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Email template to negotiate a car price with a dealer by email

You have a written quote from a dealer and you think the car should cost less. Maybe another dealer came in lower, maybe the car has been sitting on the lot for two months, or maybe the price is just above what you have decided to pay. Negotiating by email takes the pressure off. Nobody can leave you waiting in a small office while they "check with the manager," and you can think about each reply overnight. It also keeps every number in writing, so the price you agree on is the price on the contract. The trick is to make one specific offer with a reason and a deadline, rather than asking "what's your best price?"

Before you send

  • The dealer's written quote, with the out-the-door price (the total including tax, fees and add-ons). Negotiate that total, not the selling price alone, or the discount reappears as a fee.
  • Your target number. Base it on a competing quote, the going price for that model in your area, or how long the car has been listed. Have one real reason ready.
  • Your walk-away number, decided before you write. If the reply is above it, you stop.
  • Your financing arranged or your cash ready, so the dealer knows the sale is real and does not need to make money on the loan.
  • A specific date you can come in and sign. A deadline that is real to you reads as real to them.
Subject Re: Your quote on [year make model], stock #[stock number] 
Hi [salesperson name],

Thanks for the written quote of [quoted out-the-door price] on the [year make model trim], stock number [stock number].

I'm ready to buy this car, but not at that number. I can do [your offer] out the door, all in, including tax, title, registration and your documentation fee. I'm asking for that because [a competing dealer quoted a lower total / this car has been listed since a certain month / that is the price this trim is selling for in this area].

If you can meet [your offer], I'll come in on [specific day] with [cash / a check from my lender / my financing approval] and sign that day. I won't need any add-ons, extended warranties or protection packages, so we can keep the paperwork short.

If that number doesn't work, let me know the closest you can get to it in writing and I'll decide from there. Either way, I appreciate the straight answer.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A counteroffer somewhere between the two numbers is the normal reply. If it is at or under your walk-away figure, you can accept, or make one more small move, but not more than one.
  • Watch for a "yes" that arrives with new fees or a required package. Reply asking for the full out-the-door total again before agreeing to anything.
  • If the dealer insists you come in to talk numbers, say once that you will only come in to sign a price already agreed in writing. Most stores will send the number.
  • If the final offer stays above your walk-away number, thank them and buy elsewhere. Dealers often call back a few days later when the month is ending.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Negotiate this car price down for me 
Hi StandIn,

I'd like you to negotiate the price on a car I've already been quoted and get the dealer to agree to a lower total in writing.

The car: [year make model trim, stock number, and the dealership].
The quote I have: [the out-the-door total they sent, and when].
The number I want: [your target out-the-door price].
The most I'll pay: [your walk-away price].
Why it should be lower: [competing quote, time on the lot, or market price].
How and when I'd pay: [cash / financing, and the day I can sign].

Make the offer, handle their counteroffers, don't go above my limit, and don't accept any add-ons. If they won't meet it, check the other dealers in the area with the same car and tell me the best deal you can get.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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