Brandi Wheeler

Picture it: Buying a car hassle free–no games, no being talked down to and no haggling. Impossible? Hardly. This past summer I proved that a woman can negotiate a car deal without losing her marbles.

Step one: Use the internet to do as much research as possible before ever stepping foot onto a car lot.

As a mother of a toddler and an infant the prospect of tromping all over town in search of the perfect car was less than appealing. I hit sites like JDPowers.com and Edmunds.com to compare prices, ratings, features and more. I was determined not to find myself on a lot with a dealer intent on directing me into purchasing the car they had in mind. This was going to be my car and I had to take control of the process. Once I knew which cars fit my needs I was then able to go and do a few test drives–making it very clear I was on a fact finding mission only at this point in the game. This was a research phase only– do the sales associate a favor and let them know this up front.

Step two: Inventory Search on the Internet

Through the internet I was able to search through hundreds of dealership inventory listings. Again this step cuts down on wasted time and energy (and gas!). From the comfort of your own home you can find out who has exactly what you want with online inventory listings that include details such as color, mileage, transmission type, etc.

Step three: Making Your Offers via Email

The beauty of the email offer is that it is succinct and to the point–no one’s time gets wasted and emotions get factored out all together. Let’s face it–purchasing a car can be an emotional business. Think you’re incapable of wheeling and dealing? No matter how much you doubt your powers of negotiation, you can come across as confident, business-like and knowledgeable in an email.

What made my offers even more compelling was the fact that I had my financing already in place and was ready to close the right deal immediately.

Step four: Make them compete.

After patiently waiting for dealerships to respond to my offers, I found myself with two acceptable offers– one was only a few miles away from me yet not my first choice in color while the other was several hours away and the car color of my dreams: Silver. What did I do? I worked this position to my advantage. I contacted the dealership that was further away and let them know my dilemma–they responded by knocking a tad more off the price AND offering to deliver it to me!

So ladies, take heart. If you take the time to get a clear idea of what you are looking for, do your research and use the internet to cut out the usual car buying drama the odds are pretty good that you too can drive away with a deal you can be proud of.

(Brandi Wheeler is a freelance writer out of Georgia. She can be reached at bwheeler0124@yahoo.com)