Sticker Items You Can – and Cannot – Negotiate at Car Dealerships

Every car buyer wants the best possible deal, which requires some negotiation. Which sticker items at are set in stone and which have some wiggle room?

Find Out How to Get the Best Price

A vehicle sale has many moving pieces, so there’s plenty of room for negotiations. While car dealerships have no say in things like taxes and transportation fees, there are other areas in which they can be more flexible.

Learning about the sticker items you can and cannot negotiate at car dealerships gives buyers some leverage. It also saves both parties a lot of time. Let’s start with the factors affecting cost that are non-negotiable.

Don’t Bother Trying to Negotiate These Costs

Tax and registration fees are the most obvious areas to let alone in negotiations. The state or local government sets these fees, so they vary by place. However, government entities offer no wiggle room when taking their cut.

Car dealerships won’t negotiate destination charges, either. The manufacturer sets those. Just be sure to look for secondary freight charges since those can be negotiated or eliminated.

Document processing fees are a gray area. They’re non-negotiable, but it’s fair game to see if the dealer will take the document fees off their selling price.

Understanding MSRP and Sales Prices

While the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of a vehicle is non-negotiable, that has little bearing on what drivers can expect to pay at the end of the transaction. Car dealerships typically sell vehicles for below the MSRP.

In some cases, as with vehicles in high demand or short supply, car dealerships attempt to sell vehicles for more than the MSRP. The price difference may be referred to as a market price adjustment or an additional dealer markup (ADM), and it’s entirely negotiable.

Additional Areas for Negotiation

Most dealers install car accessories to increase how much they make per vehicle. This is an area in which it’s OK to play hardball in negotiations to get a discounted price on the accessories. Car dealerships don’t expect every buyer to pay the total selling price on accessories.

Drivers planning to take out loans should note that interest rates are also entirely negotiable, though not every dealership’s financing department will come down on rates. In a worst-case scenario, be prepared to seek outside financing.

One final area that’s fair game for negotiations but often goes overlooked is finance and insurance. Savvy negotiators frequently get finance managers to come down on pricing for items like extended warranties or tire and wheel protection.

Enter Negotiations at Car Dealerships With Confidence

Now that it’s clear what you can and cannot negotiate at car dealerships, it’s time to start putting that knowledge to good use. Heading into negotiations armed with confidence and a little outside knowledge is always the best way to go.

Take the time to investigate things like the local market, outside interest rates for loans, and the value of your trade-in first. Remain patient and level-headed, and remember that there are plenty of car dealerships out there, and there is no requirement to buy from the first one you find.