Balancing Budget, Safety, and Comfort: Tips for Buying Vehicles

When you're in negotiations to buy a vehicle, you're likely eager to get the best deal that you can. Even if you're a skilled negotiator, the ability to drop a vehicle's price significantly might be a challenge if the vehicle was priced very competitively to start with. The markup on many vehicles can be small, often making it difficult to have much wiggle room for the negotiations. One way that you can lower the price, however, is declining the extra offers that may be included in the sale of the vehicle. While you may want to have a plan for dealing with these things afterward, declining them now can be an effective way to save money. Here are some extras to decline.

Vehicle Undercoating

If you live in a climate with fierce winters and road salt that can harm the underside of your vehicle, your dealership may offer undercoating as part of the purchase package. It's important to know, however, that this service isn't free — you'll be paying for it. By declining this offer, you'll be able to reduce the purchase price of the vehicle, which can make you feel better about the deal that you're getting. Between the time that you buy the car and the next winter, you can then shop around to find the best deal on undercoating at an automotive garage in your area.

Oil Changes

Sometimes, dealerships will offer a specific number of oil changes to people who buy vehicles. These may be included as part of the purchase price or given at a discount. However, if you customarily change your own oil, you can decline this add-on and have the salesperson reduce the price of the vehicle accordingly. It may be helpful to find out what the dealership charges for oil changes if they're included in the purchase price, as doing so will allow you to know exactly how much to ask for in terms of a discount.

Roadside Assistance

Large automotive dealerships have roadside assistance programs, and car buyers may get enrolled in this program for free. However, if you already have a roadside assistance program through a third party, you'll want to decline your dealer's offer. You can then find out how much the program is per month and keep this in mind for your negotiations. For example, calculate the monthly cost of the program by how many months are being offered for free, and then have the salesperson drop the vehicle price by this amount.

For more information, talk to a professional like Audi Brooklyn.