Getting a Good Price on the Vehicle you want

A bit of a different e-mail here today, but just wanted to share some tips on getting deals. (Who doesn’t like a good deal?)

There’s an old saying that says something about how “speaking in public” is one of the greatest fears people have.

And while speaking in public definitely gives most people the jitters… I respectfully disagree about it being one of the most stressful things you can do. For me, trying to haggle with sales people at the auto dealership causes MUCH more stress and anxiety than almost anything else.

In fact, this is SUCH a stressful thing, most people prefer paying more money over even trying to get a discount. 

However, over the years I’ve spoken to different people here and there, who’ve been pretty successful at getting a low price at the dealership – without dealing with the stress. And I wanted to pass some of these strategies along to you.

1. First and foremost, getting a good price starts with the mindset you have 

Meaning, you have to be completely emotionally detached from the end result. You genuinely have to care less than them on whether or not you get the vehicle. 

What’s important is that you get the vehicle at the price you want to buy it at. But if you don’t get it at that price, the dealership has to know you couldn’t care less, To the point where you walking away empty-handed is a completely acceptable outcome for you.

When you are emotionally detached from the outcome, the dealership has nothing to sort of “hook” you with. When they realize making a sale is more important to them, then you buying the car… this turns around the power of the negotiation in your favor.

On the other hand, if they know you buying this specific car is incredibly important to you… then they have far more power in that negotiation than you do.

2. Be clear with them, that you might be interested in buying a particular car… but only if you can get it at the price you want…

This means, you have to do some research ahead of time, to determine what that price is. The price has to be realistic – in other words, it has to be low enough that you’re satisfied with it… but obviously the dealership has to earn a little profit.

Of course there are things like rebates that allows the dealership to earn a profit even on a lower price… but that goes way beyond this conversation, and these are the kinds of things you need to research.

3. Time is NOT your friend here…

One of the most common strategies for auto dealers is to keep you waiting around there as long as possible. After all, when you’re sitting around waiting for various people to connect with, who are all supposedly involved in the transaction… the longer you sit there, the more frustrated you become, and the more likely you’ll give in to a higher price, “Just to get the heck out of there!”

To combat this, let the dealership know you have to leave in a certain time frame, say 60 minutes. Then, let them know a half hour before that you’ve only got a half hour left… 15 minutes before that you’ve got to leave in 15 minutes… and then actually leave after that hour. 

Many times you will leave without the vehicle but because they now know you’re serious, and that you’re only interested in dealing with them when they play the game under YOUR terms and conditions… they’ll phone you up that evening and give you the price you want.

4. Govern the transaction according to YOUR preferences…

For instance, the dealership will try and bounce you around to several different people, and at some point in time even after you have struck a deal… they’ll tell you something like, “It looks good, but our finance guy has to approve everything.”

A friend of mine tells the salesperson when he walks in that he is only going to deal with one person when it comes to price so please get that person and let me talk to him or her ONLY, and straight away.  

If he is bounced around to more than one person, he politely excuses himself and lets them know he asked them not to do that, up front. And since they did not respect his wishes, he would prefer not to deal with that dealership. 

Again, surprise surprise… he typically gets a phone call later on that night letting him know the car is available to purchase at the price he wanted.

There are LOADS more strategies you can use, and at some point in time, we’ll discuss them. But for now… just keep in mind that your attitude governs your outcome. And whether you realize it or not, you have a lot more power than you think, when it comes to price and negotiations.