What's the Deal?

I used James Bragg’s car buying process that he lays out over on the Clark Howard blog he posted. This is my experience with it.

I created this two weeks before.

Sheet 2: Car Want

I placed the car I wanted right at the top. This was what I would tell every dealer so they would be working with the same information.

Toyota Prius V Three

Not BLIZZARD PEARL

No Accessories

I didn’t want White. Then I found out there was a premium for the “Pearl” paint. And heck no.

I went to Toyota, Edmunds.com, KBB, and NADA to figure out a starting point for the car. Then I reread James Bragg’s car buying process and made a big note:

“James Bragg said to ignore all this.” 

But I had it already and it was nice to refer to while I was getting proposals.

KBB gave me the best itemized list for an Out-the-door price. I put it in my spreadsheet and was again happy to have it as a guide of types of things to expect.

My plan was to not spend more than $27,700 out-the-door for my new car. It worked within our budget and it was less than all the sites said. Also, it was not that far off from what I have been quoted in the past. Never once in this process did I tell anyone this price.

This was a simple sheet of information to refer too.