So, you have negotiated the deal you want with the salesperson and are happily on your way to the finance department thinking that the hard part is behind you and now you just have to kick up and sign some paperwork and rely on your good credit to pull you the best rate possible.
The problem is that it really is not that simple. This is where you can really make or break a good deal. If you plan to pay cash, don’t say anything until the deal is already negotiated and you are ready to do the paperwork because you paying cash means the salesperson is going to make less. If you are not going to pay cash then you have to worry about what extras might get added in the finance department.
Buying and selling cars is an industry built around making money, and we want them to be successful while still giving us a good deal. Ideally, everyone wins. Now that you are to the finance department you are probably going to be asked about warranties, extended warranties, tinting, or have to determine what interest rate you will be paying on your new to you vehicle.
Used vehicles typically net the sales person more but often the finance person less. Though that will not stop most of them from trying to change that. Now warranties are not always a bad thing but you really need to be willing to carefully read the fine print. As far as extras for your car at this point consider if you really need them, you could spend a lot of money on these extras you do not really need and regret it shortly after signing.
Finally comes the interest rate. The finance person could tell you the best they could get was a 6% interest rate for you when in truth they were told they could finance you for 5% but they may want to pocket that extra percent or split it with the dealership. Even just 1% can add up to pretty big bucks over the term of the loan. So do some research and make sure to know before hand what sort of interest rate is standard for your credit score and current financial load.
This bit of research could save you some major dollars in the end. Also, it never hurts to ask politely if they can do any better than that. Just remember that these are people working for a living to provide for their families and don’t let a few bad eggs known to be in the industry entice you into treating them all badly.
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