Whether you are setting out to buy your first car or you have been down this road before, buying a car can be an intimidating experience. Before you even set foot in the dealership you have probably played the whole scenario over in your head a few hundred times. And every time you the tape starts rolling in your mind the salesman gets bigger and you get smaller.
Buying a car does not have to be the scary experience you are anticipating it to be if you keep a few things in proper perspective.

The very first thing you must convince yourself of is that you are the customer and the car dealership wants your business. It is really as cut and dry and this; every salesperson in that dealership realizes that you can decide to go anywhere to buy your car. From the moment you step past the balloons and through the entrance of the showroom, you are the boss and you absolutely have the upper hand. The key is keeping that upper hand and not letting the well trained salesperson bluff you into throwing away all of your power.

Before you make that fateful walk into the showroom, where you will be making one of the biggest purchases of your life, you need to know exactly what you want and what you are willing, and able to spend; on the down payment and the monthly payment. You also need to be ready to stand firm on these points and, more importantly, be willing to walk out of there if you are not able to close a deal that is acceptable to you.

One of the things that can shake your resolve to leave the dealership without a car is your unwillingness to leave with a perceived loss. Sometimes a salesperson’s desire to hit their goals and make the sale on their own terms causes them to play the game of back and forth with you. They will use their experience to get enough information about you to determine how badly you want the car, and then keep you on the hook with the hope that you have a chance of getting it if you only wait for them to convince their manager to accept your offer. The back and forth game can, literally, go on for several hours.

If you let this happen, you now have something invested in that car; your time. To most people their time is valuable to them, and with it now invested in a certain car, they are reluctant to leave with nothing to show for that investment. You must be ready to do just that if you do not get what you want. You will get over the time you wasted there by the next day, but you will have several years to regret not walking out if you don’t.

Just as important as keeping focused on your bottom line is staying aware of what you are being asked to sign. Often times the minute you walk into a dealership already knowing which car you want, the salesperson will slide an application across the table for you fill out and sign. You will marvel at small and easy it is to complete, and will get the feeling that this is going to be easier than you thought. Most of the time this application gives them permission to run a credit report on you. Do not let that happen until you are satisfied with the deal they offer you and you are ready to go forward with it.