The Best Way To Negotiate With Dealers When Buying A Car – Via Email

Buying a new or used car is a very stressful and annoying process because of the sales tactics at dealerships. I'm going to walk you through the best and easiest way to buy a car without ever having to step foot in a dealership. You only communicate and negotiate via email forcing dealers to be very straightforward and give you non-deceptive prices. Quick note, don't use TrueCar because they work with all of the dealerships and don't give Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Research

Figure out what kind of car you want to buy. There are lots of great resources out there to do preliminary research: Edmunds, US News, KBB and Cars.com. Once you've narrowed down your list, go test drive some cars to get a feel for what you want. Do not buy a car at the dealer though, insist that you need more time to think about it.

Step 2: Reaching Out To Dealers For Price Quotes

Use Cars.com to find all of the dealers in your area for the car make that you're looking for or AutoTrader.com for a more specific make and model. Once you know which dealers have the car or make that you want, either email someone from the internet department or fill out the contact us form on their website. The format of your message should be along these lines:

Hi (Name),

Best,

(Your Name)

The point is to write a very direct email with all of the information that they need, do not include your phone number in the email.

Step 3: Negotiate

Some salespeople will try to get you to talk on the phone or go into the dealership. Do not do this because then you will not get the best price. Repeatedly ask for a price quote and if they do not give you one then just move on and communicate with salespeople who will be direct and easy to work with. Once you have a few price quotes, it's time to negotiate with the dealers:

Dear [Name],

Thank you for providing me with a quote of [currentquote] for a new [color] 2024 [make] [model]. As I've mentioned, I'm planning to purchase a new car within the next week. However, I have received a better offer from another dealership. I was quoted [bestquote] for a comparably equipped car with an MSRP of [MSRPbestquote]. This price includes the destination fee and all other dealer fees except for tax, tag, and title.

If you are able to beat this price, I would be interested in giving you my business. Could you please let me know the best total price you are able to offer?

Again, I'm interested in acting quickly, so please provide as much information as possible on your available cars including the VIN#(s) so that I may make an informed decision.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

Step 4: Confirm Purchase

Dear [Name],

Your offer of [currentquote] for a new [color] 2024 [make] [model] VIN#[vin] is the best offer I have found. I'd like to come by on April 23, 2024 to finalize the deal and pick up my new car. Does that work for you?

I'll plan to bring in my trade-in, a [tradeinyear] [tradeinmake] [tradeinmodel]. Once we can come to an agreement on the value of my car, I'd be happy to give you the highest ratings on any customer satisfaction surveys you'd like me to complete.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

Bonus: Trade-In Tips

If you're in the LA area, the best price you will get will be from Trade In Solutions. Oftentimes, the dealer will not give you the best trade in deal so shop around.