“They will definitely call!”
A woman says her husband’s willingness to walk away from a dealership may have saved them money—even if it nearly gave her a heart attack in the process.
Michelle Taha (@michelle_taha), a wife and self-described pet mom, says buying a car can turn into a “masculine ego thing.” She had already been coordinating with a dealership and “pre-negotiating” online when her husband stepped in toward the end.
By the time they got to the dealership, Taha says the car was already pulled up and waiting for them. But before they sat down to talk numbers, though, her husband gave her one warning: “not to get attached to the car.”
That lasted about as long as the test drive.
Back inside the dealership, she says the salesman and her husband went back and forth on the numbers, each trying to meet somewhere in the middle, and eventually they hit a point where her husband wouldn’t budge.
“My husband, abruptly, stands right up, grabs all of my stuff … and says, ‘OK, bye,’” Taha recounts.
Taha says she was “devastated” because, by then, she really wanted the car. Her husband, meanwhile, was convinced the dealership would call them back and agree to the deal he wanted.
Taha wasn’t nearly as confident. But he was right: The dealership eventually called them back, according to one of her follow-up posts.
She is the happy owner of a new Mercedes-Benz CLA coupe.
As of this writing, Taha’s initial video had more than 24,900 views.
Turns out, Tasha’s husband’s strategy wasn’t exactly out of left field.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises car shoppers to get the full out-the-door price in writing before they ever set foot in the dealership. That means the total cost of the car, including charges and fees, before financing enters the conversation. Doing that makes it easier to compare offers, spot extra charges later, and save time at the dealership.
The FTC also says buyers should be prepared to walk away if the numbers they discussed beforehand change once they get to the showroom.
Consumer Reports gives similar advice. It recommends getting competing quotes from multiple dealerships and focusing first on the purchase price rather than getting pulled into a discussion about monthly payments. Once the price is settled, then buyers can move on to a trade-in or financing.
And if the two sides reach a standstill, Consumer Reports says leaving can be one of the strongest moves a buyer has. A salesperson may try to keep the deal alive or go back to a manager with returns for a counteroffer. If the two sides can’t agree, walking away at least keeps the shopper from agreeing to a price they already decided was too high.
In Taha’s case, she suggests that her husband had a number he was willing to pay, and he left instead of continuing to negotiate when the dealership wouldn’t meet it. Then, according to Taha, the dealership called them back.
That doesn’t mean walking out will always produce a better offer. But his move lines up pretty closely with the advice consumer advocates give car shoppers.
In the comments section, opinions varied.
Some viewers thought Taha’s husband handled the negotiation exactly the way he should have.
“Some of these comments are not it. Trust the process, girl. He is doing the right thing. People don’t just go car shopping unless they’re ready to buy. I mean, let’s face it, it’s the worst. The salespeople know that. It’s all a game, so have fun playing it,” one person wrote.
Another commenter offered a similar rule of thumb.
“Be willing to walk away- and we always buy a car on the last few days of the month- especially if it’s been raining all month,” they wrote.
But one person who said they work at a dealership had a different reaction.
“No shade at all, but if they call you trying to make a deal, that right there is everything that’s wrong with the dealership business. And I say that as someone who works at a dealership myself. Imagine going to a restaurant, looking at the menu, and negotiating the price of your food with the waiter before you order. ‘I see the steak is $40, but what’s your best price if I buy it right now?’” they said.
Other viewers were less interested in the dealership strategy and more focused on Taha’s husband being involved at all.
“I’m married, I buy my own cars. He doesn’t even know when I do it…I just show up with my new car. He doesn’t care,” one commenter wrote.
“I’ve been married 28 years, and my husband could care less about who buys my car. I make my own money and buy wtf I want whenever I want,” another added.
Motor1 contacted Taha via TikTok direct message. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.
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