Buying a car from a dealership

[knowltoh]

I am in the market for a new car. I haven't purchased from a dealer in a while and am really turned off with the hype and flat out BS. One dealer would not give me a quote without actually writing up a purchase agreement saying they get so many "lookers" that they wanted to prevent someone from "price shopping". I said that was exactly what I was going to be doing. They wanted to know if I was prepared to purchase today if they gave me a price. I said "no" and was in effect told to shop somewhere else.

Do you have any techniques or suggestion dealing with this?

 

[edstreet]

New Cars, Used Cars - Find Cars for Sale and Reviews at AutoTrader.com

 

[Mike Powell]

I hate car shopping! BUT, I will do exactly what he told me too. If the Stealership isnt willing to work with me, I will go else where. There is a dealer in the radious I am willing to travel will will give me what I want.

Case in point. My last truck was an 03 Chev with a 4.3 V6, extended cab. I bought it in 06. in 09 it was difficult for my daughter to sit back there and be comfortable for any amount of time on a road trip, also it struggled towing my HD. So I started looking. I went to Toyota, and was told how well they would take care of me. When all was said and done, they only wanted to give me 4500 for my truck that only had about 40,000 miles on it and was in great condition. I deployed, when I came back *I started looking again. I found a truck I liked, and that dealer gave me 9500 for the same truck.

Shop around Bud, done get bent if adealer doesnt want to work with you. That just means they dont want to make a sale. There is a guy some where that is hungry and wants that money...

 

[MillerTurnings]

Many manufacturers, (GM for instance), will have available on their website the ability to "build" a car the way you want and see the MSRP for it. For instance, the Chevrolet site - Chevrolet Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Crossovers and Vans - will let you build it, see the price, get the list of incentives available, and locate the car in dealer inventories.

Yes, I do work for GM, but ran into the same sales technique. I just used a different dealer. There are many sales tricks and techniques to close a deal, but not all salespersons can read the customers comfort level. Find a salesperson that will listen to your wants and wishes, not just sell you what they have available- or has a bonus for them attached. Happy shopping!

 

[CabinetMaker]

My dad was a purchasing agent for Coors for years. When he was ready to buy the Cummins diesel Dodge pick up he had always wanted he did a little shopping and research and then wrote up a request for quotation and sent it to every Dodge dealership is Colorado and the surrounding states. He got a great deal from a dealer in Nebraska if I recall correctly.

 

[monophoto]

Do you have any techniques or suggestion dealing with this?

To me, shopping for a new car ranks somewhere between a root canal and a colonoscopy.

I do a lot of research before I walk into the dealership to the point that I pretty much know what I want to buy. My approach is that if the dealer doesn't treat me with respect, I just walk out. There are a lot of dealers to choose from - I'm only buying one car at a time (and in my case, that means about once every ten years), but they have to sell however many each week to stay in business. So the leverage is on my side.

 

[Ed McDonnell]

I bought a new car for my wife last year. I knew the model and all the options she wanted. I contacted the internet sales managers (by email) at some local dealers with a very specific request and they quickly sent me their "no haggle best price". These prices were all within $50 and as good (or better) than the "best" prices I had determined through doing hours of research on the web.

Still, not trusting this whole internet thing, I went to a local dealer for her #1 choice and haggled with the salesman for hours. I got him down close to the the price his internet manager had offered, but we were still a couple hundred apart. Finally I said, "the internet price was $X, I'm just going to buy through them". His repsonse was "Why didn't you say you had an internet quote right up front. You would have saved us both a lot of time. That's the best price you are going to get out of us."

I bought the car at the internet price. Next time, I'm going to just do the whole thing through the dealers internet sales group. No more wasting time haggling for me. Get a quote by email. Show up for a test drive of the car. Everything good, sign the papers and go.

Ed

 

[LeeR]

Do you have any techniques or suggestion dealing with this?

To me, shopping for a new car ranks somewhere between a root canal and a colonoscopy.

[...]

I think you exaggerate. Colonoscopies are nowhere near as bad as shopping/buying a new car ...

 

[Jim Burr]

Do you have any techniques or suggestion dealing with this?

To me, shopping for a new car ranks somewhere between a root canal and a colonoscopy

Ha!! That about sums it up. I purchased a 2010 F-150 in 2012 on an insurance claim, Certified Pre-owned, 18k miles, bells and whistles...Loved it! Right off the bat, the guy says we'd like to make $500 on the deal...I said sure, I'll give you $500 over what you paid the guy for the truck...uhhh...well...oh, we can't disclose that. 3 hours later I walked out with my truck, extended warranty, tax and blah blah blah for $300 below asking price. Just kept saying Sorry...I can't afford that. They kept coming down in price until I was happy.

 

[edstreet]

Not to start any flame wars but if you look you will find that non-union car companies have better sales than union controlled car companies. You will also quickly find that devious practices and brutal sales techniques are associated and goes hand in hand with the union controlled areas. This is one of the reasons the sales have drastically been on the decline. The other key reason is failure of the car companies to make vehicles which the public wants and needs with out force feeding their product line on the public. So from this ask yourself if you want to support a lot or product line where the sales department is doing nasty things. The simple solution is to go elsewhere where you do not find these problems and there are lots out there that refuse to engage in these bad practices.

It's economics. Shop with your wallet and base it on how you get treated and what you are getting.

 

[monophoto]

Do you have any techniques or suggestion dealing with this?

To me, shopping for a new car ranks somewhere between a root canal and a colonoscopy.

[...]

I think you exaggerate. Colonoscopies are nowhere near as bad as shopping/buying a new car ...

I agree about the colonoscopy itself, but the night before - - -

 

[Mike Powell]

Do you have any techniques or suggestion dealing with this?

To me, shopping for a new car ranks somewhere between a root canal and a colonoscopy.

[...]

I think you exaggerate. Colonoscopies are nowhere near as bad as shopping/buying a new car ...

I agree about the colonoscopy itself, but the night before - - -

How true, how true!

 

[commercialbuilder]

The best way to buy a car now in my opinion is to really do your homework.
We bought a Genesis and I was able to buy it for 19% off sticker. Here are some of the things to use in buying
1. All manufacturers give back 1.5 to 2.5 percent to the dealer when they sell a car. Let them know you are aware of this and expect them to take that off the price.
2. It is always best to buy the last few days of a month, they have quotas they must meet.
3. Check all dealers within 250 miles to find the lowest price for the model you are looking for with the options. I will drive 250 miles to save $500-1,000 dollars.
4. Know all incentives the manufacturer is offering, if you have to finance 12,000 at 0% to save and extra 1,000 do it.
5.Have your financing in place somewhere else so you can say it is a cash deal and can write a check for the balance.
I found the exact car we were looking for 200 miles from where we live, they looked it up and verified the price and meet it, it was $1,000 lower than their supposedly best offer.
.

 

[CrimsonKeel]

my last one i used edmunds.com to send notices to like 10 dealers that had the car i wanted. they emailed me with prices and numbers to call. i still haggled when i went in but i had a beginning price when i walked in.
you really in the end need to be able to walk away from a deal your not comfortable with.

 

[low_48]

Not to start any flame wars but if you look you will find that non-union car companies have better sales than union controlled car companies. You will also quickly find that devious practices and brutal sales techniques are associated and goes hand in hand with the union controlled areas. This is one of the reasons the sales have drastically been on the decline. The other key reason is failure of the car companies to make vehicles which the public wants and needs with out force feeding their product line on the public. So from this ask yourself if you want to support a lot or product line where the sales department is doing nasty things. The simple solution is to go elsewhere where you do not find these problems and there are lots out there that refuse to engage in these bad practices.

It's economics. Shop with your wallet and base it on how you get treated and what you are getting.

What a hoot!!!!!! Funniest thing I've read today!!!!! Thanks for the laugh.

 

[low_48]

I usually shop at the end of the month, and especially at the end of the model year. Salesman quotas or bonuses need to be met. I had a great experience at the Honda dealer last purchase. The salesman did take a tac I've never encountered before. He "suggested" the low price we should shoot for. I knew it was a load of BS, but off he went to the manager. The manager would not agree to that price of course, but we did agree on a price I was willing to pay. I love new cars, always have. I never feel like I paid the best price, but I also feel that when I buy a new lathe.

 

[Displaced Canadian]

As one with family in that industry, I can tell you do your homework before you go shopping. If you're at the lot and you leave and come back a while later the salespeople know they have a car you want and that gives them an advantage. Never believe the answer is no until you have been told no twice. As for all the common tricks you read about how to get the lowest price, they don't work. You would be shocked about what the salesman knows about you by the time you're talking price. Walking in with ragged cloths and clean cut fingernails and looking at higher end vehicles the sales guy isn't fooled by the clothes. As for the don't tell them about the trade in, he's going to ask 1 or 2 questions that will give him that answer without saying, "Do you have a trade in?" deciding what car to buy and the price needs to be treated as a separate transaction from the financing. You argued with the salesman over $100 and the finance guy sold you a $2500 warranty, gap insurance, roadside assistance, service package and because he heard you call the salesman a thief he also added 2% to the interest rate. All told he raised the price of the car $4000 and did it in a way that makes you feel protected from anything that may happen. There are good and bad salesmen and good and bad finance people. It's good to haggle, keep it professional and remember, you can always walk away. You don't have to buy a car now. You can always rent one until you find one you're happy with. Renting is cheaper than making a bad decision.
On a side note, Salesmen may work at/for a dealership but they are largely self employed.

 

[HamTurns]

You argued with the salesman over $100 and the finance guy sold you a $2500 warranty, gap insurance, roadside assistance, service package and because he heard you call the salesman a thief he also added 2% to the interest rate. All told he raised the price of the car $4000

As one who used to be in the industry I think ALL auto dealers and their salesmen are crooks and trying to swindle you any way they can. Their service departments are worse. Never ever use a dealership for maintenance.

Do your research on what car you want then go buy it from a private seller, if you go with any car dealership you will get rooked!

Happy turning

ps - did I mention I don't trust car dealerships because I've worked at many?

 

[CHARLES STOPCZYNSKI]

Buying "Club"

Herb,

Some very good advice given previously.

Costco or Sams Club can get you the best price without loads of negotiation if you are currently a member. Warranty work can be done anywhere regardless of where you buy car. Had warranty work done on my P/U while on vacation 850 miles from home. Actually it was a "courtesy" oil/filter change at N/C.

Charlie

 

[ed4copies]

I bought a new car for my wife last year. I knew the model and all the options she wanted. I contacted the internet sales managers (by email) at some local dealers with a very specific request and they quickly sent me their "no haggle best price". These prices were all within $50 and as good (or better) than the "best" prices I had determined through doing hours of research on the web.

Still, not trusting this whole internet thing, I went to a local dealer for her #1 choice and haggled with the salesman for hours. I got him down close to the the price his internet manager had offered, but we were still a couple hundred apart. Finally I said, "the internet price was $X, I'm just going to buy through them". His repsonse was "Why didn't you say you had an internet quote right up front. You would have saved us both a lot of time. That's the best price you are going to get out of us."

I bought the car at the internet price. Next time, I'm going to just do the whole thing through the dealers internet sales group. No more wasting time haggling for me. Get a quote by email. Show up for a test drive of the car. Everything good, sign the papers and go.

Ed

This is very similar to the way I bought my last car.

Took internet quote to dealer A, told them I wanted the car that was on dealer B's lot (dealer B did not want to give me the price I wanted). Call me when you can "make that happen, here's my card, if I don't hear from you in the next three days, I will make the same offer to dealer C".

Got the car three days later---brought in a check to pay in full. (You can finance at your credit union and bring the check with you).

Fairly painless.

 

[edicehouse]

The purchase order is a trick, you are not legally obligated. You can walk out right in the middle of signing the paper work. They will ask you to initial stuff, but there is no legal obligation.

 

[brownsfn2]

When I buy a car I do shop with my wallet. I feel like I hand it to the sales guy right when I walk through the door. He takes what he wants and gives it back.

I hate buying cars because I suck at it.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Why sign a purchase agreement in advance when you haven't agreed to buy anything.

I'd hesitate to give any info, agreement, or anything like that to the dealer until I had a price quoted, agreed upon, and financing in place.

Anyone that tries to 'sell' to me is going to lose the sale...

 

[TimS124]

I've used a handful of places over the years, like Edmunds, that essentially connect you to the fleet manager at a variety of dealers (reaching as far from home as you're want).

I always ask for an "out the door" price rather than getting bogged down in "great discounts" that are jacked back up via strange fees, etc.

I've had dealers within ten miles of each other offer prices ranging from a decent discount to full list price (plus the dealer's usual markup). It's clear some dealers won't even try to compete so at least I know to not bother shopping there.

There's a Ford dealer near here that clearly states all their vehicles are dealer invoice plus $500…and they gave us a generous price for our trade-in (I'd already run the numbers via Kelley Blue Book and another site and the trade-in we were offered was surprisingly good).

 

[juteck]

I've heard too that even though they ask you for a copy of your drivers license before you test drive, you do not have to give them a copy. You just have to prove you have a current license. With the copy in hand when you test drive, I've heard they will know your credit ratings before you return. Not sure about the truth in this though, without authorizing a credit check.