The car salesperson is basically the gatekeeper that’s standing between you and your new car when you shop at a dealership. And while that gatekeeper holds the keys to that beautiful new set of wheels you want, he also holds the numbers to the best deal that you can possibly get for them. Here are five things that you can tell the car salesperson in order to get the best deal possible.

You’ve already done your homework

The next time you find yourself sitting across from a salesperson and anxiously drinking that delicious dealership coffee, be sure to let them know that you’ve done your homework. What that means is that you’ve already done the legwork as far as shopping quotes from other dealerships so that you know the price that you want to pay.

As long as you have printed out quotes, or e-mail correspondence, from other dealerships that you can show the salesperson as proof, you’ll be better suited to cut to the chase when it comes to pricing and to get the best price that you can from the dealership that you want to do business with.

You’re flexible with your payments

While you might think that “cash is king,” especially if you have the cash to buy the car outright, the dealership doesn’t. That’s mainly due to the fact that they can make more money from the deal if you lease or finance the car through their lenders. In that case, let them know that you’re “flexible with your payments” and that you’re open to the best possible terms and that the deal is subject to the lowest possible cost out of pocket for you.

By doing this, you’ll open up the deal to more options that could save you money in the long run and a better overall deal as compared to telling that you’re going to pay cash, which is more of a close-ended approach.

Tell them you want the “out the door” price

This one is pretty straightforward, but it’s also worth mentioning. If you’re planning to pay cash or finance, be sure to ask the salesperson for the “out the door” price, which is the final pricing for the car with all of the necessary taxes and fees. After knowing this price, you’ll get a better idea of how much you’ll need to negotiate down in order to get the best deal. Otherwise, some dealers might negotiate down the selling price and then add on the taxes and fees later, which will give you a skewed representation of the final number.

Tell them you have a good interest rate from your bank

If you’re planning to finance your new car, be sure to check with your own bank or credit union first to see what rates they offer. Since you’re already doing business with them, your local bank might give you a better interest rate (depending on your credit), so it’s important to let the salesperson know this so that they can possibly find you a better rate with a lender they deal with. In order to get the best deal on a car, you’ll need to find the best APR possible as well. The lower the APR, the less money you will spend overall.

You want the extra products, but only for half off or free

If you could get that car maintenance product or extended warranty for free, would you want it? Of course! So it’s a good idea to let the salesperson and the finance manager that you’re willing to purchase an extra warranty or whatever other products either for either half off or for free.

In all honesty, they might just shrug you off on the idea, but it’s worth a shot to let them know that you’re willing to play ball when it comes to the extra products. After all, it’s in their best interest to make money from those heavily marked-up products, so you never know, you might at least get a really good discount.

Tell them you will give them a perfect score

Here’s a bonus tip: In case you really want to twist the salesperson’s arm, just finish off the deal letting them know that you’ll give them a perfect score on the survey. Every dealership sends out customer satisfaction surveys for every new car sold, and the salesperson will get a bonus if the cumulative survey scores are above a certain average.

Since one bad survey can mess up the whole average, this means that you have the leverage to make or break the salespersons survey bonus. By letting them know that you’ll give them a perfect score it will further entice them to get you a better deal. If you want more tips like these check out Ari Janessian’s Youtube video below: