this article is reprinted by permission from nerdwallet buying a vehicle is more difficult than ever shoppers have long been accustomed to negotiating discounts from the figure on the window sticker in today’s shortagedriven market though many dealers say there is no room for negotiating the cost of a new or used car in fact buyers typically arrive on the dealer lot to find a broad assortment of addons and fees attached to that asking price inflating the final tally by thousands of dollars some could be extras such as window tint or floor mats or protective film some could be fees to cover the cost of advertising or preparing a car for sale some may be boldly labeled “added dealer markup” what will the dealer negotiate on which fees are mandated by law how do you find the best deal your most powerful bargaining strategy is to not negotiate those individual extras at all instead ask the question that reduces the number of moving parts to one “what’s my outthedoor price”   reduces confusion by allowing you to focus on a single number   allows you to make applestoapples comparisons of offers from different dealers   protects you from negotiating on the monthly payment a favorite tactic at dealerships   avoids lastminute surprises when you review the sales contract   helps you set a budgeted price and adhere to it what is the outthedoor price simply put the outthedoor price totals all the pieces of a car purchase and gives you one clear price it represents the number on the check you’d have to write to take the car home if you don’t know the outthedoor price and negotiate instead on the purchase price of the car itself or worse yet the monthly payment you may be shocked when you see the total amount you have to pay that price might have been pumped up by a number of late additions to the contract here’s a review of the costs included in a typical car deal   the negotiated price of the car   destination charge if the vehicle is new   documentation fee the dealer’s charge for making up the sales contracts in many states it is capped by law any equity you have in your tradein would reduce the outthedoor cost but here’s the thing sometimes a dealer includes additional items in a sales contract such as an extended warranty antitheft devices dealer addons such as mud guards or hidden fees that they consider part of the deal but you might not the dealer may be quite upfront and list “market adjustment” or similar language right on the sticker as well it’s hard to keep track of all those items and to know what is negotiable but by asking for the outthedoor price you are getting all those moving parts wrapped up in one neat figure how to use the outthedoor price first of all you need to estimate what you can afford to spend even before you hit the dealerships add the sales price any destination charge sales taxes title and registration fees and document fee if you have equity in your tradein deduct it from this amount if you owe more than your trade is worth you’re upsidedown on the loan add that to this amount also see more car shoppers are thinking about evs but still holding back that total represents your minimum outthedoor cost in today’s market you may have to decide how much more than that you’re willing to pay whatever that amount is use it to   calculate car payments while you don’t want to negotiate monthly payments at the dealership you do want to have an idea of what that final number might be   shop for a car loan ahead of time using the total minus any down payment you have ideally try for a down payment of 20 and a loan no longer than 60 months a preapproved loan in your pocket gives the dealer something to beat and removes any worry that you won’t qualify   compare dealer quotes with your total as a benchmark there are many tools that allow you to locate and negotiate for a car without going to the dealership in fact the only real reason to go in person is to test drive the car   search the online inventory of dealerships in your area to find the car you want with the right options package and in the color you like if you don’t find what you want ask what vehicles are inbound from the factory   contact the dealership’s internet manager by email verify that the car is still on the lot or inbound and request a price quote   if the dealer’s price is close to msrp request an outthedoor price with a breakdown of fees   compare the outthedoor price from different dealerships to find your best deal   your final sales contract will enumerate each of the fees and extras but the total should reflect your agreedupon outthedoor price any dealer’s outthedoor price is negotiable they may stand firm because they know the vehicle can be sold at that price or they may reduce the outthedoor price by eliminating some of the extras or shaving their price you might like thinking of a tesla here are answers to some questions about the popular model 3 once you know what the outthedoor price is you can ask the dealer to give you a monthly payment based on that amount you will need to fill out a credit application and tell the dealer how much of a down payment you want and how long you want to finance the loan use the dealer’s financing if it can beat the rate you brought to the table   5 mistakes that can lead to a bad car loan   3 ways to tap the unexpected equity in your leased car   squeeze another 20k miles out of your current car