Negotiating car prices online requires good preparation to achieve the best results. You need to understand the vehicle’s type, receive multiple offers, understand the different options, and separate the trade-in and price negotiation conversations.
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Negotiating car prices is a skill that not everyone has. Many people do not feel comfortable negotiating the car price because they don't know exactly how much to ask for and overpay or underpay. Some people might even find the process very stressful and even don't like to get involved in such a process, leaving themselves paying whatever the salesperson asked for.
With the evolution of online car selling, negotiation gets a little more stressful. When you are talking to a salesperson face to face, you might learn some body language to help you guide the conversation and determine whether you're going in the right direction or not. However, when you're dealing with the salesperson online, you won't have any idea about what the salesperson thinks about your ask price.
The good news is that even negotiating car prices online has its own skill sets that we would like to share with you in this article. We have decades of experience in car selling and buying online and offline. We found things that worked successfully for many of our customers and will most likely work for you.
This article will provide you with some details about negotiating car prices online and additional information to keep in mind to get the best deal and achieve successful results from the negotiation process.
Can you negotiate car prices online?
Before we provide you with some recommendations on negotiating car prices online, let's make sure that we are on the same page regarding whether it's possible to negotiate the car price online or not.
Many customers think that you can't negotiate the price if you're buying a vehicle online because it's simply impossible. However, that's not the case.
Did you know that many customers scored amazing deals by negotiating the car price online?
It's even never recommended to accept the 1st proposed price by the salesperson. Negotiating the price can help you save a good amount. Even if you could drop the price by a couple of hundred dollars, it is still worth it.
Therefore, as experts in the automotive industry, we recommend that you read through the following sections to help yourself build a skill set on negotiating car prices online.
Keep in mind that the negotiation skill set is not something you will achieve in one day. It involves some practice and requires some preparation. Thus, spend some time and effort learning what you need to prepare and how exactly the negotiation process should go.
Negotiating car price online: What you need to prepare
The results of negotiating car prices online depend heavily on the time and effort you spent to prepare for the conversation with the salesperson.
Let's take a closer look below at some of the items you need to prepare before negotiating car price online:
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Understand which car you're planning to buy
The first step in successful car price negotiation is to understand which car you're planning to buy. The last thing you want to do is reach out to potential sellers and tell them that you would like to buy a car. This is not how it goes.
Therefore, it's recommended that you spend some time and effort reviewing the car's detailed information. For instance, you need to look for the following:
- The vehicle's model year: are you planning to buy a 2019 or a 2006 vehicle?
- The vehicle's brand: would you like to buy a vehicle made by Honda, Toyota, or Hyundai?
- The vehicle's trim level: you need to understand that every vehicle comes with its own trim, and the higher the trim, the higher the price. Usually, trims come in abbreviation letters like LX, EXL, etc.
- The vehicle model: every brand has its own models. For example, you will find different models manufactured by Honda. For instance, you might need to consider buying either a pilot, Tahoe, or Camry.
- The vehicle's color: consider reviewing the available colors from each model brand, year, and trim.
- The vehicles Additional options: consider reviewing what extra options you would like to add to your vehicle. Again, the more the options, the higher the price.
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Understand the vehicle's value
Once you know what you're looking for, the next step is to understand how much the vehicle’s value is. Although the manufacturer or the dealership will have a listed price, you need to know how much exactly this vehicle can be bought for.
There are plenty of available online tools to help you understand the minimum and maximum expected value for a certain vehicle. Some tools might even provide you with additional information about the trade-in value if you plan to trade in this vehicle with your older car.
Kelley Blue Book is a common tool that many people prefer to use here. This tool will provide you with a minimum and maximum range for certain vehicles, depending on their type. It also is reasonable to understand the trade-in values as well. Other people might prefer using an advanced online tool as well.
Once you understand how much the vehicle is worth, you can have a number in the back of your head when negotiating the price with the dealership. If you don't have any idea about the minimum value of this vehicle, you might ask for a much lower price than what's expected, and that's where the dealership will feel that you don't have any knowledge about what you're asking for, which means that they can take good advantage of you.
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Check for multiple offers
Since you're buying your car online, looking for multiple offers is not a complicated process. You don't have to drive to a certain dealership and waste your day just to get there, so you can ask for their price.
Therefore, take advantage of the online markets and look for multiple offers close to you and even a little further. Sometimes the proposed value by Kelley Blue Book might be slightly low, and you will notice that most dealerships will ask for a certain range. Thus, when you have an idea about what other people are asking for a certain vehicle, you can use this on your side to negotiate the price with the dealership.
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Take a look at the customer's reviews
Another great advantage about buying a car online is the customers refused. When you read the customer's reviews section, you'll get an idea about whether the dealership has a good service or not or probably provide good prices or not.
The last thing you want to do is deal with the dealership that doesn't have the best customer service because it's just going to be a waste of your time. You might even find some customer's reviews indicating whether they had a good deal with the dealership or not.
Keep in mind that some customer's reviews are fake and might be written by people working at the dealership. Thus, consider reviewing all available reviews and even those with a 0 or one star.
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Plan a good chunk of time
Negotiating car prices online is not a 15 minutes process. Consider delegating some time out of your day to negotiate the price with the dealership. If you are in a rush or a hurry, you want to spend all your energy negotiating the price, and you might even accept whatever the dealership is offering you.
Therefore, plan and consider negotiating the price with the dealership probably on the weekends if you're working full time, so you have enough time and energy to talk to them.
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Review all the details
When you received an offer, consider reviewing what's involved in the price. Sometimes, dealerships might take advantage of you, adjust the warranty limits, or add ONS based on the asking price.
Therefore, consider ensuring that all add ONS and options are still there when the price is changed.
How do you negotiate a car price by email?
Although we don't recommend completely negotiating the car price by email, there might be a situation where you must do it this way.
Therefore, here is what you need to do when you negotiate a car price by email:
- Understand your budget and financing options
- Determine your vehicles make, model, and year
- Talk to multiple dealerships and receive different offers, and do not accept the first one you
- Consider emailing the dealership directly without any third party
- Review whether the dealership indicates a no-haggle price, which means that they don't negotiate the price because it's going to be just a waste of time for you and them
- Compare the different offers you receive and consider reviewing all options and add ONS
- Never agree to visit the dealership if the deal is not locked in
- Get all your paperwork ready and head to the dealership to finalize the deal
How much should you negotiate off a car?
According to experts, if you asked for 2% of the car's price, you're getting a very good deal for an average car. Keep in mind that most dealerships allow for room for negotiation, which means that they will ask you for a much higher price than what they're looking for. Thus, do not feel afraid about negotiating the price because the dealership is expecting it. Give it a try; you never know!
How do I ask a dealer to lower the price of my car?
Any customer should ask to lower the price if the dealership allows it. In other words, if the leadership lists the vehicle as no-haggle, it means that they're not planning to negotiate the price, and old customers must buy it as is.
The best thing about your site is knowledge. You need to analyze the vehicle and understand what other people are asking for it. Without this knowledge, you can't ask for a random price reduction.
When the leadership feels that you did your own research and found how much exactly you can pay for this vehicle, they will allow for some room for negotiation. However, if they feel that you don't know, they might even take advantage of you and make a good deal.
The other thing to keep in mind is whether you plan to trade in the vehicle or buy it only. Also, consider reviewing any financing plans beforehand.
Finally, automotive experts recommend that you have two separate conversations about trade in's and vehicles negotiation. When you negotiate the price with the dealership, allow the conversation to be a focus on negotiating the price because if they know that you're planning to trade in, it might take advantage and ask for a higher price.
Conclusion
Buying a vehicle online is a great evolution in the car market. However, negotiating car prices online can be challenging to many people who don't even like negotiating the price in person.
This article provided you with some simple tips to keep in mind so you can get the best out of your negotiation process. If you're planning to trade in your car online and found that the dealership is not
If you are planning to trade in your car with your old one, it's important to understand and analyze whether the dealership is providing you with a good deal or not. Sometimes the online car sellers might not provide you with the best price for your older vehicle. Therefore, we always recommend that you sell your old car separately to Cash Cars Buyer 1st and get the cash payment and use it towards the new vehicle.
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