Car Buyer's and Leaser's Negotiating Bible

by W. James Bragg

Book Overview

W. James Bragg, the country's most authoritative automotive consumer advocate, has updated the Car Buyer's and Leaser's Negotiating Bible to include the latest games that dealers play, the lowdown on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375704663
• ISBN13: 9780375704666
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Random House Reference Publishing
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

What an eye-opener!

Given I hold on to my cars for an average of 8 years, and I am not by nature comfortable with the entire bartering process, I really dread buying a new car...doing the purchase takes all the joy out of it for me. But, this book provides SO much helpful information in such an easy-to-read format, that I breezed through it enthusiastically in just a couple hours and felt much more comfortable about what I'm up against... The "fax attack" is a GREAT tool for anyone with the time and patience to do it. For me, it's too much like my day job. :-) BUT...luckily, for people like me, Mr. Bragg outlines another option: carbargains.org - a non-profit buying service that will get five dealers in your area to compete against each other to sell you the car you want. Yes, you pay a fee to them, but I believe it would be very much worth it not only for the savings they get you, but the hassle saved. Kind of like paying someone to do my taxes... I can't recommend this book highly enough! Even if I choose to take the easy way out, the knowledge I gained was invaluable!

Entertaining book, effective technique

This book explains how to avoid paying more than you have to for a new car by getting new car dealers to compete with each other on price. The premise is that unlike used cars, each of which is unique in its own way, new cars are a commodity, that is, they are all the same (given a color and options). It does not matter who you buy that new car from, so why not buy from the dealer that offers the best price. The more dealers competing for your business the better, but it is too hard and time consuming to visit them all, so fax their sales managers your requirements, and invite them to contact you with their offer. Then call back the ones with higher than best offer and see if they will lower their offer. What counts is the "drive out" price, the final, bottom-line total you pay to get the car, including tax, title, documentation, destination fees, etc. But you won't know how good your deal is unless you know in detail how much the car really costs the dealer. That includes what the dealer must pay for the car and what incentives the dealer is getting from the manufacturer. This information is also helpful if you want to press a dealer to lower its price. To get up-to-date information that goes beyond what you might find on the Internet and to provide you with a sample fax and step-by-step instructions, the book invites you to order an information package from the author at www.fightingchance.com. Surprisingly that package included enough on the techniques from the book that in my opinion the book is unnecessary if you get the package. The book then just becomes a long infomercial for the information package. However, the book is more entertaining to read than the material in the information package. The author has a good sense of humor, has amusing quotes at the beginning of each chapter, and tells the situation like it is with directness and candor. The book and package also cover the ins and outs of getting a good deal on leasing a new car, and the book gives brief advice on purchasing a used car. When purchasing a new car what counts is the bottom line, so here is my bottom line on this book. Get the book if you want an entertaining explanation of how cars are sold, what motivates dealers, and how the so-called "fax attack"can be used to get a really good price on a new car. If you just want to buy a car using the "fax attack" then just get the information package. It has all you need. And it works. I used the fax attack and got a new car at more than $1500 below invoice, a price no other dealer within 50 miles could beat. Thank you James Bragg!

The only book you'll need, do not buy a new car without it!

Mr. Bragg's book is by far the best book available about the new-car buying process. He describes how an uninformed car-buyer is treated, versus how an educated and well-armed buyer is treated by the dealer sales staff, and my experience matched exactly. I bought the book after I started looking for a car, and by following his guidelines I noticed a positive change in how I was treated. By far the best part is the supplemental service he offers- a nominal fee will get you an information packet for the specific car or cars you are interested in. Mr Bragg tracks several industry sources, which he uses to generate his reports: manufacturer quality, sales performance statistics, even typical selling prices are reported. I expect to save nearly $4K on a popular model by applying his tactics!

Don't Buy A New Car Until You Read This Book

This book is an absolutely incredible resource for the new car buyer. It explains in detail just how the car dealers will try to screw you. Then Mr. Bragg provides just about all the information you need to walk into a dealership and pick up a car for invoice or less. I couldn't have imagined how well this would work.I sent faxes to 30 Baltimore / Washington Honda dealers explaining exactly what I wanted in my new Accord, and telling them that I was comparing plenty of prices. In a week I had serval dealers practically begging me to take exactly the car I wanted off their lot for less than invoice. I also met some of their sleazy competitors, but thanks to this book I identified their games and refused to play. The dealer even comped me on his dealer-added pinstripes and undercoating, since I had stated in my fax that I would refuse to pay for such additional add-ons.You can count on an advertisment for an additional $10 per model for a copy of the dealer invoice and option prices, and a report of how the cars have been selling recently. Even so, $25 total is not too much to spend to save literally hundreds.Thanks for providing such an incredible book.

can't do better

i am a 58 year old los angeles attorney. i know how to negotiate and figure deals. i know how to find dealers' costs from other sources. i always thought i outsmarted the dealers in my previous purchases and leases. then when recently leasing a car i decided to double check myself against some of the books on the subject. there are many and i bought bragg's book by chance and two others for comparison. YOU don't have to bother. Bragg's is all you need. i learned in 45 minutes how much i didn't know about buying and leasing, and by the time i was done with the process i KNOW i got the best deal available and no wool was pulled over my eyes this time.