The CarGeek recently reviewed the account of a friend who purchased an SUV. The vehicle was purchased from a reputable dealer and from a salesman that he had purchased cars from previously. The salesman knew that the customer’s car was about to be paid-off. To the salesman’s credit, this is a classic “tickler file” at work. It worked very well for the salesman.
The salesman initiated the call to the customer. The cold call went like this. “There’s a clean Toyota 4Runner on the lot that you should look at. It would be perfect for you and the tires are new.” “But my Camry is running just fine,” my friend argued. The salesman continued to tell my friend that he could get him into a newer vehicle for less money per month. How could this be? The Camry now had over 100,000 miles and was a 1998 model. The 4Runner was a 2002 with under 50,000 miles. Before the sun went down and the cock crowed, the trade-in occurred and my friend had a newer vehicle.
As a smart reader, you probably already know how the salesman was able to pull this off and still pocket a nice profit on the 4Runner. The Camry had only eleven (11) payments left. The 4Runner came with a payment book with 60 pages! The buyer just took on thousands of dollars of debt and was as happy as he could be, convincing himself that he was saving money. This phenomenon occurs primarily with buyers or lessors that never live without a car payment or lease. Car payments are viewed as a necessity and not as an expense to avoid.
Open up the Sunday paper or turn on the TV. See how much money is being spent by the financial institutions in your hometown. Where does the money come from? From individuals and businesses paying interest on their debt! Use resources like CarGeek.com, Cars.com or eCarTrader.com to get the best price on a new or used car. Pay it off, maintain it well and drive it until you need to purchase a new car. The operative word is “need”, not “want”. Avoid or reduce the monthly payments and see how little it will cost to provide good solid transportation for you and your family.
