How to Negotiate Your Car Payment Like a Boss

The reason that many people don’t like to shop for cars is because the entire process feels like you’re on the precipice of making a major mistake. Getting the right information is one thing, but learning how to do the deal is another skill required to make a solid car purchase decision. I’ve written about cars for two decades. Test driving has very little to do if striking a bargain. The art of buying a car requires the stomach for dealmaking. 

I turned to Suzanne C. de Janasz, Ph.D., Professor of Management and Conflict Analysis & Resolution Program Director. Suzanne teaches courses in Engaging & Succeeding in Negotiations  at George Mason University. Here are her tips on how to negotiate a solid deal with a car dealer:

1. Practice everyday negotiations 

I mean calling your cable company, negotiating a deal in the store today. When I teach this executive program so many successful women are like, “I’ll just come back tomorrow.” You’ve got to be judicious about which battles you want to fight and which ones you don’t. If you see negotiations as such a pain in the butt, you don’t want to engage, and you’re afraid of failing or people calling you a bitch, and when you don’t practice in those everyday low-risk negotiations, what makes you think that you have the confidence and the competence when it comes to big ticket items?  Part of that being assertive means experiencing assertiveness on a regular basis rather than every five to ten years when you buy a car. Practice the little things first, like you do in a mental exercise. You do the things that are little and then you work up to the big things. Then you have the muscle memory of being able to buy a car with knowing exactly what you are doing.

2.  Preparation is paramount

The preparation you do before walking in a dealership is paramount. The ability to stand your ground is so much greater when you’ve done your homework. Is it a family car? Look into the secondary characteristics such as color and stereo options. And you do your homework. There’s a reason why the car industry has the reputation it has. 

Part of that homework is also your financial options, where they also try to get you. I know I am speaking negatively, but it is true. They make you feel the need to purchase the car, even if it is not in your taste. So the homework makes you become more educated about the car you want to purchase. Then you know if it is a good option for you to purchase the car, or to find another one in your taste. Knowing how much the dealership paid for the car gives you some negotiating room with the dealership in terms of price.

Part of that homework is looking into your financing options. And have you done your credit check? What is the dealer paying for the car? MSRP in many cases is irrelevant.  

3. Set the clock

I will also say that I have a time limit, like if it is 4pm I have to leave by 5pm, because they feel that if you are to stay longer that you will break down and buy the car if you stay for an insane amount of time. Even if you are being really tough and being annoying to the dealership, do not purchase the car when they try to make moves to make you want it off first glance, even if the car is not meant for you. So if you have a car that you like, you should start with the sales manager and just start the process from there. 

4. Don’t commit too soon

The other set of tips for men and women is when you are pressured into purchasing a car to say “I’m going to think about it for a few days”. Saying that I haven’t decided yet can be a good thing because you can rethink your options. Then you can negotiate the deal. It is the same thing when you want to trade in your car. Otherwise they are going to blend it in where you are not figuring out if you can handle this car financially, and how much you are willing to pay per month. You want to assert yourself with what you want for yourself, your family and your life in your car. You should know what you want or don’t want in your car and to tell the dealer before the chance slips away where you cannot go back because you have purchased a car you do not relate with.

5. Manage your expectations

What I call step to is managing expectations. One of the reasons women pay more than men in the dealership, well when men see a woman coming to the dealership they say “Easy target” in their head, and I know. I have experienced this before as a woman trying to purchase a car. Have purchased many car’s and over the last 15 years there have been 2 times where the dealer, usually a man says “Well alright pretty lady, how about tomorrow we bring your husband down here to fill out the paperwork.” Then at that point I really don’t feel like purchasing a car from that dealership ever again. I mean it is the same thing with people of color, how people dress, their religion, and anything that can be used as a force to make that person feel less than they are. 

So when I say managing expectations in the dealership, the first thing I say is what I’m looking for in terms of the car you want to purchase and in terms of price of what you can or cannot afford. Then what they expect from you and that you know the car industry a lot more than you think. I wouldn’t say that but I would make it obvious with my body language and the things that I am saying. Also don’t play games with me, or I will be out of this dealership so fast the dealer won’t even know what happened. But when I want to buy a car I would say if you treat me fairly I will purchase the car, but if you play any games with me I will leave

6. Batna: best alternative to negotiate agreements

I use this example in my classroom. I ask them about buying their first used car. If you don’t make this deal today, what is it that you’re there to accomplish? You think about all of your decisions and you look at your life and is the best decision for you to not purchase the car?  When you are in that situation do not feel scared to say no. You look at transportation and say, here’s my budget.  When you break it down, you list all the alternative forms of transportation, and then you don’t buy the car. The bottom line is that you are looking for transportation that you can rely on consistently and to make yourself feel like you have made the correct decisions based on how you have been treated.