Inside the Minds of Car Dealers by Ray Lopez ~ and a giveaway!

CONTEST CLOSED!  The winner was comment #10 – Kela!  CONGRATS, Kela – I hope you enjoy this book and that your next car purchase is much more pleasant and stress-free as a result. ~Heidi

Before buying another car, let Ray Lopez, a former "swift talking, blood-sucking salesperson" and author of Inside the Minds of Car Dealers give you a look under the hood of dealerships to show you every trick that will be used against you!

Learn every last psychological ploy and manipulative scheme typical car dealerships use against you to squeeze every last dime out of your pocket --and then some-- all while you're being sold a car you may not even want! Discover in detail the 12 crucial dos and don'ts to car buying, like why you will always lose if you shop one dealer against another and why you should never mention your research on the Internet, or why you should accept that your trade-in is not worth what you think it is and why you should accept the fact that the dealership is a business entitled to make money.

Some books on this subject reveal a few of the tricks in a car dealers' trunk. This book gives them ALL to you!

Ray Lopez is a 30+ year veteran car salesman turned consumer advocate and author of Inside the Minds of Car Dealers: How to Buy Your Next Car without Fear. In 2011, Ray Lopez launched a consumer awareness campaign to teach savings tactics, and confident car buying practices for the new economy. He shares his knowledge on an open, real-time Q&A consumer forum via a blog and Facebook community page to further help consumers overcome the car buying hurdles they face today. Please visit www.raythesalesguy.com for more information.

Heidi Says . . . I have to be honest, this is NOT my typical type of book. Normally, I go for a good Christian fiction novel – maybe with some suspense thrown in for good measure.  If I read non-fiction, it’s usually some sort of self-help book (and, 9 chances out of 10, I don’t enjoy them and usually don’t finish them). 

But, having recently experienced the challenge of buying a new (used) car, when the opportunity to review Inside the Mind of Car Dealers came up, I jumped at the chance to review it.  Not so much because I thought that I would enjoy it, but because I wanted to share with others a resource that might help save them the stress that I experienced. 

The book arrived the other day and, because I didn’t have any up and coming fiction reviews due, I set to “work” reading it.  However, it wasn’t work at all – it was FUN!  I absolutely LOVED this book – and that sounds odd considering it’s a book about buying a car.  But, it’s true.  I sat in bed reading this book and laughing out loud.  Ray’s writing style is personable and fun. 

And, as I was reading, I felt as though Ray were affirming the decisions I made in my most recent car purchase.  And, I learned a lot of information that I’ll pass along to friends – things like what type of car dealership to buy from (and what kind to steer clear of, no pun intended), what colors are best  for resale value (both exterior and interior), various types of dealers (and which one is the best to look for), which day(s) and times are best to shop for new cars, and lots more.  This guy fed right into my passion for planning, as he recommended not jumping into a purchase, but rather putting several weeks into research and note-taking before even hitting the car dealerships. 

From your first thoughts of wanting a new car, right on up through driving your car off the lot, Ray talks you through the whole process.  Ever wonder about all that paperwork and what it’s all for?  Ray will explain.  It’s all there!

I’m definitely going to be recommending this book to family and friends who are in the market for a new vehicle.  And, guess what, friends? I have a 2nd copy of Inside the Mind of Car Dealers to give away! Keep reading to the end of this post.

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But first, I’d like to share this Question & Answer session with Ray, on the topic of “Coupons & Cars” (why applying the budget savvy mindset you would towards saving money at the grocery store or shopping for clothes can be a win-win for you AND the car sales guy.)

How is shopping for a car connected to coupon clipping?

Ray: People who search for coupons online or in newspapers and use them to their best effect know that you only buy what you need. And buy the brands you’re familiar with. The same applies to car shopping. Think of car rebates as shopping for online coupons. You can go to the manufacturer's website to get current incentive offers to customers. But then, for best effect, also go to edmunds.com to find out if there are additional dealer incentives. Or money the manufacturer rebates directly to the dealer, not the customer. Knowing this ahead of time will help you get the very best deal on the vehicle you want. And stay with the type of car you currently own. For instance, if you have a sedan, don't switch to a coupe or hatchback. You're familiar with the sedan. But you could end up dissatisfied with the coupe or the hatchback for any number of reasons.

The Sunday paper is still one of the best locations for all-in-one coupons for the week – how can one also use the Sunday paper to shop for car deals?

Ray: The Sunday paper is the place you want to start your car shopping. Not in the dealers' car ads but in the classified advertisements for car salesmen. There are key words and phrases in those ads that will immediately tell you if it is a heavy-pressure, old school type of dealership. You can immediately cross any such dealers that give off this stink in their classified ads off your list. No one should ever buy anything from these "blue suede shoes" salesmen who are stuck in a 1950s mentality.

While the approach to budget savings is similar behind both coupon clipping for general household items bought at the supermarket and scouring any/all resources to shop for the best available car deal – how does buying a car differ completely in next steps once one decides to make a purchase?

Ray: At a grocery store, all sale prices are clearly marked. You know exactly how much your purchase will cost without any haggling. Once the product is rung up, the cashier gives you a set discount when you present your coupon. There is no refusal of it, or haggling over how much discount you'll get. However, when you buy a car, the customer rebate can affect the sale price of the car. The dealer knows you're entitled to the cash discount so he'll haggle you for hours on the price of the car, applying guilt and/or coercion on you for having the nerve to not only want the rebate (coupon) but also a discount from the MSRP too! The manufacturer is the party offering the discount to you. It doesn't come out of the dealer's pocket. So yes, you are entitled to a discount off the MSRP as well as the rebate!

What are the best tips you can give coupon clippers when searching for the best car deal?

Ray: I would tell coupon clippers you have the right end goal in mind by looking to save money. And, that will help you immensely when pursuing the best car deal you can find. Below are 6 cheat-sheet tips to remember when you go into a car dealer to buy a car that will give you the tactical edge you need – in addition to your savings approach:

1. Drive by the dealers, whose brand you're interested in, on the weekend and look for the red flags
2. If a salesman asks if "you're buying today", walk out and don't turn back
3. If a salesman turns you to another salesman or "closer", walk out and don't turn back
4. Never shop on a weekend when high pressure salesmen are at their worst
5. If a salesman talks about payments before agreeing on the selling price, walk out and don't turn around
6. If you do walk off, don't turn around for any reason, no matter what the salesman says

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Now, for the CONTEST!!!

You can win a copy of Ray’s Inside the Mind of Car Dealers for your very own.  Even if you’re not in the market for a new car NOW, sooner or later, you definitely will be.  This little book is a handy-dandy resource.  Here’s how you can win:

Mandatory Entry: Visit Ray’s blog and tell me one thing that you learned, or one thing that stood out to you.

Extra entries (be sure to leave separate comments for each one):

• Like Ray the Sales Guy on Facebook
• Like my blog on Facebook
• Follow my blog via GFC
• Use the buttons above to share this contest via Twitter or Facebook
• Display my blog button on your blog
• Share a car-buying horror or humorous story

Good luck!  I’ll draw a random winner next Tuesday, April 2nd, at noon (est).