Having buyer’s remorse after a car purchase is more common than you may realize and it happens every day around the world. Some people naturally feel guilty about spending such a large amount of money, but usually their regrets are from getting caught up in the car dealers hype and the car salesman’s enthusiasm when buying a car. They let their emotions guide them through the car buying process rather than their logic and common sense which will always make you wish you didn’t.
The most serious case of buyer’s remorse after buying a car comes after the buyer gets home and the excitement of getting a new car wears off. That’s when they read their paperwork and realize that they spent more than they planned, agreed to a larger monthly payment than they can really afford, signed for a longer auto loan term than they thought, accepted a higher interest rate than they need to or they bought some extras that they unaware of buying like an extended warranty, gap insurance or a service contract. All of which can cause them to regret their purchase.
Buying a Car and Buyer’s Remorse
Most people will never admit to regretting their automobile purchase because they are embarrassed and understand that they are the ones that signed the paperwork. Typically they will just bite the bullet and live with their mistakes rather than let people know that they made a poor choice. On the other hand some people will call or go back to the dealership to have them redo the paperwork and find out that the dealer won’t do a thing. They simply tell them that they are the owner. Some people make a big fuss about what they call a 72 hour rule for returning a car to the dealer only to be told there is no such law or rule where automobiles are concerned (at least in most states). Then they realize that they aren’t going to get anywhere with the dealership and have to live with the buyer’s remorse after car purchase.
When you go to the dealership to buy a car you probably never knew that the process for buying a car that the auto dealer uses is actually a very well planned system that is prone to creating buyer’s remorse. That’s right they are well trained and experienced at getting the car buyer to use their emotions to make decisions when they are at the dealership. They use professionally written scripts that are designed to get the buyer to toss caution and logic aside which allows them to get the customer to spend more than they want to spend and divert their attention from the details of the purchase. You can see how this can create buyer’s remorse after a car purchase and once you sign the on the line and leave the dealership you are the owner.
Avoiding Buyer’s Remorse
When it comes down to the nitty gritty you are the one that’s responsible for your actions so in order to avoid buyer’s remorse after a car purchase you need to be prepared for your trip to the dealership. I have written several post and articles that contain car buying tips including the steps for buying a car that will help keep you from regretting your automobile purchase. Most importantly you need to treat buying a vehicle like a business transaction and leave the emotion at home. As soon as you let your emotions make decisions you are going to overspend or lose money. Before you leave the house make a plan that includes your budget, current credit score or rating and your needs not your wants and stick to the plan. You can change the plan, but don’t do it while you are sitting in the showroom or you will risk experiencing buyer’s remorse.