Do Not Be a Payment Shopper

Anyone who has sold cars for a living will tell you that most buyers are payment shoppers. More than comparing vehicles, or looking for the best vehicle for their particular needs, they shop monthly payments, which is one of the absolute worst ways to buy a car.

Too Much Info
Here's a cold, hard truth: If you walk into a dealership and, right off the bat, give the salesperson your monthly payment limit, you have just told him you're going to buy a car today. All he has to do is get together with the sales manager and work out something—anything—that fits near your monthly limit, and the deal is done.


Here's how this works: After hearing your monthly payment limit (let's say it's $500) the salesperson starts asking about what kind of car you want. Since you've thought about the vehicle less than you've thought about the monthly payment, you're probably kind of unsure about this yourself. All this time he's working his mind through his inventory—any good salesguy knows his inventory—and trying to put you together with something that will come close. "Close," not necessarily on or below, to your stated limit.

Backseat Shopper
Maybe you think you're looking for a two-door, but if he has a four-door that's close he'll steer you that way. So, you look at what he has, you kind of settle on something and you take it for a test-drive. Trust me on this; whatever you test-drive is going to feel a lot better than whatever you drove to the dealership. You're tired of the old car, and the salesperson knows that if he gets you behind the wheel of something new or newer, you're going to start taking possession, as they say. And the longer you drive it, the more possession you're going to take.


Eventually you end up at a cubicle or desk and he writes up the deal, with your offer, including your limit for the down payment (let's say it's $2,000) and your $500 monthly payment (sometimes known as the downstroke and the nut, by the way). You may initial it, indicating (psychologically, at least) it's your confirmed offer to buy that car that day. Then he takes it to the sales manager—and, just for your information, I've met literally hundreds of sales managers and not one of them was stupid, so don't think you're going to out-clever them—who starts figuring the real deal that is actually going to happen.