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Tips: How to Get the Best Deal on Your Next Vehicle
January 31, 2012 by Good Sam · 2 Comments
Save Your Benjamins with these Presidents’ Day Car Buying Tips and Deals
Good Sam Club Shares Tips on How to Get the Best Deal on a New Car or Truck
Every February, as citizens of the United States honor our past Presidents’ with the observance of the Presidents’ Day holiday, many businesses also celebrate the occasion with a variety of retail sales on everything from clothes and home goods to electronics. After all, what better way is there to observe a holiday than with some celebratory shopping? New car shoppers also have reason to celebrate as automotive manufacturers use the occasion to offer their own incentives on new cars.
Buying a new car or truck can be easy if you’re well prepared before you ever enter the dealership. To help consumers join the festivities AND save money at the dealership, Good Sam Club, your one-stop shop for all things RV, is sharing the following car buying tips and providing some of the new car and truck models you can expect heavily discounted prices on for the Presidents’ Day Weekend. Information is power and informed shoppers can save as much as 14 percent off a new car with the below Presidents’ Day Weekend deals!
Learn About the Car You Want
To get the best possible price on a new car, learn as much information about the vehicle you are shopping for before you ever enter the dealership. Consider several vehicles and research the accessories, features, and trim levels available on each one ahead of time so you know what trim levels interest you and which ones you would not want to pay extra for. Nearly every manufacturer offers a website with comprehensive specifications on their vehicles which often allows shoppers to build a model online while comparing trims and features, learning what is included in each trim level and what other extras add to the cost of the car. Many of these manufacturer “Build and Price” sites also show you what your monthly payment will be based on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for that model with the options selected and manufacturer financing incentives or offers. The Good Sam Club Auto Buying Program also offers a vehicle configurator to help shoppers choose features, and discover how those additions can affect your vehicle’s price.
Be Prepared to Choose from the Dealer’s Inventory
Keep in mind that most vehicles are packaged according to each model’s trim levels and can’t always be purchased to specific requirements without a special order. After all, you could theoretically build one of a hundred — or even a thousand — different configurations, making it impossible for the dealers to have every option available in their inventory. Be prepared to find the car you love on their lot or ask if you can have a car custom-built to your requirements.
You’ll most certainly be walking around the dealer’s lot to find the car you want to test drive, so don’t forget to bring a jacket and umbrella in case the weather turns for the worst. This is also the perfect time to evaluate the benefit of cold weather features like heated seats and steering wheels, so be sure to test such features during your test drive.
Know What You Can Afford
It’s important to know what your budget will allow before you fall in love with a vehicle you can’t afford. A simple rule of thumb is that a new car will cost about $20 a month for 60 months for every $1000 financed (for buyers with good credit), so keep that in mind when you’re looking at the bottom line.
To get an idea on what you might expect to pay, use the Good Sam Auto Buying Program which utilizes TrueCar.com data to show car buyers what other people have actually paid for a new car locally, regionally, and nationally for the past 30 days. Good Sam customers using the Auto Buying Program are provided with a great car buying experience from trusted Good Sam Certified Dealers near them. Customers also know what others paid for their vehicle, and most importantly, get a clear, unbiased look at what they can reasonably expect to pay for their new car.
Find Out About Car Insurance Before You Commit
It might seem backwards to check with your insurance agent before you actually purchase a new car, but if you knew the premiums were going to be sky-high for a certain vehicle, would you be inclined to choose a different vehicle or trim level? For example, you might discover a significant difference in the premium between the two- and four-door versions of a specific model or that one trim level might cost less to insure than another.
We already know that age, gender, and driving record are key factors that affect your insurance premium, but so does the actual vehicle you drive. It goes beyond just what the vehicle costs to buy. Vehicles that cost more to repair, frequently stolen vehicles, and high-performance cars also cost more to insure. While you might think that a sport/utility vehicle might be a safer vehicle to drive, SUV’s typically have higher insurance rates than mid- and full-size cars. Why? Even though they might have some of the lowest injury claims, SUVs are among the most frequently stolen vehicles, and they are more expensive to repair than most other cars.
We Expect Great Deals on New Cars this Presidents’ Day Weekend Through the Good Sam Auto Buying Program*
If you’re buying a new car this Presidents’ Day Weekend, you will want to follow all the tips above and be sure to check out the chart below. This Presidents’ Day Weekend, sales are expected to be up to 14 percent below Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for these popular models:
|
Year |
Make |
Model |
MSRP |
Market Average |
% Discount from MSRP |
$ Discount from MSRP |
|
2012 |
Chevrolet |
Silverado 1500 |
$ 31,655 |
$ 27,192 |
14.1% |
$ 4,463 |
|
2012 |
Ford |
Escape |
$ 22,265 |
$ 19,148 |
14.0% |
$ 3,117 |
|
2012 |
Honda |
Accord |
$ 22,950 |
$ 21,637 |
5.7% |
$ 1,313 |
|
2012 |
Honda |
Civic |
$ 19,425 |
$ 18,604 |
4.2% |
$ 821 |
|
2012 |
Hyundai |
Sonata |
$ 27,105 |
$ 25,863 |
4.6% |
$ 1,242 |
|
2012 |
Jeep |
Liberty |
$ 24,155 |
$ 20,919 |
13.4% |
$ 3,236 |
|
2012 |
Mazda |
MAZDA3 |
$ 18,805 |
$ 17,486 |
7.0% |
$ 1,319 |
|
2012 |
Nissan |
Altima |
$ 23,330 |
$ 20,768 |
11.0% |
$ 2,562 |
|
2012 |
Toyota |
Sienna |
$ 32,740 |
$ 31,205 |
4.7% |
$ 1,535 |
|
2012 |
Volkswagen |
Jetta |
$ 24,395 |
$ 23,105 |
5.3% |
$ 1,290 |
We wish you happy car shopping this Presidents’ Day Weekend using the Good Sam Auto Buying Program!
*TrueCar, Inc. (“TrueCar”) operates the Good Sam Auto Buying Program. The Market Average set forth in the chart above represents TrueCar’s forecast of the average selling price over Presidents’ Day Weekend for the model shown based on that vehicle’s average selling price from December 12, 2011 to January 12, 2012 and includes manufacturer rebates and other incentives. The information presented in this release is for noncommercial, personal use on an “as-is, as available” basis and may be used for informational purposes only. TrueCar makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information contained herein and the results of the use of such information, including but not limited to implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. The information contained herein may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Neither TrueCar nor any of its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, or their respective partners, officers, directors, employees, or agents shall be held liable for any damages, whether direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential arising from or in connection with your use or reliance on the information presented here.
I would also give a bit of advice about bargaining!
Thanks for the tips.Very helpful..It is important to know what car you want and what you can afford to buy.