How To Negotiate With Heart and Hustle

When I was in college, my grandparents and parents came together and decided to purchase a car for my twin sister and I.  We were very excited, and because my grandparents lived in another state, my mother handled the purchase.

Car dealerships are known for their...ummm...let’s just call them less than savory negotiation tactics.  Some will take your identification under the ruse of “checking with the finance guy” and then hold you hostage at the dealership for hours.  Others will haggle with you over price only to bring you a contract that includes the “standard additional fees” that weren’t mentioned before. You’ll even find some who will play the good cop, bad cop game for hours, shuffling back and forth to check with a “manager” to see if they can sell you a car for a specific price.  It’s exhausting and annoying.

Fortunately, the car dealership was no match for my mother.  My mom has gumption for days, is very confident, and can tell it like it is.  She handled those salesmen like …