Guest Author - William Charles Vetter

Car dealerships like all corporations do not work on a calendar year, they work on their corporate years as far as income and taxes are concerned but car sales are judged in calendar months and years. At the end of the month every dealership and salesperson is focused on improving on those numbers and at the end of the year that focus is increased 12 fold. The last week is HIGH PRESSURE to sell. Before actually going out to buy and take that new car home know exactly what you are looking for. Pre-shop from dealers or friends before hand and know exactly what it is that you will buy. The big day is NOT the time to figure out what you want.

So When Is The Best Time To Get The Best Deal
The end of the month is best, the best month is the 12th month, the best day is the last few days of the year. This is it for them, for their dealership and for the manufacturer. The psychology is that even if the dealership makes nothing on the sale it is still a sale. In the obscure world of car sales the number of cars sold is a factor in the dealerships success, more cars moved means a larger allotment for the next year and there is also a great deal of prestige involved when it comes to the numbers moved. A manufacturers succes is the quantity of cars sold in a physical year, not the fiscal year and not in how much each dealer profited from those sales. Do not talk to one of their salespeople before hand, that alone might cost you $5,000, if you do give them a fake name. I can't believe that I'm telling you this, it is so unkind of me, but I'm trying to help you and not them.

How To Choose The Best Dealer
You’ve figured out exactly what you want and now you need to pick a dealership that will get you the best price on the unit that you have your heart set on. If you live in a small town it’s nice to do business with the small guy down at the end of the block. I generally support small local businesses whenever I can. These people work hard, struggle and give you personal one on one service, if you are a nice person and this is more important to you, then like me you are a better person, so stop reading this already and go get your car. We are talking about saving money here and not being a benevolent member of the local community. Leave your small town and go to the big city, find the dealership with the largest lot and the most cars in stock. The bigger the better, yes you will be nothing more than a number, a nobody, conversely so are they to you. Who cares? There is nothing personal about any of this, it’s just business and saving money, money that your family needs. Come on Shiela, it’s the last day of the year so let’s get going, NOW.

The Next Step. Who Do You Talk To?
This depends on your position. If you’ve got cash, you will call their fleet sales office, talk to the manager and tell him you will pay invoice for the exact car that you want. If possible fax or email them all of your information so they can get the paperwork done. Once you hang up go there, write him a check, sign the paper work and bam you are done, time: 1 hour max! It is possible to buy a car below invoice but it is a more rare occasion that you can get them to do that. How is that possible? It's a small known fact that Car dealerships receive incentives from manufacturers to "floor" cars. The larger the dealership the larger the incentives, and the invoice from the manufacturer is not necessarily the price the dealership actually pays for the car. This is the way to get a car at the absolute rock bottom lowest price. If he balks then thank him for his time and leave, you do not need to go to the showroom, talk to a salesperson, sit through a high pressure sales presentation, be sequestered in a small stuffy cubicle or take a test drive. You already know what you are going to buy, remember. You will find a dealership that will take your check; it may however take more than one, though I doubt it. You can expect to save 20% or more by doing this. This is how important businesses and people with money like Paris Hilton do it...

If You Are Not Solvent Enough To Do That
Many people can’t just write a check for a car, if possible get financing and make arrangements in advance. Dealerships can and do arrange financing they make money by doing it, money that you wind up paying in the end, if you have stellar credit they make very little and you may qualify for a zero interest loan but remember they will make a 10-20% comission on you. Car dealerships hate trade-ins get rid of that clunker before you show up, or give it to a friend or relative. The dealership will take it but you will probably have to pay them to do that. Car dealerships make the most money off of people who are in the worst situations, so before you start feeling sorry for them consider that a single mother of 5 who has bad credit is going to pay considerably more than a single man or couple with a lot of disposable income, ironically those who can afford it the least will pay the most. The dealers don't care it's just business, and you have to make it where you can. Them, you, me are all in it for ourselves and it's a cold cruel world, I'm as sorry about this as anyone can be. As Ken Lane used to tell me, "It is what it is".

Conclusion
The previous model year of cars will be your best deal. You will get a better price even a rebate and you have the added benefit of having a car that is essentially 1 year old already with zero miles on the clock when the average driver already has 15,000 on his current model year by that age. The last day of the year is the best day of the entire year to buy a car. Bigger dealerships are able to sell at lower profit margins. Fleet sales do not pay commissions to salespeople like showroom sales. Ironically, the better your financial position the less you will pay. Do all of your homework before hand. Try to show as little interest in their finely honed sales techniques as possible. Spurn their attemps to show you how nice the car is, you don't care, you hate cars, you just need to get to work. If you have a lot of money and you'd love to make payments for the rest of your life and never actually want to own the car, then lease it.
If you do this please email me and let me know how it went for you.