If we had started negotiating against sticker price, which is what the dealer wants, we would have wound up at a much higher closing price. But by starting very low, they negotiated in relation to our starting price. But many people feel uncomfortable challenging the authority of the numbers written on the window sticker. This is exactly what the dealer wants. The sticker is supposed to look official.
People tend to believe things that are written down.
Allen Funt, in the TV show Candid Camera , proved this by closing the state of Delaware. So the sticker price is really a tactic to build profit into the deal. The dealership and car salespeople use many such tactics to increase the profit when you go to buy a car. In other words, if you realize what they are doing to you with various sales ploys, these tactics will no longer work on you. I often hear people say they are afraid the salesperson will laugh at them.