Purchasing a car is a big decision. Not only is your choice going to have to stick with you for quite a few years, but it’s also going to be a big financial decision as well. Aside from buying a home, getting a car is one of the biggest investments people make in their lives. And while it’s a lot easier to buy and sell a vehicle than it is a piece of property, you should still do your fair share of research beforehand and know how to get a good deal.

One of the most important aspects of buying a car is the negotiation process. Unless you choose to purchase a vehicle through a service that has a flat rate, you’re going to want to negotiate the price of the car down as much as you can to ensure you’re getting a good and honest deal for yourself. However, dealers have much more experience negotiating than most buyers, frequently giving them the upper hand. So to help you make the best buying decision, whether you’re purchasing from a Ford dealership in Fort Lauderdale or a used car lot on the other side of the country, here are three money-saving negotiation tactics you can use when shopping for a car.

Bring In Multiple Dealers

A great way to give yourself a better chance of getting a good deal is to keep the control in your hands by getting multiple bids from multiple dealers. If you’re able to get a number of dealers into a bidding war for your business, you can almost guarantee that you’re going to get the best deal possible for a specific car in your area.

To do this, Dana Dratch, a contributor to Bankrate.com, suggests emailing a few dealers in your area with the car you want. Let them know that you’re contacting multiple other dealers in the area and want to know what the best deal they can give you is. Once you get your responses back, it should be easy work to decide who’s going to give you the best deal.

Know the Best Days to Negotiate

While you might be looking to make your car purchase on the day that’s most convenient for you, if you want to save the maximum amount of money, you may want to consider what days are best for negotiations within the automotive industry.

According to Josie Rubio, a contributor to DealNews.com, Sundays are the best days to purchase a vehicle because dealers are trying to close their week out with the most sales, making them more eager to negotiate with you for a price you want. So if you can swing it, try to go into a dealership on a Sunday if you’re planning to hit the negotiations hard.

Understanding Your Negotiations

The best advice any car buyer can get is to prepare for negotiations as much as possible. This means that not only are you ready with your own negotiation tactics, but that you also know what is good to negotiation on and what isn’t. Many dealerships will try to give you something that sounds like a good deal to you but ends up being a better deal for them in the long run.

One example of this, according to Jeff Ostroff, a contributor to CarBuyingTips.com, is lowering the monthly payment. While having a lower monthly payment sounds great, this usually means that the terms of the loan are being lengthened, resulting in you paying more money over time. So if your dealer is offering this negotiation as an incentive, run the other way.

With the right preparation and determination, anyone can get a good deal when purchasing a vehicle. Use the tips mentioned above to strike the right deal for yourself today.

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