Buying a Prius
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tmm99
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I went with a friend of mine to a used car dealership. My friend wanted a Toyota truck he saw. He was going to pay the down payment with his credit card, and the salesman said they didn't accept credit card payment as a down payment and that it had to be a personal check. My friend said he didn't have his checkbook with him and that he was going home so he could bring the checkbook. I dont' remember exactly how it happend, but we didn't have to leave. The salesman accepted the credit card payment as a down payment after all.
tmm
tmm
72ss454, I apologize if I gave you that impression. It doesn't need to be the fastest. But it does need to be timely. If one dealer processed my order in 35 minutes, and one in 45, I wouldn't quibble.
And yes, price has something to do with it, but often I find little differences in the final price.
If I as a customer feel I am not being respected by the salesperson, or business, that plays a large role in my future purchase decisions.
And yes, price has something to do with it, but often I find little differences in the final price.
If I as a customer feel I am not being respected by the salesperson, or business, that plays a large role in my future purchase decisions.
I'm just going with Andy's version of events.
Moemg
Gone but not forgotten
The last car I bought the purchase took under an hour . It was in a Toyota dealership . They also had soda & hot dogs while I waited and once a month they had a free cocktail party for the recent buyers now that's a dealership .
Notmuchlonger
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I got popcorn and coke! Sweet deal.
BUM
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Last (hopefully) new car I bought was a 2002 GMC Envoy. We went to several dealers in a 60 mile radius and said we want a "white one with cloth seats".
Nobody wanted to help, they all wanted to sell us what was on the lot. Then we went to the last guy on our list and he found the SUV on line in the Boston area (300 miles away) and had it on his lot 3 days later. We negotiated the price past my expectation --- SOLD!
Go figure. We still like it 50K miles later.
OBTW, I pass Priusses everyday huffing up the hills.
Nobody wanted to help, they all wanted to sell us what was on the lot. Then we went to the last guy on our list and he found the SUV on line in the Boston area (300 miles away) and had it on his lot 3 days later. We negotiated the price past my expectation --- SOLD!
Go figure. We still like it 50K miles later.
OBTW, I pass Priusses everyday huffing up the hills.
I'm glad it worked out in your case, but this can be a risky move, too. Once when my dad was shopping for a car, he gave his current keys to the dealership so they could inspect the car and give him a price for the trade in. Never do that. He was ready to leave, but they gave every salesman a shot at him since he couldn't physically leave without his car. It only ended when he asked to borrow the phone to call the police about his stolen vehicle.
travelover
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...........
OBTW, I pass Priusses everyday huffing up the hills.
Actually, I doubt the Prius has any trouble with hills.....the drivers are squeezing the last few feet out of a gallon of gas. It is a common misconception that hybrids / electric cars are slow. In fact the opposite is true.
YouTube - Dodge Viper 500 hp Vs Tzero Electric Car
Bestwifeever
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OBTW, I pass Priusses everyday huffing up the hills.
On the other hand, remember this story from July 2007?
ABC News: Al Gore's Son Arrested Again on Drug Charges
ziggy29
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"Son, I'm proud of you for getting busted in a Prius and not a Hummer..."
I carry a spare key in my wallet, but I haven't figured out how to do that with a spare fob. Lots of discussion on PriusChat about where to hide a spare fob, and no doubt the best ideas are faithfully noted by the professionals.
kyounge1956
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Mine sure doesn't, and there are enough hills around here that I'd know by now if it did. Now my old car, a 1980 Toyota Tercel with 1.4 liters of four-cylinder excitement....that car had a problem with hills.
Frugality_of_Apathy
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Rustic23
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Andy,
In Texas the Vehicle Inventory Tax is not calculated on the year end inventory. It is calculated on the previous year sales figure and then most dealers apply it to sales next year. As they have collected the tax from every sale during the year, and paid it to the tax man, there would be little incentive to deal based on this tax. However, they may use it as an excuse to advertise and get you into the dealer.
In Texas the Vehicle Inventory Tax is not calculated on the year end inventory. It is calculated on the previous year sales figure and then most dealers apply it to sales next year. As they have collected the tax from every sale during the year, and paid it to the tax man, there would be little incentive to deal based on this tax. However, they may use it as an excuse to advertise and get you into the dealer.
Jeb-NY
Recycles dryer sheets
I actually like the negotiation part of buying a car, but do hate the repeated long trips for approval from above, which I understand are long on purpose.
One such negotiation after the 3rd or 4th long delay while a current offer was being discussed with "The Manager" I had the wife call the next closest dealer to inquire about what they had on the lot. They had 3 cars that met our requirements. The salesman came back and asked what was going on since we were both standing by the door at that point waiting for him. I told him we were buying a car today and were running out of time, that my wife was talking to XXXX and they had what we wanted also. He had our final offer did he want to sell us a car. My wife was actually pushing on the door. My final offer was magically accepted.
By the way it was a fair offer we were not trying to ring the last dollar out of the dealer. It was a left over that was going to be soon 2 model years old, that they had been using as a loaner and it had 7000 miles on it, we could have bought the same car from the other dealer with 15000 miles as a turned in lease car for a little less that we were offering.
Jeb
One such negotiation after the 3rd or 4th long delay while a current offer was being discussed with "The Manager" I had the wife call the next closest dealer to inquire about what they had on the lot. They had 3 cars that met our requirements. The salesman came back and asked what was going on since we were both standing by the door at that point waiting for him. I told him we were buying a car today and were running out of time, that my wife was talking to XXXX and they had what we wanted also. He had our final offer did he want to sell us a car. My wife was actually pushing on the door. My final offer was magically accepted.
By the way it was a fair offer we were not trying to ring the last dollar out of the dealer. It was a left over that was going to be soon 2 model years old, that they had been using as a loaner and it had 7000 miles on it, we could have bought the same car from the other dealer with 15000 miles as a turned in lease car for a little less that we were offering.
Jeb
ziggy29
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It's the "on purpose" part that bugs the bejeezers out of me. If it takes a while it takes a while -- it's a huge purchase; you might as well take the extra time to get it right -- but the addition of unnecessary wait times is irritating.
On Purpose, no such thing. After 35 years I've never heard of trying to delay a sale. Do you think that a salesperson making about $50 to $75 to sell you a car want's to spend the whole day with you. The salesperson has no say on what the car will sell for. In most cases they don't even know the actual dealer cost after rebates and programs with money back to the dealer from the manufacturer.
ERD50
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
So, what *do* they know? They must have some guideline other than "get the most you can from the customer", and then check with me to see if I'll OK it ( the infamous - 'let me run this by my manager')? Seems to me if they don't have a a target, they would have no idea where/when to stop the haggling and would be wasting their own time. For example, if the last hour of haggling was spent debating a price that was $500 below what the manager would authorize, that was all wasted time on both side.
Not adding up for me, maybe I'm missing something? Or maybe I'm better understanding why this industry is in trouble?
Was Saturn's no-haggle policy a success in any measurable way?
-ERD50
From the standpoint of this customer, it definitely was.
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
I've never purchased a Saturn, but I've purchased two new cars from a local 'no-haggle' dealership group. It was definitely a much better customer experience than buying from a traditional dealership. I didn't even feel like I needed a shower after leaving their lot.
The group has Honda, Acura, Chevy, Nissan, Infinity, Pontiac, and Buick dealerships and has been around for almost 20 years, so it must be working for them.
ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
There are certain types of people who enjoy haggling. Personally, I can't stand it. If I feel like I'm really getting the best reasonable price a dealership can offer on a no-haggle basis, I'd much prefer that to the teeth pulling of repeatedly making an offer and "checking with the manager" for acceptance or a counteroffer.
The salesperson has some idea of what the car will sell for based on the other cars that were sold prior. But at certain times of the month based on many factors such as new programs from the manufacturer or too many cars of that brand in stock that number can change.
Most salespeople get paid a flat $50 or $75 for selling the car. In most cases they are on the customers side so they can sell the car and move on. But they have to deal with a manager, they are the only one authorized to sign off on the deal.
Saturn's policy never did work, instead of lowering the price they would throw things in to make the deal. Like and alarm or free oil changes for one year. This was because the customers didn't want to pay list price.
Wouldn't it be nice and easy if everyone knew exactly what they wanted, paid list price as soon as they walked in. No matter what price you give someone when they walk in to the dealer it's always no good and the customer want's more off. So if you told someone as a joke a price $1000 below what the car cost the dealer they still think there's more room in the price. It's easier to show the customer the invoice and agree on a price from there.
We bought a used car from a no-haggle dealer chain (AutoNation) about 8 years ago. It was great. The price was firm, though there was a little haggling over add-ins ("We'd like the car, but really want one with tinted windows." "Okay, we'll include that in the price") We got a short no-questions exchange period and a one-year service warrantee in the deal. Though we could probably have saved a couple of thousand by going with a private party, I felt I got good value for my money and the process was all above board and painless. I think the company had financial trouble and now the name is just a badge for a conglomeration of regular used car dealers. Too bad, as I would have been a repeat customer.
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