Buying a Prius

[ziggy29]

Right now, 4wds are gold around here, because we just got another 5 inches of snow

... and because gas isn't $4 per gallon any more.

 

[FinanceDude]

... and because gas isn't $4 per gallon any more.

So, now folks MIGHT be able to trade in that gas guzzler, as the market has rebounded for their SUVs. Only problem is, the bank won't loan them money.........

 

[FinanceDude]

Perhaps this is the issue with the car companies.
They literally don't comprehend any other way of doing business?
There is some sort of disconnect, that won't allow them to learn from successful strategies used in other industries, or even car makers. In Saturn's case, they couldn't understand it, so they bought it?

CarMax seems to have figured out a way to do a lot of deals that is different than most dealerships......

 

[bbbamI]

Whenever I guzzle, I burp....

 

[ERD50]

Perhaps this is the issue with the car companies.
They literally don't comprehend any other way of doing business?

That seems to be it.

Not as fixed as you might think.

True that some people do negotiate on many things. But I don't see it as the norm in most industries. I do see it as the norm in car sales.

-ERD50

 

[Frugality_of_Apathy]

Not as fixed as you might think.

Yeah everything is negotiable, but the car industry seems to be suffering from negotiamania.

 

[kyounge1956]

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.

This sounds to me like an utterly cockeyed way to run a business. I used to work in a fabric store. If we'd used the same sales method as a car dealer, we'd not have put accurate price tags on the merchandise, so neither the customers nor the clerks knew the cost of a yard of cloth or a spool of thread. With every sale the clerk would have had to go to the store manager and ask "is it OK if I sell this for $X a yard?" and the customer would have had to wait 30 or 40 minutes to get an answer.

I don't think any manager who ran her store that way would have lasted very long, but it wouldn't matter because I doubt that any of the customers would have set foot in the store ever again after one such experience. I know I wouldn't!

 

[Nords]

I am truly shocked on this frugal site that folks think you can't negotiate like mad at ANY retail store.

Yeah everything is negotiable, but the car industry seems to be suffering from negotiamania.

Why bother negotiating when you can do better with Craigslist?

Last month we bought $1500 of Home Depot gift cards for $750 from a very angry woman who was divorcing her husband. I should've bought another $3000 for $1500 but that seemed to be pushing it. (I was wrong.) However as far as we're concerned HD is now selling everything to us at half-off-- which is going to keep us out of Lowes, KMart, & City Mill for quite a while.

We haven't bought retail furniture since Feb 08 (a lanai swing couch) and Feb 07 (a livingroom couch). In the last 22 months we've bought furniture from 11 other Craigslist sellers, and we found the second retailer through Craigslist. Looking back through our Quicken records, it looks like we buy retail furniture about once a year and buy/sell through Craigslist about 10 times for every retail purchase.

Spouse has never bought a new car, and I haven't been in a car dealership since 1981. Our next seven vehicles came from newspaper classifieds & Craigslist.

 

[Rustic23]

Edmunds may or may not have the absolute best price one can get on a car. However, it is a lot better than going in, looking at a sticker and have your friendly auto dealer say, 'That's just the sticker, you can't buy it for anywhere near that price, lots of add on stuff!'

If I get a car within a 100 bucks of Edmunds, I figure that's close enough. By the way, I have put in different zip codes and gotten different prices on Edmunds, so they must consider some regional pricing.

 

[travelover]

..................
Last month we bought $1500 of Home Depot gift cards for $750 from a very angry woman who was divorcing her husband. I should've bought another $3000 for $1500 but that seemed to be pushing it. (I was wrong.) However as far as we're concerned HD is now selling everything to us at half-off-- which is going to keep us out of Lowes, KMart, & City Mill for quite a while.
.........

Nords, how do you verify that the card is good before purchasing it?

 

[Frugality_of_Apathy]

Nords, how do you verify that the card is good before purchasing it?

There's a number on the back of the card you can call. You punch in the number of the card and it will tell you how much money is remaining on it.

I once sold a car for a couple of those.

 

[M Paquette]

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.

Heh. I had a second set on me.

I had a dealer pull that stunt on me once, asking for keys to inspect the trade in, and not bothering to give them back when requested. I think we went through three salesmen. When the third one went to talk to the manager (who, oddly enough, seemed to be in the one-person restroom), we left.

A few days later I dropped by, saw my original keys on a salesman's desk, and took them. That dealership went on my 'dealers to avoid' list.

 

[Nords]

Nords, how do you verify that the card is good before purchasing it?

The transactions take place at the gift card's store. At HD we walk up to the Returns or Service desk and ask them to verify the amount before we go on a shopping spree. They scan it and announce its value, and we walk off to complete the deal. Usually cash.

I think that the clerks know what's happening, and I'm pretty sure they don't care.

Some cards are registered by number, so if you lose them you can be reimbursed. Other cards are "store credit" and not registered, so if you lose them you're outta luck. We had that problem with the latter once at HD but got it back a week later so no long-term problem.

The disgruntled spouse had maxed out her alleged adulterous husband's Home Depot charge account ($6000) and sold the cards at half price-- she said that she only wanted her half...

 

[Frugality_of_Apathy]

Do they really expect someone to buy a car from them or recommend them to your friends when they hold you hostage like that?

 

[kyounge1956]

(snip) 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.

(snip)I had a dealer pull that stunt on me once, asking for keys to inspect the trade in, and not bothering to give them back when requested. (snip)

Do they really expect someone to buy a from them or recommend them to your friends when they hold you hostage like that?

And isn't kidnapping a felony?

 

[REWahoo]

I had a dealer pull that stunt on me, asking for keys to inspect the trade in, and not bothering to give them back when requested.

After I attempted to leave the dealership only to learn my keys had been "lost" by the used car guy who took it for an inspection, I told the sales guy he had 60 seconds to find them. When he was unmotivated to help me out, I walked to the middle of the showroom, stood in a chair and shouted,

"MY CAR KEYS HAVE BEEN STOLEN! THE POLICE ARE ON THE WAY! NO ONE IS TO LEAVE THE DEALERSHIP UNTIL YOU HAVE UNDERGONE A BODY SEARCH!"

Found my keys. Never set foot in that dealership again. Told this story to everyone who mentioned shopping for a new car.

 

[Frugality_of_Apathy]

And isn't kidnapping a felony?

Technically it's false imprisonment, still a felony.

 

[73ss454]

This sounds to me like an utterly cockeyed way to run a business. I used to work in a fabric store. If we'd used the same sales method as a car dealer, we'd not have put accurate price tags on the merchandise, so neither the customers nor the clerks knew the cost of a yard of cloth or a spool of thread. With every sale the clerk would have had to go to the store manager and ask "is it OK if I sell this for $X a yard?" and the customer would have had to wait 30 or 40 minutes to get an answer.

I don't think any manager who ran her store that way would have lasted very long, but it wouldn't matter because I doubt that any of the customers would have set foot in the store ever again after one such experience. I know I wouldn't!

Yup, I agree. I think that the car industry should hire you as a consultant. Because the 1000's of various car dealers across the nation all have it wrong and you are right.

 

[73ss454]

REW, I think they just liked your company and wanted to keep you around. Maybe they figured that you'd buy a car just to get home.

 

[samclem]

Because the 1000's of various car dealers across the nation all have it wrong and you are right.

Right. Because what they are doing now is working great! It's amazing how they've really kept up with the times. It used to be that owning a dealership was a license to print money. Now, well, it's even better right?

 

[REWahoo]

REW, I think they just liked your company and wanted to keep you around.

Maybe, but I suspect otherwise. A very wise fellow once told me, "Remember, car sales is what you do when you fail at everything else."

 

[73ss454]

Samclem, you are also right, maybe you can get a consultant job also.

And the reason why the dealers move so slow is because the managers are upstairs making up phony invoices to show the public.

 

[73ss454]

Maybe, but I suspect otherwise. A very wise fellow once told me, "Remember, car sales is what you do when you fail at everything else."

Yes, he is a very wise man.

 

[samclem]

And the reason why the dealers move so slow is because the managers are upstairs making up phony invoices to show the public.

There's nothing "phony" about the invoices, except that they don't show the net cost the dealer pays for the car (after holdbacks, spiffs, wholesale reserves, and all the other things that come back to the dealer). Showing a prospective customer the invoice and crying for mercy is the funniest game going.

 

[73ss454]

Would you also like to see their profit and loss statements. Also you're the one who said that it's possible that the invoices may be phony in a prior post.

I think you should ask to speak to their accountant before you buy a car so you can make sure their making exactly what you want them to.

Do the dealers a favor and buy a used car out of someones driveway.