Pre-Purchase Vehicle Evaluations

The Washington State Motor Vehicle "Lemon Law" is designed to help new vehicle owners who have substantial continuing problems with warranty repairs. The law allows the owner to request an arbitration hearing through the Attorney General's Office.

There will be no charge for the arbitration process. At the hearing, the arbitrator will decide whether a consumer's claim meets the requirements under the law.

Important Terms to Know:

Estimate: You are entitled to a written price estimate in Spokane for the repairs you have authorized before the work is performed, only if you deal face-to-face with the facility and the work is expected to cost more than $100. Once you receive an estimate, the facility may not charge you more than 10% above the estimated costs without your prior approval.

The estimate includes, among other things: the odometer reading; a description of the problem or the specific repair requested; choice of alternatives for the customer; the estimated cost; labor and parts necessary for the specific diagnosis/repair requested.

Possessory Liens: In most cases, the repair facility has the right to keep a vehicle until the customer pays the bill if the customer was given an authorized estimate and the amount charged is within 110 percent of the written estimate (plus tax). However, a repair facility cannot hold your car if:

• The repair facility did not return a part the customer requested before work began;
• There was face-to-face contact and the repair facility did not provide a customer with a written estimate or a choice of a written estimate;
• There was no face-to-face contact and the repair facility did not obtain authorization;
• The charges were more than 110 percent of the written estimate and did not obtain authorization to exceed that estimate; or
• The repair facility did not post the "YOUR CUSTOMER RIGHTS" sign.

Invoice: Must include a description of the services performed. A list and description of all parts supplied and an indication of whether the parts were rebuilt, used, or (where collision damage is involved) after-market body parts or non-original equipment manufactured body parts. The price per part, the total amount charged for all parts, the total amount charged for all labor, and the total charge should all be included on the invoice.

Repair facility: Any person, firm, association, or corporation who for compensation engages in the business of automotive repair or diagnosis or both. Repairs include work involving body collision repair, refinishing, brake, electrical, exhaust repair or installation, frame, unibody, front-end, radiators, tires, transmission, tune-up, and windshield.

HOW TO BUY A CAR

THIS IS HOW YOU BUY A CAR ONLINE

To begin with, the only way to buy an automobile nowadays is online. Likely to a dealership, talking to a salesman, negotiating, and buying off the dealer lot is simply not the way to buy cars any longer. Who would like to go through the headache of talking to a salesperson who's not going to offer the best price or your options you want? The sales rep is going to sell you the automobile repair Spokane they want off of the lot at the best price possible, maximizing the salesperson and the dealership's income.

You must choose the car online to get the best price and the precise features and options you want. You do NOT want to visit a car dealer and make a allergy and ridiculous decision. We will let you know step-by-step how to accomplish this.

Find out how much you can afford

If you are paying cash, simply check your bank balance. If you are taking out financing, check with your bank what interest you can get. Then, play with our CAR FINANCE Calculator

Find cars in your price range Decide if you want a car, pick up truck, or van and then begin looking at the various car manufacturers. For the latest and hottest vehicles, we advise that you go to the car manufacturers' websites to read about their latest models. We've links to all the Automobile Manufacturers for your convenience.

Get a test drive

Go for a test drive, but USUALLY DO NOT buy. To make sure you like the automobile you selected online, visit a local seller for a test run. They don't charge for this. In fact, they usually offer coffee, soda, snacks, and even hotdogs and other snack foods for to arrive. AGAIN, do not choose the car it doesn't matter how a lot of a "offer" they want to make. This is only to see if you want the automobile or not. To discover a local dealer in your area, go to your Car Supplier Locator

Build the automobile the way you want

Most car manufacturers have a "build and price" option on the webpage. This is a great tool. It will tell you all available features and options and allows you to pick what you would like based on your preferences and budget. To get started, go to our Build and Price your own car site. And check our Brake Repair Spokane.

Get estimates for the automobile you want
Once you build and price the car as detailed above, you can usually choose to get quotes from multiple sellers locally. Make 'your area' as large as you possibly can. Wouldn't you travel 100 a long way if you could save $2000? Anyways, the theory is to get insurance quotes from as much dealerships as you possibly can. To begin with, you can also use our Get Car Quote page.

Negotiate by email
This is actually the fun part. Unless you are getting a restricted model or special order car, you ought to be able to make a deal a cost of $500 over invoice or even less! If you conclude paying MSRP, then we have a bridge in NY you also may be thinking about buying!

Only do this by email. Usually do not call dealerships. When you are heading back and forth by email you have leveled the taking part in field. The Internet Sales Person cannot use sales strategies such as causing you to perspire in a seller room, and you have the time and energy to consider every offer without the pressure.

Remember, the traders are going to get started very high, and that means you have to begin suprisingly low. (You can not insult a sales person, so it is fine to go way under invoice on your first offer.) Furthermore, they aren't telling the complete truth, why should you? You can use white lies like: "a dealer down in Tampa can sell it to me for invoice, but I don't actually want to drive 100 mls to choose it up...is it possible to match it?" or "I'd like to support a local car repair spokane / dealer, but your price is higher than everyone else. Anything, you can certainly do to make me support my local market?" etc.

Invest some time doing this. It could take as much as a week. Be patient. Invest some time formulating the e-mail...let them wait around. And then be patient some more...they might let you hold out too. In the long run, you will get a good price.

Finalize the deal
When you have agreed upon a price, keep these things confirm the exact amount you should write out the look for. This should include taxes, sign up, and so forth. Then set a period to get your new car and bring a printout of the final email with the precise price and your check!

Note: If you need to finance the car, we advise that you get financing from your loan company. You won't get a much better price at the dealership, even if they say 0 percent financing. They adapt sales price and terms and other factors to get a low percentage, and when you go through the entire picture, you are better off obtaining a loan from your lender.