“Some of the most common car-buying mistakes include buying a car that doesn’t meet your needs, buying a car you cannot afford, and overpaying for a popular model.
One of the biggest mistakes of all, though, is negotiating on monthly payments and not on total vehicle cost. If you do this, you will almost always end up paying more for a lesser vehicle. Dealers can use all kinds of tricks to get you the monthly payment amount you want. For example, they can extend the term of your car loan, which means you’ll likely pay more in interest in the long run.
You can avoid this by negotiating each part of the transaction separately, including the car’s purchase price, financing, the trade-in allowance, and any add-ons.
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