Buying a car can be stressful, especially when you're negotiating with dealers armed with tricks designed to get you to spend more money.
But when it comes to negotiating the price of a new car, there are certain things you can do to help set yourself up for success. On a recent episode of the "Tosh Show" podcast, comedian Daniel Tosh interviewed Marty Wiener, a retired car broker who spent 46 years in the industry buying cars for the rich and famous.
Wiener said that of all the negotiating mistakes that buyers make, one looms above the rest.
"You never want to say what you're willing to pay per month," Wiener said. "The biggest mistake people make is if they go in and say 'I can afford $600 a month.'"
Rather than laying out how much money you're open to spending on your car payment, you should instead determine what the dealership is willing to sell you the car for.
"That's the first thing," he said. "Once you've established that, then you want to base your payments on that number."
Wiener also recommended reviewing all the financing offers available to you, noting that the one that sounds the best might not actually be the smartest financial decision. He gave the example of a client who wanted to buy a car and put $10,000 down with 0% financing.
"But I said 'Since you're putting down such a large down payment, they have 1.9% financing but with a $1,500 rebate,'" he said. "'So your payment is going to go down $20 per month. Over 60 months, that's $1,200.'"
And don't fall for any classic negotiation tactics. For example, if a salesperson needs to go check an offer with a manager, Wiener says "it's probably BS."
"They know what they're constrained by ahead of time," he said.
Once you've shaken hands on your purchase, don't let yourself be upsold on any add-ons such as warranties or paint protection.
"They'll present you with so many different things you can buy that most people think, 'Well, I should buy something,'" former car salesman David Weliver previously told CNBC Make It. "If there are any additional features you want, know that going in." Otherwise, "it's fine to say 'no' to all of it."
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