I love a good deal, especially when it comes to big purchases like a car! However, it usually takes A LOT of time and research. What if you don’t have the time? What if you don’t have anyone to help you? Don’t worry! I’ve been there! In this post I’m going to tell you exactly what I did to get a good deal on a car when I only had 2 weeks to car shop!

How to get a good deal on a car (when you’re not good at negotiating)

A Perfect Storm of Car Disaster: The Backstory

In the Spring of 2015, my husband and I were sitting pretty with our cars.  Both of our cars had been paid off for years and we had no car payment. It was wonderful!

Side note, that was very important to this story: We were about to get married. Our wedding was in August of 2015. We were super glad that we didn’t have to worry about paying for our cars because we were saving every dime we could for our wedding.

But, at the end of May, we realized that my husband’s car was getting older and starting to have some problems. He’d been looking into cars for a long time and we decided that it just made more sense financially for us to buy him a new car, instead of pouring money into repairs on his older car that wasn’t going to last much longer anyway.

So, he bought his car. He was able to get a fair amount for trading in his old car. We were going to have a car payment, but it wasn’t a huge deal. My car was still paid off and in good shape. She’d last a few more years. No worries.

Boy, were we wrong about that!

2 weeks after my husband (then fiancé) bought his car, 2 weeks after, my car was totaled!

I was just driving home from work, minding my own business. I was planning to stop at Trader Joe’s on the way home to pick up some groceries. And then Bam!

It was a 5 car accident on a very busy main road during rush hour. The car who caused the accident fled the scene. No one saw a thing!

It was terrifying, but that’s another story.

We didn’t have a choice. I was going to need a car. I had to get to work.

What Car Should I Buy?

So, we were in the market for a new car. We had to buy a car for me as soon as possible because we were paying for a rental. (I didn’t have rental insurance.)

I needed to decide what kind of car I wanted and try to find a decent price. And I needed to do it fast!

I started by looking online, just to try to figure out what kind of car I wanted. After thinking about it, I knew that I wanted a car that would be good for our future family. I wanted something safe and reliable with high ratings. So,I decided on a small SUV but I wasn’t sure exactly what kind.

I read as much as I could online and I ended up narrowing it down to 3 cars. I was interested in the Honda CRV, the Mazda CX-5, and the Nissan Rogue.

Now it was time to test drive.

When I went to the dealerships I did not tell the salesperson any more than I needed to about my situation. I didn’t tell them my car was totaled and I didn’t tell them I was in a rush to make a decision. So, I let them believe that I was just kind of looking.

I also went during the week in the evening. The dealerships weren’t busy, which also means that business is more valuable.

I test drove the CRV and I really liked it from the second I sat in it. I had a feeling that would be car I wanted.

After my test drive, I asked for a quote to take with me and think about. I gave the salesperson my information and told her I wasn’t ready to make a decision yet but I’d think about it. Before I left, I took her card and made sure I had her email.

I test drove the Mazda CX-5 next and that just convinced me that I really wanted the CRV.

So, my mind was made up. Now I had to figure out to get the price down.

How do I get it for Less?

The car that I wanted was a new 2015 CRV, and I wanted the mid-level trim version. Mostly because it had a really cool 7-inch screen. I also wanted the all wheel drive version because we’re in New England and our winters are snowy.

I exact version of the car that I wanted was listed at $27,675. The quote I received from the original dealer (where I test drove it) was $26,538. I knew that if they were willing to sell it to me for more than $1,000 off without even trying, I could get it for less.

Now, for me, it’s not super easy to negotiate in person. I know some people are great at it. Not me.

Here’s the thing, when you try to negotiated when you try to negotiate with a salesperson in person, the cards are stacked against you. This is their job. This is what they do all day long.

So, here is what I did instead:

I emailed every Honda dealer within 50 miles of me. Car dealerships have a whole online sales team dedicated to trying to sell cars to the leads they get through their website.

I wrote up a generic email that basically said:

This is the car I’m interested in __________.

This is the best price I’ve gotten so far ____________.

If you can beat that price I’d be interested in talking with you about purchasing my car from you.

That’s it!

I received MANY responses.

Once I had the best price, I emailed the original salesperson and the dealership where I test drove the car. She had called me twice during this time and I was ignoring her calls because I wasn’t ready to negotiate yet. This is from the actual email I sent to her:

“I came in last week and you helped me look at CRVs. I think I have decided that I do want to buy a CRV ex. I’d love to buy it from you since you helped me test drive. I just want to make sure that I get the best price possible. The price that you were able to offer me was $26,538. I have contacted other dealers in Connecticut to get quotes and the best I have been able to find, so far, for an EX is $25,470. Would {your dealership} be able to match or beat this price? Thank you so your call a few days ago. For me, it is more convenient to email.”

She responded quickly to thank me for the opportunity to make an offer and that she would be in touch with an offer after speaking to her manager.

Later that day, the salesperson called (and left a voicemail) with a quote of $25,550.

While this was slightly more than the lowest quote I’d received from other dealer, I decided my best bet would be to purchase the car there because it was right in my town and I felt like I knew what I was getting into there.

I decided to call her back and go in to speak with her about the car again.

In retrospect, I know that when I called her back I should continued to negotiate. If she couldn’t offer me a lower price, I should have asked for oil changes or accessories to make up the price difference. Looking back, I’m fairly certain she would have given me something small like that to get my business.

But I didn’t do that. I just made an appointment and went in and bought the car. I was so sick of the rental car I was driving and I just wanted my own car. Plus I had a wedding to focus on!

That being said, I feel really proud of myself! I got a dang good deal on an awesome car and I am extremely happy with it.

And I did the majority of it on my own. My hubby totally would have helped me with the whole thing if I asked him to and waited for him to have some time. But I didn’t need to wait because I was able to do it on my own.

Now, while I can’t guarantee that my system will work for everyone, I think it’s a great place to start!

The steps of my process simplified:

1. Do your research and decide which car you want
2. Test drive the car with dealer you think you’d like to buy from. Get the email address of the salesperson.
3. Email all the dealerships in the area and find the lowest price.
4. Email the original salesperson with that low price and see if they can match it.
5. If they can quite match the lowest price, ask for accessories!

Give it a try! At the very least, you’ll get a better price than if you just walked into the dealer and bought the car.

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What is your best car buying advice? Leave a comment below.

Want more? Here are some of my best posts:

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The 2 Ways to Pay Off Debt: which one is right for you? {free printable}

The First Step to Saving More Money

Is it Time to Quit your Job?

You can read more about my story here: A Spender and A Saver Fall in Love

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