If you are considering purchasing a new car or truck (this applies to used vehicles also), you should be aware of a few things about the salesperson you are about to encounter. To get the sale and maximize profit, auto dealerships teach their sales force some variation of the "10 steps to the sale". This is part one of a three part series entitled "Auto Sales Tactics" which will cover steps 1-3 of the 10 step process. These articles will help you to be prepared for your next dealership experience.

The belief is that the steps to the sale are always the same and that as a salesperson you cannot skip a step or take shortcuts. If the salesperson finds that he or she is stuck on a particular step and can't get you to move on to the next one, they will most likely make a "turn". That is, turn you over to another person. The idea being that a fresh face or different personality will be able to move you on to the next step. A turn is not always a bad thing. You may truly dislike the person you are working with to the point of being unable to purchase the vehicle you actually want.

You are in the market to buy a new car. Your first thought is to trade in your existing one at the dealership. If you do not have any time and you are very comfortable loosing a couple of thousand dollars, go ahead and trade in your existing vehicle at the dealership. If you trade in at the dealership, you don't have to pay a portion of the sales tax, equivalent to the trade-in value of your old car, on your new car. For a $2,000 trade-in, that may be as high as $160 at 8% sales tax rate. But the same $2,000 trade-in car can be sold at $3,000 to a private party if you put some efforts. And that can be a nice chunk of money for a few hours of works.