Wording Emails for the Deal? [How To Negotiate]

That’s interesting. Why would that be?? I’ve had poor luck with SoCal Volvo Dealers. Some negotiated a little bit but for the most part have been slow to respond… it takes them literally 24-36 hours to reply to me…I sometimes wonder if my out of state area code makes them think I’m trying to pull quotes to negotiate :man_shrugging:

Some of the socal Volvo dealers are great. Some, not so much.

Hey guys,

Super new to this. I’m just about ready to send my emails out for a 2020 c300 deal. Just wondering if this is way too long? Any tips would be much appreciated. I’m going super aggressive as it’s the end of the month and assuming dealerships didn’t prepare their orders for March expecting to be completely online/in a possible recession. So aiming for 10-12% off MSRP which is $48,945 (to negotiate to maybe 8%?)

I’ve worded it so I’m discussing just the selling price first without incentives or rebates as @Electric said and not to just go straight to a lease payment in the opening email. Then take that discount and shop it around to other dealers so they can beat it. Then start working on the other numbers…MF, incentives, etc.

Dear Mr. …,

Thanks for reaching out so quickly. I’m wanting to work on a lease deal on the following vehicles that I found on your website:

Stock # : VIN :

However I am also happy with Mojave silver or Obsidian black if it’s a similar AMG Line/Night package with a macchiato/beige/white (or anything lighter) interior and woodgrain.

I am also considering the following other vehicles:

  • (identical vehicles from competitor dealerships*

I’m unable to provide a FICO score as I recently moved here but I have a cosigner ready to go that would qualify for the top tier 1 at SCORE

I am looking for a selling price before rebates or incentives of $43,072. If that’s something you can do I will be ready to get started on finalising the deal straight away. I should say I am prepared to finalize a deal as early as possible, however I am not in a huge hurry if you think that programs will change for the better next month with everything that’s going on!

Again, I kindly thank you for your time in advance, and I look forward to working with you to finalize this deal.

Sincerely,

Name

Don’t tell dealer A you are shopping him with dealer B. That’s an automatic delete with no reply 95% of the time

Don’t mention this next part…automatic delete as well. If you make it sound like you’re not ready to sign, they’re not interested, and will see you as a tire kicker

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That price doesn’t seem super aggressive. Look around here to see what others have gotten. Also, your email is way too long. If you know which stock# you want, take out the rest about other options and from other dealers.

My 2 cents:

Email 1: ask about stock # being available. See if a human responds

Email 2: Don’t draw it out. You gonna negotiate the selling price first, then the MF then argue about doc fees, nitrogen and Acq markup? No. Lay out the selling price, your incentives, MF and RV = monthly payment and DAS.

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I’ve found that normally just being brief and too the point works best. Dont give too much detail up front. I start off by telling them i’m interested in specific vehicle and give them stock #. Then I say that I have already test driven this exact model with options so i’ve already made my mind on this exact model. This is so they dont try to get you to come in and test drive. Lastly, I say what is your best dealer disocunt BEFORE any manufacturer incentives or rebates. I dont mention anything that I plan on leasing or how a plan on buying. At this point, that is irrelevent because I simply want the best they can do. So far this has worked out pretty well. I have 3 dealers currently offering same amount off of MSRP because I took screenshots of emails with other dealers. At this point, they are all just matching. Now i’m waiting to see what April rebates and numbers are before I proceed.

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I don’t think this will be a problem in the near future with COVID-19…

^^^^^^^ this

That is not necessarily true. Depends on the dealer.

Could you explain?

Sure. Reason I say that because I had 2 dealers respond when I showed them the other deal sheet. They both would match either. It came down to which dealer has lower over all costs. They were both in different states so it was easier to decide because one state in general had higher dealer lease fees.
It really depends on the sales person you are dealing with over email. Some are more into using email and technology like a younger person. Whereas, an other sales person may be more traditional way of selling face to face.

I think what is being referred to earlier is sending an initial email noting that you are shopping them. Most dealers probably realize you are going to get another quote.

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Hi,

I am trying to lease a Mercedes 2020 C300 4MATIC with MSRP around $51000-53000 in CT trying to aim for monthly payment less than $600/month including tax. I’m new to this stuff, so I’ve been reading lots of tips on here. There are 3 Mercedes dealers that I can go to, so I am planning to contact all of them by email. Do I get a deal from one of those dealers and contact other two dealers to see if they can beat it? Also, is it ok to just ask for no down payment? I saw that I should never pay down $ when leasing. I actually emailed one of the dealers to see how much discount they can give, and he said approximately 7-10%. Do I need to ask for more discount or is that a good discount? I am going to ask about money factor and residual on Edmunds to check on those.

If there are any tips you want to give, please do! I am new so any tip would be helpful.

Thank you in advance.

I am in Cleveland, and leasing a 2019 C300 4Matic w/ MSRP of 57k. I payed 499/month with PPM, but with 4k down (incl tax) which is approx 111 /36 months so id say you should easily get to the >600/month IF you get a lower MSRP vehicle.

The way I approach my deals is first thing I do is scout the share deals or marketplace thread to see what other hackers have been getting as a payment on an apples to apples car.

Then I would email a bunch of dealers that had the car I was looking at asking for similar terms to the previously achieved hacker deal. Many dealers will probably shut you down, if they dont want to play ball just move on.

Right now you’re doing things backwards. You need to figure out exactly what deal you want before talking to dealers. That means doing your research ahead of time, working out the details, getting comfortable with how leasing works, etc, and then thinking about reaching out to a dealer.

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Fill in the calc after confirming Residual, MF and Incentives at edmunds.

Here is an example for $49,995 Mercedes assuming 56% residual, .00056 MF, $500 Lease Cash and no loyalty. If you get too much over 50k, its ‘agreed value’ might exceed 50k even after discount because you capitalize the drive-offs. And tax on a car over 50k is higher than on under 50k

You should be able to avoid that by paying some inceptions down.

General advise here is not to put money down to decrease the cap cost. You can still do some inceptions, it doesn’t count as money down. But I would assume this forum wouldn’t mind you paying $300 down if required do decrease cap cost to keep the lower sales tax bracket.

There are plenty of email templates on this forum, and you should be able to craft one, should be short and to the point, easily. Suggest your own price, including all details such as MSDs or no MSDs, incentives you know about (from Edmunds).

but before you do that, fill in the calc, look at the numbers, and contact @AutoCompanion or other brokers on the forum. they might land a much better deal for you. He has a bunch of c300 demo listed with good discount, new ones too. You can also get c43 for under $600

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Programs may have changed from October. Find out what they are so you can negotiate with dealers. Or save yourself the time and reach out to @AutoCompanion. Even with shipping, it may still be worth it.

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Thank you guys so much for your help! I think I might reach out to leasecompanion to see if he can get a car with the options that I’m looking for. You guys are so helpful!

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