vLane Blog

What kind of car buyer are you?

From Banovsky, Featured Contributor
Posted on July 27, 2009

Filed under Future, Misc, Advice , Discussion, US, Cash for Clunkers, Car Allowance Rebate System, CARS, buyer, used car, Carsala, Guest post, Tyler Elliston

This guest post was prepared by Tyler Elliston, co-founder and CEO of Carsala, an innovative service to help shoppers find the right used car.

By his own admission, when it comes to buying cars, he's an innovator — but previously an "old school" buyer. He loves cars, finding great deals, and devising new ways of doing things.

Are you the Old School, the Insider, the Obsessive Compulsive, or the Innovator when it comes to used car buying?

Old School

You begin to buy a car by first going to the dealership on the corner where you bought your last car, then go to a few other dealerships on Saturdays over the next few months (maybe even double check yourself by looking in the newspaper classifieds) and begin your negotiations for the car you decide you want by saying to the salesman, “I only want to spend $xxx on a monthly payment.”

Three to six months later, you are the somewhat proud owner of a car you are “okay” with. If you're reading this blog, we're guessing that's not you.

Read on…

Insider

You don’t have to listen to the rest of us. You know how dealers work because your uncle is a salesman and he told you how it all works; he’s going to take you and his dealer’s license to the auction.

You may even enjoy going to the dealership and telling them how it all works, how they don’t know what they are doing and you always get cars below invoice. You're going to get a good price (on a car that needs to be reconditioned) and you will probably leave a snarky comment on this article.

The Obsessive Compulsive

You want to know every car for sale within 250 miles of you.

You want the Kelley Blue Book and CARFAX on every one. You want every dealer's best offer on every one and when you get a price you previously thought you might accept, there is always one more that needs to be researched. You know more about the cars than the dealers themselves. Sure, it takes months to become an expert, but doggone it! That's what you need to be confident that you aren't getting screwed. You are a walking encyclopedia of knowledge.

Plus, no one could negotiate as well as you. You might want to add Carsala.com to your list of resources (check out our free tools and in a few weeks, our self service products.)

The Innovator

You confidently look for new ways to reach your car buying goal: get a good price on your first choice car, without a lot of waiting or window shopping. You know how hard it is to accomplish all three of these goals simultaneously. You want to devise or find a way to do it. Frustration with the car buying process isn’t new; there must be a better way to buy.

You may have heard from a friend or seen a TV commercial about Carsala.com – the new way to buy used. If you haven’t, check it out; I started the company for people like you.

Carsala exists to plug into your car-buying process wherever you need it most. Carsala offers free tools and paid products to help you find the perfect car for the best price in as little as 3 days. We stand by our work with a low price guarantee. Have ideas to make the car buying process easier? Feel free to comment and/or email feedback@carsala.com.

Read more:

• An Auto Mechanic's Guide to Purchasing a Used Car
• 2010 Lingenfelter Camaro
• Safer Child Seats Introduced by Volvo

Banovsky is a featured contributor for vLane.