When it comes to negotiating your best deal on the car you’ve got your eye on, first and foremost you have to do your research and homework on all the various parts of putting a car deal together.

At a high level, this is all the pricing, rebate, and dealer incentive numbers you can find on your perspective car. You’ve lined up your financing so you know what you qualify for, how much you qualify for, how long you can finance, and what your monthly payments will be based on a few different financing scenarios. And (if applicable) you know the actual cash value, and retail value of your trade-in.

If you don’t have a firm grasp on the aforementioned, proceed no further (don’t show up at a dealership) until you do.

But if you have, and you feel confident, let’s talk a bit further about negotiating.

Rule number one when it comes to negotiating and car deals.

Never – negotiate from the MSRP down… You’ll never get to the price you want.

Always negotiate from invoice price or dealer cost up.

Since you’ve done your homework, go to the dealership with your opening offer in mind. Be confident in yourself and the fact that although you certainly aren’t going to offer sticker price, your number will be fair and not ridiculous. If you offer up something totally ridiculous for the selling price from the dealer, you’ve wasted your time and haven’t really opened the negotiating process because your offer won’t even be viewed as serious. Keep your offer within the ‘win-win’ window.

When you know your numbers and you come across as confident (because you are) the sales people and the others at the dealership will be aware of this and will spend less time trying to ‘work’ you.

Give yourself room to eventually feel good. By this I mean, don’t table your first offer with the price you have in mind that you are willing to pay. Think about it for a moment; by definition there is going to be some negotiating going on here, so you certainly don’t want to begin at the price you want to be and simply hold firm. This may sound easy but this is truly a point where many miss the mark. Many people feel uncomfortable about starting below their target price, but it is an absolute must when it comes to successfully coming close to or hitting your pricing goal.

If the salesperson or the dealership is the first to offer up a number to get things going, rather than you countering with an actual dollar amount simply let the salesperson know that his number simple not within your budget and they need to come back with a better offer. By doing this, your goal is to get an even better opening price without tipping your hand.

Remember, a dealership is always going to take a couple shots at maximizing the deal for their side first.

Keep in mind that negotiating is just that… negotiating. It isn’t a one-way street where you get everything you want and the dealership simply acquiesces. There is plenty of give and take and it may not (actually hardly ever is) limited to just the price of the car. In other words, if you feel like you have to come up a bit off your offer or counter offer, see if you can get some return value for your effort such as some complimentary maintenance, even floor mats or something.

When you do this it keeps the negotiation alive and lets the dealer know that you are serious about putting together that ‘win-win’ deal that works for both parties.

Stay open minded during the process and treat the entire car buying process as a negotiation package. There are numerous avenues that you can probe for negotiation during the car buying process. It’s not just the price. However, don’t agree on the price and then start trying to negotiate other items. Once you’ve said yes to the price, you lose your leverage. Remember it’s the entire package.

Finally, always keep in mind that without you… there is no deal for the dealer. If you reach an impasse… if you have to… walk. Don’t rationalize giving in against your better judgment because you really want the car, or that you’ve spent the better part of your day at the dealership. Remember the dealer and the salesperson have their time invested as well and don’t want the deal to fall through either. Be patient, keep the negotiation communication lines open and chances are you’ll be rewarded with a new car at a price you feel good about paying.

For an in-depth look at what consumer publications and opinions are saying about the 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra, we searched the Internet high and low. What we found was that this car is on track to become the most popular and successful driving machine in history.

Mustang enthusiasts are coming out of the woodwork and they are all buzzing about the return of the master Mustang Cobra designed by Carroll Shelby. After an up and down, and sometimes stormy absence, Carroll Shelby has teamed up with Ford Special Vehicle Team (SVT) once again. “I’ve worked with the SVT guys for several years now,” says Shelby. “And I know they have the guts, the talent and the passion to deliver the best performance Mustangs ever.”

The target goal was to yield a unified rebirth of the consummate and most coveted Shelby Mustang Cobras from the glory days. The objective was not only accomplished, but far exceeded anyone’s expectations. It is now hailed as the most powerful factory-built Mustang in history, surpassing the 1969 Mach 1 (428 Super Cobra Jet) and the classic 1969 Boss 429.

Ford Motor Company is promoting the 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra GT500 as a unique and exciting collaboration between the racing and design legend Carroll Shelby and the Ford Special Vehicle Team. “Carroll Shelby is truly a living automotive legend, a Ford performance legend,” says Phil Martens, Ford group vice president of Product Creation. “It’s a dream come true to be able to put the Shelby name on a Mustang again.” There was a time when Shelby and Ford could not see eye to eye on several issues, and a collaborating effort didn’t seem to be in the cards. The stalemate was broken when Shelby agreed to serve as the senior advisor on the specialized team that developed the 550 horsepower Ford GT, and now the newest dominator of the streets, the 2007 Shelby Mustang.

The 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra cranks out over 450 horsepower, some, including Shelby, say as high as 475 horsepower. In spite of producing awesome power and torque, it actually has more than twice the fuel economy rating and 300 times less emissions than its’ legendary predecessors. Four valves per cylinder and a double overhead cam provide ideal proficiency in air and fuel ignition. This beast is equipped with Ford’s 5.4-liter modular V-8 supercharged at 8.5 pounds per square inch of boost. It also features a returnless and sequential force-feed fuel injection system, a cast-aluminum intake manifold, genuine MacPherson struts and large 34-mm tubular stabilizers.

The 2007 Shelby Mustang features very large wheels: 19 by 9 ½ inch machined aluminum, which accommodate massive P255/45R19 racing performance tires. It also comes with Brembo brakes: 14-inch vented, crossed drilled with four-piston calipers up front and thirteen inch vented, crossed drilled with two piston calipers on the back wheels. Ford and Shelby both agree that the new braking system is the best ever designed for any muscle car.

As much as we believe the statements of the manufacturer and designer, we went out and looked at what others are saying about this instant performance classic; Car and Driver compared a production prototype 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra GT500 to a 2006 Z51 Chevrolet Corvette. The Shelby Mustang ran a 12.9 second quarter-mile and the Corvette obtained a 12.8. Similar tests by the magazine Road & Track reported a 13.1 second quarter-mile for the Shelby Mustang. Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords (August 2006 issue) were able to run a low-12 second quarter-mile with a pre-production version, with a top speed of over 117mph. http://Carsmart.com ranks the 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra as the most popular and sought after vehicle in the sports car market today. It is the number one search interest by far on their site. We visited a multitude of car finder service sites. Every one of them had some feature on their home page directly tied to the 2007 Shelby Mustang. Some even hinted at a bidding war, stating that some consumers were already offering as much as $20,000 over MSRP to be first to get their foot in the door on the incoming production models. The MSRP is predicted to be under $40,000. http://Carfinderservice.com has the MSRP range listed at $40,930 - 45,755 depending on options selected [ http://www.carfinderservice.com/model/2007-Ford-Shelby-Cobra ]. They also have valuable information about standard features like the primarily leather interior, the six-speed high performance manual transmission, and style options like the Shelby signature LeMans double wide racing stripes. Performance testing on the Shelby Mustang has gleaned a 0 to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds according to the site.

Car finder services sites can provide performance-buying power to the consumer. Some even offer the Shelby Mustang at an invoice price range of $37,008 - 41,302 depending on options. Some even offer deals at below invoice pricing. These sites are streamlined for location and direct dealers that actually have the product or can direct the consumer to a dealer that has it through Email and the phone lines. These are trusted and approved in-network dealers that have a special contract with a car finder service. Their pact is to provide only the highest quality service and the lowest costs to consumers. As a result, the best way to buy your Shelby Mustang at rock bottom prices turns out to be on the World-Wide-Web. Many of these sites offer this service free of charge with no cost or obligation.

The 2007 Shelby Mustang Cobra GT500 is ready to take its’ rightful place in the lineage of classic and legendary American muscle cars. This one, however, has sighted the top rung of the sports car ladder, and it is climbing fast. Make way for Mustang royalty.

Just one week after Reverse Backing Systems (RBS) installed collision avoidance products on Down East Energy and Building Supply vehicles, a fleet driver was saved from what could have been a very costly accident. The Down East truck was on the verge of backing into a basketball system, which would have caused the heavy goal to topple over onto a nearby car. Thankfully, the fleet driver was alerted by the newly installed technology from Reverse Backing Systems, so nothing was damaged and no one was hurt.

The incident confirmed the wisdom of Down East’s investment in 320 of the ETA-S Commercial Truck Systems for their propane trucks and fleet maintenance vehicles. RBS representatives are pleased to see the product prove its worth. “It is very satisfying that our product has already saved Down East significant money; they have already saved twenty percent of the entire cost of all 320 systems!” says Jared Jolly, President and CEO of Reverse Backing Systems. “There is no doubt that equipping your fleet with collision avoidance products makes economic sense.”

In addition to preventing expensive property damages, safety technology from Reverse Backing Systems is effective at reducing the occurrence of other potential repercussions of crashes — such as physical harm or death, loss of productivity and potential third-party liability claims.
Each year in the US there are over 300,000 reported reversing accidents, which account for more than 400 deaths annually and cost drivers in excess of 1.3 billion dollars in damages. Since fleet drivers are on the road much more than typical drivers (who have a 1 in 15 chance of being involved in a collision each year), their chances of being in an accident are higher.

Reverse Backing Systems is the only supplier in the US boasting the concept and design of a parking sensor system made specifically with the commercial vehicle in mind. Included in the price of their systems, RBS sends an installation technician to spend a full day training installers to equip vehicles with the products. Companies like Down East, Georgia Power and El Paso Corporate are discovering that doing business with Reverse Backing Systems makes sense for the safety and success of their fleets.

Reverse Backing Systems is a manufacturer of collision avoidance products, including backup sensors and cameras. High quality products designed at RBS are marketed to distributors and retailers throughout the United States. Motivated by the goal to become the United States’ premier supplier of collision avoidance products, concentrating on backup safety systems, RBS develops exclusive products such as truck backup sensor systems and commercial truck parking sensors. [PRWEB]

tagTRAX: fleet drivers | fleet driver | collision avoidance | rbs | saved

New car dealers have many issues to resolve in 2006. The factory has taken the margin out of the business by offering big incentives and employee deals. The number of dealers going out of business in 2006 will hit an all time high many analysts predict.

“Dealers must go on the offence,” states Mark Fracalossi CEO of AMT Media LLC, a Denver based Consulting and Media Firm. “I have been involved with the auto business for almost 30 years and margins were better years ago than they are today,” he added.

Fracalossi sites the Big Box Theory, “Dealers today will sell a $50,000 vehicle for a $100 Profit, at these margins volume must be increased ten times to recieve the average profit of only ten years ago, this is what the Big Box retailers do to each other and eventually take all the profit out of many of their products just to create a customer. The days of opening up the doors and making a profit are over, dealers must do many things right to achieve success.”

“We have been working with our dealers to go on the offence and become the leader in their market, we work hand and hand to make a plan that works in their world,” Fracalossi said.

“We always look for the advantage each individual dealer has and expand upon that and create both a short term plan and long term goals. Dealers must think and act like big business today and we just give them the tools to help succeed.” [PRWEB Dec 29, 2005]

tagTRAX: new car dealers | amt media llc | offence | margins | media firm

Before purchasing a new or used car, you may want to consider purchasing automobiles that are seized by the Government or repossessed by Banks. The Government and Banks use an auction process selling the car to the highest bidder.

Cars often auction off with starting price as low as $100 USD and it is not unusual where you can save up to 90% off the book value of the car. Winning the auction can save you thousands of dollars or can extend your purchasing power allowing you to buy into higher class of vehicles.

All makes and models from economy to Luxury vehicles are auctioned with clean titles. Currently, CheapCarSearch.com lists over 250,000 vehicles that you can choose from. The CheapCarSearch.com Website requires a low membership fee, but considering the potential savings, it is well worth the cost.

CheapCarSeach.com provides a search engine that quickly lists the cars available in your area. You simply select the automobile make and enter your zip code and you get a list of cars by year, model, color and starting bid.

You will need to pre-register to participate in the auction. CheapCarSearch.com handles this process and provides you with the bidding instructions.

Each vehicle is assigned an auction number and a location of the auction. You should inspect the vehicle prior to placing the bid and have a good understanding of the retail blue-book value of the car.

Edmunds.com is an excellent resource for researching prices and specifications for new and used cars. The Website lists the current dealer retail prices for all makes and models. As a goal, you should limit your highest bid to about 50% of the dealer retail price.

The final bidding price of the auction is determined by competition with other bidders. Try not to get caught up in the excitement of the auction. You may even want to consider attending an auction or two prior to bidding on the car you want to get a feel for the process.

If you are the winning bidder, you will need to settle the payment with the transaction clerk. You can use cash, check or credit to settle the bid. Sometimes the Auction Company will offer financing. Terms and settlement conditions are listed in the bidding instructions. Read and fully understand the bidding conditions prior to making any bids.

After you complete your purchase, you will receive an invoice that will allow you to drive or ship your new car to your home. The Auction Company will guarantee clean title to your new car and will aid you in making shipping arrangements if you request.

Although the auction process is intimidating at first, it is well worth the trouble since you can save thousands purchasing repossessed autos though auctions.

Tags: Auctions, Used Cars