How it works
- Pick the carMake, model, your ZIP. Then your number: ten seconds, above.
- We find it everywhereText us and we email every dealer within about an hour of you that has one, as you, from your own inbox. We ask each for its out-the-door price in writing and text you the list. Free.
- We negotiate, you pick it upThe lowest written quote goes to every other dealer, round after round, until the price stops moving. You walk in with a number agreed in writing. A dealer only calls once everything is settled, and you get a brief before it.
Why dealers quote less when we ask
A dealer's whole process is built to get you into a chair. Ours never lets it start.
- Out-the-door, itemized, in writing. The price with the fees, the add-ons and the taxes, so nothing new shows up at the desk.
- Every dealer knows the others are quoting. The best written offer goes to everyone else, and they bid against each other while you do something else.
- No round limit. We stop when the price stops moving: a dealer's final number, tiny drops, nobody beating the best.
- Your phone number never reaches a dealer. No calls, no “come in and we’ll talk.” Everything is email, from your inbox, as you.
- Pre-approved? We say so, and that you’re open to their financing. Credibility first; a deposit only once the number is agreed.
The five moves that actually lower the price
Everything a dealer does is designed to move you off these five. Everything we do is these five.
- Negotiate the price, never the payment. A payment can be made to say anything by stretching the loan. Ask for the out-the-door price: car, fees, add-ons, tax, one number.
- Get it in writing, from more than one dealer. A number over the phone doesn't exist. An email from three dealers is leverage.
- Let dealers know they're competing. Send the lowest written quote to the others and ask if they'll beat it. Repeat. The price stops moving when nobody will.
- Strip the add-ons before you walk in. Nitrogen, paint protection, “market adjustment,” doc fees above the state norm: all negotiable, all easier to remove by email than at a desk.
- Have your financing before you shop, and say so. Pre-approved with a named lender, open to theirs if it's better. Dealers take a written number seriously when they know you can pay it.
That's the whole method. It takes most people a week of evenings. It takes us a few days of emails you never read.
Doing it yourself vs. with Refund Agent
| Yourself | With Refund Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Finding the car | Hours on dealer sites, one at a time | One search across every dealer near you |
| Getting a real price | A phone number and a “come on in” | Itemized out-the-door quotes, in writing |
| Haggling | Four hours in a chair, the manager, the “let me check” | Dealers bid against each other by email |
| Add-ons and fees | Found out at the desk | Stripped before you walk in |
| Your phone | Rings for weeks | Dealers never get it |
Questions about negotiating a car price
What's a good discount off MSRP?
It depends on the car, not on a rule of thumb. A model that sits on the lot moves well below sticker; one in short supply doesn't. The only reliable way to find the real floor is to make dealers bid against each other with the same car and the same ask. That's what the search above starts.
What is an out-the-door price?
The total you'd pay to drive off: the car, dealer fees, add-ons, registration and taxes. It's the only number worth comparing between dealers, because fees and add-ons differ wildly and the “sale price” hides them.
Should I negotiate the monthly payment or the price?
The price. A payment hides the loan length, the rate and the add-ons. Agree on the out-the-door price first, then talk financing if you want theirs.
When is the best time to buy a car?
The end of a month or quarter helps a little, the last days of the year a little more. But a dealer with a competing written quote in hand moves more than any calendar does.
What if the dealer says the price is firm?
Some are, on some cars. Most aren't. A dealer that says “final” still sees every lower quote we get, once, and often finds room. If nobody beats the best number, that was the price.
What does it cost?
The search is free: you get every dealer's written price with no strings. Before we do anything that costs money, we tell you the price by text and you say yes or no.
Do I ever have to talk to a dealer?
Not until the number is agreed. Dealers get an email address, never your phone. When everything is settled in writing, one call to confirm the paperwork and the pickup, and you get a short brief before it: who, what's agreed, what not to re-open.
More on cars
- Find your car at every dealer near youPick the car. Refund Agent emails every dealer within an hour that has it, gets their real out-the-door prices in writing, and negotiates for you by text. The search is free.
- How to negotiate a car leaseHow to negotiate a car lease: it's the price of the car, the money factor and the fees, not the monthly payment. Refund Agent gets them in writing from every dealer and negotiates for you.
Pick the car. We do the dealers.
Thirty seconds above, then a text. Every dealer near you, their real prices in writing, and a negotiation you never sit through.
Find my car at every dealer