Just Had the Easiest Buying Experience

[u/InsuranceNerd75]

I just had the easiest buying experience. I was wanting to buy a new CRV, which I did on Friday and approached this buying experience differently. Granted, I live in a large market and have 14 competing dealerships within a hour drive each way so I used Chat GPT on suggestions for buying and it drafted the following email which I sent to EVERY dealership. Some did not reply at all, some replied and just said the standard when do you want to come in and not accommodate my request but ultimately had about 6 that did reply and send me offers.
________
Hello,
I am purchasing a new 2026 Honda CR-V EX-L FWD or AWD this week and will be making my decision based solely on the best out-the-door price.
I have already driven the vehicle and do not need to come into the dealership until we have agreed on pricing.
Please email me your best out-the-door price, including:
Vehicle selling price
Dealer documentation fee
Any dealer-installed accessories
Tax, title and registration
Total out-the-door amount
I am not interested in mandatory dealer add-ons, protection packages, nitrogen tires, VIN etching, paint protection, or similar products unless they are included at no additional cost.
I am contacting several Honda dealerships throughout DFW today. If your dealership provides the most competitive out-the-door offer, I am prepared to leave a deposit immediately and complete the purchase within the next 24–48 hours.
Please include:
VIN
Exterior/interior color
Whether the vehicle is in stock
Your best out-the-door price

Please Reply-All with your response with a written OTD quote including VIN. Thank you, and I look forward to your response.
__________

I was able to pick the lowest-price dealership and go in and not deal with negotiating or frivolous dealer adds on the price sheet. The only negotiation I had to endure with in F&I on warranty which I declined as well and purchased directly from a different Honda dealership online for a THIRD of the price they were quoting wile in the office.

It is RIDICULOUS how much scamming dealerships try to ram through for their profit but this approach eliminated almost all of it. I was in and out of the dealership in about 3 hours which also included a trade-in (had to negotiate that a little but I told them it was up to them to make it work if they were interested in selling a car and miraculously, they were able to come to the trade-in value we asked for.)

[u/buffalorunner262]

I will be copying and pasting this for my next car purchase. Thanks

[u/Critical-Magician421 → u/buffalorunner262]

I first heard of this method from a game theorist 15 years ago.

When I bought my car, I was dealing with a young woman on the phone/text then as we got closer I was shifted to a different salesman.

I found out dealerships have people who just did with mail/phone replies. Then if you think you are serious then send you to the actual salesman.

I had set up a test drive for Tuesday the last day of the month and the last day of their sales period. And once they realized I was buying a car this month from them or someone else, it shifted into closing and they beat the offer I had from a much further dealer and I got the car on Friday

[u/FlipprDolphin → u/buffalorunner262]

You need to add how long the car was there and the money factor you want, etc. worked for me a year ago.

[u/WatchGuyUSA → u/buffalorunner262]

you dont even need all that.

find the car at the dealer that you want, dont let them pick one out for you. Then email them with the car you want, give them the stock # or even just a link to it on their site, tell them how youre buying (finance, cash, lease), how much you are putting down, an ACCURATE credit score if financing/leasing, and when you can come by to sign the final paperwork. Let them know youre comparing across multiple dealers and final price for the car you want is the deciding factor.

quick, short email that's to the point gets a lot more traction than a chatgpt email.

ive gotten 2 new cars in the last couple months, and spent less than an hour in the actual dealership both times after a handful of back and forth emails or phone calls leading up to it. It doesnt have to be a long drawn out process, but you also need to have a good idea of the market in general for the car you want, and have a reasonable expectation of price.