Shopping for a New Car… One Woman’s View - by Jane Barrett
Car shopping can be intimidating for a woman, especially one who decides to brave the process without the help of a male friend or relative. Some people view cars as a man’s territory and will think they can snow a woman who seems unprepared. Don’t let that happen! Here are a few quick tips that will help to ensure this important event runs smoothly.
- Shop for a car during the week. The salespeople will have more incentive provide individual attention when the lot’s not busy, and may be more willing to negotiate with fewer customers around.
- Do your pricing research beforehand. Edmunds.com is a good site to price cars with options you like. It will also let you know the MSRP and invoice pricing as well as what others are paying for the same car.
- Make sure they have what you want on the lot. Because the dealership must sell their cars by a certain time or begin losing money, you have much more room to bargain if the car is already on the lot so it’s useful to make sure that it is before making the journey to the dealership.
- Get pre-approved financing from your bank or credit union. Few people realize you don’t need to go with the dealer’s financier; credit unions and other banks often offer automotive financing and you’ll have more leverage if you come prepared with it.
- Keep control in the Finance and Insurance (F&I) office. The F&I office is there to make money for the dealership. In the F&I office, you will be offered products and services like rust proofing and fabric protection. Because you are financing a lot of money already, it can be tempting to include little extras, so know what you want going in and stick to it.
- Add valuable options. When deciding what features you’d like added to your new car, give some thought to how well the options you are considering will depreciate over time. Some features, such as rear DVD entertainment systems, leather interiors, upgraded engines and navigation systems can actually add to a car’s resale value.
- Get GAP coverage. As soon as you drive the car off the lot, it is worth less than the amount you have financed, so you’ll want to make sure that if a major accident occurs the entire loan value is covered, not just what the car is worth (this can be a gap of thousands of dollars, hence the term “GAP” insurance).
Hopefully following these guidelines will make buying a car somewhat less intimidating. Remember that, though now days most car dealers respect the purchasing power that women have, there’s still a chance you may run into a salesman who is behind the times enough to treat you as a second class customer because of your gender.
Jack Nerad, author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car,” says that the way to battle discrimination in the car lot is simply to use your feet.
“Just walk out,” Nerad explains. “There is plenty of competition out there. Continue shopping until you find someone who will treat you right.
