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Cars: How to Buy a New Car Through Fleet Sales


How to Buy a New Car Through Fleet Sales

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
If you're buying a new car, you may want to consider going through fleet sales. Fleet sales is aimed at business buyers, people buying cars for companies, but many fleet departments will sell to the public when asked. It can be an easier way to buy a car, with a minimum of negotiation and time spent at the dealership. Since you're essentially buying wholesale, it can get you a better deal on the car you want.

Steps

  1. Know what you want. Dealing with fleet sales will not only save you money, but it'll also save you time. Unlike the retail salesperson, a fleet seller isn't going to spend hours trying to persuade you to buy a particular car as you mull over your decision. They're trained to sell cars cheap and fast.[1] Know what model, options and colors you want before you contact a fleet sales department, and you'll get the most out of your transaction.
    • Know what prices are available. Know the invoice price and the MSRP, or manufacturer's suggested retail price. The invoice price is what the dealership pays for the car and is generally the lower limit of what you can pay (though occasionally a slow-seller goes for less than invoice). The MSRP, or sticker price, is the listed price of a car. Unless the car is very popular, you can usually pay less than the MSRP if you negotiate properly.
    • Try the car you want. Go to any dealership and ask to test drive the car you're interested in. Don't even mention fleet sales yet. This is still the research phase. Make sure you fit in it. Make sure it handles comfortably. Take friends and get their opinion on how the back seat feels. Remember, you are about to spend a lot of money and a lot of time in this car.
    • Write your specification. Decide what model, color, trim, and options you want on your car. This is your specification. Decide what parts of your specification are optional or negotiable. If you would prefer slate blue but will consider cobalt or want but don't require a sun roof, write that down, but don't disclose it right away. You can negotiate on these optional points later, if it makes sense to do so.
  2. Prepare financing for your car. If you will be purchasing your car on a loan, visit your credit union or bank and learn what rates are available. Get your own financing lined up. You can make this part of your negotiation later, but pin down the price and vehicle you want first.
  3. Shop around. When you know exactly what you want, you can save a lot of time calling around to different dealers in your area to find out what they have available and whether their fleet department deals with the public. It can be a little tricky, however, because retail salesman will want to divert your shopping to their own department, sometimes even pretending to be fleet salesmen.[2]
    • Before saying anything, ask the operator or receptionist for the name of the fleet manager. If you are asked why you wish to know the fleet manager's name, say that you're doing research for your company's upcoming car purchase. Be as insistent as you need to be. Once you get the name, ask to speak to the manager and tell him/her that you are interested in buying a car soon. Give a specific time frame (e.g. three days, by the end of this week) to show that you're serious (and mean it!).[3] If the manager asks which business you're affiliated with, give the name of the company you work for.[4]
    • Specify what you're looking for. Phone, fax, or email your specification to the fleet departments or managers at several dealers with a request for bids. Again, be sure it gets to the fleet department by using specific names and direct phone numbers or e-mail addresses. Note on the request for bids that you would like their best price and that you are asking other dealers. It should help to shorten the process. If you are willing to wait for the car you want to be ordered or transferred from another dealer, state that. If they have what you're looking for, make an appointment. If all you get is an invitation to come to the dealership without any kind of bid attached, ignore it; they probably don't have what you want and are hoping to convince you to get something else.[5] If they send you a bid that doesn't match exactly with your specifications, circle any discrepancies so you can ask about them later.[6]
    • Contact as many dealerships as you can until you find one that has exactly what you're looking for. Your area, as far as car dealerships are concerned, should be pretty big. If you can save $500 or $1000 or more by going to another dealership, or get something much closer to what you want, it can be well worth a one-time drive to a dealer a few towns away. Wait for the various dealerships to respond with a quotation and compare the offers. Read carefully.
    • Call during regular weekday business hours. Fleet managers and salesmen deal with businesses, which usually operate on that schedule.
  4. Negotiate. Contact the dealerships with the most attractive bids. If they left off or added a particular items, ask why, and ask them to requote the vehicle based on your specifications within 24 hours. In all of your phone calls, e-mails, and faxes (except to the dealership with the best offer), tell them what your lowest bid was and from what dealership (be honest!) and ask "Can you beat this?" Sometimes a dealership that's more "out of the way" will bump their selling price a few hundred dollars to move a stale car off their lot. After doing this, take your two lowest offers, and call the dealership with the higher one. Make a firm offer to buy the car at a price that's slightly lower (maybe $200) than the lowest bid; if they say yes, ask them to fax you that bid immediately and make an appointment to fill out the paperwork and buy the car. If they say no, call the dealer with the lowest bid and make an appointment to fill out the paperwork and buy the car (don't negotiate).[7]
    • Models that are in high demand or that are sold firmly at MSRP (Saturn, Scion) will not fetch lower selling prices through this kind of negotiation.[8]
    • If you're not seeing bids that you like, consider expanding your dealership radius, or shopping for a different car.
    • Starting this process a week before the end of the month will get you better bids because that's when most dealerships are eager to move inventory.[9]
  5. Go to the dealership. Ask for the fleet manager by name. Be courteous and brief--that's how the fleet manager or salesman will usually be. Ask to see the car you're considering. Inspect it carefully and test drive it. (Even if you've test driven that exact model already, sometimes individual cars have manufacturing variations, and it's worth taking a quick spin to make sure everything's in good shape). Don't expect the salesman to be sputtering information or gushing with advice. You can ask to see the vehicle's actual factory invoice if you want, but the price is usually not negotiable, especially if you've gone through the bidding process as outlined earlier. The salesman won't negotiate for the same reason he won't pressure you--there's not a lot of wiggle room, and he's not trained to squeeze profits; he's trained to sell in bulk.[10] A simple "Is this the best price you can offer?" will open the door to any negotiation that might be possible; you don't need to haggle here. Make a decision to buy, or thank the salesman for his time and leave.
  6. Close the deal. Another unique thing about dealing with fleet sales is that a fleet manager or salesperson can do everything--sell the car and arrange financing--without the cryptic talks between the retail and financing departments that you'd experience otherwise.[11] If you haven't arranged your own financing, the fleet sales department will do it for you.

Video

Tips

  • Most dealerships have a fleet department. Not all fleet departments prefer to deal with the public. If you're not sure, phone them and ask.
  • Be conscious of the model year for the car(s) that interest you and when the new models came out. If something is brand new, it will generally command higher prices than something that has been available for a while. This is where patience comes in.
  • Conduct yourself professionally when going through the fleet department. Be respectful of their time and resources.
  • Fleet Sales has been around for many years and is divided into two classes.
    • True Fleet Sales is when a fleet manager sells a large volume of vehicles to rental agencies, corporations, or utility companies at fleet prices.
    • "Fleetail" is when a Fleet Manager sells one or more vehicles to retail customers at fleet prices.
  • Understand some of the benefits of buying Fleetail:
    • Fleet Managers sell in volume, so they can pass the savings on to you.
    • Most Fleet Managers get paid on holdback (this is a 2%-3% kickback from the factory that is only given on fleet sales), therefore allowing them to sell at the lowest prices.
    • The buying process is smoother and takes less time because fleet managers can do everything from start to finish. You won't be juggled around from a salesmen, to a closer, to a finance guy, and so on. This results in fewer hassles and less time at the dealership.
    • Dealerships rely on their fleet managers to be product experts, so you'll be dealing with the person with the greatest product knowledge at the dealership.
    • The fleet department is usually responsible for ordering all vehicles for the dealership and its customers. They are also depended upon to locate vehicles from other dealers and handle all dealer trades. This means they can find the car you're looking for, no matter where it is. They may even be able to have the factory build exactly what you want.
  • Know who else buys through fleet.
    • Credit unions and banks. The bank loan officer may refer you to buy through the fleet department
    • Brokers and Auto Buying Services purchase their vehicles through Fleet for resale to the consumer. (Don't buy from these guys. Buy direct from fleet and cut out the middleman!)

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