Customer Reviews

The Insider's Guide to Buying a New or Used Car

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The book highlights how to buy a new car and offers several different routes to follow when buying or selling a used car. The author breaks the car buying process into different steps that are easy and enjoyable to read. The right steps and the order in which to follow them are repeated often, both to show their importance and to firmly place them in your mind. Two car buys are given. The totally wrong way and the textbook vehicle purchase are showcased with the author especially helpful to echo the thoughts of both the sellers and purchaser. Also given are many of the sales tactics dealers will use, your counter approach to them, and a few of your own approaches to use. Many thorough checklists are given as a guide through each part of car buying. Sources for research in the car hunt are mentioned. More than a book about buying that dream car it teaches negotiation, all at once a game, a science, and an art form.

Burke Leon is to car buyers, what Click and Clack are to do-it-yourself amateur auto mechanics, and then some. His lively fact-filled book will help any befuddled car buyer learn to skillfully maneuver through whatever obstacles appear on the road to getting the best price possible for a new or used car.

Thanks to his book, when meeting with car dealers I saw some of the hard core sales techniques they use to intimidate buyers come flying at me with bright neon colors. and I was able to not fall for them. For instance, one of the salespeople said he would have "to eat the cost of new brakes " if he gave me the price I wanted. This kind of statement is vividly described in Leon's book stood out immediately as the manipulation techniques it was.

There is much about this book to recommend. Leon lists most useful auto-related internet sites as well as his own (www.usedcarphd.com) and his email address to get in touch with him personally. For your own sake, make car buying fun and get a copy of this book before you begin the journey of car shopping. The buying tips shared by Leon will prevent you from losing hard-earned cash and the knowledge you will gain will help you develop the confidence and composure required to successfully engage with the most seasoned auto salespeople. Go to it and have some fun while you are at it!

Elena from Massachusetts

This book is an outstanding resource for the unknowing buyer. After reading this book, which details the car buyer/seller's mind, how to get top dollar for a trade-in, how to buy a new/used car and what not to put up with from the car dealer, I put it to the test. I have made one purchase of 2 pieces of furniture and saved $800.00. I just bought a fully loaded Nissan Maxima and saved $2,975 off the MSRP ($300 over invoice)and got $1,100 dollars for my trade-in (the car is not worth that). This book showed me how to deal with car allowances, bait & switch, the silent treatment, and much more. If you are buying anything, pick this book up.

Burke's book helped me knock 15-20% off the price when I bought my car thanks to his tips on how to find out what the dealers really pay for it. Also his checklists tell you everything you need to remember through the whole process of buying a car. He also gave some great psychological tools to use when dealing with salesmen, haggling skills that you can use in many other aspects of life. If you're going to buy one book about buying a car, this is the one!

Two weeks ago I purchased this book. Today I closed a new car purchase in which I saved AT LEAST $1,000.00 by putting Leon's brilliant negotiating techniques to work. It was easy. This book levels the field. It's a great consumer resource.

The author covers the topic very well, explaining the car-buying experience on many levels. His "game plan", designed to aid would-be new-car buyers feel less intimidated by the usual fears, helps the reader understand the role of the salesperson and what to expect from them (as well as how to counter these threats). It also aides the reader in teaching him or her the processes through which to prepare for the experience, i.e. "homework", research, etc. Although the author's references did provide some thorough information, I was disappointed at his lack of internet-savvy references. Also of note was the writer's continued monotony of certain procedures, events, and descriptions. At times, I really wanted to pull out a knife and "trim the fat". Overall, however, the book was very enlightening, sometimes humorous, and should be a good reference for anyone looking forward (?) to the car buying experience, or just wanting to know more about it. I am hoping to use the information very soon.

I forked over 15 bucks at the book store for this book and it has saved me at least $1000 easy. This book takes you step by step through the car buying process, starting from how to pick the right car for you to how to get financing. With the help of this book I went from a weakling buyer willing to pay near MSRP to a well informed and confident car buying heavy weight champion! It's a great feeling knowing you got a great car at a good price and that you did it yourself.

I've not only read this book several times (every time I go to buy a car) and follow the advice to the letter, but I also recommend it to everyone that I know when they ask about buying a car.
The writing is easy to understand and it flows very well. The advice is sound and fully-explained and it's all very easy to follow.
The author even goes so far as to provide his e-mail address and invites readers to mail comments and questions, which I did several times and received great feedback and advice directly from the author himself, who is very knowledgable.

I have saved thousands of dollars each time that I have purchased a car thanks to this book.

I recently bought an automobile. In preparation, I read several online articles and three books on the subject. "The Insider's Guide" was the best resource I found. In shopping at five dealerships in three states over the course of about a month, pretty much everything the authors predicted would happen...did happen, and I was ready for it.

Buying a car can be a terrifying experience. This book, happily, had me prepared for the endeavor, and for all of the pitfalls that might surface. I'm relieved that I had read it so carefully beforehand. Keep in mind that one of the authors is himself a car dealer of long tenure.

"The Insider's Guide" is succint and compact, but very thorough. It smartly covers the three most common scenarios: buying a new car from a dealer, buying a used car from a dealer, and buying a used car from a private party.

I think that "The Insider's Guide" is pretty much all you need as long as you read it with highlighting marker in hand and vow like a Jedi knight to follow its precepts. If you want more peace of mind for moral support, then go ahead and buy and read one or two additional car-buying guides.

This is the first time my husband and I are buying a used car. This book is written candidly with many scenarios to help you develop your strategy to get the best deal. Definitely one to keep on my reference shelf for future purchases.