7 tips to save on car buying

Look on any “best time to buy lists,” and cars will lead the way for September purchases.

Car dealerships are ordinarily turning attention toward next year’s models, which means potential buyers can work out good deals on vehicles in stock.

That’s ordinarily. These are extraordinary times across the board, and the automobile sales industry is no exception. If you’ve circled September as the time to replace your old car with something new, you might well consider holding off.

“This year is screwy because of Clash for Clunkers,” said Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor at Edmunds.com. “Right now, inventories are low. This year, you may not find the car or the deal that you want. Cash for Clunkers has created a seller’s market. For buyers, the prices are higher than they have been recently.”

Visit many car lots today and you’ll find them shells of their former selves. At the end of August, GM reported 379,000 cars and trucks in its supply, about half of what it had in August 2008, the Associated Press reported. Ford Motor Co. had 243,000 cars and trucks, down from 461,000 a year ago.

Car lots are vacant. So are the deals you’d normally see. Better deals are found with mid-size cars and luxury vehicles, Reed said. They were less affected by the Cash for Clunkers program that offered an incentive up to $4,500 for consumers to trade in older, gas guzzlers for newer, fuel-efficient cars. The program, which ended Aug. 24, achieved its goal, as more than 690,000 new cars were sold.

But the current dilemma has consumers in a bind.

Not everyone in the market for a new car qualified for the program. People with older compact cars couldn’t unload them and get the incentive. While this would have been the best time to car shop for a similarly-sized new car, it’s not any longer as those were snapped up in the government-backed program. Car manufacturers have been slow to replace them.

If you do intend to buy a car, heed these tips:

• Check dealership inventory online for the car you want before heading out. This will help you select the dealership you want to buy from, and give you a better bargaining tool.
• Email the dealership to let them know the car you want, and ask their price.
• Beyond the ticket price, make sure you know the total costs of all fees involved in the transaction. This can have a significant impact on the bottom line if you’re not careful.
• Ask to have your car delivered to you. Avoid getting the final pressure put on you by the finance and insurance offices at the dealership.
• Make the salesperson show you the itemized deal if you’re going to finance the car. Better yet, bring your own calculator to make sure the math adds up. Look at your banking institutions and credit unions to secure your own financing as well. It may very well be cheaper in the long run.
• Don’t rush through the process. Salesmen can apply plenty of pressure. Give yourself a couple of weeks to look around and compare prices. It’s best to buy at the end of the month, but you should do your homework before then so you don’t get pressured into a bad deal.
• Make sure your trade-in, if you have one, is clean inside and out so you can get more money for it. You may want to add more to the down payment, as well, to keep payments lower.

Are you in the market for a new car? Have you found it harder to score a deal?

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