How To Negotiate New Car Price Online: Outsmart Dealerships By Email

The most productive way to negotiate a new car price online with dealerships. Get the lowest price with the lowest hassle.

You might think that negotiating the price of a new car is a stressful and intimidating process. You might worry that you don’t have the skills or the confidence to face the dealers and haggle for a better deal. Some of us are tempted to accept the small discounts they offer and avoid the hassle.

Can you Negotiate New Car Price

But what if we told you that there is a way to negotiate your new car price without ever stepping foot in a dealership? A way that you can do from the comfort of your own home, using your computer or phone. A way that puts you in control and gives you the upper hand.

The truth is, not only can you negotiate the price of a new car, but you MUST negotiate. If you don’t, you are leaving money on the table and letting the car dealers profit from you mightily.

Some people might wonder if negotiating the price is possible or appropriate when buying a luxury car. The secret is that you have more leverage with luxury cars because dealers don’t sell as many of them and there are fewer buyers in this market segment. In fact, with our email strategy, you can get the dealers to sell you their luxury cars below invoice more easily than with non-luxury cars.

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Best Way to Negotiate the Price of a New Car

The key is to make the dealers compete for your business. When they know you are shopping around, they get nervous. They will use their negotiation skills against their each other to lower their prices. All while you relax in the comfort of your home and wait for them to settle on a deep discount on their MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price).

The other thing is to write an effective email message that motivates the dealer to action. We have just the template for you. It uses advanced negotiation and persuasion techniques like anchoring (asking for a big discount off MSRP, more than what you really want), thinking past the sale (looking for a car they have in stock that has been there for a while, so they imagine selling it to you and freeing up space), and scarcity (telling them you are ready to buy soon, so they don’t want to miss the opportunity).

By focusing on the % off MSRP, you will avoid the traps that dealers set, such as bringing up your trade in, financing, and extra packages.

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How to Negotiate Car Price Over Email

If you want to negotiate a good car price over email, you need to do some homework first. Start by choosing the kind of car you want and compare 4-6 different brands. Visit the dealers and test drive the cars. This will help you decide on the brand and model you like.

Next, you need to research the different trims and options for your chosen car. Be clear about what you want and what you don’t need. This will make your negotiation easier and more effective.

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The next step is to write an email that we will send to many dealers within a 1-to-2-hour drive from our location. This will give us more options to compare. We should also include the salesperson who showed us the car. We want to let them know that we are interested but not committed. But that they still have to earn our business by offering us the best deal.

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Calculate Your Target % Off MSRP Rate

Before you start bargaining with the dealer, you need to decide how much you want to save from the MSRP price. The MSRP price is not the real cost of the car, but a high mark-up that allows the dealer to make a profit even after discounts.

However, it is the only reference we have. You can either aim for a 10% discount from the MSRP price or do some research on Kelly Blue Book and see what other buyers paid for similar cars in your area.

You can compare their prices to the MSRP and the dealer invoice (the price that the dealer paid to the manufacturer for the car). You will probably find that some buyers paid close to the MSRP, while others got more discounts.

Once you have your target discount, add 2-3 percentage points to it. This is a strategy called anchoring. We will come back to this later and you will see how anchoring helps. For example, if you want to buy the car at 10% off MSRP, then you will ask the dealer for a 12-13% discount in your first offer.

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Email Template to Use for Negotiating Car Price Online

To contact the dealers, use this email template. Look for their sales or fleet services email addresses on their website. If you see the general manager of sales’ email address, send the email to them or add them as cc.

Do not bring up your trade yet. Negotiate without it for now. And request the out-the-door price (OTD). This is the final price you will pay to drive the car off the lot including the base price, tax, registration, etc. Do not ask or talk about financing options.

Email Template

Dear Mercedes Benz Dealer,

We have test-driven the 2024 GLA 250 and are ready to buy this car. We are interested in the 4MATIC, AMG Line. We are flexible around color and additional packages. But no demo or loaner vehicles.

We are looking at 12% off the MSRP for the base price. We may only qualify for the Winter Sales rebate, but this should be excluded from the 12% off rate.

If you can meet this price, we are ready to stop by and buy this car within the next week (or by xx date).

In that case, please send us an example out-the-door price (OTD) for any 2024 GLA 250 4MATIC AMG Line with the 12% off MSRP.

Browsing through your website, there is one such example currently on your lot: Denim Blue, AMG Line with the Protection Package, Stock # AB12345, VIN# A1B2C3DE0FG456789.

Best regards,
Xxxxx Yyyyy

Example Out-the-Door Price (OTD)

Here is what the out-the-door pricing will look like if you are offered 10% off MSRP by the car dealer:

MSRP = $40,830
Winter Sales Rebate: <500>
Dealer Discount: <4083> (10% off MSRP)
Selling Price = $36,247
Tax: 2175.82
Registration: 124.50
Doc Fee: 400
Total Out-the-Door Price = $38,947

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Breaking Down the Negotiation Strategies of the Email

While the email is short, there are numerous negotiation tactics incorporated in it. Sit back and discover how this approach gets you the best deal.

Showing the Dealer You Are a Serious Buyer

First, you have made it clear that you have done your research and you know what you want. Also, that you are ready to make a purchase soon. This makes them respect you and want to earn your business. The only way they can do that is to ask the General Manager to give you the lowest price off MSRP they can offer.

Second, they understand that you have reached out to other dealers and that they have to compete with them. They don’t know how their offers compare to others, so they have to give you their best one. This puts you in a stronger position in the negotiation.

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Motivate Action Through the Principle of Scarcity

Thirdly, you have let them know that you are ready to buy soon. This way, they will feel the pressure of time and the fear of missing out. This is called the scarcity principle, and it can make them more willing to offer you a better deal. Otherwise, they might lose you as a customer.

Make the Car Price Negotiation Simple

Finally, you can make the negotiation easier for yourself by focusing on one thing: the dealer discount or the percentage off the MSRP.

This will give you an advantage over the dealer, who likes to complicate things with different discounts, packages, options, and financing.

When there are too many factors to consider, you might get confused and end up paying more than you should.

Get the Dealer to Think Past the Sale

A powerful way to persuade a prospect to buy your product is to make them imagine how it would feel to use it or own it already.

This is something that car dealers often do when they want you to choose their brand or model. They might ask you something like, “What color or package would you prefer if you decided on this car? I need to know this because it might take some time to get it for you.”

By answering this question, you are mentally putting yourself in the driver’s seat of the car. When a salesperson makes you spend time visualizing yourself with the product, you are more likely to buy it because your mind has already experienced some of the benefits of owning it.

We can use this technique against the dealer when we negotiate with them. We can make them imagine how good it would feel to close the deal and get a commission on one of their cars that has been sitting on their lot for a while. When they do this, they are more willing to give us the discount we want because they have already pictured such an outcome.

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What to Expect After You Send the Email

Once you have emailed several dealerships with your offer, you can wait for their reactions and let them compete for your business.

You should aim for 6-10 dealerships within your 100-200 mile range. Here’s what you can expect. Some of them will reply with a rude or sarcastic tone, saying something like “You must be joking, we would never sell a car at that price.” Don’t let these responses bother you or provoke you, and don’t reply to them yet. Maybe they are doing well or have enough customers and don’t need to lower their prices. Good for them, but not for you.

The next group will be the ones that will invite you to call or visit them and see what they have. Or they will send a generic response without a specific offer. Put them on hold for now. Don’t reply yet.

The last group will be the dealers who are eager to make a sale and are willing to negotiate. Since you have shown that you are ready to buy, they don’t have to waste time convincing you or giving you a test drive. They can give you a low price to secure a sale, knowing that if they don’t, you will go somewhere else.

The dealer will still make some profit, but it will be less than what they wanted, but it will also help them clear one more car from their inventory that they won’t be able to sell to you otherwise.

They will reply with something like “We have the car you want. Unfortunately, we can’t match your offer of 12% off MSRP, but I talked to my manager, and we can do 8%. When can you come in to finalize the deal?”

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Act 2 in the Online Car Negotiation Process

You have established a baseline for negotiation with 8% off MSRP. Now you can contact the other dealers who responded earlier. Send them this message:

Dear Xyx,

Thank you for your reply. We have received offers for 8% off MSRP. If you can offer us a better deal and get close to 12%, we are ready to buy.

Sincerely,
Xxxxx Yyyyy

This will signal to the dealers that they are competing with each other and that you have a minimum expectation. They will likely increase their offers to 10% or more, depending on the market and the popularity of the car. You can repeat this process to get higher bids, but there will be a limit at some point. You can then choose the dealer that has the best combination of price, color and options.

Don’t forget about the salesperson who showed you the car and let you test drive it. Give them a chance to match or beat the best offers. If they are close, consider rewarding them for their service and expertise by buying from them.

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Wrapping Up

This method can work well for most car purchases, unless the car is very rare or popular. It is easy, convenient, and effective. It uses smart negotiation tactics to make the dealers compete and offer you the best possible price.

When you negotiate, always start with a high offer (12% MSRP). Don’t worry about what the dealers think of you. Be confident and assertive. Be honest. Don’t lie and say you have a better offer when you don’t.

Dealers can tell if you are bluffing. They know how much their competitors can discount a new car. If a dealer asks you to show them the quote from another place that offered you 9%, you have to decide what to do.

On one hand, it is not fair to share the quote that a dealer gave you privately with another. On the other hand, you may think that this second dealer will only match or beat the deal if they see evidence. You can try saying something like, “We don’t feel comfortable showing you another dealer’s quote. We promise you that we won’t share your quote with other dealers either.”

If they still insist, you can consider showing them the quote but only if they agree to give you x% more discount. If they are honest, they will keep their word when you show them the quote for 9% off MSRP.

This is why it is important to be honest and never claim to have a bigger discount than you actually do.

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Other Considerations for Negotiating Car Price Online

Here are some additional tips and things to consider when you are haggling your new car price online.

Don’t reveal your trade-in or financing plans until you have agreed on a final price for the car. Dealers may try to lower your trade-in value or raise your interest rate to make up for the discount they gave you on the car.

Be polite and respectful in your communication with the dealers. But don’t be afraid to walk away if you are not satisfied with the deal. Remember, you are the customer, and you have the power to choose.

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Negotiating Used Car Price Online

Besides negotiating the price of a new car online, you can also use this method for purchasing a pre-owned vehicle. However, you have to adjust your strategy and be more flexible about the make and model of the car. You may not find the exact car you want online, so you have to be willing to compromise or expand your search.

Compare the prices of similar cars on different websites and platforms. This will give you an idea of the market value and the range of prices you can expect.

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Learn How to Negotiate from the Best

Before becoming our 43rd President, Donald Trump was the undisputed master negotiator. His book, “Trump, The Art of The Deal,” was the go-to recommendation for learning the skill of negotiating. This article used some of the key lessons from his best-selling book that you can apply to any situation where you need to negotiate, whether it’s buying a car or getting a raise. If you want to learn from the best, you should read his book.

Trump: The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump with Tony Schwartz

A candid and fascinating account of how Donald J. Trump built his empire from the ground up. Learn the secrets of success and negotiation from one of the world’s most famous businessmen and dealmakers.

But Trump did not just stop here. He used his persuasion skills to become the president of America in 2016. And successfully forged international deals on behalf of Americans with his superior deal-making abilities.

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By Master Influencer Magazine Shopping & Entertainment Staff

Published 6:33 PM EDT, Sunday January 21, 2024

Keywords

Car Buying, Business Emails, Negotiation, Negotiation Skills, Thinking Past The Sale, Anchoring, Scarcity, Simplification, Donald Trump

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