Random Questions to Ask at a Car Dealership (12 items)

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  (#7) Is It on the Lot?

  Here's a common scenario: you find the car of your dreams on a dealer lot, but you'd really prefer it black instead of green. Or maybe you want the 410-horsepower V-8, and not the 360-horse engine. Dealer says, "no problem, I can get it for you." Dealers trade cars back and forth like kids trade Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and this might be completely legit. But bear in mind the terms of the deal may change, since the black car might have options or add-ons you're not willing to pay for, and you'll probably get charged an extra delivery fee for it. 
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  (#2) What's My Out-the-Door Price?

  Dealers typically tack on loads of taxes, fees, and charges to turn a profit. Some of them are legit and inevitable, like documentation fees, registration, and tax. The rest are there to bump up the dealer's bottom-line profits. Just skip the BS and ask them about your out-the-door price. If you want to negotiate down from that, let them figure out which charge to reduce. 
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  (#10) Can You Catch Up on the Service?

  If you're looking at a used car with 100,000 miles on the odometer, odds are pretty good that it's got an expensive service coming up soon - could be spark plugs, a timing belt, a full fluid replacement, transmission filter change, almost anything. When you go home to think about your purchase (which you should), go online and look up the manufacturer service schedule. If the car is coming up on a big service interval, have the dealer perform it as a condition of sale. 
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  (#12) Tip: Don't Trade In

  Okay, this isn't a "question" per se, but it is good advice. Putting your car up as a trade-in is just throwing money in the trash, for no other reason than you don't want to bother selling it yourself. If you're willing to give up thousands and thousands of dollars for the sake of simple convenience, then good on you, Mr. Trump. But those of us who live in the real world should just not be okay with handing over that kind of money for nothing. Plan ahead, have a little bit of patience, and sell your current car yourself. Don't get caught in this scam of convenience. 
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  (#4) Can You Give Me Your Card?

  Never, ever buy a car on your first trip to the dealer lot. Car dealers specialize in high-pressure sales, and don't profit when you think too much about it. But think about it you must, especially when you've got the cold, hard figures in hand. Sleep on it. Give yourself some time to cool down and think when you don't have a professional salesperson verbally doing your thinking for you. Buying with your heart is fine... you're paying many thousands of dollars to get what you want, and your heart should be happy about it. Just don't send your brain on vacation in the process. 
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  (#6) Can I Take It Home for a Test Drive?

  Different dealerships have different policies on test drives, but as a general rule, if you're a serious buyer spending big money on a car from a reputable dealer, they're more likely to let you take the car on an extended test drive. Ideally, you'd want to keep the car overnight, and drive it at least a 50 miles before deciding to buy. Anyone who expects you to be cool with dropping $50K on a car you've only driven for 15 minutes may have something to hide.  

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