The salesperson says they have to know your target car payment. After all, they want to get you into the right car at the right price. Without it, how can the dealer staff actually help you?

Well, according to two insiders, it’s the last thing you should be willing to share.

The dealer knows everyone has a monthly budget…but it’s really none of their business

The guys over at CarEdge, Zach and “Pops,” have a new video acting out what many buyers are near-forced to play out when they walk onto a car dealer’s lot.

At first, you might understand the sales team’s insistence on knowing what sort of car payment you’re looking to secure.

It might tell them (however inaccurately) what customer type you are. They might quickly classify you and narrow down the inventory they’ll show you. It also gives them an idea of what sort of commission they could land from the deal.

But this is all exactly what Pops and Zach say you need to avoid.

Instead, ask the dealer for the total price of the car

It’s called the OTD, or out-the-door price. The number includes the true retail price of the car, taxes, title, and any and all fees.

If you know both the market and what you can comfortably afford, suddenly having that great big total is a huge advantage. After all, any insider knows that a car payment dollar figure tells you near nothing about the car or its market value.

Still, the CarEdge guys bet the conversation will continuously loop back to the monthly payment. The salesperson might insist their manager requires it. “I have to fill out a form,” they might claim. “Is it $500? Is it $1,000?” They might try every angle to get that target payment from you.

So stay strong.

Now, they don’t actually go into the reasoning on this video. But if you follow them regularly, you know their lessons well by now.

The key is your understanding of the dealer’s inventory, the market, your budget, and your financial profile

See, what you really want is the truck, SUV, sports car, whatever you’ve had your heart set on for however long, right? And for a great price, right?

Well, you probably (or should) also know what that car typically goes for and how easy it is to attain. And I mean that in terms of both local inventory and your financial ability to bring home what you’re vying for.

Keep in mind that you’re responsible for knowing and understanding your credit score, current interest rates around town, target loan terms, and monthly budget for a new car (including, yes, the payment, but also insurance, fuel, maintenance, and all that).

The dealership isn’t responsible for helping you decide your monthly budget, but they’ll urge you to make decisions based on that number…even if it’s based on bad math.

I can’t tell you how many times drivers think they know how much of a car payment they can afford only to realize they’re made a huge mistake. Often, they “forgot” about all the other ownership costs.

Dealerships are responsible for turning inventory, not making sure you understand how much truck you can afford.

Next come dealer and OEM offers, discounts, and overall pricing

What do they have going on today that makes signing a sales agreement easier? What’s sat the longest? Is that one cheaper than the freshest thing that showed up this morning? Any interest rate specials and discounts this week or month?

In the end, if you head to the dealership with just a model and car payment in mind, you might end up landing something outside your wish list for an interest rate and term length that would send any financial advisor to the E.R.

After all, if they end up having something you love that’s under your budget, leading with the payment target might prevent you from ever knowing about that listing.

Jokingly, Pops finally answers that if the manager really needs a number, tell him it’s no more than 50 bucks a month.