common salesmen tricks and tactics 

     Salesmen use numerous tactics to make it appear like their business is more valuable to you than your business is valuable to them. Not only do they do this kind of frame setting, they also often use other methods of manipulation with a single purpose in mind - to make you buy the car today at the price they want.

     Let's examine some ways in which they attempt to get you to pay the sticker price.

I have 3 other buyers that are interested in this car

     Probably more common and most widely used technique. Basically he is implying that there is a situation of scarcity, since there are other people who are supposedly interested in this car. The question to ask yourself, however, is: if the car is so great and you have 3 potential buyers, why didn't they buy it yet? The reason they didn't is because most likely there aren't 3 other people who are interested in this car.

     This technique is used in an attempt to close the deal as soon as possible and used as a negotiation leverage by salesmen.

Having picture of family on their desk, facing your way

     This one is almost classic. They use their family member's pictures to make you feel guilty by trying to negotiate the better deal for yourself. A person seeing this pictures and not knowing that it is simply a tool to gain compliance, might actually feel guilty by trying to get a fair deal for himself! The thing is that salesmen rarely care if the car you're buying is a good car. Why should you care that they don't get a 1000$ commission check today? The answer is that you shouldn't.

Your asking price is below what we paid for the car

     Unless your asking price is way low or way below KBB, this is one of the classic lines they use in an attempt to take the responsibility of price inflation off of themselves by saying that they paid more for the car itself. Usually that's not true and don't let this discourage you. Just negotiate it aggressively by following our 12 step negotiation plan.

The car is already sold, but let's work something out

     So, you come to the dealership looking at a specific car. After you express interest in it, a salesman might say it's been sold. After you're about to leave, he "suddenly gets a phone call" or makes a "phone call to check with the buyer" to make sure that the buyer still wants the car. Of course buyer decides to check another car on the lot later on and the salesman proceeds to set-up a price ceiling right at or just below their asking price by saying another buyer paid that amount for the car and if you want the car you'll have to pay at least as much.

     This technique was actually once used on us and the reason it was used was because the car we were looking at was in such bad shape, that it was on the lot for months and months. The dealership was small private kind and obviously they couldn't get rid of the car, so they had to use such deceptive tactics to inflate it's value. After careful checkup we understood that the car was complete garbage and the technique used was a deception.

     If a salesman says that someone already bought the car - this should immediately raise your suspicion levels. What buyer is going to buy the car and leave it sitting on the dealer lot and give it up AFTER he made a deal?

     Probably nobody, however this technique works very well on an unsuspecting buyer. Not only the value of the car inflated, since someone already "bought it", but also the unsuspecting buyer feels like the salesman is actually helping him out, when in fact it's all just downright deception! Be very alert to those kind of sales prices.

Making you wait

     This is common tactic used almost at all dealership and by all salesmen. Have you ever been at the dealership and had to wait for like 30 minutes while the salesman is "trying to make you a good deal" by talking to the sales manager for 30 mins? Of course it doesn't take that long to make an offer or counter-offer. The whole purpose of the wait is to gain control over you. The philosophy they use is this: if you're waiting for them, you're under their control. Now it might be true or not, but when they are making you wait, go around and look at other cars. Let them chase you and your business, not the other way around. This will also demonstrate your non-neediness, which will raise the value of your business and transcend into ability to leverage better in negotiations, since the salesman will feel like he's losing control of you and interaction partially.

Bait and switch and ad misrepresentation

     This is a classic one. It's done every time at all dealerships. Dealerships place an ad in the paper or online listing a very attractive offer, such as 199$ a month or something. Usually this assumes the person has excellent credit rating, along with making a large down payment and and getting the longest financing period available. Or they will list a stripped down version of the car at a very low price (bait car). Or they type in small print things like dealer fees and prep fees extra. These fees can be in thousands of dollars, but they don't mention that until after you're inside the showroom and they are trying to explain to you that just because the price just jumped from 5000$ to 8000$, you're still getting a good deal.

     Also they often claim that they can't find that particular car and that you should just take a look at other, better cars on the lot. Or they claim the car has been sold or out for cleaning. Basically, you cannot get the bait car, and you're naturally disappointed. Most people at this point leave, however some stay and salesmen know that, so they immediately start offering you higher priced cars by saying the monthly payment is going to be just a little bit more than the car you came to look at.

How much can you afford per month

     This one is a classical line they use to make it seem to you that you're getting a good deal. This is also a line used to inflate the final selling price by making it appear less than it is. If you go to the dealership and start negotiating, be prepared for them to keep asking you this question over and over and over again, even if you explain to them that you don't care about monthly payments, rather you're more interested in the actual cost of the car. You have to be polite, yet assertive here, don't let them dupe you into thinking of car buying in terms of monthly payments. What's important is the price you pay in the long run. If you think it terms of monthly payments, you give them lots of leverage in negotiation process.

4 square method

     This is a common work process used by car salesmen to leverage a best deal for you. Essentially it's a sheet of paper with the car's name written on it, divided in 4 sections. On the upper left they put the MSRP or asking price of the car they are trying to sell to you. The next box deals with how much money you can put down. This shouldn't worry you as you should have financing arranged beforehand and have a check on your hands. The check should be for amount less than what you're willing to pay, but give the salesman the ability to win over your business by saying you potentially MIGHT come up with more funds if the deal suits you (your target price). Next square deals with your trade-in and we really don't recommend bringing a trade in when you're buying a car. You will get ripped off on trade in, there is absolutely no doubt about it, thus it's much better to sell the car yourself online. You can always sell your car later at a trade-in value to CARMAX dealership or potentially to regular dealership. Next box deals with your monthly payment. As stated above, salesmen will always talk in terms of monthly payments to get you off track and carried away. Insist that they talk in terms of final price, rather than monthly costs, because you already have financing arranged.

     Technically if you already have financing arranged, they might not even use 4 square method, they might just use a worksheet with asking price and negotiation numbers on it.

Buy today

     When you come to the dealership, salesman assumes that if you leave, you won't come back. They always try to qualify you to see how aggressive they should be with you by asking you questions that relate directly to purchasing in a way that assumes the sale. They have been trained to look at things in such a way that they learned that if you leave the dealership, another, more aggressive salesman at another dealership will be able to quickly qualify and close the deal by using various deception and manipulation techniques. This is the reason for the "sense of urgency" the salesman tries to create when he's qualifying you. Just relax and understand that they are doing this because they are valuing your presence and your business there. When he qualifies you, don't tell him directly, just answer vaguely. Such as if he asks you what are you willing to pay monthly, say you're not sure, but if the deal is good enough, you'll think about it. Establish yourself in a position of authority.

Assuming the sale

     Assuming the sale is very common technique and it involves asking questions that imply the sale in them in the way they are structured. Such as "how much money are you putting down today?" or "do you want 48 or 60 month financing" or "what car are you going to be trading in today?". These questions aren't really giving them any leverage, but they can be quite annoying. Just inform them if the deal is good, you'll consider many different things.

Multiple salesmen

     Most likely if you follow our negotiation tips, they will bring out one or more salesman to help them close the deal on their terms. This is where having a friend or a relative with you can go a long way, since it essentially becomes US vs THEM scenario. These new people will try to haggle and haggle with you for hours if they have to. If they are being stubborn, you have to wear them all down and then walk off. Tell them you're leaving, because you're not sure if it's right for you, etc. At this point they will do a lot of things to make sure you don't leave. If they don't, you can walk to your car, "talk on the cell phone" for 10 minutes, then come back with an offer a little higher than theirs, saying that the third party you're buying the car for has agreed to pay a little more. Negotiating is just running in circles over and over again until another party either flat out refuses to deal with you or gives you the deal you want.

What would we have to do to earn your business today

     This is a common question, not necessarily bad, however you have to be on lookout on how they reframe what you say. If you say you want this car for 10,000$, they might reframe it by saying what monthly payment you're looking it. Or say you tell them you want same car, but different color, they will offer you a more expensive model. It's just something to look our for, because every time you tell them what you want differently, they will try to offer you something a little more expensive.

Conclusion

     Car buying process can be quite emotionally draining, no doubt about it. A few hours of negotiating is definitely worth thousands of dollars saved. Besides, it might even be fun when you know what to look out for, what techniques to use yourself and how to get the most leverage possible. It's almost like a chess game or any other game. It can be hard at first, but once you learn it, it might just become interesting.

     Salesmen will always use tricks and deception to make as much money as they possibly can off of you, as this article has shown. Don't expect to make friends with them when you're buying a car from them and you should be alright.