How to Spend the Least Amount of Time at a Car Dealership
Buying or leasing a car likely means spending time at a car dealership. If you’d like to spend as little time as possible there, however, you’ll need to put in some effort in advance. Fortunately, we here at Cars.com can help with those efforts. There isn’t a set order you must follow, but we recommend doing all of these things in advance of going to a dealership, especially if your goal is to get in and out as quickly as possible.
Related: How to Negotiate With a Car Dealer
Know What You Want and Where to Get It
Whether you’re leasing or buying new or used, you should have a good idea of what kind of car you’re looking for before you ever set foot in a dealership. That means conducting lots of research to narrow the type of vehicle you want, as well as ideally determining the make, model, trim and even specific features you want.
Your research isn’t over yet, however. Once you know what you want, you’ll have to figure out where to get it. Ideally, a nearby dealership will have what you’re looking for; even more ideally, there will be multiple examples available, which should give you an idea of the pricing for your chosen vehicle.
Know What You Can Afford and Prequalify
This step goes hand in hand with researching the car you want: Determine what you can afford and how you’re going to pay. You should be shopping within your budget — and if you don’t already have one made, make one. If money is no object and you’re paying in cash, great. For most people, buying a new car means making a down payment, possibly trading in a car (we’ll get to that) and financing the rest via a loan.
While dealerships are often able to offer their own financing options, and these may in fact be a better choice than external options, prequalifying for a loan helps you save time. Entering into negotiations with a set loan amount and interest rate gives the dealership’s financing a target to beat. If it does, great, you’ve got a better loan; if it doesn’t, you’re already set with your best option.
Budgeting also involves knowing your insurance costs in advance, so get quotes for your desired vehicle from your current provider — and make sure to shop around here, too, because there may be better rates available from other providers.
Know Your (Trade-In’s) Worth
If you’re not trading in a car you own to make this purchase, skip this section. If you are trading in a vehicle, you’ll want to have a rough idea of what it’s worth.
Cars.com has an Instant Offer feature that can help you determine the value of your car. Other tried-and-trusted third-party services include Kelley Blue Book and Black Book. We’ve also had luck taking our long-term vehicles to CarMax, getting an offer and using that as leverage in future negotiations. (The latter option does run counter to the theme of this post, however.) Prepping your car for sale or trade-in can help increase the value, too.
More From Cars.com:
- Sticker Shock: How Much More Than the Starting Price Will That Car Really Cost You?
- Can You Trade in or Sell a Car With a Loan?
- Should I Buy a New, Used or Certified Pre-Owned Car?
- What Makes Up a Destination Charge?
- More Car-Buying Advice
Bring Your Documents
If you’re trading in your car, make sure to have the title and any other relevant documents with you. You’ll also want to bring proof of insurance and your driver’s license, as most states will require both, or at least the latter, before letting you leave with your new vehicle.
Go When It’s Less Busy
This bit of advice may run counter to another common goal of buying a car: spending the least amount of money. But since we’re focused on the potential time cost here, you’re less likely to encounter busy dealerships and longer wait times if you go on a weekday instead of a weekend and avoid common holidays. However, better deals may be available during those times. It’s also possible that a dealership will have less staff during less busy times, making it harder to get things done quickly.
Negotiate Remotely
It may seem obvious, but the best way to avoid spending a lot of time in a car dealership is to, well, avoid going into a car dealership. In our extensive car-buying experience, we’ve often been able to identify our desired car (or even multiple examples, letting us find the best deal) and conduct negotiations over the phone or via email. The latter method may be a better option, as it allows you to get an offer in writing ahead of time. Once we’ve been satisfied that we’re getting the best deal available to us, only then have we gone into a dealership to complete the process. The entire process can also be completed remotely, but that assumes you’re comfortable purchasing a car without any sort of test drive and have nothing to trade in.
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