How it works
- Pick the carMake, model, your ZIP. Then your number: ten seconds, above.
- We find it everywhereText us and we email every dealer within about an hour of you that has one, as you, from your own inbox. We ask each for its out-the-door price in writing and text you the list. Free.
- We negotiate, you pick it upThe lowest written quote goes to every other dealer, round after round, until the price stops moving. You walk in with a number agreed in writing. A dealer only calls once everything is settled, and you get a brief before it.
Why dealers quote less when we ask
A dealer's whole process is built to get you into a chair. Ours never lets it start.
- Out-the-door, itemized, in writing. The price with the fees, the add-ons and the taxes, so nothing new shows up at the desk.
- Every dealer knows the others are quoting. The best written offer goes to everyone else, and they bid against each other while you do something else.
- No round limit. We stop when the price stops moving: a dealer's final number, tiny drops, nobody beating the best.
- Your phone number never reaches a dealer. No calls, no “come in and we’ll talk.” Everything is email, from your inbox, as you.
- Pre-approved? We say so, and that you’re open to their financing. Credibility first; a deposit only once the number is agreed.
Doing it yourself vs. with Refund Agent
| Yourself | With Refund Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Finding the car | Hours on dealer sites, one at a time | One search across every dealer near you |
| Getting a real price | A phone number and a “come on in” | Itemized out-the-door quotes, in writing |
| Haggling | Four hours in a chair, the manager, the “let me check” | Dealers bid against each other by email |
| Add-ons and fees | Found out at the desk | Stripped before you walk in |
| Your phone | Rings for weeks | Dealers never get it |
Questions about the search and the negotiation
Is the dealer search really free?
Yes. You pick the car and the ZIP, we write to every dealer within about an hour that has one and send you what they answer, with the out-the-door price when they give it. No account, no card. If you want us to negotiate after that, we tell you the price first.
Which dealers do you search?
Every franchise and independent dealer within about an hour's drive of your ZIP that lists the car you picked, new or used. If a dealer only answers with a phone number, we say in writing that we're comparing totals from a few dealers and need the number in writing, and we move on if they won't.
How do you negotiate?
By email, as you, from your own inbox. Each dealer gets its own thread and the same ask: an itemized out-the-door price. The lowest written quote goes to the others, round after round. A dealer that says “final” stays in and sees each new best once. When nobody moves, that's the number.
Do I ever have to talk to a dealer?
Not until the number is agreed. Dealers get an email address, never your phone. When everything is settled in writing, one call to confirm the paperwork and the pickup, and you get a short brief before it: who, what's agreed, what not to re-open.
What does it cost?
The search is free: you get every dealer's written price with no strings. Before we do anything that costs money, we tell you the price by text and you say yes or no.
What about my trade-in?
We keep the trade-in out of the negotiation on purpose: mixing the two numbers is how dealers hide a bad one. Settle the price of the new car first, in writing. Then sell the old one separately, or ask the dealer for a trade-in number once the purchase price is fixed.
Does this work for a lease?
Yes. The thing to negotiate in a lease is still the price of the car (the capitalized cost), plus the money factor and the fees, not the monthly payment. We ask for all of them in writing. See how to negotiate a car lease below.
More on cars
- How to negotiate a car price (or let us)How to negotiate a car price: written out-the-door quotes from every dealer, made to bid against each other. The short version, and the version where Refund Agent does it for you.
- How to negotiate a car leaseHow to negotiate a car lease: it's the price of the car, the money factor and the fees, not the monthly payment. Refund Agent gets them in writing from every dealer and negotiates for you.
Pick the car. We do the dealers.
Thirty seconds above, then a text. Every dealer near you, their real prices in writing, and a negotiation you never sit through.
Find my car at every dealer