by Sarah Stribley

Created on: September 25, 2009   Last Updated: September 27, 2009

We've all seen them in the movies; the smooth-talking, slick-haired men who trick you into buying their lemons with golden words and "great" deals. We don't like them when we watch them in the theaters, or in our living rooms, so why would we want them to sell to us in reality, and how should they really behave?

1. The Charm

We have to be honest, we love it when they talk to us as though we were their favorite customer, as though they had all the time in the world and they were going to spend it on finding us our dream car. But we want honesty as well, not just an ego-boost.

What we want, and what we should receive, is a Prince Charming of the sales-world, because the type who reel you in with hyperbolic compliments and "money-saving" deals (these guys will even drag your children, politics, religion, etc. into the sale), are the type who will sell you a trashed car. Chances are, when they cay "As is", what they mean is "I fixed it as best I can, if it falls apart on the highway, I'm going to make you stick to the contract".

If you must buy from a grease slick, try and buddy up with a mechanic or a friend who knows one closely, and drag them to the lot when you buy your car.

So, the bottom-line with this first characteristic is, don't let yourself be trapped by honeyed words and kind inquiries after your family. A good salesman will remain businesslike, but respectful. If it's not about the car or his dealership, he shouldn't bring it up and neither should you. Trying to wheedle a low price out of him is encouraging him to offer low prices to others just to sell his cars.

2. The Clothes

In the movies, they wear flashy suits, and have their comb overs greased back with hair-oil. Nowadays, most used car-salemen don't wear suits, jeans and shirts are the norm. However, and unlike in the movies, it might not be too bad if the man...or woman...is wearing a suit. Think of it this way, garbage in-garbage out.

Would any of us really want to buy a car from a man wearing a yellowed undershirt and ragged shorts? We'd expect him to take as much care of the cars he's selling as he does himself. Even clean-cut jeans and a button-down shirt would be acceptable, and a touch of cologne certainly wouldn't hurt.

Be careful either way, one sign that the car you're about to buy has been badly taken care of on the inside is an overabundance of air-freshener (They use every kind; Fabreze, Glade, Lysol, etc.). Air-fresheners are often used to mask the smell of tobacco residue, food,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>