. 132
Do Three Wrights Make a Wrong?	p. 132
The Previous Sections of This Book Haven't Exactly Added to the Romance and Mystique of Auto Transaction	p. 134
The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same	p. 135
Doing It Right in the Brave New Automotive World	p. 135
Making Your Current Car Worth More	p. 136
Is Your Old Vehicle a Popular Vehicle?	p. 138
What's Your Car's Mileage?	p. 139
Computing Your Old Car's Wholesale Value	p. 139
How to Determine the Wholesale Value of Your Car	p. 142
Shopping for Wholesale Value the Wright Way	p. 143
Become a Road Hog for a Day	p. 145
Options for Shopping Wholesale Value on the Web	p. 146
Individual Dealer Web Sites	p. 146
Established Used-Vehicle Market Guides Online	p. 148
Other Automotive Sites That Will "Appraise" Your Vehicle	p. 149
Car Depreciation Calculators	p. 149
Calculate Your Equity in Your Car's Wholesale Value	p. 150
Why Fool with Your Old Car? Give It Away as a Tax Deduction!	p. 150
Should You Retail Your Car Yourself?	p. 151
How to Retail a Vehicle	p. 158
Your Hour on the Stage	p. 163
Dollars and Non-Sense: Or, What You'd Better Know About Financing, Even If You Pay Cash	p. 164
Could This Really Happen to You?	p. 177
Is The Car Business Really This Relentless in Ripping Every Penny From Even the Poorest Customer?	p. 177
Won't Financing on the Web Save Me from This?	p. 178
Some Other Creepy Realities You Need to Think About	p. 180
Your Credit History Isn't What You Think It Is	p. 180
What Are Your Financing Sources?	p. 186
Uncle Festus or Aunt Bea	p. 186
Cash Value in Your Life Insurance	p. 186
A Home Equity Line of Credit	p. 186
Credit Unions	p. 187
Brand Name Prime Banks	p. 192
Online Loan Companies and Services	p. 193
The "Captive" Sources	p. 194
New Dealerships Discover Buy Here-Pay Here	p. 198
Stand Alone Buy Here-Pay Here Used Car Operations	p. 199
Title Loan Operations	p. 200
I've Decided to Pay Cash and I'm Using a Web Service	p. 201
Should You Buy Credit Life or Disability Insurance?	p. 201
Okay, Let's Find the Cheapest and Best Loan	p. 204
And a Poke in the Eye, Too	p. 206
How Much Car Can You Afford?	p. 207
The Concept of "Available Cash"	p. 207
Test Time!	p. 210
Auto Sellers Want You to Look at the Money Differently	p. 211
Developing Your Available Cash Figure Based on Your Own Budget and Assets	p. 214
How Much Money Should You Finance on a Particular Car? What Down Payment Is Best?	p. 216
How Much Down Payment Is Enough?	p. 217
What Is the Minimum Down Payment Possible on a New Vehicle?	p. 217
What Is the Minimum Down Payment Possible on a Used Vehicle?	p. 218
Determining Available Cash for Different Buying Situations	p. 218
If You Plan to Buy a New or Used Vehicle and Have No Trade	p. 219
If You Plan to Buy a New or Used Vehicle and Have a Debt-Free Trade	p. 219
If You Plan to Buy a New or Used Vehicle and Owe Money on Your Trade	p. 220
Next Steps	p. 223
The Big Fantasy: Automobile Advertising and Sales Events	p. 224
The Many Moods of Advertising: What's Your Fantasy?	p. 225
Did You Hear the Funny One About Truth in Automobile Advertising?	p. 228
The Special Millenium Edition Auto Advertising Parlor Game	p. 231
Now to the Parlor Game	p. 232
Do Car People Ever, Ever Have Real Sales?	p. 237
Is There an Easier Time to Buy?	p. 237
So Are There Any "Best Times" to Buy a Car?	p. 239
Battle Time	p. 241
Battle Time or Dueling with Killer, a Moral Tale, Sort Of	p. 243
Shopping for a New Car the Right Way Whether You Plan to Buy at a Dealership or Online	p. 255
What Do Vehicles Really Cost?	p. 256
Dealer Invoice	p. 256
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP)	p. 257
Dealer's Sticker	p. 257
Choosing Dealerships for Shopping, Buying, and Service	p. 259
Tips for Choosing a Dealership	p. 259
Why Can't I Skip Dealerships and the Web Entirely?	p. 261
Does It Make Sense to Order a Car Rather Than Buy From Stock?	p. 262
Ordering at a Dealership	p. 262
Ordering a Vehicle Online	p. 263
What About Buying "Demos," "Demonstrators," "Executive," or "Program" Cars?	p. 263
Thinking About a Truck or Full-Size Van?	p. 264
Researching Vehicles That Fit Your Budget	p. 264
Are You Planning to Buy on the Web?	p. 267
Dealership Shopping If You Plan to Buy a New Vehicle	p. 268
What Do Those Pretty Rides Cost the Dealer?	p. 270
What the Dealership Actually Paid	p. 270
Shopping If You Plan to Buy a Used Car or Used Truck at the Dealership or Online	p. 273
Preparing to Shop	p. 274
Money! Why All This Work Is Worth It	p. 277
Why Buying Used Is Harder	p. 277
Five Discomfiting Variables	p. 277
The Importance of "Loan Value"	p. 278
Used-Vehicle Sources: From the Internet to Aunt Wilma and Her Neighbor	p. 280
Used Vehicle Sources on the Web	p. 283
Other Offline Sources	p. 285
Using a Telephone "Service" to Locate Your Car	p. 288
Checking Out a Used Vehicle	p. 288
Researching Specific Used Vehicles That Fit Your Budget and Needs	p. 290
Negotiating for a New Vehicle at the Dealership	p. 293
"Just What Is a Fair Deal? How Do I Know When to Say Yes?"	p. 293
Handling High-Pressure Techniques	p. 295
Your Hour Upon the Stage: The Importance of Play-Acting	p. 300
Doing It by the Numbers If You're Buying New	p. 300
Here's the Scenario	p. 301
Dealing with the Store	p. 304
Negotiating for a Used Vehicle at the Dealership	p. 308
"Just What Is a Fair Deal? How Do I Know When to Say Yes?"	p. 309
Handling High-Pressure Techniques	p. 309
Your Hour Upon the Stage: The Importance of Play-Acting	p. 311
Doing It by the Numbers If You're Buying Used	p. 311
Here's the Scenario	p. 312
Dealing with the Store	p. 314
Negotiating Online for a New or Used Vehicle	p. 318
A Tangled Web	p. 318
How to Buy a New Car, Click by Click, on the Web	p. 327
Negotiating for a Used Vehicle, Step-by-Step, on the Web	p. 333
Leasing a Vehicle	p. 338
The Good and, oh, So Bad of Leasing	p. 342
Just What Is a Lease?	p. 343
What Happens When You Buy?	p. 343
Leasing the Same Car	p. 344
Enter the Real World	p. 344
Who's Making the Big Profits Here? The Leasing Companies or the Dealerships?	p. 345
Lease Terminology Adds to the Budget Carnage	p. 347
The Deliberate Lack of Understandable "Back End Clauses" Compounds the Carnage	p. 347
Then There's "Flipping"	p. 348
"Assuming Leasing Can Still Be a Good Deal at Times, How Do I Know If It's Made for Me?"	p. 349
Are There Tax Advantages to Leasing?	p. 351
Are There Many Leasing Companies out There?	p. 351
Are There Different Types of Leases out There?	p. 352
Leasing Terminology	p. 353
Leasing the Right Way	p. 357
What About Leasing Used Cars?	p. 365
If Your Present Car Is a Lease Vehicle	p. 365
Lomax	p. 367
Endnotes	p. 371
Appendix	p. 377
How to Figure Loan Cash From a Payment	p. 377
Using the Chart to Determine Payments	p. 379
Automotive Manufacturers Web Site Addresses	p. 379
Web Site Addresses for Captive Financing Companies	p. 382
Warranties, New and Used	p. 382
What About New-Car Service Contracts	p. 383
Used Car Warranties from Best to Worst	p. 385
A Note on Deposits	p. 387
Used-Car Service Agreements	p. 387
Negotiating for Vehicles in Other Buying Scenarios	p. 388
Cars Rented by Major Rental Companies	p. 394
Glossary	p. 395
Checking Out a Used Car or Used Truck	p. 398
Personal Used Car Checklist	p. 398
Index	p. 405
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