DCH Honda of Oxnard

Ordinarily, I'd rather shove my hand into a bucket of snakes than set foot in a car dealership. I've been buying cars since I was a kid. And the one thing that you learn is that it's a cold, ugly process that can leave with you big regrets. I set out to buy a car on September 30 because my lease on my Audi was getting ready to run out and I needed a new car. I had read the reviews on the Honda Accords and decided that DCH Honda in Oxnard was a good place to start. They were super friendly and I was completely taken in. I let my guard down and got clobbered with a deal that I'll regret every single day for the next 36 months. Edmunds.com is loaded with genuinely useful car-buying/leasing advice. But it's no good if you don't put it into practice. My biggest single mistake was in slipping and letting them know the maximum monthly payment I was prepared to make. Car dealers are running a game against you. And knowing that number is a huge tactical advantage for them. There are a bunch of variables in any purchase or lease contract. And the dealer has an incentive to push those variables this way or that in order to make sure that you pay every dime that you're willing to pay. They are profit maximizers and have zero incentive to let you off for less. There's no 'cooling off' period in California like there is in other states. So, once you sign, you're totally had. Best practice? Don't be overwhelmed by the meaningless patter and the swirl of numbers that they throw at you. Say focused. Drill down to the true cost of the deal. Ask for the 'money factor' of a lease and convert it into the APR. Dig in and refuse to buy the add-ons that the finance department will wave in front of you. Our economy is heading into a deep, ugly recession. Customer traffic in dealerships is dropping dramatically. The domestic manufacturers are seeing huge drops in their revenue. And the Japanese and European manufacturers are starting to take a hit also. Their lot inventory is financed and it's not moving very fast. Use these conditions to your advantage. Make the dealer sell to you for what Edmunds would call 'True Market Value.' Or walk. The dealer is no doubt entitled to make a reasonable profit on their goods and services. But they're not entitled to screw you to the wall. And they can't if you won't let them.