What should i ask when buying a car from a dealership?

Question

Im 18 and buying my first car from a dealership. I am looking at a 2004 misubishi galant, and I know no clue about cars. I have heard great things about the dealership and several of my friend have bought their cars from them so Im not worried about them trying to rip me off. But I am basically doing this by myself and I want to know what I should ask the salesman or what I should watch out for. Thanks in advance!!

Answer 1

first, find how much is fair to pay for the vehicle by researching autotrader.com and maybe cars.com.  This way you will know how much is a fair price.

If you are financing the vehicle you will need to find out if you will be able to at 18 years old you probably have no credit.  Possibly a co signer or large down payment will be required.

There are websites out there to help you not get scammed buying a car.  Check them out it will be worth the read.

Answer 2

At 18, I would assume you have no credit or at least not enough credit to get a car in your name without a cosigner. Also, buy from a dealership, dont buy from "Jim's Used Cars" or anything similar to that. They are usually shady and they usually change names every few months. Dealerships on the other hand have plenty of incentive to maintain a good reputation. When you buy from a dealership, you usually get a survey from the manufacturer. If the dealership consistently has poor surveys, they will get a lot of heat from the manufacturer.

Answer 3

I guess you should also check insurance quotes for the car before buying one, for example here: http://carquotes.sinfree.net

Answer 4

Make sure you do your research. Search for what your car is worth at http://www.kbb.com/ where most dealerships look at online and look at the physical appearance of your car (plus gas mileage driven).

You might spend probably over 2+ hours if you are doing some touch negotiations. Stand firm to your down... and don't budge...

If you know which dealership you are going to go to... research their inventory... see what you want... look to see if they have any ad specials running. Make a compairson with other dealerships. Do the homework... don't budge for anything different...

If you don't have credit which I'm assuming you don't... bring a co-signer in like your parents... or a friend.

Good luck...