The stock market has been upside down lately and as such we thought a little levity was in order. And so with tongue in cheek we offer the following mergers for a bit of a chuckle. This is not an original piece and we don’t know the author.
With all the turmoil in the market today and the collapse of Lehman Bros. And the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America the below could be some good advice and for any of you with any money left, be aware of the next expected mergers so that you can get in on the ground floor and make some BIG BUCKS!
Watch for these consolidations later this year:
1.) Hale Business Systems, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Fuller Brush, and W R. Grace Co.
Will merge and become: Hale, Mary, Fuller, Grace.
2.) Polygram Records, Warner Bros., and Zesta Crackers join forces and
become: Poly, Warner Cracker.
3.) 3M will merge with Goodyear and
become: MMMGood.
4.) Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Dofasco, and Dakota Mining will merge and
become: ZipAudiDoDa.
5.) FedEx is expected to join its competitor, UPS, and become:
FedUP.
6.) Fairchild Electronic’s and Honeywell Computers will become:
Fairwell Honeychild.
7.) Grey Poupon and Docker Pants are expected to become:
PouponPants.
8.) Knotts Berry Farm and the National Organization of Women will become:
Knott NOW!
And finally…
9.) Victoria ’s Secret and Smith & Wesson will merge under the new name:
_itty_ittyBangBang
Verbal Tricks Salespeople Use To Confuse You And Make You Think You’re “Getting A Deal”
Car negotiating is extremely stressful. What most people don’t realize however, is that “the grind” you go through is a tactic dealerships use, on purpose, to maximize profit from you!
As an ex-car salesperson (or is it a reformed car salesperson?) in Phoenix, I know the verbal tactics dealerships use during the car negotiating process to create confusion and diversion - designed to get you to say “yes” to buying that shiny new vehicle for the absolute most they can get out of you!
Here are the three most common verbal tricks salespeople use during car negotiating to confuse you and maximize their profit.
Verbal Trick #1 - “If I Could Get This Vehicle In Your Price Range”
Phrases like this are better known as giving you “hope for gain.” You hope that the price is right. You hope the payments fit your budget. Whatever your trigger is, the salespersons job is to focus in on that and give you hope that it can be achieved.
For instance:
Good news! You’re looking over the lot and you see the perfect truck. It’s low miles and clean inside and out. Bad news! It’s about $2,000 more than you’re budgeted for. The salesperson sees that you’re in love with this truck, so they ask, “if I could get this truck around the price you want would you buy it today?”
Naturally you think that the salesperson is offering to discount the vehicle. But pay attention to the words, “if I could.” A promise was NEVER made to discount the truck. In fact, nothing has been promised at all! You were given hope that the truck will be discounted to fit your budget, but never actually promised anything. And this is before any car negotiating has truly begun!
How To Counter This
Know what make, model, year, etc. you are looking for and basic prices by shopping online first. Better yet, work through. Get the vehicle you want without having to shop all over town. If you’re looking for a used car know the approximate resale values by looking in Auto Trader or at dealerships inventory online.
Get pre-approved! A lender like RoadLoans or HSBC Auto can pre-approve you and the check is sent overnight to you to use at any dealership. When you are pre-approved you know your budget and the salesperson won’t be able to convince you to purchase a higher priced vehicle.
DO NOT walk on a car lot assuming that the dealership will come down by $3,000 or $4,000 dollars during the car negotiating. Most cars today are not marked up that much. Ask for a discount of $1,000 to $1,500 and you should get it. This will leave $500 to $1,000 profit for the dealership (that’s reasonable) and you’ll get a good vehicle for a fair price.
Verbal Trick #2 - “If I Can Get Your Payments Around Where You Want Them Will You Buy Today?”
This “hope for gain” tactic usually happens during the second or third pass in the car negotiating process.
For example:
You are budgeted for $500 payments and tell the salesperson that up front (bad move by the way. Discuss payments LAST not FIRST when car negotiating).
The salesperson presents you with payments at $750 a month. You tell him that you can’t afford the car at that payment and reiterate your $500 budget. If you hold your ground during one or two more attempts to bump you by the salesperson they will usually ask, “If I can get your payments where you want them will you buy this vehicle today?”
Once again, listen to the words. A promise is NOT being made to get your payment exactly where you want it. Any good salesperson will tell you that the term “around” means $50 to $100 a month higher than you are asking for in payments!
How To Counter This
If you want to go purchase a vehicle from any dealership you choose the best thing you can do is get pre-approved from a lender like RoadLoans or HSBC Auto! Then crunch the numbers and see how much vehicle you can purchase to fit the payments you want BEFORE you go shopping. Why? Because by shifting interest rates or stretching payments the dealership can usually get within range of what you want for payments without discounting (or minimally discounting) the vehicle.
During the car negotiating process take each element of the sale piece-by-piece. Get them to agree to a purchase price FIRST. Then a trade-in value and finally lock in the payments - which should be easy if you are pre-approved.
Never talk about payments until the very end of the car negotiating process. If a salesperson asks you “how much you were hoping your payments to be?” don’t answer them. Just keep focused on the price of the vehicle. By diverting you to payments the salesperson can take your focus OFF how much they are charging you for the vehicle, the REAL value of your trade-in and the interest rate they are charging. Through interest rate manipulation, stretching payments or talking you into more money down they can reap a larger profit for themselves!
Verbal Trick #3 - “We’ll Pay Off Your Trade!”
The final hope for gain tactic during car negotiating goes something like this: “OK. Mr. or Mrs. Smith. Here’s the price of the car, and with your trade-in, tax and documentation fees, paying off your trade, your payment is $700 a month.”
Often you hear this phrase “paying off your trade” used in advertising. “Bring in your car - no matter what you owe - and we’ll pay it off!”
This word trick is designed to make you think the dealership is offering you exactly what you owe on your trade-in vehicle - no matter what it’s actually worth! So, with a subtle phrase they leave you with the impression that if you owe $14,000 on a car that’s worth $10,000 they will give you $14,000 for it anyway.
Here’s what they are really saying:
Your trade-in will be paid off, by using what they give you in trade, and rolling the remaining amount into your new car loan. When the money comes from the lender for your new vehicle, the dealership will “pay off your trade” by mailing them a check!
How To Counter This
Know what your trade in is worth. A simple visit to Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds will give you an approximate value of your trade-in. Keep in mind that these are estimates only and actual values may vary by market. But if during car negotiating the dealership is offering you thousands less than Kelley Blue Book says your vehicle is worth walk out of that dealership - fast!
Keep focused on the price of the car and the actual amount they are offering you for your trade while car negotiating. Instead of focusing on payments, which can be manipulated based on lowering the interest rate and stretching the payment out, negotiate on the price and real trade-in value.
Get pre-approved. Once again, pre-approval from a major RoadLoans or HSBC Auto is your best bet. This way you know exactly how much you can spend on a car and what your payments will be. It takes the dealership out of the drivers seat and puts YOU in it!
Don’t be fooled by word tricks! Listen to what is being said and get everything in writing! Most importantly - Get pre-approved! This one thing will truly put you in the drivers seat during negotiation!
For more credit help, please visit our site. We have been there and know how bad credit can affect everything, including your health. Take a look!
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Why Dealerships Use Them And How They Are Designed To Confuse You
When it comes to car negotiating, car salespeople are masters in the art of diversion. Using tricky phrases or writing on paper with arrows and cross-offs, all designed to confuse you and take your mind off the bottom line - the actual purchase price of the car!
As an ex-car salesperson (or is it a reformed car salesperson?) in Phoenix, I know the car negotiating tactics dealerships use for confusion and diversion - designed to get you to say “yes” to buying that shiny new vehicle for the absolute most they can get out of you!
So what exactly are these tricks and how can you counter them and keep the control in your court? That’s what this article is all about. Let’s get started . . .
So, you’ve found the vehicle you want and you’re ready to start the car negotiating process. The salesman takes out a piece of paper and draws a large plus sign on it. This is called the “four square.” In the first square he writes the sticker price of the vehicle. In another square he writes your down payment. Then he leaves to “talk with his manager” assuring you he’s going to work you a great deal!
After making you wait what seems like an eternity (another tactic designed to make you anxious) he comes back with a big grin on his face and says “good news!” and puts down the paper. The remaining two squares are filled in with the trade value and payments.
This is where things quickly begin to go south in the car negotiating process. The trade value is usually WAY TOO LOW and the payments are WAY TOO HIGH.
Don’t be fooled! This car negotiating tactic is designed to throw you off balance. The salesman’s job at this point is to get a signed commitment “bumping” you up from the original down payment and payments you want.
Here’s how he does it:
You’re looking at his sheet and getting nervous thinking you can’t afford this vehicle! Then he asks you, “What payments were you hoping to get?” Or “What were you thinking your trade-in was worth?” These phrases are designed to plant doubt in your mind. Maybe you thought your trade-in was worth more than it is . . . Maybe the payments you want are not reasonable for this vehicle . . . maybe you need more money down.
For instance:
He says you can purchase the vehicle for $700 a month and you wanted $500. You think you’re miles away so you say, “Well . . . . I can afford $570 if I budget myself.” So, already you’ve come up a bit more than you already wanted.
Also, during this phase of the car negotiating process he’s taken your focus OFF the primary goal - the PRICE of the vehicle you want to purchase! Now, instead of talking “purchase price” - which translates into less profit for him, he’s got you looking at “payments” - which translates into more profit for him because he can control those through stretching the term or changing the interest rate, without touching the price!
Taking the “four square” sheet he writes down $570, then asks the next question “Up To?” Meaning, $570 to $600 maybe? So, the salesman writes down something like “I will buy and drive right now for $570 to $600 a month” and asks you to sign it. Then he goes back to “talk to his manager.” So you see, already he’s bumped you up by $100 a month, and hasn’t even discounted the vehicle yet!
You’re thinking, well, to get to that payment he’s going to have to come up in trade value (which is usually about $1,000 to $2,000 more than he quoted you) or come down in price (which is a last resort). But even if he comes up in trade value, he’s low-balled you on it anyway, so he still hasn’t LOST any real profit. And the truth is, YOU haven’t even begun car negotiating because HE is controlling the entire situation!
After waiting another eternity (another car negotiating trick) he comes back with more “Good News!” He’s gotten his manager to increase your trade-in (or discount the car) by $1,000! Wowee! This lowers your payments down to $675! And it’s all written nicely on the four square sheet and circled and initialed by the manager to look official.
Now you’re starting to get tense and a little overwhelmed. You state that you just can’t afford that payment and start to get up. The salesman sees his commission going out the window and stops you. He says, “If I could get the payments around where you want them will you buy the vehicle?”
Listen to the words again, “around where you want them.” In car negotiation-speak this translates into about $35 to $50 more than you’ve already committed to.
At this point he whips out his sharpie pen and starts drawing circles. Saying things like, “Well, to get payments around where you need them we need to come up in trade or down in price. I need to talk to my manager and see what he is willing to do to sell this vehicle. Obviously we’re a long ways apart.”
Here he’ll start drawing arrows from payments to trade-in, etc. He’ll write down your payment ($600, NOT $570) and then he’ll circle it, and cross it off (another car negotiating trick: subtle implication, don’t count on it buster).
This is where the second “bump” comes in. He’ll say, “If I can get my manager to come up in trade or down in price, can you come UP in down payment? Remember, each $1,000 down equals about $25 in payments (which isn’t necessarily true).”
Once again, focus is OFF the price of the car and ON the payments, which can be controlled through interest rates and stretching them out! You’re still at or around full sticker AND your trade has been undervalued by probably $1,000 (still), and you’re growing more tense by the minute - which hampers your ability to focus.
So you say, “well . . . we can give you an additional $1,000 if we eat dog food for a month.” And he writes that down.
Then he scribbles another “commitment” on the paper and asks for your signature. By now the “four square” is looking a little ragged with numbers and arrows and slash marks everywhere. You’re thoroughly confused and tense thinking that maybe you can’t afford this car - and you really want it!
In terms of car negotiating he’s got you right where he wants you. He’s bumped you up in monthly payment, up in down payment, he’s still holding back on the trade value (if it’s worth $2,000 and he gives you $1,000 - that’s considered an additional $1,000 profit for him too), AND he hasn’t touched, or only slightly touched, the price of the car!
I could go on and on and on about these car negotiating tactics. Suffice it to say, they are designed to confuse you, sell you the vehicle for it’s full price and steal your trade for less than it’s really worth. At some point a sales manager steps in and pressures you to increase your down payment or monthly payments also. And by this time you’re tense, excited, nervous, and who knows what else!
So, how do you keep the ball in your court and control the situation?
First and foremost - Get pre-approved! A lender like RoadLoans or HSBC Auto can pre-approve you and the check is sent overnight to you to use at any dealership. This is the easiest way to take the wind out of their sales. When you are pre-approved it puts you in the drivers seat because YOU control the negotiating on the PRICE of the vehicle and the VALUE of your trade-in.
Shop online first! Better yet, get pre-approved from a lender like RoadLoans or HSBC Auto who will connect you directly with a dealership that will work with you and not jerk you around. This way you’ll be working one-on-one with a single salesman and he’ll know up-front what you can afford and help you accordingly.
Know your trade-in value. Visit Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, or check out your local Auto Trader to see what similar vehicles are selling for. Then hold them to that value no matter what! Often lenders who pre-approve you will also give you a good estimate of your trade-in value to help you when car negotiating.
Once pre-approved, don’t let the dealer talk you into “pulling your credit to see if he can get you a better interest rate.” Once again, this puts the ball in their court because with another lender perhaps they can lengthen payment terms and lower your monthly payments without discounting their vehicle.
Shop with a friend or someone who is a good negotiator. Then - listen to them when they give you advice about what to do or say!
For more credit help, please visit our site. We have been there and know how bad credit can affect everything, including your health. Take a look!
If you know someone struggling to quit smoking we found a great site that offers genuinehelp. You can Quit!!
Here is a great site for some wonderful Spiritual articles, short stories, plays, family stories, Bible studies etc. Check it out.
