If you’re buying a brand-new car, you’re making a huge investment. So it only makes sense to make absolutely sure that you get the perfect vehicle, down to the very smallest detail. Everything about your car – from its color to its interior styling – should be something you like, because if you’re investing in a brand-new vehicle, you can likely expect to be driving it day after day for years to come.
You’ll be careful when you go car shopping, no doubt. You’ll head to more than one car dealership and try cars from more than one manufacturer. You’ll do research into safety ratings and driving reviews. You’ll take test drive after test drive. And then, in the end, you’ll find a car you like. But is it perfect?
Car dealerships want to sell you what’s on the lot
Let’s say you want a sedan of a particular type. The car dealership has it! Maybe you want it in a particular color. You’re in luck there, too! And then you want a certain package of features – but this time, the car dealership doesn’t have everything you want. They have that package in red, perhaps, when you wanted silver. They have a silver car, but it has a different package of features installed. So they try to convince you to bump your spending up to meet the price of the silver car, or they tell you how sleek the red car looks. The dealership has these cars on the lot, and they have to move them. But you’re not obligated to buy one just because it’s in stock.
The truth is that car dealerships can easily order you the car you want. There are companies that specialize in car shipping, and while getting the exact car you want delivered to the dealership isn’t free, it also isn’t that pricey.
Don’t sacrifice anything you don’t need to
There’s nothing wrong with taking the car on the lot, of course, but there’s also no need for you to do your car dealer any favors. They’re incentivized to move the cars that they already have in stock, so let them make you an offer. Maybe they’ll knock a bit off the price, or maybe they’ll tweak the car a bit so that it better suits your demands. But at the end of the day, you shouldn’t give up any more than you have to. If you want a car that isn’t on the lot, that’s fine – tell them to order it for you! Car dealerships can do this (and if yours is difficult about it, drive to a different dealership!).
Remember, this is the car that will be with you for years to come. Don’t let a salesperson pressure you into making a poor decision just to help him or her get the inventory off of the lot. Someone else can buy that red car – if you want a silver one, then get a silver one! It’s your decision, and you’re not limited by what the car dealership has on the lot.