'You can either work with me, or I walk': 18-year-old discovers that car dealer won't negotiate car price despite their strong evidence for the asking price

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Aug 22, 2024 11:00 AM EDT

Can a car dealer haggle a price with a teenager? This car dealer barely even tried, as u/rattlesnake501 explained.

It can be really tricky to know how to negotiate a car deal. There are various different websites that can tell you how much the car should be worth based on its age, mileage, and other factors, like if it's been in a crash. But just because you show up to the dealership with these facts in hand, doesn't mean that the car dealer will actually agree with you. If your paperwork says the car should cost $4500 and they want $20k, that's a huge price gap to overcome. The car dealer has their own bottom line: their boss might not let them sell the car for less than $15k, and no matter how long you try to convince them to sell it for $11k, they can't and won't do it. You can try to call their bluff, but, as commenters told to this person, there's only so much you can do to prove your point. 

Up next, this nonathletic kid was forced by their school to join a sports team, so they decided to find the most teenage way possible to "make sure I fail." 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10391956992
    via Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
  • 02
    Won't negotiate with an 18 year old? Won't make a sale.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 03
    Background info: this happened two years ago, I won't go into detail because this was a locally owned lot. and I do not wish to expose my hometown. It was in Kentucky.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 04
    I was 18 years old one nice and brisk Kentucky September, and I was in the market to purchase a used car for college, specifically a Jeep TJ SE with the 5 speed, upgraded OEM manifold instead of the problematic tubular one, full doors, and a factory or suitable quality aftermarket hardtop. I had done my research, I knew what I was looking for, what problems the TJs I was
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 05
    looking at had, where to look for issues, and what they were selling for. I knew those Jeeps front, back, and sideways, to include being able to identify them within a ten year span from the taillights on the highway in the dark. I've been wrenching on cars since I was 14, and I know my way around the undercarriage and engine bay of a vehicle.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 06
    I was cruising around the town, and I spotted a good looking Jeep in red, bone stock with the options I wanted. Called my grandfather, who is my go- to "take a look at this in case I missed something" guy for this kind of thing, and picked him up to take a look at it. It had some problems, but nothing too bad, nothing out of the ordinary for a 4 wheel drive
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 07
    vehicle of this Jeep's age. Took a test drive, no problems, let's get to talking. Now, this was a 2001 Jeep with 103k miles, and it was literally the lowest optioned edition they made- no automatic transmission, no engine upgrade, regular axles, whole nine was base model. Their asking price was $11,500.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 08
    HAIL no. This was a $6000 car all day, but nobody in their right mind would pay 11.5k for it. So I put on my negotiation pants and started trying to work the salesman down to a price that I was satisfied with. Dude wouldn't even talk to me- he was apparently only satisfied with trying to sell to my grandfather, who (to his credit) just pointed to
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 09
    me and told the guy I was the one to talk to. After a few back and forths without having my comments heard, I realized that I was getting nowhere, and we bowed out gracefully. I came back alone the next day to negotiate one on one. At this point, the Jeep is not on the lot- apparently it was refusing to turn over due to
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 10
    an electrical gremlin. No big deal, issue I was expecting to deal with, but that's more money and time I would have to sink into the thing, so it was more imperative I negotiate hard and fair. Walked onto the lot, found the same salesman, and I cut right to the chase. Me: "I can't do 11.5 for this. What can you do to work with me?" Sales: "Well, I can't
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 11
    give you a huge discount, this Jeep is worth what we're asking." M: "Kelly Blue Book says this Jeep in better condition is worth $6000." S: "Nobody in this industry uses Kelly Blue Book, we all use NADA, and that's what we base our prices on." M: "OK, NADA says that you shouldn't have paid a dime more than 4500 for this Jeep and should have it priced at 6500-7000.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 12
    Checked this morning." S: "Well, those are prices for Jeeps in worse condition than this one is" M: "So you're overlooking the cracked hardtop, the nonfunctioning rear wiper, the major dent in the tub where someone dropped something on it, the rust in the rockers, the six-months- or-one-good-rain-from- freezing rear gate hinges, the whistling door frame,
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 13
    and the leak on the passenger side cowl, not to mention the fact that it doesn't even start right now? Look, sir, I can give you $6k today. That's a fair price for you and for me, if you based your buying on NADA like you said you did. You can either work with me, or I walk and never set foot on your lot again."
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 14
    Guy thought he called my bluff, told me to walk off the lot because he couldn't follow the pricing he said he followed. So I did. I got back in my junky hand me down truck that ran like a top because of my own work on it, drove off the lot, and didn't come back. The lot closed for good about a year later.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 15
    Tl;dr: gearhead 18 year old with mechanical experience and a lot of research goes to buy Jeep, dealer doesn't take him seriously, kid points out a laundry list of things that are wrong with the Jeep and quotes the very database the dealer claims to use for pricing and gives a work with me or I walk ultimatum, dealer thinks hes bluffing, he walks.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 16
    ghaelon wanting double the book value for a POS? no wonder they shut down.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 17
    rattlesnake501 OP. I'm just surprised that they had been able to make it for 30 years before this. Overpricing and lying to customers on condition vs pricing isn't a business strategy I would expect to be successful for very long.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 18
    [deleted] I went car shopping with an ex. She was trying to negotiate on price and they wouldn't budge. They said their prices are fair and they never call someone after they leave to lower the price. My ex was stupid and she freaked out about financing , threw a tantrum and we left.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 19
    Funny how they called her up an hour later to apologize and offer a lower price.
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 20
    [deleted] Guy thought he called my bluff. As a person that did this more than once. It wasn't until I worked in this industry that I learned they weren't calling my/your bluff. They have a bottom line. Each one is treated differently on wiggle room, if any. Both you and I walked away
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 21
    from a bad deal, good call on our part. But at no point was regret felt by the sales person. He was just doing his job and we made it clear we were't going to play by the rules. he was given. We did them a favor, time is money. Some sales are salary only, not every dealership is structured around commission, although the
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 22
    majority seem to be. I know being a sales person is not something I could do. Working every weekend and using up all the prime hours of your day to waste away hoping for a customer and doing everything you can so your family can eat tomorrow or during the slow season. Now I respect them, that takes
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 23
    TheSputNic I get that they wanted too much for the car, but if you are only willing to pay 50% of the marked price why even bother?
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 24
    rattlesnake501 OP Wiggle room. I had been willing to pay more than what I offered, but started low so there was room to come up. Edit to add: wiggle room, but the guy had also me off by ignoring me and lying to me about the condition of the car relative to pricing. I
    via u/rattlesnake501
  • 25
    also used the fact that the thing wasn't even able to start up when I went back as leverage. I wasn't expecting to get a 50% discount. I just wanted to be worked with and come to a price we were both comfortable with.
    via u/rattlesnake501

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