Personal experience: how we bought our car in the USA

Photos from personal archive

I want to talk about how to buy cars in California, as there are several significant differences that I personally was very surprised.

In California, there are two ways to get hold of a car - buy or lease. Leasing — the topic is extensive and needs to be discussed separately. As for the purchase, there are several main differences from how it is done in Russia. The first difference is that in California it is customary to bargain when buying a car. Yes, yes, bargain like at a market :) Based on the results of how it worked out for us, I would call this process – fight for every dollar :)

Actually it all starts with the fact that you go to salons and are looking for what you need. If you find, you begin negotiations. There are special zones for negotiations with clients in all car dealerships - these can be separate cabinets equipped with computers.

Or tables right in the center of the room.

In general, it is worth noting that all the salons are very well equipped. Everywhere there is a place where you can just sit.

Or drink tea and have a snack while watching the news.

There are also children's areas.

We traveled around 15 dealers in three days. Almost in all was what we needed. Yes, in general, we had no special restrictions on the car, except for two important moments - the car had to be all-wheel drive and not silver, everything else did not matter much. And everything would be fine, but now we could not agree with the price.

And as always, myths are to blame for everything. People who buy cars here say that the minimum you should negotiate when buying a car is $2. My husband’s colleagues tell fantastic stories when cars were bought for $000 less than the original cost. Literally in July there was a story that a car cost $8, and a person bought it for $000. In general, having heard enough of such stories, we were in no hurry to buy a car.

But the dealers were in no hurry to bargain with us too much. The maximum that we managed to throw off in the first days is $ 1 500. After that, I had doubts about whether it was realistic to throw at least $ 3 000, not to mention $ 8 000? Indeed, the amount of bargaining is influenced by very, very many factors. Of course, if the car is at the dealer for a hundred years and no one takes it, you can throw a ten.

And then I tried to look at the situation differently. For example, almost all dealers of the cars we needed had, at best, three. And even not at all alone. And it became clear that the car we want to buy is extremely popular now. And here Ruslan tells me that this is a new series RAV4, which was released not so long ago. And this was the first reason for small trades - this car was bought up like hot cakes and without trades. It's clear why the dealers should bargain with us if the next buyer comes and buys at the price indicated on the price tag. Actually, after talking with one sales director of one of the best dealers in the area, we confirmed this theory.

And it became clear that we would not be able to throw off a large amount under any circumstances, we would try to throw off at least a little. And we went to all the dealers for the second time. And one very kind and professional salesman, who had made us a very good offer the day before, called us himself and invited him again to come to him. What we did, because his proposal was really competitive.

By the way, if we talk about the professionalism of sellers. Of those 15 car dealerships where we were, we communicated with only one selling girl. But her handshake is worth a few men ???? Of the remaining 14, I would single out just the top five really professional guys who negotiated with us. The rest were neither fish nor fowl.

As for the trades, they are approximately as follows. You sit down at the negotiating table, and the seller tells you that the price of the car is $ 27 500. Then you ask if there are any special offers for everyone or specifically for you. As a rule, there is something. You say ok, but it's a lot, let's see what else you can do to throw off. He says, wait five minutes, I'll go to the manager and ask. Leaves, comes at a discount of a couple of hundred and says that this is all that they can do. You say ok, we, the dealer X, made a better offer and we will go to buy from him. He says that he needs to consult with the manager again and leaves. Comes with a minus a few hundred more. And so several times ???? Once a third or fourth seller brings a printed piece of paper on which something from the “Hot deal !!!” series is written with a red marker. Last chance! ” It's clear that after that you want to bargain more actively ???? And sooner or later you still come to the price that suits you. Or do not reach an agreement and go to another dealer ????

In general, in a couple of days we went to the dealer with whom we had already dealt. In the salon we entered 19: 30. In 23: 35 signed a sales contract ???? In general, the auto show works up to 21: 00, but, apparently, in such cases makes an exception. Four hours of active negotiations! And the most surprising thing is that the negotiations are not only about the price of the car, but also about the interest on the loan. Yes, there is also a need to agree on percentages here - this is the second significant difference - in St. Petersburg all percentages are strictly fixed and there can be no talk of any negotiations.

This is perhaps the most unforgettable purchase of my life. And I’ll tell you honestly, after ten in the evening the thought - are we being scammed - crept into my head more than once. After all, we’re not just buying bread; we could postpone the completion of the deal until tomorrow and not marinate each other for so long. But after we left the salon, I felt light and calm inside. This means that we did everything right. All we have to do is wait for confirmation from the bank that the loan will be issued at the interest we need and we can pick up the car.

As a result, what we have as a result of four-hour negotiations.

The original price of our car was $ 27 500, we bought it for $ 25 485. This price does not include all kinds of taxes and design fees, which in the end amount to $ 2 850. This amount is not subject to any bidding, since taxes are set by the state. Our initial loan interest was 23,99%, we bargained to 8,99%. No wonder four hours spent ????

We couldn’t pick up the car that evening, because we didn’t have insurance, and you can’t pick up a car without insurance - another difference. But, knowing the wine number, we took out insurance the very next day and took the car. We just had to wait a bit until he was prepared for extradition.

Before leaving, it was necessary to sign a checklist that confirmed that we received the car in due form. The check list included the following: a washed-out car, the presence of laid mats, the issuance of instructions and second keys, as well as setting bluetooth. At this point, I had fun especially when the seller asked us to get our phones in order to set up bluetooth. We thanked him and said that we would definitely handle it ourselves. But the very fact of such a service pleased. Just as the fact that the car give with a full tank of gas! And for this, too, need to subscribe to the checklist. This is generally a super item, I think! Such a trifle, but incredibly nice, because you get into a new car and immediately go, and it doesn’t hurt that you can get to the gas station. In short, we were very pleased!

There was only the last little thing - confirmation from the bank did not come. And I began to worry. But six days after we took the car from the passenger compartment, they called us and said that everything was ready, we could come. We went to the salon and found out that our interest on the loan has decreased! And in the end it became 5,64%. For the sake of it was worth the wait ????

But honestly, all these trades with credits seem to me to be somewhat muddy. Because it is broadcast that the bank gives credit interest and it directly depends on the credit history, which of course we don’t have. But what the hell do you then bargain with the car dealership? But in the end you get even less! The logic is not particularly traceable.

Nevertheless, we bought the car and everyone is happy. And this is the most important ????

Original article published in personal blog Maya Buriakina and reprinted with permission of the author.

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