'Personal car buying advocate' shares easy hack to bag big discounts from dealerships

With the American economy not doing so well, most people are reluctant to spend their money on depreciating assets such as cars. Most people just want to get from one place to another with a car that won't dent their wallet. Dealerships also seem to be catching on to this trend, as most of them are becoming desperate to increase their sales figures. Customers can take advantage of this to bag amazing deals, according to Tommy—who goes by @tomislavmikula on TikTok and describes himself as a "Personal car buying advocate." The creator posted a video sharing how people could use a trick to make sure they get the best deal while purchasing a new car.

He starts the video by saying, "Dealerships are getting so desperate to the point where you can save thousands of dollars on almost any car." Tommy reveals how he had been in the car business for most of his adult life and has now moved into negotiating car deals for others. The tactic he utilizes allows him to reduce the price quite a bit on popular cars. "Some of the deals that I've negotiated this week was $5,000 off a BMW X1. We got $4,000 off a Santa Fe and we saved $3,000 off an Ioniq," he claims in his video.

Tommy is aware that his hack will not work for some brands like Toyota. Even then, for most cars, his hack could save people a lot of money, which can be incredibly beneficial in today's economy. What makes his strategy even more appealing is how potential customers do not have to waste their time and energy by visiting dealership after dealership. They can do it all over their phone. In his video, Tommy highlights how people could also opt to text or email dealerships.

He also shared an interesting anecdote about a Mazda CX-5 that he negotiated for and how the dealer eventually sold it with a $1500 discount. He explains, "All you have to do is contact multiple dealerships. I recommend if it's a common car, five dealerships, uncommon car, 10 dealerships, and ask them for their best out-the-door price." In his experience, 20% of dealerships would not give out this price, while 80% would agree and share their prices. Initially, they are most likely to give out a price that was not overly competitive.

The next step involves taking the best quote and sending it to other dealerships, asking them if they could beat that price. He says, "You keep doing this over and over until you have a winner. That winner is gonna be the best deal when nobody's willing to match that deal." Tommy also shared that this process did not take long. The BMW X1 that he got for a discount of $4800 only took him two days of calls. He added that people generally hire him to save time and that most people could actually do it themselves if they put their mind to it.

You can follow Tommy (@tomislavmikula) on his TikTok page for more valuable insights on car dealerships.