How to Find the Right Used Car for You

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Buying a performance car is nice, but paying a lower price for it is even nicer. There are many mistakes that people make when they buy rarer than usual/expensive cars like BMWs that end up costing them money. Keep reading to learn how you can get a lower price for your new Bimmer.

First and foremost, like with any purchase that you make on credit (assuming you are—if you’re paying cash don’t worry about this section J ) it’s vital that you have a current copy of your credit report. The score may not be included, so make sure you get it too. Your credit score will directly affect how easily you can get a loan and what interest rate you end up paying. It is free to get a credit report online once a year. Here’s the official site: AnnualCreditReport.com. Of course the dealer/used car lot will be able to pull your credit report, but since most people don’t know exactly what is on their report, there may be mistakes that will affect you negatively, so you’ll need to fix them beforehand.

Second. It is very important that you know how much the new car is actually worth before you go to a dealer. Just because they say your hot new BMW M3 or Z4 with a 6-speed manual is “rare” (hint: it’s not, it’s all sales and marketing tactics. BMW will make as many M3s and stick Z4s as they can sell…) doesn’t mean that it is so. You can find the true price and how much others paid for that same car on many online sites.  An example is: InternetAutoGuide.com

Don’t make the mistake of trying to negotiate down from the sticker price. If you know the actual invoice price of the car (the website above, and other will tell you this) then you’ll know exactly how much the dealer paid for it. You can begin your negotiations upwards from there.

Remember your credit? If you have bad credit, then it can be difficult to get a loan for a car, especially a coupe or convertible that is deemed a luxury/sports car and not a daily driver. Also, don’t submit credit applications at various dealers however. This will negatively affect your rating with each application that you submit after the first or second one.

Onward. Just because your credit is bad doesn’t mean that you can’t get a lower price on a hot new car. As long as you’ve been employed for the past six months and don’t have any negative incidents on your credit in this time frame, you stand a very good chance (you’ll just pay more for interest).

If you’re trading in a very hot car (think M, or M-package) for another, then be careful of trading it in if you still owe money for the car. The reason? If you trade it into a dealer, the sales manager or someone from the staff may keep it around as their personal car for a few months (while still on the dealer’s name) and forget pay off the loan in time since they’re not selling it. Of course since the loan will still be in your name, it will negatively affect your credit and it will be a headache to get it sorted out. Learn from us on this one, we’ve seen it happen with an E60 M5.

You should also know that dealers typically don’t give you a good price for your old car. Even if it is indeed rare or expensive such as a Z8. They will need to make a profit by reselling it after all, and while you can counter them with “this car is rare, and the right buyer will pay an arm and a leg for it,” they will tell you that the “right buyer is sometimes hard to find, and they cant’ afford to have your car around the lot for a half a year.” Our advice: if you have a rare model, sell it yourself. You will get a lot more, and will be able to use the money for a downpayment. Don’t trade it in unless you’re really in a hurry to buy the new car and don’t want the hassle of selling the old one.

Another tip, if you want to pay the lowest price at the dealer for your new car and will be modifying the car, you should avoid joining the extended warranty program. Dealers will often overcharge you for this option, plus you will void it anyway if you turbo your car or do some type of other major engine modification. If you want, you can always get a warranty after you’ve already bought the car.

If you’re about to go new car shopping with your spouse, then make sure you have made some basic discussions beforehand. You want to avoid having discussions in the office in front of the car salesperson. He will take advantage of one of your positions to try to sell you a car. You should also know that car salespeople work on commissions and more importantly, they also have to meet strict sales goals. Many dealers are behind when the end of the month comes rolling around. They’ll be trying to meet their sales goals so this is a good time to take advantage of that (buy a car, especially an expensive one, at the end of the month).

These are some of the best ways to lower the price of your new Bimmer. Make sure that you keep them in mind before going down to the lot. You don’t want to pay too much and  not have any money left over for mods!