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im 18 and just got my license and thought, just for the fun of it to go down to a dealership to test drive a new car. i could play the "i have a rich father" act and wear some really expensive clothes and be like "excuse me, im in the market for a new car. no more than $40k....." and so on.

if i walk in there asking to test drive a new car, what will they do? i dont want them to be doing all background checks on me and looking into my bank accounts and what not.

Have your license? Go in and say you want to test drive something. I did that for the new Corrolla because I was curious.

what will they do?

I'm guessing if you tell them you have 40k they'll either:


laugh at you and not take you seriously thinking it's impossible you have that much money
try to talk you into buying the most expensive thing they possibly can get away with (they may even try to convince you to spend more than 40k if thats what you tell them you have)


Personally I wouldn't walk up to a dealer and let him know what my price range is immediately. I'd first do research before anything else. I'd figure out what my needs are and what features I need, maybe some features I want, and then go search incognito (aka: on the internet, in magazines, etc.) for potential vehicles that fit the bill.

*Most* car salesmen are EXTREMELY pushy and WILL try everything to convince you of what THEY want you to buy. Don't be afraid to stare a car salesman in the face and say "No." You let them know you won't be pushed around.

As far as background checks? Do you have something to hide? hehe. I don't think they care who you are really, they just want your money. I'm telling you though watch out for the pushy ones.

I bought a new car earlier this year. What I did was figure out what size car met my needs and read reviews of the various models on the internet. I also talked to people who own the cars I was considering.

I wanted to test drive a few cars before I made my final decision and went to dealerships on weekdays when I thought they might be less busy. I dressed neatly & was well-groomed, but casual. I told the salesmen I was still doing research and just wanted to test drive the Scion Xb, Honda Fit, or ???. I was very clear that I wasn't going to buy that day. I did not give them a $ figure that I wanted to spend. I didn't sign anything to give them permission to check my credit. [I think you meant credit check rather than background check. ;)] After I decided on the car I wanted to buy, THEN we talked money and credit.

Good luck!

use Edmunds.com and get dealers to undercut each other until you get the invoice price, or close to it.

If YOU show up by yourself on site at a dealer, they wont even talk to you is my guess. When i bought my car using edmunds, i wore a torn up sweatshirt and jeans, and no one talked to me for 20 minutes while i shopped the lot. Then i brought my invoice email from edmunds to the internet salesmen, and 45 minutes later i drove away. The internet salesmans quote at the time (2005) was "the internet is really changing the way business is done, i have a stack of 100 people interested in cars in this folder and it keeps me busy 6 days a week". no wonder they could care less about the lot shopper, when his stack has proven interest.

I'm 40 and have yet to figure it out. I drive old stuff partially because I can't get through the process. I tried to buy a new civic about a year ago and the dealership did not want to sell to me. As far as I can tell this is the way it works;
1. You tell them a bunch of personal stuff.
2. They decide what car you need.
3. You agree to pay whatever they want before they have even figured out what you need.
If you have any idea what you want, you are a difficult customer.

To heck with them. There are 2556346234534666426 used cars out there.

I think it helps a lot to know what sort of car you are interested in and typical models in that class. I've always told the salespeople that we'll figure out payment details after we figure out the price (I'm a cash buyer unless there is an incentive). If they don't want to play by those rules, I move on. They have a lot more practice with manipulating payment plans to their advantage than I do, so I don't provide information that would let them negotiate on that basis.

TIME OUT!! Go get an INSURANCE quote before you even think of buying a car at 18 years of age. I considered buying a Kia Rio for about $120/mo (good price) and then found out it would cost OVER $500 PER MONTH for the required comprehensive insurance.

IMHO, your first car should be the cheapest thing you can find that runs and drives, because you WILL wreck it eventually. Don't get a new car until your insurance rates go down to something reasonable, its a crazy waste of money.

I think it helps a lot to know what sort of car you are interested in and typical models in that class. I've always told the salespeople that we'll figure out payment details after we figure out the price (I'm a cash buyer unless there is an incentive). If they don't want to play by those rules, I move on. They have a lot more practice with manipulating payment plans to their advantage than I do, so I don't provide information that would let them negotiate on that basis.

I agree always seperate you financing from the deal. Go to you bank and negotiate those terms first. Then look for a car that meets those terms. I'm a cash buyer also. Somehow we don't fit into the dealership scheme.

I'll clue you in on something. if the stealership gets you sold to there financial institutuion for less then what they sell the note to you for, they pocket the difference. Sounds freeking crooked don't it. I wish there was a way to buy cars direct and avoid the theives.