feat(post): How AI saved us thousands on a new car

Author: dcroote

_posts/2025-02-01-ai-car-negotiations.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: How AI Saved Us Thousands on a New Car
+image: images/ai-car-negotiations/otd-price-negotiations.webp
+image-alt: Visualization of out-the-door price negotiations
+last_modified_at: 2025-02-01 17:00:00 -0700
+comments: false
+---
+
+We loved our 2011 Subaru Forester, but recently driving various rentals made us realize how far cars had come. My wife felt heated steering and it was game over.
+
+New car here we come.
+
+It took some time to decide which vehicle was right for us, but we ultimately settled on a hybrid SUV of a particular color.
+
+Now what?
+
+Drive to a dealer and negotiate? Call or email first? Visit multiple dealers since several have our vehicle? What exactly should we say given we have a trade-in as well as some payment flexibility? When is the best time?
+
+I turned to AI, specifically Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet, for strategy:
+
+<div class="ai-text-block" markdown="1">
+Let me help you develop a negotiation strategy for your purchase. Let's break this down systematically:
+
+Market Analysis:
+
+- Having 10 vehicles available across 3 dealerships gives you good leverage for negotiation
+- Hybrids generally have strong demand, but having multiple options suggests less scarcity pressure
+- Yours is a common color combination, which is good for negotiating as it's not a rare specification
+
+Pricing Strategy:
+
+- Target Price: You should aim for 3-5% below MSRP in the current market
+
+Negotiation Approach:
+
+1. Contact all 3 dealerships simultaneously:
+   - Email each dealer requesting their best out-the-door (OTD) price
+   - Mention you're contacting multiple dealers for the same vehicle
+   - Don't mention your trade-in initially
+2. Trade-in strategy:
+   - Get the vehicle price negotiated first
+   - Only then discuss your trade-in
+   - Consider selling your trade-in privately if dealers offer less than $1,500
+3. Specific tactics:
+   - Request itemized pricing including all fees and taxes
+   - If a dealer comes back with a good offer, use it to negotiate with others
+   - Be ready to walk away - having multiple options is your strongest leverage
+   - Consider end-of-month timing when dealers may be more motivated to meet sales targets
+
+</div>
+
+The conversation was more extensive and specific, but I've edited for brevity while retaining the essence.
+
+Following instructions, I kicked off the process by emailing 3 dealers on a Wednesday night near the end of the month, then over the next 2 days I adhered to Claude's strategy as much as possible.
+
+Here is how it went, visualized. Each point represents an out-the-door (OTD) price offer from one of the 3 dealers:
+
+<img src="/images/ai-car-negotiations/otd-price-negotiations.svg" alt="Visualization of out-the-door price negotiations" class="centered_img" />
+
+In the end we saved over $4K on the OTD price, including receiving a higher-than-expected $1500 for the trade-in.
+
+We're happy with the outcome, and even happier with the car.

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