

Confessions of a Car Salesman - helveticaman
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html

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snewe
Long story short: car dealers want to sell the car above sticker price and
will do everything they can to get you to buy it at that price. Also, use
websites about invoice prices to know where the upper bound is and negotiate
over the phone. Apparently, car dealers hate the "internet" so car buyer
should love it.

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helveticaman
I agree, it is a long story. But it's the details that really make the story
of going undercover as a car salesman what it is. For instance, a salesman
might ask a prospect the price they're willing to pay every month. After the
prospect comes up with a number ("uh, $300"), the buyer says, "Up to?" ("Well,
up to $350."). It's all about the insidious little details.

Furthermore, the concepts here can be applied to protect oneself against rent-
seekers in general, including salesmen of all kinds, lobbyists, marketers, and
some VCs. It's a three-hour read, but I found it was worth it.

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snth
I really enjoyed this article. Yes it's long, but too many of the articles
posted here are too short (really, too lacking in content). This isn't another
flashy title with three paragraphs behind it.

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thomasmallen
This is a very, very long article/story, and I wish I had time to read it
right now. But it could definitely be written more briskly.

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helveticaman
I agree, it is longer than it should be, but it's worth it.

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agentbleu
i think i read this somewhere else like 6 months ago?

