Don't Get SCREWED on a Used Car | How to NEGOTIATE in 2026

[00:00:00]You got 30 seconds to go back there and talk to your manager.

[00:00:03]>> Yeah.

[00:00:04]>> Or I'm getting up and leaving.

[00:00:05]>> Well, you know, it's really been a pleasure chatting with you, Zach, cuz I don't take well to threats like that.

[00:00:10]Okay? I really don't. If you want to have a conversation, you want to have a discussion, you want to try and figure out how we can get to a number that works for both of us, I'm all in. But, if it's going to be, "Well, threats, you've got 30 seconds." Guess what? I don't operate like that.

[00:00:28]Welcome, Zach. Welcome. How did your test drive go on on that '25 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid you were looking at?

[00:00:34]>> I really enjoyed taking the car for the test drive. Everything felt pretty good to me. It doesn't have a ton of miles on it, which I saw online. Really excited about that. And yeah, if we can work some good numbers here, I think I'd like to go home in it today. I'm feeling pretty excited about it.

[00:00:46]>> Um have you have you been looking long for for a vehicle like this?

[00:00:51]>> Yeah, I mean, I've been searching for a used car for a couple of weeks now. I've been doing a lot of research even before that to try and figure out what types of used cars I think are more reliable and a good value. But yeah, I've been I've been looking for a little bit here.

[00:01:02]Yeah.

[00:01:02]>> Okay, well, great. I I think I've got some numbers here that you're going to find really, really exciting. And I don't know, you just you impressed me as the kind of guy that, well, if an opportunity jumps up at you, you're you're ready to jump on it.

[00:01:16]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My whole life I've been a big opportunity guy, for sure.

[00:01:19]But you No, I watched some YouTube videos. I need to get the out the door price. That's what they keep telling me online. I got to get the OTD. So, you've got that for me?

[00:01:27]>> Do I have the OTD? Oh, yes, of course.

[00:01:29]Everything we do here at Gotcha Motors, it's it's it's all designed for Well, the customer's benefit, not ours.

[00:01:36]>> I see some paper. All right, let's look at some numbers.

[00:01:38]>> And look at the first thing that I have here for you. The total out the door price, it's $38,669.64.

[00:01:47]That's the first thing that I'm going over with you. It's the out the door price.

[00:01:51]>> It was advertised online at $30,000. You tell me it's $8,000 more now that I'm here?

[00:01:56]>> Well, well, you there's fees, there's taxes, there's there's there's all kinds of things that that go into the, you know, the the selling price is a selling price, but there's other fees that are associated with buying a car. So, don't don't act shocked when I when I tell you this, young man. It's It's just you know, part and parcel of the business.

[00:02:17]>> All right, there. What's How did we go from 30,490 bucks to 38,000?

[00:02:21]>> You know, I'm glad you asked because you you took the words right out of my mouth there. I was going to say, I want to go over this with you line by line so you have a total understanding of what we're talking about here. As you can see, the selling price is 30,490 dollars as advertised online.

[00:02:40]>> Yeah, that's what I saw online.

[00:02:40]>> Absolutely, and we we stand by that here at Gotcha Motors. Okay? You have a government fee of 210 dollars.

[00:02:49]That's not us. That's your state and local government sticking their hands in your pocket. You know how states and local governments do that.

[00:02:57]>> and title and that type of stuff?

[00:02:59]>> It's tag, title, all that >> Wonderful stuff.

[00:03:01]>> Okay? Then you have the processing fee.

[00:03:04]It's 895 dollars. That's so that we can do all the work for you, all the documentation everything that's involved in registering the car so that you don't have to stand in line at Motor Vehicle.

[00:03:18]We get to do all that for you. That's part of the processing fee so that well, it it expedites the process.

[00:03:25]>> I read online I saw on the YouTube videos I can't really negotiate that one, but I'm going to ask you to discount the selling price and get rid of that 899 dollars processing. You just know that's coming, right?

[00:03:34]>> Zack, please. Just bear with me. Let's go over this line by line.

[00:03:38]>> So, you understand everything before you start jumping to conclusions like oh, well, you got to take this off or you got to take that off. Okay, we have at Gotcha Motors the unique certification PPI. Okay, you're thinking to yourself, what is that? Well, that is our pre-purchase inspection that we do on every car so that we can bring it up to unique Gotcha Motor standards. Okay, and and it's got the Gotcha Motor certification that we've done this work and that's $2,795 that we spent to bring this Hyundai Tucson Hybrid up to Gotcha Motors unique standards.

[00:04:22]>> miles on it. What are you talking about?

[00:04:24]>> Imagine imagine what we would have had to spend if it had 60,000 miles on it, Zach. I mean, it's just it it it's part of of what happens.

[00:04:32]>> Okay.

[00:04:33]>> It's just part of the process.

[00:04:36]Um and and >> But different from the processing fee.

[00:04:40]>> But it's all part of the process of the of the unique Gotcha Motor Well, and then we have the destination charge because >> the destination charge?

[00:04:49]>> Well, we had to bring the vehicle in.

[00:04:50]That cost money. What do you What do you think we drive it here? No, it gets trailered in. You know, you see those big car carriers out there?

[00:04:59]>> How much is the destination charge?

[00:05:01]>> That's $995.

[00:05:02]>> $995?

[00:05:05]>> $900 You want us to put her on the back of a tow truck? No, we use we use a a car carrier, guaranteed car carrier company.

[00:05:15]That's what they charge. It's not like we're making any money on that.

[00:05:20]>> And then Yeah, what else? What else, Ray? This is a sham.

[00:05:25]>> A sham?

[00:05:26]>> It's a sham, Ray. What else? You're telling me there's more?

[00:05:29]Or is that it? Is that it?

[00:05:30]>> Just one last thing.

[00:05:31]>> What's this last thing?

[00:05:32]>> That would be the Kahu LoJack.

[00:05:35]>> Is that different from the LoJack LoJack?

[00:05:37]>> No, it's the regular LoJack and that's $895. And the wonderful thing about the LoJack is if your vehicle gets stolen, you know, you just notify the police, they turn on the signal, they can know exactly where in Mexico that car is now.

[00:05:52]The unfortunate problem is is they can't go there and recover it, but whatever, they know. And you'll know. I would think comfort in knowing where that car is.

[00:06:02]>> This is insanity, right? I saw the price online, 30,490.

[00:06:06]>> And we honored that price.

[00:06:08]>> You You know you didn't.

[00:06:11]>> Yeah, no, we What does it >> It says selling price.

[00:06:13]>> Well, and then what does it say?

[00:06:15]>> Here's the deal. Yes. There is no chance. I did my market research. I know what a fair price to pay for a 2015 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid.

[00:06:23]>> 2025, maybe 2025.

[00:06:24]>> Yeah, that's a big difference. I know I know a fair price to pay on a 25 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid, 6,000 or so miles. I know an exact fair price, and you guys had it advertised at a really competitive and fair price.

[00:06:36]>> Of course you came in if you came in.

[00:06:37]>> Absolutely, I came in. I got I was really interested. I wanted >> You've been searching, you said, for a couple weeks.

[00:06:42]>> Definitely a couple weeks, and I Yeah.

[00:06:44]>> And And so, I'm guessing, just correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing out of all the ones you searched, this one had the best price, didn't it?

[00:06:52]And that's why you're here.

[00:06:53]>> Got a great price, yeah. Absolutely, yeah. It had the best price, and so that's why I came in. I saw that there was an opportunity. I wanted to test drive it. I knew that after I test drove it, I was thinking I would get a pre-purchase inspection if I liked it.

[00:07:03]It seems like maybe you already did it.

[00:07:05]I don't know. The test drive was good and everything, but this This is craziness, right? I can't I can't I can't spend 38,669 dollars on this. Nor do I feel well about the idea that I'd buy government fees, processing fees, unique certification, PPI, destination charge, and Kahului. It's like, what? I can't spend all that.

[00:07:25]>> And you got sales taxes, even their share.

[00:07:28]>> worried about the taxes, the all these add-ons.

[00:07:31]Here's the deal. I'm getting out of this chair. I'm leaving the dealership, and I'm walking out of here unless you can take all this crap off of this out-the-door worksheet. If you can honor the 30,490 dollar price with with the government fees and the taxes, I'll buy the car.

[00:07:46]I'll do it today. I'm I'm ready. I'm here. I'm ready to go.

[00:07:49]But if you can't get rid of this crap, I'm getting out of here.

[00:07:52]>> Well, it's it's nice to know you got your running shoes on. You're you're getting out of here.

[00:07:56]>> These are red flags, right? This this is this is deceptive advertising at its finest. This This is >> You saw the vehicle advertised for $30,490.

[00:08:07]What does it say the selling price is?

[00:08:08]>> $30,400 >> We're honoring the selling price of the vehicle. Okay? The processing fee.

[00:08:14]There's a process involved here and and it's it's an $895 fee for that. All dealerships charge a processing fee. I don't care where you go. If you get up and leave here and go somewhere else, guess what? There's going to be an $895 processing fee wherever it is that you go. Some stores actually charge more.

[00:08:35]Okay? We think we're very fair here at Gotcha Motors at our only $895.

[00:08:41]I know stores that are charging upwards of 14, 15 hundred dollars.

[00:08:46]Same process, double the fee. So, you're going to pay a processing fee wherever >> me a destination charge on a used car.

[00:08:55]>> We had to get it here. You could have traded it in. How was I supposed to know? Well, my trade in the 2025 Hyundai Tucson.

[00:09:02]>> Here's the deal, right?

[00:09:04]You got 30 seconds to go back there and talk to your manager.

[00:09:08]>> Yeah.

[00:09:08]>> Or I'm getting up and leaving.

[00:09:09]>> Well, you know, it's really been a pleasure chatting with you, Zach, cuz I don't take well to threats like that.

[00:09:14]Okay? I really don't.

[00:09:16]If you want to have a conversation, you want to have a discussion, you want to try and figure out how we can get to a number that works for both of us, I'm all in. But if it's going to be, well, threats, you've got 30 seconds, guess what? I don't operate like that.

[00:09:31]>> Can you get me a better [clears throat] OTD?

[00:09:32]>> If I can, would we would you be willing to go home in your in your new to you Hyundai Tucson today?

[00:09:39]>> know I'm here. I want to buy a car.

[00:09:40]>> Okay. So, let me see what I can do. I'll be back in 2 secs.

[00:09:46]Zack, I got great news.

[00:09:48]>> All right, I'm all ears, right?

[00:09:50]>> Okay. Remember before we had a total at the door price of $38,669.64?

[00:09:57]>> I do remember that, yes.

[00:09:59]>> Okay, well, I don't know how you feel about saving $1,700, but I'd feel pretty damn good if I could save $1,700 or so.

[00:10:06]>> Walk me through this, yeah.

[00:10:08]>> I got you down to $36,995.10.

[00:10:12]And if you complain if you complain, maybe I can find the dime and we'll make it $36,995 even. How how about that?

[00:10:20]>> walk me through this. I see less line items.

[00:10:22]>> Okay, here we go. The selling price >> Yeah, still $30,490. That's good.

[00:10:26]>> Exactly. Okay, as advertised. Um our certification fee, what we did is I couldn't take everything off. So, uh we we added everything together that's in So, you know the certification fee was $2,795.

[00:10:43]So, it went up a little bit because I couldn't take all the accessories off.

[00:10:48]What do I mean by all the accessories? I couldn't take the LoJack off. But you're basically getting the LoJack for 150 bucks.

[00:10:55]>> I feel like I'm playing three card monte. I don't know where to look.

[00:10:58]>> Well, I'm going over every line. That's that I'm trying to make it >> You need certification PPI from Gotcha Motors went up about 200 bucks.

[00:11:06]>> Well, it went up $150 and all the other fees other than the Well, the other fees went away. So, >> Yeah, no destination charge.

[00:11:16]>> So, your destination charge went away and and your LoJack went away.

[00:11:20]Basically, what we did is we gave you the LoJack for 150 bucks. So, your new total with tax and and the processing fee and government fees is now $36,995.10.

[00:11:33]And as I said, I'll put up the 10 cents.

[00:11:37]It'll be 30 36,995 even for you.

[00:11:42]That That That would work, wouldn't it?

[00:11:44]>> Okay, that is unfortunately trying to buy a used car in 2026. There's a really short supply of quality used cars, which gives dealers a lot of negotiating leverage and for consumers makes it more difficult. There were so many red flags in that deal and it's worth mentioning still more. No, there still are and it's worth mentioning that's a real deal. We have that We pulled this from the CarEdge Dealer Transparency Index. This is a real dealership that negotiated with us. And ultimately, yeah, we still have a pretty terrible out-the-door price quote there. Explain to us what was going on, Dad.

[00:12:12]>> Well, I mean, you know, the certification PPI fee, that that's reconditioning. That That That should be included in the sales price of the vehicle. That should be baked in. That shouldn't be a separate line item. And to come up with 27.95 is crazy. Um a destination charge on a pre-owned car, I'm afraid not. Wherever they got the car from, wherever they bought it from, the cost of getting it to the dealership should be baked into the selling price of the car. It's not a separate line item. One of the things that they did in this particular case is we know that the certification PPI fee went up a few dollars.

[00:12:51]I don't know. Poor sales manager had to explain that or salesperson. The other thing that I didn't mention is the government fees on the first quote were $210.

[00:13:05]On the final quote, it was $395.

[00:13:09]Why that went up $175, I don't know. Um but it was It was this dealership's way of trying to manipulate numbers and hide the truth.

[00:13:22]>> And I think that's the key point here.

[00:13:23]If you're trying to buy a used car in 2026 or you're to buy a used car in general, actually don't do what we just role play. Don't go to the dealership.

[00:13:30]Before you even consider going to a dealership and doing the test drive, call them, text them, email them, and get the out the door price because there's no chance if I'm a customer and I see what was it? $30,490 advertised online and I call them and they A won't give me pricing, red flag, or B they do give me pricing and it's $38,900 $699, I'm out. I'm out. There's just no chance on this thing going. So, that role play is a good example of kind of like holding your own in some of the BS they're going to have to deal with unfortunately from a sales person or sales manager. But man, oh man, buying a used car in 2026, this is the type of stuff you have to watch out for.

[00:14:03]>> In many cases it is. There there are I and we don't want to paint with such a broad brush as to suggest that every dealership operates in this manner because they don't. But there's still enough dealerships that operate in this manner that makes it bad for every dealer. And so you have to be aware as to how they move numbers around, manipulate numbers, um because you you're relying on them to get clear and concise information. And trust me, between these two worksheets, there's nothing clear or concise on them.

[00:14:37]>> It's a good reminder, caredge.com/certified.

[00:14:40]We have been certifying dealers based on how transparent they are so you can go check that out and not have to be deal with any of this BS. But man, oh man, it's unfortunate this goes on so often.

[00:14:48]>> Absolutely.