40 Tricks Car Salesmen Use To Try And Outsmart Customers
While many salespeople are honorable guys and gals, the stereotype of the sleazy car salesman remains a common one. There are relatively few Harry Wormwoods out there today, though – instead, a skilled professional will charm you and leave you happy that you bought more than you planned. Still, here are 40 tricks and hustles you should know just in case you do fall into the hands of a less-than-reputable character...
40. Limited-time offers
Creating a sense of urgency is often essential to bagging a sale. This is why some car salesmen will tell customers the bargain-priced vehicle they are looking at will only be available for a limited time at that cost: they want the customer to fear missing out on a great deal. In reality, often these “limited-time” offers will simply be replaced by almost identical ones at a not-much-later date.
39. Best friend salesperson
It’s amazing how quickly a salesman will become your best friend if they get the feeling you’re genuine about buying a vehicle. All of a sudden, they’ll be asking about your family, plying you with coffee and snacks, and laughing about things you have in common. This is all a clever way of making it difficult for you to say “no” to them. You wouldn’t want to disappoint your new buddy, would you?
38. Bill consolidation
If a customer is leasing multiple vehicles from the same dealership, the salesperson may offer to consolidate everything into one monthly payment. Makes sense, right? It’d certainly be handier to only make one payment every month. But be wary, because it can mean the payment term will be extended, meaning the interest will increase – the customer could wind up paying more in total than if they kept their bills separate.
37. Hiding the on-the-road price
When you buy a new car, you just want to know what it will cost for you to drive away from the dealership in that vehicle. A salesman simply wants to sell you the car for the list price, though, and may not want to get into the weeds of the real costs to get the car on the road. Registration and insurance can add substantially to the overall price, you see, and that could jeopardize their sale.
