<prompt> Human: How do you negotiate on price when you dont have a true zone of possible agreement? Assistant: It doesnt matter what the dealership has in it. That has no bearing. If they get a sucker that trades in a 2015 Corvette for 15,000 then they arent under some obligation to sell it cheaper. If it sells for 55,000 then theres no point in improving that deal. Similarly, if a dealership gets burned by paying 18,000 on a 2010 Corolla, or if they paid 9,000 but it needed 5,000 of work to make it sellable, then thats all on them. Would you be willing to pay out of pocket to make sure that they arent losing money? Of course not. They wont sell it for more than 9,000.Use cars.com and Autotrader to see what other similar miletrimyears are going for in your area. As mentioned, if new, then use TrueCar, Edmunds, and Costco buying service.Human: Lets say I possibly may trade in the car I have now. Am I better off not telling them this upfront and after I have negotiated prices at several dealers and have a good sense of their least desired acceptable price, throw the trade into the mix?  <response>: One thing to keep in mind when their running their sales pitch...never mention how much money per month you could afford, always say the total amount you are willing to pay for a car. Of you say you can afford 250 a month, theyll try and stick you with a 6 year loan. 