A “4 square” is simply a sales tool used by many car
dealers. We will discuss how this works a little later.
For now, it is important to understand that buying
a car isn't one negotiation, it's many: the price,
trade-in value, monthly payments, down payment requirements,
and the financing. It is important to understand that
just because a dealer is making a profit, there are
still products and services they offer that are of
value to you. Some examples would include: Extended
Warranties,
Credit Life insurance & Disability insurance, Gap
Insurance, Alarm Systems and other aftermarket products.
Be sure to choose the ones that are right for you, but
make sure you know how much you are paying for each,
and don’t pay too much. The idea behind the “4 square”
is to help the dealer satisfy you in one area, while
maintaining profits in the other. That's why dealers
can sometimes sell cars for "a loss" and still
make thousands on each car deal – be sure to pay very
close attention to the entire process. The idea of the
“4 square” is to get you to focus on only one area of
the sale and not look at all four. You must make sure
you know what is happening on all four corners of your
car deal. Here are the 4 things that make up a car deal.
The price they are asking for their vehicle
The dollar value they are showing for your trade
The amount of down payment you need
The total monthly payment (including all options, Tax,
title and fees)
The hard truth is that you will always be at a disadvantage
when shopping at a car dealership. You are a part time
buyer, and the sales professional is a full time sales
associate. If he is a professional, he is likely to
win at any “game playing” you get involved in. Arm
yourself with as much information as possible before
going shopping. This should help to even out the odds
a bit.
The first thing you have to understand is what the
dealer is trying to accomplish, and why. Games starts
even before you visit the dealer, either on-line or
in person.
Open a Sunday paper, for example, and just look at
the dealer advertisements: They promise super low payments,
top dollar for your trade-in, and the best prices in
town. But, as with most selling, “buyers beware”! The
simple truth is that dealers are always having a “Big
Sale”! That's because consumers automatically translate
the word "sale" into "save." Dealer
advertising is designed to get you to shop today! They
want you to drop everything and rush down in a fit
of excitement without stopping to think.
Many dealerships have their sales people practice
what are called “Word Tracks”. Word Tracks are pre-rehearsed
statements that sales people learn, that help them
respond to commonly asked customer questions. A "Word
Track" system is a sales training program designed
to put every customer through similar sales steps with
the goal of closing that customer for the maximum dealer
profit.
The dealers goals are always the same: They want you
to pay full sticker for their car. They don’t want
to negotiate - only you do. Do you want to spend $300
a month? A savvy seller will get you to pay $400. If
you refuse, he will simply switch you to a different
car for $300 per month, but it will be a car you could
have bought for less. Your job is to negotiate a “fair
deal”. A “fair deal” is simply a price and payment
that you are willing to pay, at a price and payment
the dealer is willing to accept. Easy right … Not quite…
Be aware that car manufacturers control their inventories
with the use of incentives such as rebate and special
rates. The higher the incentive the more of that product
they will sell. This insures that they sell the inventory
they sell. These incentives will change throughout
the year, depending upon shortages or surpluses of
inventory. An incentive is anything that adds extra
value to a car. For example of a car list for $30,000
and has a $4000 rebate, then the car is really selling
for $26,000. In another example, a car that sell for
$30,000 at a 7% interest rate would have payments of
around 595.00 a month. The same car at 0% would have
payments of only 510.00 a month. This is a huge saving
to you. Find out what vehicles have what incentives.
This could save you thousands! Check the Edmunds.com
Web site for the latest incentives and rebates available
for the car you want to buy.
About The Author
Robert Little is the webmaster for The National Auto
Directory ( www.thenad.com ) that has been expanding
to include all things related to automobiles, including:
reviews, pricing, photos, a great direcotry, and
articles to name but a few.nad1@1scom.net
