Most people 'smart shoppers,' but hate to haggle

(October 26, 2010) A majority of people think of themselves as smart car-shoppers but not good negotiators, according to a survey by CarMax, the used car superstore. The poll of 1,000 people found that while 59 percent of respondents thought they were smart shoppers, only 13 percent thought of themselves as good "hagglers."

Another 11 percent said they were "data-crunchers," 7 percent were "worry warts" and 4 percent agreed that they were "impulse buyers."

The survey is certainly good news for CarMax, since it has a no-haggle policy on both the used cars it sells and on the cars it buys from consumers or takes as trade-ins. The company, with stores in 25 states, is mainly known for used cars, although it does sells new cars in some locations.

 

Smart Shoppers Graph.jpgAny veteran car salesman will tell you that shoppers have many different buying styles. This article,  for example, characterizes the car-buying types as the "Cowboy" (who likes to negotiate face-to-face), the "Undeclared Major" (who can't make up his mind) and the "Trapeze Artist" (who is upside down -- he owes more on his loan than the car is worth).

The CarMax survey reinforces what we here at Edmunds The CarMax survey reinforces what we here at Edmunds have known for a long time: Most people consider negotiating to be the hardest part of the car-buying process. If you're one of those hate-to-haggle people, here are some tips on how to learn -- and even love -- the negotiation game.

Edmunds.com