This Life Hack for Saving on a Used Car without Stepping Foot in a Dealership

Not tryin to flex, but we just got this '22 Sienna Hybrid to replace our '11 Sienna. 36 MPGs!

Even better? This life hack for saving on a used car without stepping foot in a dealership.

Passing this on just to be a bro, I'm no @GuyDealership!

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Here's what I did to save $4.6k:

1. Forget Carvana and any other in person or online dealership. You can do cheaper with less brain damage. I'm not a fan of the dealership rigamarole.

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2. Go to Autotrader and search nationwide for your dream car. Sort by price and find a car that meets these criteria:

- Clean Carfax

- Reputable, highly rated dealership that will ship and includes a warranty

- Priced right

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3. Get the dealer on the phone and negotiate your price. Be willing to walk, tell them you are shopping nationwide and want to ship. If you can catch them at the end of the month or quarter, even better. They're no longer competing with the guy down the road, they're competing with everyone in the country. Tell them you'll pay a deposit TODAY.

Look at the Carfax to see how long that dealership has had it. If they've had it a while, use that in your negotiating. They're going to want to unload it.

If they play hardball, tell them your friend used to works at a dealership and so you know how "this works." They'll roll their eyes. But you can't see it so you don't care.

BTW, I'm your friend, and I did work at a dealership in college (for 2 weeks 😂), and I know how it works, so you're not lying. 😉

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4. Once you agree on a price, have the salesperson FaceTime you while they walk around the car. Look at everything! Don't let them lead.

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5. Does it make you nervous to not test drive? That's ok! I didn't care because I know Siennas and I'm a risk taker.

One thing I learned when I worked at a dealership is there's a whole community of old retired dudes that transport and drive cars a few hours per week.

Go in a local FB group for that area and post, looking for that guy. Or go to Thumbtack . com and find a mobile mechanic. Even better! Pay them a couple hundred to inspect the vehicle and test drive it. They are completely unbiased, you're paying them no matter what!

Once again, it's coming with a warranty anyway.

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6. Don't use in-house financing. Use a local, small credit union in your area to get the best rate. This dealership won't be making much on you, that's the goal. If they add funny business to the invoice, ask them to itemize and justify every little charge.

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7. Have the dealership arrange shipping. It should be $1,000 - $1,500.

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8. Take delivery! Enjoy! Load up the kids and go get some ice cream.

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This definitely isn't for everyone, so proceed with caution. Carvana was consistently $2-5k more than everything I looked at with this method.

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Why am I talking used cars? Because I just did this last week and I thought it may be helpful to someone. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.