Top Tip 7: The salesman says I need lots of extras. How can I avoid buying them if I don’t really want them?

The salesman will try and flog you stuff for your car. Everything from GPS to mats to sill protectors. With most cars, little extras could add 10 or 20% to your ticket price. There are some things you can’t do without. Bluetooth is one that should be standard, but if not then it’s worth it. The problem being that most car makers bundle the Bluetooth with for phone with things like an LCD monitor and reversing camera with GPS. It’s going to make a few hundred dollars turn into 4 or 5 thousand. If that’s the case, why not consider an after market GPS. Most of them have bluetooth built in. For the price of the built-in GPS/bluetooth unit, you could buy an after market one every year for the next 10 years and still not get anywhere near the cost of the original accessory. You would never need to upgrade the maps ever!

What a lot of car makers do is have levels of accessories. Volvo is very good at this. They give you a bundle of accessories at a discount price. It might be worth considering. Be aware though as most makers try and bundle some of the slower moving items and charge you for it.

The best thing to do is not to go into the dealer on your own. Take someone in with you and make sure you tell them not to allow you to take on lots of stuff you don’t need. Don’t sign anything there and then. Go away and mull it over with a coffee or better still go back next morning. I can promise you that if you follow this, you will not buy the extras the salesman suggested, because the getting caught up in the moment can be very costly!