So, you want a new car?

Start with the basics. What type of car is most suitable for your needs? This is the most important decision, because you’ll want to narrow down the search between several manufacturer’s models of the same type of car.

Old Method: Get into your jalopy and drive over to “Car Dealer’s Row” in your local area. Pull into the first place you come to and walk around the parking lot looking at their automotive selection, until a salesperson approaches and asks, “Looking for a particular car?”

New Method: Get behind your computer screen and click over to the manufacturer’s websites. Explore their cars from every angle, including comparisons with other makes.

You can even print out complete brochures, with all the specs, right there in the comfort of your living room (or from your desk at work, during lunch break). No pressure, no hassle.

OK, let’s say you’ve decided that a minivan is what you want. It has all the features your growing family is going to require for years to come. But, which minivan is the right one for you?

Compare and Contrast

While the manufacturers provide you with extensive and glowing details, they have an interest in selling you their car, obviously. Their details are written by marketing guys. Wouldn’t it be great to know what other buyers like you feel about many competing vehicles? No problem, the Internet is right there to help.

Old Method: Ask your neighbors and co-workers and relatives who had prior year’s models of that car. It would be rare to actually know someone who had just recently bought the same exact auto you are considering.

New Method: Read the remarks posted in discussions and on various “car buying service” websites (such as Edmunds.com) by owners of this year’s model automobiles. You can get a feel of their reactions of past years, too, and see how they have liked the manufacturer over time – (important when it comes time to sell or trade in the future). You can take advantage of the Internet to gain insight from experts and independent reviewers, as to their recommendations and reasoning why one car is preferable to another or why you would not want to own a certain model.

In our example of a minivan, you can immediately see that a few models rise above the pack, and they are the most shopped-for vehicles nationwide. However, you are unique, you have your own style. What is best for “Joe Average” won’t necessarily be right for you.

Naturally, that computer on the desk can’t offer this individualistic sensory input. So, you have to see the actual cars for yourself, to sit in them, and test-drive them.

Before Going for the Test Drive

Don’t leave the house just yet. Once you approach that salesperson on a dealer’s lot, you are going to be under considerable pressure to buy a car from him today, right there and then, and you haven’t yet gained all the information needed to properly negotiate a purchase. Here is the opportunity where you use the Internet to get pricing information on the various automobiles you are considering. Make sure you evaluate the different levels of features from model to model, and cross-check with other manufacturers to see if you are getting the same included elements at specific price points. One car model might have a multiple-CD system, power moonroof, and leather seats while another has just a single-CD player, no moonroof, and cloth seats, for example.

Old Method: Look at the sticker price on the car window and ask the salesman for a ‘good deal’ (and he’ll go to the manager and come back with any random number).

New Method: Research the full sticker price (MSRP = Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) and also see the actual “dealer invoice price” as well as what factory incentives are available (including special interest rates on loans sponsored by the manufacturer). These figures are available on various buying-service websites, such as KellyBlueBook.com AutoGuide.net CarPrices.com and many others.

Then, with this pricing information in hand, click your mouse to Obtain a Dealer Quote. Who gives you that Quote? It will come from a dealership Internet Associate, a real live salesperson at a dealer near you. But this is not a shady car salesperson from the ‘Old Days’! You are now going to get a positive car-buying experience and save some money, without even trying very hard.

The Dealership Internet Associate

Remember we talked about walking onto a dealer’s lot and being asked “What car are you looking for?” Now, you can bypass this time-wasting preliminary step and get in direct contact with a dealer salesperson who is dedicated to your purchase requirements and can set up an appointment with you at a particular time (just as you would expect with other professionals, such as a dentist or accountant) to arrange a test-drive in the model car you already have researched.

Old Method: Have to explain to a salesperson what you are looking for, and then go into a long discussion about what features best fit your needs and desires. This is known in the sales business as “qualifying the customer” and you can expect it to meander into all kinds of directions (most of which are aimed to increasing the profits of the dealership later during the price negotiation phase).

New Method: Have an Internet Associate meet and greet you when you come in the showroom door, already understanding your specific requirements which have been spelled-out in prior E-mail communications and some brief phone conversations. You don’t have to “start from scratch” and can move forward to the test-drive with a minimum of delay. Your time is valuable, and the Internet Associate understands that.

Who are these Internet Associates and why do they want to give you a low price, even before taking a test-drive of the car with their dealership? Let’s go ahead and take a quick look at their principal motivation.

Internet Price Quotes

This is the meat and potatoes of the process. You need to be convinced that it’s even worthwhile driving over to a particular dealer and what better way to do so than give you a cash incentive! The Internet Sales Department is designed to encourage you to come over to their dealership, even if it is a bit farther away than you otherwise would go to look at a particular brand of car. In some cases, it’s over in the next town or county (or state), and for obvious reasons, management has authorized their Internet Department to provide you with an attractive, competitive low selling-price UP FRONT in order to attract your business.

Old Method: Negotiating from the sticker price (MSRP) or “discounting” from the price you see on the car window at the local dealer. You have no reference what is an appropriate discount and no idea what others are paying for that same car. Each customer is at the mercy of their own wits and patience and negotiating skills (or lack of them).

New Method: You walk in knowing in advance that the offer you were given over the Internet is fair and appropriate under current market circumstances (vehicle availability, overall demand, dealer profit margins, etc.) because you did your Internet homework. You are fully aware of the published dealer invoice and received a legitimate price quote that reflects a limited sales markup over that figure (in some cases, you can buy a car below invoice, depending on time of year, demand and supply).

All dealers know that you are “shopping around” anyway (from dealer to dealer and manufacturer to manufacturer) so their goal is to provide an extremely attractive offer right from the start, to illustrate their seriousness and their intent to avoid playing games with the numbers. They are assuming that when you come in, you are an active buyer and not just a tire kicker. That allows for the Internet Department to achieve a higher closing ratio. This is what the dealership likes to see. This is the beauty of the Internet Quote system. You win, they win.

Where to get a Quote?

The Internet Quote is available from many web sources, but please be aware it’s not a Robotic Computer-Generated number. You are contacting a real person at a local dealer, whose main job is to try to speak with you on the phone to verify the details of your Email request and then arrange a test-drive, leading to you making the purchase. Only in isolated cases will anyone tell the Sales Associate “OK, I’ll take it” after being given their Internet Quote. If you happen to be at that stage, fine, then you know precisely what car you want (including options and color) and just need to close a deal. That is the exception rather than the rule.

Although you may be at an early stage in the buying process (gathering pricing information about differing models and various manufacturers), the Internet Manager must assume you intend to make a purchase decision sooner rather than later. The immediacy of the Internet tends to lead to this assumption. Despite the fact you may actually be months away from buying, it is reasonable expect a constant series of calls and follow-up Emails from the various Internet Associates you have contacted. These professionally-trained salespeople are only trying to make sure that when you finally come around to the right time to take a test-drive and buy that car you love, their dealership is the one you’ll choose!

Some of the more popular independent sites that offer quotes are:

• CarsEverything.com
• InvoiceDealers.com
• Edmunds.com
• Microsoft CarPoint (http://carpoint.msn.com)

Local car dealers and auto manufacturers have their own websites also, where you can ask for a Quote.

It’s a new Internet World for car buyers, and clicking around a bit can be worth a lot of $$$ in your pocket!