Buying a new car is one place where bargaining is normal. In a covert study published in April 2026, the automobile club ADAC sent test buyers to car dealers in different regions. For each of 14 cars they held eight sales talks. In more than three quarters of the talks, the first offer already included a discount. With the reductions given after the buyer asked, almost 90 percent of the talks ended with some kind of lower price. The largest reductions came in the first offer or after the first request. A second or third request rarely brought more.
Most of the discount was already in the first offer. Bargaining added little.