6 ms·

The fun part is you can turn that technique against them and it works like a charm. I've repeated this a few times now: dedicate a day to car buying and call 1

The fun part is you can turn that technique against them and it works like a charm. I've repeated this a few times now: dedicate a day to car buying and call 10 of them up telling them I'm buying a car TODAY, with these precise specs. No upsells entertained. And I let them in on the fact that I'm calling all the others and expect to make a decision by a set time. Always remain super polite but stay firm. In a way I suspect many appreciate this because I'm not wasting their time, it's a quick decision on how eager they are to fill their quota. But it's fun to see how much the "final price" evolves over the course of a few hours…

cannaceo 6y ago
A lot of car salesmen ignore buyers like this. They see it as a waste of time to get pitted against each other. I’ve gotten the best results by starting with the dealerships with the lowest prices on TrueCar and then baiting them to invest time in me. Then they’re more committed and eager to close. Show your teeth later in the negotiation.
- roel_v 6y ago
  Yeah this. I've tried this in various ways (not with cars, with other things) but usually they just hang up on me. I've never gotten deals that are better than what I could have gotten in other ways.
- nikanj 6y ago
  They're free to turn down the business, and only time will tell if it was the right call. Personally I believe revenue is revenue, and salesmen generally need a lesson in humility, but then again I've never successfully ran a car dealership.
- rapind 6y ago
  Depends on inventory and the value of the salesman’s time. This can work if it means they don’t have to waste hours selling you. The problem though is the lack of real commitment. If you can guarantee you really are going to buy a car today and really will take the lowest offer, plenty of dealers would reply. Without a guaranteed commitment it’s just a negotiating tactic and they know it. If I’m a salesman I’m OK making less on a sale if my time investment is practically nothing. There’s a service you can use that has a $500 service fee that will bid it out for you. Dealers will reply because they know you’re serious (otherwise you’re throwing away $500). I can’t say if you get a good deal, but you definitely get quotes.
- Breza 6y ago
  I like this approach. I check the inventory on a dealer's lot through their website, pick the car I want, learn what I can about it, and show up ready to skip the first steps. I ended up buying my current car from a no-haggle dealership since they had the best price even after factoring in negotiation (they had an overstock of the car I wanted and the new model year was about to be released).
somurzakov 6y ago
never buy from dealership at retail prices period. go to a smaller dealer and ask them to buy a car from wholesale auction for you and you cover their costs. that way their margin js transparent and is negotiated upfront. You will be lucky to get 5-10% discount from retail prices, but wholesale prices at Manheim can be 15-30% less than retail, even more if you are willing to buy less than perfect condition car
- JackFr 6y ago
  There was a fascinating EconTalk episode about the economics of a car dealers. https://www.econtalk.org/cole-on-the-market-for-new-cars/ https://www.econtalk.org/cole-on-the-market-for-new-cars/ One interesting point was letting the buyer successfully negotiate to an absolute rock bottom price, but then making back the margin on financing.
  - rdtwo 6y ago
    I’ve tried that and they wouldn’t budge. I got rock bottom and I offered to do financing if they would go lower but the incentive structure of the individual sales person didn’t match that of the dealership so no go
    - conductr 6y ago
      You showed too much commitment. In either situation they knew your were going to buy. The trick is to keep one foot out the door until you're locked in on price.
      - maccard 6y ago
        I had the same experience. The dealer knew I was ready to walk, but it was as simple as "computer says no lower". I sold them a car, and saw it listed the following day. My napkin math said that the margin was close to 0 on the car in the first place,once they had paid £30 to tax it and a salesperson an hour to talk to someone and take their details.
i_love_music 6y ago
Fascinating. Can you follow up with more info on how the day progresses? You play one dealer against another or use some other technique?
- vb6sp6 6y ago
  You don't really pit them against each other in the sense that two dealers are going to duke it out on a conference call or something. You just state what you want at a price and then walk away if you don't get what you want. Some will flat out tell you "i can't beat that price, go for it" or they won't even bother responding to calls or emails. When you have other options, it changes the power dynamic of the relationship and gives you a ton of leverage. The dealership needs you to purchase the vehicle and that can't happen if you walk away.
  - i_love_music 6y ago
    Cool. Thanks for clarity.
- athenot 6y ago
  So first I do my homework. Get my own financing. Know exactly what model I want. Then I look online for all the dealers selling this vehicle, note the place, contact info, leave room for the name of the rep I'll be speaking to, price, etc. Then I call each one, telling them I saw the online inventory had the vehicle in stock but since I'm buying today I just want to check if that's still the case. That already reduces some of the options: many dealers will leave attractive but outdated inventory to generate leads, and then try to upsell. I start from the cheapest option I see online and work my way through the list. As I encounter the higher priced versions, I voice a slight disappointement that another dealer X is selling the same model for $Y. That's when they can choose to match or stay firm. Either way I thank them for their time and tell them I will be calling back within a couple hours to let them know. During this time, I often get callbacks with counter-offers. I note the value, thank them and let them know I'm finishing my list. Once I have a winner, I go back and call all the others, starting with the most pricy, to let them know I've made my decision, and that I respect their time so didn't want to let them hang. Things get interesting at that stage, as more counter-offers appear. At that stage, you can also visit in person to thank the salesperson as you're on the way to the lowest offer: sometimes they end up with yet another counter offer. Having your own financing means you're not stuck with their shell game. Only when you go to doing the paperwork, you can negotiate financing rates and see if they can beat what you got from your bank. But the sale price is already set at that stage so it's safe. The whole point during this process, it's super important to remain humble and friendly. Even though you control the process, any smugness will kill your options. And to tie this back to the thread, that's a skill you can improve with negotiation training (and it benefits more than just car buying).
solarhoma 6y ago
I’ve heard of the same, but with email. Spec out the car you want, timeframe you are wanting to purchase, and copy dealerships on the email. Tell them the lowest price gets your business.
roland35 6y ago
I've had luck with this technique as well. I generally make a deadline a few days out though which gives me a little time to work the phone without being overwhelmed. Some dealers do NOT want to deal this way ("You need to come here to get the best price"), but enough do deal over the phone to make it easy enough. Now, the best way to save money on cars is to play the meta-game! Looking for a car which is not as popular or rare will give you much more bargaining power. End of model year, end of platform, etc are other good deals. Also having many dealers to compete works better than manufactures with less dealers (I have 10+ Ford dealers nearby, but only 1-2 VW dealers for example)
Sohcahtoa82 6y ago
I did this with my previous car, a 2016 Subaru BRZ. I e-mailed three dealerships in town. I said I wanted a BRZ, Limited trim, Black, with a manual transmission, and asked what their lowest price was. MSRP for this configuration I believe was $29K. One dealership didn't answer at all, the second offered $29K, the third offered $26K and included all the dealer-installed options like the cargo mat for the drunk, auto-dimming mirror with HomeLink, and wheel locks. I definitely went with the third dealer. Didn't even feel the need to haggle any more than that.

cannaceo 6y ago

A lot of car salesmen ignore buyers like this. They see it as a waste of time to get pitted against each other. I’ve gotten the best results by starting with the dealerships with the lowest prices on TrueCar and then baiting them to invest time in me. Then they’re more committed and eager to close. Show your teeth later in the negotiation.

roel_v 6y ago
Yeah this. I've tried this in various ways (not with cars, with other things) but usually they just hang up on me. I've never gotten deals that are better than what I could have gotten in other ways.
nikanj 6y ago
They're free to turn down the business, and only time will tell if it was the right call. Personally I believe revenue is revenue, and salesmen generally need a lesson in humility, but then again I've never successfully ran a car dealership.
rapind 6y ago
Depends on inventory and the value of the salesman’s time. This can work if it means they don’t have to waste hours selling you. The problem though is the lack of real commitment. If you can guarantee you really are going to buy a car today and really will take the lowest offer, plenty of dealers would reply. Without a guaranteed commitment it’s just a negotiating tactic and they know it. If I’m a salesman I’m OK making less on a sale if my time investment is practically nothing. There’s a service you can use that has a $500 service fee that will bid it out for you. Dealers will reply because they know you’re serious (otherwise you’re throwing away $500). I can’t say if you get a good deal, but you definitely get quotes.
Breza 6y ago
I like this approach. I check the inventory on a dealer's lot through their website, pick the car I want, learn what I can about it, and show up ready to skip the first steps. I ended up buying my current car from a no-haggle dealership since they had the best price even after factoring in negotiation (they had an overstock of the car I wanted and the new model year was about to be released).

somurzakov 6y ago

never buy from dealership at retail prices period. go to a smaller dealer and ask them to buy a car from wholesale auction for you and you cover their costs. that way their margin js transparent and is negotiated upfront. You will be lucky to get 5-10% discount from retail prices, but wholesale prices at Manheim can be 15-30% less than retail, even more if you are willing to buy less than perfect condition car

JackFr 6y ago
There was a fascinating EconTalk episode about the economics of a car dealers. https://www.econtalk.org/cole-on-the-market-for-new-cars/ https://www.econtalk.org/cole-on-the-market-for-new-cars/ One interesting point was letting the buyer successfully negotiate to an absolute rock bottom price, but then making back the margin on financing.
- rdtwo 6y ago
  I’ve tried that and they wouldn’t budge. I got rock bottom and I offered to do financing if they would go lower but the incentive structure of the individual sales person didn’t match that of the dealership so no go
  - conductr 6y ago
    You showed too much commitment. In either situation they knew your were going to buy. The trick is to keep one foot out the door until you're locked in on price.
    - maccard 6y ago
      I had the same experience. The dealer knew I was ready to walk, but it was as simple as "computer says no lower". I sold them a car, and saw it listed the following day. My napkin math said that the margin was close to 0 on the car in the first place,once they had paid £30 to tax it and a salesperson an hour to talk to someone and take their details.

i_love_music 6y ago

Fascinating. Can you follow up with more info on how the day progresses? You play one dealer against another or use some other technique?

vb6sp6 6y ago
You don't really pit them against each other in the sense that two dealers are going to duke it out on a conference call or something. You just state what you want at a price and then walk away if you don't get what you want. Some will flat out tell you "i can't beat that price, go for it" or they won't even bother responding to calls or emails. When you have other options, it changes the power dynamic of the relationship and gives you a ton of leverage. The dealership needs you to purchase the vehicle and that can't happen if you walk away.
- i_love_music 6y ago
  Cool. Thanks for clarity.
athenot 6y ago
So first I do my homework. Get my own financing. Know exactly what model I want. Then I look online for all the dealers selling this vehicle, note the place, contact info, leave room for the name of the rep I'll be speaking to, price, etc. Then I call each one, telling them I saw the online inventory had the vehicle in stock but since I'm buying today I just want to check if that's still the case. That already reduces some of the options: many dealers will leave attractive but outdated inventory to generate leads, and then try to upsell. I start from the cheapest option I see online and work my way through the list. As I encounter the higher priced versions, I voice a slight disappointement that another dealer X is selling the same model for $Y. That's when they can choose to match or stay firm. Either way I thank them for their time and tell them I will be calling back within a couple hours to let them know. During this time, I often get callbacks with counter-offers. I note the value, thank them and let them know I'm finishing my list. Once I have a winner, I go back and call all the others, starting with the most pricy, to let them know I've made my decision, and that I respect their time so didn't want to let them hang. Things get interesting at that stage, as more counter-offers appear. At that stage, you can also visit in person to thank the salesperson as you're on the way to the lowest offer: sometimes they end up with yet another counter offer. Having your own financing means you're not stuck with their shell game. Only when you go to doing the paperwork, you can negotiate financing rates and see if they can beat what you got from your bank. But the sale price is already set at that stage so it's safe. The whole point during this process, it's super important to remain humble and friendly. Even though you control the process, any smugness will kill your options. And to tie this back to the thread, that's a skill you can improve with negotiation training (and it benefits more than just car buying).

solarhoma 6y ago

I’ve heard of the same, but with email. Spec out the car you want, timeframe you are wanting to purchase, and copy dealerships on the email. Tell them the lowest price gets your business.

roland35 6y ago

I've had luck with this technique as well. I generally make a deadline a few days out though which gives me a little time to work the phone without being overwhelmed. Some dealers do NOT want to deal this way ("You need to come here to get the best price"), but enough do deal over the phone to make it easy enough. Now, the best way to save money on cars is to play the meta-game! Looking for a car which is not as popular or rare will give you much more bargaining power. End of model year, end of platform, etc are other good deals. Also having many dealers to compete works better than manufactures with less dealers (I have 10+ Ford dealers nearby, but only 1-2 VW dealers for example)

Sohcahtoa82 6y ago

I did this with my previous car, a 2016 Subaru BRZ. I e-mailed three dealerships in town. I said I wanted a BRZ, Limited trim, Black, with a manual transmission, and asked what their lowest price was. MSRP for this configuration I believe was $29K. One dealership didn't answer at all, the second offered $29K, the third offered $26K and included all the dealer-installed options like the cargo mat for the drunk, auto-dimming mirror with HomeLink, and wheel locks. I definitely went with the third dealer. Didn't even feel the need to haggle any more than that.