Pat Goss' Tips & Expert Advice

Do Research Before You Buy Car Accessories

You might be in the market for a brand new car. If you're a smart consumer, you've done your homework to ensure the car you buy is safe, reliable and comes with a solid warranty. You probably also did price research before you entered a new car dealership. But, keep in mind that the sales rep finalizing your new car purchase can make extra cash by getting you to buy fancy accessories for your car. If you've done proper research and you know you can afford these extra features, then your're not likely to regret buying them.

But, what if you take a trip to your local auto accessory store and find out you could have bought the same accessory from them at a much cheaper cost than the dealer charged you? Or, what if you visit on online car accessory site and find the same thing? It will be too late to save that extra money if this happens.

So, before you enter a show room to buy a new car, find out what accessories might make it more enticing and research where else you might be able to get them. Also, if you are purchasing a fairly expensive vehicle, you might ask for some accessories to be included in the bargain. If a sales rep is under pressure to meet a quota, he or she might be willing to add them on at no additional cost.

Finally, if you do buy accessories at the dealership and add them on to the price you're paying, keep in mind that — over the course of your auto loan — you will pay interest on the cost of those accessories.