What you need to do:
• Visit your banker and see what kind of financing options she can offer. She may make a better offer than your dealer.
• Shop at the end of the month. Salespeople have deadlines, and this is it for the car business, so they are more willing to bargain.
• Negotiate from the dealer cost price up.
• Visit carcostcanada.com. For a fee, this website gives you the dealer cost price and puts you in touch with a dealer who's willing to deal from cost up on the car you want.
• Leave your card. The dealer may call you back. Yes, he has an incentive to sell you the car at the highest price and interest rate if there's financing involved (because he makes a commission), but he also has an incentive to sell a lot of cars (because he wants to make his boss happy).
What you need to say:
• "How much profit do you want to make on this car?" If the dealer says, "We don't work like that here," say, "OK, I'm going to your competitor." If the dealer doesn't want to answer this question, you don't want to deal with him. (On a small economy car, he probably wants to make about $1,000. On a luxury car, a Mercedes, for example, he may want as much as $3,000.)
• When you leave, say, "I'm going to talk to your competitor about cost-up negotiating. Here's my card. Call me if you change your mind."
Now that you have a car, click here to learn how to save money on repairs.
Buying appliances
What you need to know:
• The markup isn't very high. If you have your eye on a $1,500 fridge, for example, and a retailer offers to knock $50 off the price, take it.
• Even big name retailers will negotiate with you.
What you need to do:
• Visit the major retailers and get their price, or do it all online.
What you need to say:
• "What's your best price?" It should be less than the ticket, and if not, they should at least offer something, such as a reduced delivery charge.
• "Put it in writing, please." Salespeople don't like to do that -- they think you're going to take it down the street and get their competitor to beat it by $10. And they're exactly right.
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Learn how to negotiate in other areas of your life:
• Get a raise
• Negotiate lower bills
