I negotiate for a living. And yet…

Hello from Los Angeles! I landed here a little more than two weeks ago and so far, I love it.

Moving from NYC to LA was (and still is, frankly) a lot of work. But I have been fortunate; most aspects have gone smoothly.

One part of the move, though, loomed like a dark cloud on the horizon: buying a car. I last owned a car in 2011 when I lived in Washington, DC, and sold it in the process of moving back to NYC. Since then, I have lived without a car. A whole decade car-less!

And then, i had to dive in. I targeted a car brand I knew and liked, for which I also had access to a corporate discount (acknowledging here that I have a lot of privilege here). I made inquiries to dealerships that had the specific model I liked (a small sedan hybrid) asking to be contacted via email. Not every dealer respected that boundary but I was firm.

I started off exchanging messages with five area dealerships, a benefit of being in a big city: lots of competition. Two dealerships were consistently engaged, one engaged but was slow to follow through and the other two barely responded or used emails that were clearly AI generated.

With each dealer, I cut to the chase and asked them to share the invoice details for the vehicles I liked. After reviewing the details of the invoice to see the various options and their associated costs to confirm I wanted the vehicle in question, I dove in, asking “how close to invoice will you go?” I had no idea how they would react. Turns out they reacted just fine. Being direct got us into negotiations fast, which I appreciated and hope they did too. I played it a bit coy about my corporate discount, mentioning it after the first volley, but soon realize I didn’t need to. The program didn’t hurt dealers because it came from the manufacturer.

I knew I wanted a hybrid but had read that, if leasing, the dealer had the right to keep the federal and/or tax breaks. In the end, the dealers were fine passing them along to me as rebates. With other promotions underway, I was eventually able to negotiate a price that was $1000 below invoice (not MSRP). Just before I committed, I learned that the specific vehicle I wanted, which was silver, sold. The salesman offered me metallic white and I agreed to take it…for another $500 off.

Toward the end of the in-person process, I almost messed up and accepted the finance manager’s upsell attempt (something to do with wheel/tire added coverage). We had been having a great conversation about animal rescue but nope! No add-ons needed.

Ultimately I feel so much better about the process. I negotiated with what feels like a good deal and I love my new car.

I realize that I didn’t personally break any new ground here and that I am by no means an expert in this area, but I hope my experience can help one of you!

PS while I have your attention, please check out this updated list of clients’ books and give them some love!