Buying a car can be a daunting task, especially with prices rising. The average new car buyer is now paying more than $49,000, up more than 3% in the last year, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Many buyers know the price can be negotiated. But how can you be sure the price you pay is a good one?
Tomi Mikula has found a niche helping new car buyers get a good deal for a flat fee. For $1,000, he negotiates on their behalf, often helping them save thousands more than he’s paid. Mikula has become so popular that he now has a staff of employees helping him at Delivrd, the company he founded to help buyers get better deals.
“We had a dealership the other day trying to charge a $5,000 markup on a Toyota Sienna,” Mikula told Boston 25 News. “We found one an hour away, and it was $3,000 below MSRP. So, for that client, it was an $8,000 swing, and they paid us $1,000.”
Mikula and his team do it all. They call multiple dealerships, research their prices, then pit dealers against each other to drive down prices for buyers. Mikula even streams his calls on his Instagram page, which has racked up more than 130,000 followers.
Mikula doesn’t take on every buyer who reaches out to him. Some high-demand cars can be difficult to make it worth his fee. He also doesn’t take on clients who are already in the negotiation process.
“If you’re in the middle of a negotiation, you’ve already put in time, you’ve already put in energy,” Mikula says. “I just tell those people to finish their deal, and I give them advice and tell them what I would do.”
Boston 25 reached out by email and phone to the National Auto Dealers Association, or NADA, for comment and inclusion in this report. NADA did not respond to our requests.
Mikula previously worked in car sales, so he knows the lingo and the ways dealers will sometimes try to get you to pay more -- all of which he willingly shares online.
“We really do believe that anybody can get a good deal on a car,” Mikula says.
So, what are his top three tips?
1) COMPETITION IS KING
First and most important, call competing dealers. And don’t be afraid to look an hour or more outside of your area.
“Get multiple dealerships against each other,” Mikula says. “The more the merrier.”
Once you know the car or truck you want, Mikula recommends calling five to 10 dealerships. Be ready to know the exact model, trim, and options you want.
“You don’t want to just call them all and say, ‘I’m looking for the best deal,’” Mikula warns. “You actually want to get offers from one, give them to all the other dealerships, and keep doing that until nobody’s willing to be the deal.”
It can take time and legwork, but Mikula says the savings could be as high as 10% off MSRP.
2) DITCH THE DEALER ADD-ONS
Second, Mikula suggests asking the dealer to knock off the added cost of any dealer add-ons. If they say no, ask them to remove the add-ons entirely.
“The paint protection and the tint they say is mandatory, the theft protection, all of these things they add onto the price of the car.... are negotiable,” Mikula says.
3) KEEP YOUR DISTANCE
Finally, Mikula recommends you don’t step foot on a dealer lot until you have a deal you want.
“Tell dealerships you’re not willing to come in without a price,” Mikula says. “And if they say they can’t give you a price over the phone, just tell them you’re not willing to buy from them.”
Mikula says those dealers will often cave once a competitor offers a price.
“I promise you, if you keep calling dealerships, you’ll find dealerships that are willing to give you a price, and... you’ll be shocked once you have offers in hand, how a dealership will start to fold over and actually negotiate with you.”
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