This past summer it became apparent my car was not going to live forever! Little things had started going wrong and when it looked like some potential major repairs would be coming our way, I had to admit it was time to start looking.
I have only owned two cars in my life. My father helped with the purchase of the first one and for my second car, my wonderful husband took the lead. This time, I wanted to do the process-just to prove to myself I could do it.
Let me put this out there- I dislike the entire car buying process. While I know this is a generalization, I still have to say it. To me, car dealerships are full of sales people trying to make a lot of money off of you. I also feel they see a woman coming and the rules of the game change. Let me be clear-I want people to earn money for a day of work. I don’t want to shortchange anyone. But I also don’t want to feel like I am being taken to the cleaners.
I had planned on telling you the entire story of my car buying experience, but frankly reliving the process gives me a headache (except for the end). In short, let me tell you about a really great tool I used to get a good deal!
Go to Truecar.com . Plain and simple, you put in what you want, the price you want to pay, and the website searches for dealerships that have something in the ballpark. Keep in mind, once you put in your personal information, you will get contacted! Within 15 minutes, my phone, text, and email were blowing up! Everyone wanted to talk to me!
I picked the dealership that had the best price-Hall Chevy in Western Branch.
The manager and I traded several emails. Maybe it was the fact I was behind an email that I felt the power to just speak my mind. I simply told them here is what I want and the price I want to spend. Of course it did not hurt that my hubbie and a really good friend were cheering me on and reminding me I was the one spending the money. Make the dealership work within my price range!
In the end, I told the dealership, if you can do this price and the options I want, we have a deal. I thought for a moment I was going to have to walk away, and believe me I was prepared! In the end, the deal came through. I know for a fact the dealer still got his money out of me, but I also got the price I needed to have in order to make sure I was within my budget.
Use True Car.com my friends! It really does help you see what you can get for your money!
The people at Hall Chevrolet in Western Branch were really nice! Their showroom is open and inviting. I was thankful they were willing to make a deal with is science chick! So much so I agreed to do their fun and cute video story. Check out the fun video we did!
