‘I see what you did there’: Customer negotiates price on new Toyota at the dealership. Then he pulls this little-known Uno Reverse card

A car salesperson shared a smart negotiating tactic that, if deployed the right way, could actually play a car salesperson.

The guidance came from creator Gregory Moore (@gregmoorejr). His Jan. 3 TikTok has gathered more than 376,000 views.

What was the Uno Reverse card?

Using a much-memed audio clip, the creator made a video of himself at the table of the Toyota car dealership. Most of his content is set here. His on-screen caption sets the scene: "POV: When the customer includes a trade-in after negotiating numbers."

In the short clip, he nods and mouths along to the audio. "I see what you did there. I know," it says.

The caption accompanying it shows approval, reading, "Well done smart customer."

Can this work?

A Reddit post on the r/askcarsales forum last year delved into the topic of whether or not to negotiate a trade-in separately or as part of the overall conversation.

The original poster noted, "When it comes to trade-ins, I’ve been hearing from many sources that it is often best practice to try and approach the negotiating table with the concept of two separate transactions: the purchase price, and separately, the trade-in value."

The poster then asked, "My question with that approach is if I get to a price on the purchase I’m happy with, but then get lowballed on the trade-in, my net-net isn’t met. I suppose you could decline to trade-in and make the purchase, but then you forego the trade-in tax credit.

"Wouldn’t it be more desirable to get the trade-in value upfront as well so you can allow the dealership to work with two levers to arrive at (or close to) the net total out-the-door balance you’re looking for?"

Redditors respond

One respondent offered, "The reason to keep it simple is to reduce the number of levers. If I am going to go buy a 2023 Toyota Camry with an MSRP of $32,300 then that's straightforward. My out-the-door price is the selling price (hopefully lower than MSRP) plus tax, title, and registration for my area. And then add the doc fee. So even on that transaction alone, there are ways that many consumers get confused or that unscrupulous dealers will bury unwanted add-ons or markups to try and confuse the price. So, every time that you add a layer of complexity, it just adds more ways that the numbers can get away from you."

"So you must have the 'net-net number in your head then, since you have a desired purchase price, and a desired trade-in price?" another observed. "Why not just focus on that net-net number? There’s only one transaction going on here: you’re purchasing a new vehicle and using the trade as equity towards the purchase. The trade number and the purchase price seems to me to be irrelevant, since there’s a clear out-the-door price you’re looking to get."

Commenters weigh in

People responding to the TikTok video showed appreciation for the tactic—with a few dunking on the creator in the process.

"This is the right way to do it since salesmen only care about getting what they want," one asserted.

"They’re just playing the game the dealership made up," said another, with a shrug emoji to punctuate the sentiment.

@gregmoorejr Well done smart customer #motivational #carsales #consistency #contentcreator #viral #foryou #relatable #pov #lifestyle #fyp #salesman #content #carsalesman ♬ original sound - druskihub

"This and also never tell them you have a down payment," advised another.

A fellow car salesperson offered perspective.

"Literally happened to me yesterday," that person shared. "Negotiated a deal, he liked it, I asked him about his open auto, he said he wasn’t trading. He signed papers, disappeared for 20 min and showed up with a trade."

The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok direct message.

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The post ‘I see what you did there’: Customer negotiates price on new Toyota at the dealership. Then he pulls this little-known Uno Reverse card appeared first on The Daily Dot.