Negotiate with car dealerships by email.

What to do before contacting a dealer by email?

Before making contact with a car dealership by email you’ll need a starting point for your negotiations. You can get this information by requesting free no-obligation price quotes from online new car listing companies.

You’ll want to get quotes from at least seven different dealerships. This will give you an idea of the popularity and demand of the vehicle you’re considering and which dealers in your local area are more willing to negotiate.

The quotes you receive will also have an individual’s contact information in case you have any questions about the vehicle. You will want to keep this information for later use.

Dealers know when you are shopping for a car online, you’re inquiring with several dealerships and are looking for the dealer that will provide you with the best price. This forces them to aggressively discount the vehicle to you or risk losing your business to their competition.

The theory is once you receive your free quotes, you’re supposed to pick the lowest one, go to the dealer, and drive away in your new car. This system works and it’s a great way to avoid confrontation with front line salespeople and get a very good deal on a new car.

Negotiate by email to get the best new car price.

The following email technique works, I’ve personally seen this and many variations of the following come through my dealership’s internet department. The dealer is backed into a corner and the only way out is by discounting the car’s price even more or bowing out altogether. Feel free to copy and paste the following letters for your own personal use, make sure you change the names of course.

Although you put “contact preference – email” when submitting your quote requests, some dealers may still call you, don’t worry; they’re just trying to get you to come to their dealership first. If you’re not comfortable talking to salespeople on the phone, answer the car and tell them, “you would prefer to correspond through email only.” Politely ask them to respect your wishes and send you an email. The last thing they want to do is lose you as a sale because of a phone call.

At this point, you’ve already received your new car price quotes from at least seven different dealerships. If you haven’t done so, use Ryde Shopper and Motor Trend and get them now. Weed through the quotes, placing duplicates or bad quotes to the side. Once you have them narrowed down, we can get started.

You may or may not get a call and/or an email from a dealer. If you’re not comfortable speaking with them on the phone, politely tell them, “you prefer to do business by email and will not do business with them unless they respect your wishes.” Most of the time the dealer will contact you by email, there may be a short letter that accompanies the quote that looks something like this:

No matter what the quote was, you’re going for a better deal. You should always respond to this call or email the exact same way as below. (cut and paste if you’d like):

Send the above email to every dealer that sent you a competitive quote. If you don’t receive an initial contact letter from a dealer, be proactive, find the email contact on the quote and send the above letter to them. Believe me, they want your business and you’re setting yourself up for another round of price quotes with even deeper discounts than before.

You will continue doing this until all the dealers stop responding. Once they stop, you’ll know you’ve received their rock bottom price.