By: Christian Porter, owner, Everest AutoWorks

Christian and Tonya Porter, owners of Everest AutoWorks & AutoSpa, with their four children –
Zachary, Madison, Elijah, and Ezekiel.

There is a reason the words “used-car salesman” conjure up an image of a smarmy, no-good hustler. While this isn’t necessarily a fair stereotype — many salespeople are decent hardworking people — it is a stereotype for a reason. The website, www.whybuyusedcars.com has put together a list of the top 25 used-car sales tactics. The top 10 tactics are detailed for you in this article. When buying a pre-owned vehicle, it can be hard to separate the facts from the sales pitch. Here are a few tricks of the trade to watch out for the next time you are in the market for a used car.

1. Loss-Leader Advertising: Have you ever see those ads in the paper for cars that are listed for well below what you’d expect to pay? Well, it’s usually because they’re undesirable colors, have no options or generally have problems. But car dealers aren’t trying to sell you these cars, they just use them to lure you in with low prices. Then, once they’ve explained to you why these cars are undesirable, they try to trade you up to a better car that you’ll gladly pay more money for because it seems so much nicer in comparison.
2. Lowballing: This is an exasperating technique used by salespeople to wear you down. A salesperson will give you an absurdly low quote for a car, then encourage you to shop around to see if you can find a better price. Buyers will visit with many other dealers — which of course won’t be able to match the low price — and will spend hours shopping around before returning to the original dealer. The salesperson then has to confirm the price with their manager, who undoubtedly will say that they can’t sell it for that little. This process can be repeated several times until you’re so exhausted, you’ll just pay what they’re asking to be done with the whole ordeal.
3. “Free” Extras: By throwing in extras, the salesperson is hoping to help stall negotiations. After all, if you’re getting more thrown in, you’re going to be much less likely to ask for a considerably lower price. The problem is, even with loads of “free” extras, you will likely end up paying more than what a car is worth, and that’s just what the salesperson wants.
4. Making Friends: Any salesperson worth his or her salt will make a huge effort to find common ground and interests with a potential buyer in an attempt to cultivate a sort of friendship. This helps the customer to identify and relate to the salesperson, which in turns makes it much harder to say “no.” After all, you don’t want to let your friend down by not buying from them.
5. “My Wife/Husband/Mother Drives One”: If the car is good enough for the salesperson’s family, then what excuse do you have for it not being good enough for you? This trick is meant to convince you of the value of the car and make you feel guilty for not wanting it. Even if this line is true, it’s likely that the salesperson gets a substantial discount on the car by working for a dealership, making it much more of a bargain for him or her.
6. Limited-Time Offers: This is one of the most common sales tricks, by far, as commercials and ads play on this heavily. This is meant to put pressure on the customer by creating a sense of urgency that the deal is only available right now. This forces the customer to make up his or her mind on the spot, rather than take the time to shop around and make an informed choice.
7. Hot Property: No matter what you’re looking into buying, an enterprising salesperson will try to convince you that it’s a highly sought-after car or one that customers have been asking for frequently. This may or may not be true, but you should be wary of claims like this.
8. The Lapdog Trick: This trick is meant to get the customer to feel obligated to come back to the dealership. When a customer tells the dealer that he or she is going to shop around, the dealer tells the customer to come back and they’ll match the lowest price. That way, instead of buying from the place with the lowest price, you’ll feel like you have to return to the original dealer.
9. Highballing: If you’re bringing in a trade-in, beware of this trick. Many customers are drawn to dealerships that offer them an overly high amount for their trade-in. And it seems like a great deal at the time, so why not? But rest assured, that you’ll pay for it in the long run in the price of the new vehicle you’re buying.
10. Stalling: This tactic is meant to tire you out when you’re car shopping and can make it hard for you to shop around, as well as impatient just to get the process over with. Common tactics include salespeople who misplace keys, take a long time to access a trade-in or make lengthy consultations with the manager.

The complete article detailing the remaining 15 used-car sales tricks is available for free. Simply e-mail (tonya@everestautoworks.com) or call (302-737-8424) to request your copy.

Everest AutoWorks is Delaware’s first and only full service car care facility that caters to the unique needs of women. The entire Everest team is committed to providing its customers with safe, honest, and dependable car care. Everest is located next to Perkins Restaurant at the intersection of Kirkwood Hwy and Possum Park Rd in Newark.

Everest AutoWorks & AutoSpa
690 Kirkwood Hwy
Newark, DE 19711
(302) 737.8424
www.everestautoworks.com