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Lets be honest, to most of us, buying a car is not the easiest thing we have ever done. There are so many potential pit falls that most people tend to either play totally safe and go straight for a reputable garage (no bad thing) or focus their minds totally on the price tag at the expense of other potentially key factors.

Yes it is potentially a case of *buying a cheap car can cost you more in the long run * unless you really know what you are doing*

Phew that's really quite a mouthful but in all seriousness just how true is it? Y

I guess one of the first targets has to be if you are dealing with *a dealer* in a local garage is to try and *get him on your side* if such a thing is possible. The one essential fact that most buyers always forget when dealing with Car Dealers is that they really don*t understand where the emphasis of power really lies in all of this.

Perhaps if I were to simplify things somewhat then we might all get a better understanding of who actually calls the shots here. The bottom line as with all sales lead operations is perhaps the most brutal and basically goes like this. If the Car Dealer fails to make any sales at all then he doesn*t get paid and by and large if they try and peddle unfit goods back to you then that would be a really short lived approach. So if you are looking cars in this environment then do not forget the fear factor.

Also do not feel obsessively guilty for appearing to drive a bargain when you make your approach to buy. An approach that basically remembers the scene out of Oliver Twist where Oliver has to ask for more and appears to beg won*t work and so you have to enter the arena fairly buoyed up if at all possible and aim to give as good as you get.

If you are trading up then be realistic in your own internal valuation of what your existing car is worth and what the dealer may offer by way of part-exchange. Be pessimistic on this one and then be surprised at a later date. The days of massive manufacturer lead discounts is starting to wane with most car types and so expect nothing more than the 10% type of discount. As I said, be pessimistic and then if you get more have your faith in humanity restore.

Perhaps the most vitally important piece of advice anyone can ever give someone and to be honest it is a sad indictment of today's world is the advice *Trust no one, despite what the vendor says and appears to do, they are the last people that you should consult with*

Always, I repeat, always take most industry lead opinions etc with a grain of salt and with what one would describe as a totally jaundiced viewpoint tell the garage or who ever that you will make up your mind in your own time and not theirs.

Never I repeat, never allow yourself to be bullied into a decision that you don*t feel comfortable with. Despite what all brokers and sales people say, there will always be another deal. We have all heard of the situation whereby people get pressurised into buying cars only to have the car develop problems at a later date and they weren*t allowed to independently verify the worthiness of their purchase in the first place.

The one golden rule of doing any deal in any business. Don*t ever enter into a deal where you are not prepared to walk away from it if need be.