The Dirty Little Secrets of the Car Business: How to $Ave Yourself Thousands

By Richard Cranium

When I was about 19 years old, I walked into a dealership and asked: How much for this car? The salesperson told me the price and I said I was pretty green when it came to negotiating for a vehicle. Then, a number of years later, when I was just starting to sell cars, one of my first customers was a factory worker. How much for this car? I told him the price and like me, he said I’ll see if I can knock off a few hundered for you. He was very happy. went to the sales manager and presented the customer’s deal with the few hundred off to which he replied,– sniffing a ‘lay down’ buyer. ‘OK,’ he added. But get him to sign over to us this $500 customer appreciation incentive from the manufacturer. A customer appreciation bonus is supposed to go directly to the customer. It was then I knew that I was eventually going to write this book, to help those like my prior self – an unknowledgeable customer, get a fair deal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 8, 2005
• ISBN: 9781463458928

Richard Cranium

I don't really see myself as an author or anything else for that matter, I'm just a guy who got high (I mean really high) on LSD and decided to take trip notes.How the hell I produced this book is a true mystery given the amount of psychedelic drugs consumed in the duration of its creation.Easiest way to describe myself is basically by saying "read my book, you'll get it".Oh and yes, that IS a huge joint in the picture.My promise to paying readers:All proceeds will go towards buying and "researching" psychedelic substances to aid inspiration and motivation for my next literary weaving.

Book preview

The

Dirty Little Secrets of

the Car Business

How to $ave Yourself

Thou$and$

by

Richard Cranium

Title_Page_Logo.ai

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

© 2005 Richard Cranium. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 10/31/05

ISBN: 9781463458928 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2004195249

Contents

1. Financing

2. Leasing

3. Aftermarket Sales

4. Document Processing Fees

5. Dealer Profit Margin

6. Dealer Holdbacks

7. Dealer Cash and Bonuses

8. Owner Loyalty Bonuses and Conquest Money

9. Internet Quotes

10. Used Car ‘Guide’ Books

11. Your Trade

12. Fair Profits to a Dealer

13. Buying a ‘Demo’nstrator

14. Buying From Your Local Dealer

15. Privacy Information

16. Arbitration Agreements

17. THEIR Steps to the Sale and YOUR Steps to Your Purchase

18. Wrap-up

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

Each year millions of people overpay car dealers by hundreds or thousands of dollars when purchasing or leasing a new or used vehicle. This is largely due to the publics’ lack of knowledge or awareness in very specific areas of dealer profit centers.

‘The Dirty Little Secrets of the Car Business’ is an uncovering of the hidden profit areas that have generated millions of dollars for car dealers from the trusting, unsuspecting public. The author lays it out in simple, easy to understand language and shares with you how to avoid being ‘taken for a ride’. He puts forward easy steps to follow in order to steer clear of the common pitfalls in which consumers get trapped, and exposes the various car dealers secret profit centers so consumers can proactively take control of how much they pay and $AVE when purchasing or leasing a new or used vehicle.

THIS BOOK WILL SHOW YOU HOW THE NEGOTIATED SALES PRICE IS ONLY A PORTION OF THE TOTAL SAVINGS YOU CAN REALIZE WHEN BUYING OR LEASING A NEW OR USED VEHICLE.

Topics discussed within this book include:

• FINANCING AND LEASING BACK END PROFITS

Dealer commissions from finance companies for overcharging

your interest rate.

• STEALING YOUR TRADE

An absolute must read if you have a trade.

• POOR OR QUESTIONABLE CREDIT

Make sure you get your very best interest rate and how to

possibly repair your damaged credit.

• DEALER ADD-ONS

Incredible dealer profit margins on these items.

• DEALER HOLDBACKS

How to find a dealer that will share this hush-hush profit with

you.

• SECRET DEALER CASH

Tips on how to find it and getting your fair share.

• OWNER LOYALTY AND CONQUEST BONUSES

What you currently drive could save you hundreds of dollars.

• THE INTERNET

How to use it to your advantage.

• PLUS MUCH MORE

Once you have applied these simple techniques and negotiated by the means fully explained in this book, you will realize how easy it is to save hundreds and possibly thousands of your hard earned dollars. You will never again overpay for a new or used vehicle.

PREFACE

This comprehensive book will guide you through your next vehicle purchases and address what you should be aware of when buying or leasing a vehicle. It will also offer you many ways to save you money by teaching you the proper steps to take when purchasing or leasing your next vehicle.

Even if you buy or lease a vehicle every 2 to 3 years, you are negotiating with a person who does this every day and who enlists the help of his or her managers who have also been doing this for many, many years in some cases. You must ask yourself; ‘who is better equipped to make sure they land on top, make more money and WIN!’ This book evens the playing field tremendously!

This book is to inform people of hidden profit areas and practices that the automotive industry enjoys and how not to be excessively overcharged when buying a vehicle.

Do I believe car dealers should make money when they sell you a vehicle? Absolutely YES.

Do I believe a dealer should make excessive amounts of money from deceptive practices?

Definitely NOT. ‘Caveat emptor’ - buyer beware!

If you are informed about the many business techniques that some (not all) dealerships practice in the industry of selling retail vehicles, and you accept that you are going to be giving them a fair profit for the product and services which they will be supplying to you. You will then be better suited to get a fair deal and will not be wasting your time or money.

The car business is no different from any other business and probably very much like the one employing you. You probably would not have a job if your employer was not making a profit. How could they pay your wages unless your employer makes a profit?

Exactly! It’s just ‘how much’ profit you are willing to pay is all.

Why have so many corporations jumped into owning car dealerships? You may remember the time when the dealer was also the business owner. If you had a problem you could call on the owner to make it right, now many of the dealers are very large corporations who own 50 to 100 or more dealerships. They employ managers to look after these businesses just like any other large retail organization.

Could it be that the amounts of money generated by selling and servicing automobiles is so large that it cannot be overlooked by huge corporations? YES!

It amazes me how little time and homework people put into buying a car. With a little initiative, people can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Have you ever clipped coupons?

Have you ever shopped at a sale?

Have you ever put off a purchase because you knew it was going to cost less later in the year?

We are talking less than a dollar for coupons and maybe less than a twenty dollar savings for a piece of clothing, with a car we could be talking about thousands of dollars.

To put things in perspective, if you divide $1,000 (conservative savings educated by this book) by your hourly wage, the calculation represents how many hours you could work researching and saving yourself money. Therefore, would it not make sense to put in a few of those hours to save hundreds or possibly thousands of dollars?

So let’s say you make $18.00 per hour, if you divide $1,000 by $18.00 you get 55.5 hours. This means you could dedicate 55 hours in research buying a vehicle and be able to justify the time you put in for the savings you generated. Believe me, it won’t take at all that long to read this book and do a little investigating by computer or phone.

If you took your $1,000 savings and divide it by the total hours you put to reading this book and research (say 10 hours) to save that $1,000, you would see that your time is worth $100 per hour. Do you make over $100 per hour? If you don’t, you may now after a little research and investigating time. Imagine saving $2,000, or $3,000, or more, you could take the family on a very nice vacation, make a very large donation to your religion or favorite charity, buy a new wardrobe, contribute to a college education, do whatever… it’s YOUR money – just by doing a little research on your next vehicle purchase. Then multiply that savings by the number of vehicles you will buy in your lifetime! It adds up to an incredible amount of money that you may have given to the dealer. Now you can pocket the savings if you put in a little time, do a little homework and follow some simple instructions.

I can’t tell you how many people feel they have spent too much money only a few days after they have signed the finance or lease contract and have taken delivery of a vehicle – when it’s too late to change your mind. Change your mind before you sign, there is nothing wrong with thinking things over or checking one or two more dealers. Don’t be pressured into a deal that you are not happy with.

That’s why you should do your research and stick to your numbers.

So, are we in agreement that you are going to put in a little time researching for your next vehicle purchase to save hundreds or possibly thousands of dollars? Good!

I’ve seen the same vehicle sold to two different families for thousands of dollars difference in profit, because one family accepted the deal as a ‘great deal’ and the other family obviously researched and shopped the dealers in their area and fought for the deal they wanted which they thought was fair, and evidently it was.

It’s up to you how much you are willing to pay BEFORE you go to negotiate at the dealership. I recommend you plan to visit the dealership at least two times. The first time to gather information, select and test drive the vehicle you want without the commitment to purchase. You may end up going to many different dealers to see what vehicles they have to offer to fit your transportation needs, remember you are going to drive this vehicle for many years, make sure it’s the right one. The second visit is after you have used the phone and / or internet to gather pricing, financing, and trade information (and did your research) from eight or ten dealerships (I will show you how to accomplish this very quickly and easily). Now you are in a position to start negotiating your best deal.

Your vehicle is either your most expensive purchase for those who rent their dwelling or the second most expensive purchase to that of buying a home.

Vehicle purchases are usually done every 3 to 4 years in many cases, or every 10 to 12 years if you wait till the wheels fall off (just an expression to illustrate time).

Some people only buy used vehicles, letting ‘someone else take the depreciation’. Some only buy new, they would never buy ‘someone else’s problems’ and / or they like having the latest gadgets, toys and of course the latest in safety equipment and technology which is changing as quickly as the new models arrive to the showrooms. Either way in today’s world it has become a necessity rather than a luxury to have a private mode of transportation.

The points covered and outlined in this book can be used for both purchasing a new or previously owned car, truck, motorcycle, motor home or even a boat.

The retail car industry like all businesses has some really great people working in it and some who are not so great. However, you have a responsibility to yourself and your hard earned money to get a FAIR deal and not be ‘taken’. You will learn that the negotiated price of the vehicle in most cases is only a small portion of total savings of ‘the DEAL’.

A dealer has many profit areas to