Two car quotes can be thousands of dollars apart and still be impossible to compare, because they are not for the same thing. One is drive away, one is before on-road costs. One includes the tow pack, one does not. One has the trade-in folded into the number. The fix is not negotiating harder. It is making every quote answer the same five lines before you compare a single dollar.
Make every quote answer the same five lines
- Exact variant and options. Model, variant, engine, colour group and every option, named. A quote for a different trim level is a different car.
- Drive away price. The full figure with registration, CTP, stamp duty, dealer delivery and plates inside it. See drive away price explained for what belongs in that number.
- What is included. The inclusions list in writing: registration period, accessories, servicing offers. Not a verbal summary.
- Delivery time, in writing. An estimated date on paper, and what the contract says if it slips.
- Trade-in as a separate figure. If you have one, it gets its own line. A single changeover number hides both prices at once.
When three quotes answer those five lines, the comparison takes a minute. Until they do, it is guesswork.
How many quotes, and from where
Three is a workable number: your local dealer, plus two more within a distance you would genuinely travel to collect a car. Phone and email work for the first round, and a written reply is worth more than a better number spoken across a desk. Dealers know buyers compare. The ones worth buying from put their price in writing without theatre.
Keep the trade-in out of the deal until the end
The oldest blur in the business is mixing the new car price and the trade-in into one changeover figure. It can be made to sound generous from either end. Settle the drive away price of the new car first, in writing. Then ask what they will pay for yours, also in writing. Two clean numbers can be compared with anyone else's two clean numbers. One blended number cannot.
Holding the quotes somewhere that remembers
By the third dealer, the details start swapping places in your memory: which one included the mats, which delivery date was the honest one. Write everything down at the time, or use the Car Verdict app, which is built for this exact job: one record per dealer visit, the five lines captured on the spot, and the comparison laid out for you when you sit down at home. Still deciding what to buy in the first place? The car brands catalogue shows what every brand currently sells.
Before you sign the winning quote, run through the questions to ask a car dealer before you sign anything. The last ten minutes at the desk is where good comparisons go to waste.
Questions people ask
How many dealer quotes should I get for a new car?
Three is a workable number: your local dealer plus two others within a distance you would actually travel. Each quote must be for the same variant, colour group and options, drive away.
Should I tell a dealer about my trade-in straight away?
Get the price of the new car settled first, in writing, then ask what they will pay for yours. One blended number makes both halves impossible to compare.
Is the advertised price of a new car negotiable?
Often, but not always. Stock levels and wait times move the answer. A written drive away quote from another dealer on the same variant is the strongest card you can hold.
How long is a new car quote valid?
Only as long as the quote says, so ask for the validity date in writing. A quote with no date is a conversation, not a commitment.
The Car Verdict team