The Car Salesman's Four Square Write Up - Monthly Payment

The payment square is where the dealer would like to perform most of the upcoming negotiations. They realize that most customers will focus on what they will be spending every month. Also, this is where the customer will have the most flexibility. For example, it is easier for a salesman to get a customer to “Bump” their payment by $20 a month than ask for a $1000 cash.

The salesman will present the “hit figure” by using the customer’s down payment as a base of calculations.

For instance, the salesman might say “Because you are not making a down payment, your monthly payments will be around $800. Keep in mind, the salesman is purposely vague and does not use a payment calculator to produce this payment. Their goal Four Square Write-up Price

is to get the customer thinking about a higher payment.

Therefore, when the customer responds and says “$800 – That is too much!”

Then the salesman can say “well, that is based on a shorter Term loan, if I could extend the payments out; your payment would more like $760.”

Again, the salesman will present tow or three “hit-figures” and then ask the customer for an offer.

Some "old school" techniques instruct the salesman to write each reduced “hit-figure” smaller and then make the customer's offer very small.

Once the salesman has the customer’s offer for the trade-in value, down payment and payment, they will ask for the customer’s commitment.

The commitment will be phrase as, “ so let me get this straight, if I was able to show you $10,000 for your trade, and keep you payments at $200 per month with no money down, you buy the car today…is that right?”

If the customer says yes, the salesman has a "committed four square Write-Up".