My method
First, spend some time to do your homework. Research the car model and the options you want by going online to the dodge.com website and also into a dealership without discussing a deal with the salesman, saying you are just looking. Decide whether you want exactly what you want or are you somewhat flexible in terms of model, color, options, etc. Also, try to separate the old car tradein from the purchase price as they will lowball you on the tradein to subsidize the new car price. In addition, decide if timing of the purchase is important to you as you can often get a better price on the last day of the month, quarter, or year if the dealer is close to an incetive sales number.
Also, decide how important the dealership choice is to you, Online you can easily get dealer ratings and do you want the best price or a dealership with a better reputation that you will be using for service and recalls. It may be better not to try to wring every last dollar out of the deal as some disreputable dealers will pad the bill with high priced and unasked for extras so remember to get total out the door pricing including all extras.
Second, go online to one of the many websites to get the dealer invoice prices on the car and the options.
Third, go obtain price quotes by a number of the buying services like costco, trucar, kbb, edmunds, aaa, etc. I print them out and index them in a looseleaf binder go have at a moments notice during negotiations, if necessary.
Fourth, research financing if needed so you know your fallback option if the dealership plays the poor credit higher financing cost game to charge extra for financing to subsidize the new car cost.
Then, you can either negotiate in person at a number of dealerships if your personality is such that you enjoy haggling (I take my binder with me so I can refer to tne numbers of the buying services). Go at the very end of the day so the salesman cannot wait you out by prolonging the negotiation to try to wear you down.Give a reasonable fact based number and let him accept or run out of time before closing.
OR
you can contact the dealerships around you and get the name, telephone extension and email of the salesman in charge of internet sales (each dealership usually has one). You let them know what you are interested in and ask them to submit their price. Many may not want to give you a price but the ones that do make it worthwhile.
I have purchased a challenger directly though a buying service getting the exact model and configuration I wanted and also bought one by internet, having the internet salesman offer something very close which I accepted. These purchases were in 2010 and 2015. A new order on a very recent model may leave much less room for negotiation. Always remember to only negotiate out the door pricing.
Disclosure: I had a relative who worked aftersell for a new car dealership, not dodge, so I know many of the inside tricks. I have also been asked to leave 2 dealerships during my time by challenging the lies the salesman sometimes tell about invoice price. The dealership deserves to make a reasonable profit but I realize they also make a dollar by the holdback, aftersell items, financing, and tradein.
:nerd: