Is the internet price online what you’ll pay for your new car?  The short answer to this often-asked question is no.  In fact, you will end up writing a check or financing a larger sum of money.  Here is why: the internet price displayed on dealers’ websites for new cars serves one purpose, and that is to get you into their door (I will talk in another post on why this is a bad idea).  Once seemingly unsuspecting car buyers walk into the door, you will often times find yourself not getting a better deal than the internet price but fighting to attempt to keep it the same.  This is usually because dealerships include every possible incentive in their internet price that you may not qualify for.  Also, dealerships do not include the documentation fee, registration fee, nor taxes in their internet price.  This oftentimes adds thousands to the final amount you may be subject to in order to take your new car home.

What you should be asking for is the total price, including all fees and taxes.  This is usually referred to as “out the door” (OTD) or “on the road” OTR price.  When you see a car online and am interesting in buying that car, make an inquiry and simply ask the dealer for it. You don’t want the internet price; you want exactly what it would cost, if you were to write a check, to drive your new car off the lot, OTD or OTR price.  Asking for this price while doing your online shopping and research will give you a much fuller picture and much more negating power to a great deal on your new car prior to ever setting foot in a dealership.