---
title: 'Don''t Buy a Car Until You Watch THIS Video | How to Negotiate in 2026'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=i-Jz6TBeJ0w'
video_id: 'i-Jz6TBeJ0w'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 630
---

# Don't Buy a Car Until You Watch THIS Video | How to Negotiate in 2026

> Source: [Don't Buy a Car Until You Watch THIS Video | How to Negotiate in 2026](https://youtube.com/watch?v=i-Jz6TBeJ0w)

## Summary



## Transcript

My name's Ray Schiffsky and I sold cars
for 43 years. My son Zach and I are
going to show you exactly how you go
about negotiating the best possible car
deals in 2026.
>> Welcome to Gotcha Subaru. My name's
Zach. How can I help you today, sir?
>> Uh my name's Ray and I'm interested in
one of your cross tracks.
>> Okay. Thanks for coming in, Ray. Really
appreciate that. Yeah, we've got plenty
of cross tracks on the lot. Did you
happen to do some research? Do you know
a specific one you're interested in or
do you want me to show you a few that
might be good options for you? Uh, I was
interested in a 2025 Cross Trek Limited
that you had. Uh, I've done a little bit
of research on the car and I believe
you've had that car for I don't know
about 187 days. It's a white one with
the with black interior. Yeah. The stock
number I have it right here. The stock
numbers S's and Sam 3768186.
>> Okay, sounds like you did your research.
Let me look up that stock number really
quickly. Let me punch it into my
computer. Give me one second here. That
was S's as in Sam 3768186.
So, okay. Yep. This pulled up really
quickly here for me, Ray. I've got it
right here. 2025 Subaru Cross Trek
Limited $36,547
MSRP. It's got that interior like you
mentioned. I think you said something
about the days, but I don't I don't
quite remember what that was. Yeah. Do
you want me to get the keys? Do you want
to go for a test drive? I mean, what can
I do for you here?
>> Well, uh, we need to discuss the out
the-do price on the vehicle. Um, I I
know that you've had it a while. You
know, I' I've done some market research
and I know that that they're selling
fairly well, but this particular one,
according to the market research that
I've done, you've been advertising this
vehicle for sale for the last 187 days.
So, it's probably been sitting around a
little longer than what your sales
manager would prefer. And and I was
thinking because of that, he could do me
a favor and I can do you guys a favor.
If we can work out a deal that's
acceptable, I could take that vehicle
off your books.
>> Okay. So, uh I hear you loud and clear.
You've been doing your research. We love
when customers come in and they've done
their research. Just makes the
negotiation process that much simpler
for us. But 187 days, I don't know where
you're getting that number. I think this
one just came off the truck the other
day. It's brand new, fresh on the lot.
That being said, you also said out the
door price. What What do you mean by
that, Ray? What can I do for you when it
comes to the out the door?
>> And and and you're right, it did just
come off the truck 187 days ago. That
would be 6 months. Just just just so we
understand each other. Uh just a few
days ago. 6 months is not just a few
days ago. Um the the out the door
number, what I'm talking about is I need
to get a complete breakdown of the price
of the vehicle, including all fees.
That's state taxes, registration, every
fee that you would charge me. And I need
to know what that out thedoor number is
as if I am going to actually write a
check for it.
>> Okay. Gotcha. Well, see, at our
dealership here at Gotcha Subaru, I'm
not allowed to actually give out
pricing. I'll have to go talk to my
manager for that. Do you want me to go
run to my manager and get you a price
quote?
>> Uh, you can either run to your manager
or have your manager run out to you. One
of the two.
>> Okay, Ray, good news. my manager gave me
the numbers here. And I want to let you
know that this deal is only good today.
So that means that if you were to come
back tomorrow, this price would no
longer be honored. This deal is only for
today. Now, online, we had the vehicle
advertised at $34,285.
Now, every vehicle here at Gotacha
Subaru gets two add-ons. One is our
Gotacha dock fee, which is $1,000. So
that takes us up to $35,285.
And then we add $2,000 in the Gotcha
appearance package. That's to make sure
that the vehicle stays in tip-top
condition. It's a paint sealant and an
interior protection product. And it even
includes uh this thing called a window
etch, which makes sure if your vehicle
gets stolen, we're able to locate. So
that's an additional $2,000. So we're up
to $37,285.
There's some state fees and some taxes
and things like that. Most my manager
can get on an out the door worksheet for
you here in just a couple minutes. But I
wanted to talk to you a little bit.
Again, this is the best deal we can
possibly offer and it's and it's only
good for today.
>> Well, that that that that probably
explains why that car has been sitting
here 187 days. Um,
you know, I really I'm not interested in
your gotcha package. Um, I I don't need
the paint protection. I've got a garage
at home. Uh, interior protection. Um,
you know, I don't have any kids or
anything that are going to be spilling
their sodas and and their snacks in the
car. Um, and and window etch, uh, you
know, I've done my research. Window etch
is worthless. So, here here's what we
need to do. We need to work on an out
the-do number and and that out the door
number has to be less the the selling
price has to be less than what it's
advertised online for. And it cannot
include the $1,000 dock fee and the
$2,000 gotcha package. So, if you would
be so kind, I I'll just ask this one one
more time. Could you run or skip or walk
quickly to your manager and ask him to
provide me with that information? I need
that complete breakdown. Listen, I I
know that you're advertising it at a
good price, but that advertised price
means nothing if you're going to add
$3,000 worth of uh useless stuff that I
wasn't remotely interested in. So, I I
know the invoice was 34391 or something
like that. We need to do better.
>> Now, Ray, I'm going to go talk to my
manager, but I know he's going to ask me
two questions. One is, how do you plan
on purchasing this vehicle? That can
impact the out the door price if you're
going to finance it, pay cash, lease it.
That can change the ultimate selling
price of the vehicle. And the other
question my manager is going to ask me
is, do you have trade in? Because again,
that can totally change the out the-do
price of the vehicle. So, let me know
the answer to those questions and then
I'll skip and jump and walk back to my
manager and get you a new out the door
price.
>> I'm I'm I'm planning on buying it once I
get that out the door number that I can
look at. That's how I'm planning on
buying it. If I don't get to see that
information, it doesn't matter if I'm
going to finance it, if I'm going to
lease it, or if I'm going to pay cash
for it. Okay? Let's establish a selling
price with all the fees first and then
then if that's acceptable, then I can
have that conversation as to how to pay
for it with the finance manager when I
go to complete all the paperwork.
>> But what about your trade in? You must
have a trade in. And again, that can
totally change the numbers of this car
deal. So, I need to know, do you have a
tradein?
>> Uh, I I I don't know if I have a trade
in or I don't have a trade in. I have
the opportunity to sell my car, the my
existing car to my neighbor who's uh
whose daughter's graduating high school
and she needs a car and they like the
car or I I I have an offer from CarMax
um and I can sell it directly to them.
So, let's not worry about the trade.
That's a complete separate transaction.
Just get me that out the door price. I
don't want to have to ask again. If I
have to ask again, well, I'll have to go
to your competitor. Well, Ray, I'm going
to go talk to my manager, but I don't
know if you've given me enough to work
with here. I don't know how you're
planning on paying for the vehicle. I
have no clue if you have a trade. It
sounds like you probably do, but maybe
you won't sell it to us. And obviously,
you're not interested in any of our
gotcha packages, which is a bit of a
bummer, but I'll go talk to my manager
and see what I can do.
>> Well, yes, please. And uh and if you can
speed up the process just a tad, I would
greatly appreciate it.
>> So, Pops, there we go. That's pretty
much the experience of negotiating a new
car at the dealership. And quite
frankly, if you are buying a new car in
2026, you shouldn't do any of this at
the dealership. You should do all of
this virtually. You can get those out
the door price quotes either via phone,
text, or email, and ultimately compare
offers from multiple dealerships because
that back and forth that we were just
starting to get into, sure, it was a
couple minutes long in this video, but
that can last hours at the dealership,
and that's really not a good use of your
time.
>> Uh, no. And the best use of your time is
is to do that research online. Uh to
reach out uh via email or text. Uh the
phone is wonderful, but you know, they
might record the conversation, but you
won't. I prefer written context here so
that you can refer to what they said and
what you said. So, I would prefer email
or text. Um, and and yes, reach out to a
number of dealers, but you you you have
to do that research prior to ever going
into the dealership. You have to do that
outreach prior to ever going to the
dealership so you have as much of this
established as you possibly can so you
don't have to do that back and forth
dance in the dealership.
>> Yeah. I want to separate research and
outreach though, Dad, because research
is trying to figure out things, for
example, like how long the vehicle's
been on the lot, what the dealer invoice
price is, how fast inventory is turning
over. Outreach is outreach and getting
out the door price quotes. And to me,
those feel like very separate activities
in 2026 if I'm buying a new car. You
referenced multiple times in that
roleplay 187 days on the lot. You
mentioned the dealer invoice cost. You
were very knowledgeable. You even
mentioned that the car was selling,
those types of cars were selling fast in
that market area. All that research can
be done online. We provide that
information at car edge.com. Many other
websites provide information as well.
You got to do that and you have to
locate five, 10, 15 vehicles that match
your criteria. The outreach is a whole
another ballgame. You can do the
research and never do the outreach. And
the price may change as you saw in that
roleplay by $3,000. And for doing the
outreach, it's all about, to your point,
getting written out the door price
quotes. And then the strategy is very
simple. You just get the lowest number
there depending on how much energy you
want to put in. and you can share those
quotes with the dealers you're talking
to to see who wants to match or beat it.
I think that's like really the the the
all-encompassing approach here is do
your research and then when you go to do
your outreach, know your strategy is get
multiple offers. So in 2026, the actual
time spent at the dealership should be
to take delivery. In many states, you
can also do e signature. So really going
to the dealership is just taking
delivery of the vehicle, not even doing
the negotiation. I do think it's
important to note and we'll make a
follow-up video that is a role play for
the finance office because in a lot of
instances that does take place at the
dealership. That's where your interest
rate comes in, the auto loan. But pretty
much everything can be done before you
go to the dealership. If you do your
research and your outreach beforehand,
obviously back at car edge.com, we have
tools that can help you do this. And at
a minimum, even just watching this video
means you're a step ahead of most car
shoppers.
>> Absolutely. You, I think, nailed it.