If you make a deal, do you stand by it?

[Westernskies]

Is that you, Bubba?

 

[FinanceDude]

Last... why would a complaint be filed with anybody This one sound like you being vindictive... because someone didn't want to play your game...

21st century gun-fighting? "Sue first, ask questions later"??

 

[Rustic23]

You all really don't understand. You are dealing with a Professor Emeritus and Lawyer. That is spelled E M E R I T U S. He does not deal with the 'little people' you know the 'Clerks'. He is way too important for this.

My mother use to have a say of this type of individual. 'If you could buy him for what he is worth and sell him for what he thinks he is worth you would be rich.'

 

[cantlogin]

I guess I am not being clear. ...

I disagree. You make your point very well.

 

[M Paquette]

I fully agree the typical new-car purchasing experience is nuts and I was not trying to defend it. My point was that I wasn't going to purchase a "5K or under POS" since driving through the wide open spaces of West TX in a "well seasoned" auto is not my idea of how I want to spend my retirement.

The last new car I bought was from a "one price, no negotiation" Honda dealer. It was a pleasant experience. The only other new car purchase that came close to being that easy was one I bought via the internet right after Al Gore invented it.

As near as I can figure, the process is broken, and there are vested interests (Hi, guys!) in keeping it broken. Even though I knew exactly what I wanted, I still had to plan on spending a full day in a dealership, between the sales guy, manager, and finance guy. Yeah, even when paying cash. The finance guy is really a sales stop, for undercoating, Lustre Glow paint treatment, extended warranties ("Ya know, if this breaks we gotta get a new engine from Japan. Could take weeks. The extended warranty gets ya a free rental.")

That said, from my last car buying experience, it appears that it is possible to do an end run around the process. For this to work, you have to know exactly what you want to buy in advance (vehicle make, model, option packages, and yes, even paint color if it matters to you). Have your financing lined up, and don't do a trade-in. Then, use the web site or e-mail address of the 'internet sales rep' at several regional dealerships to inquire as to their best price and availability for the particular vehicle you want.

My experience was that about half the sales reps responded with an actual offer, with the remainder either inviting me to drop by for a 'discussion' in person, or just adding the reply e-mail address to their junk mail list.

I then took the intersection of the dealerships that replied with an offer, with the dealerships that had the best reputation on several local review websites. My experience was that one of the best dealerships also had the best price on what I wanted.

I made an appointment, showed up, and got the deal done in just under two hours at the agreed price. I figure I saved an hour or two of four-square games, "Gotta talk to the manager" breaks, and general thumb twiddling and stress. I still had to sit through the finance guy's spiels (45 minutes).

(As I tend to drive vehicles until they disintegrate, the old car was [-]melted into boat anchors and soup cans[/-] donated to a charity for a tax deduction.)

 

[Texas Proud]

I made an appointment, showed up, and got the deal done in just under two hours at the agreed price. I figure I saved an hour or two of four-square games, "Gotta talk to the manager" breaks, and general thumb twiddling and stress. I still had to sit through the finance guy's spiels (45 minutes).

(As I tend to drive vehicles until they disintegrate, the old car was [-]melted into boat anchors and soup cans[/-] donated to a charity for a tax deduction.)

Funny.... the last two times I bought a new car the finance guy did not spend much time trying to sell me anything... the first one said "we got this" and I said "I will not buy anything else, let's not waste time"... he did not.. NOW, the amount of papers that he had to spew out of the printer was a lot... we did have a clunker etc. etc... so lots of signing..

 

[ERD50]

Funny.... the last two times I bought a new car the finance guy did not spend much time trying to sell me anything...

Same here - I just said I was paying cash and that was that. For the Plymouth, I think I got some extended warranty, clear-coat offers, but I guess my firm "NO, THANK YOU" and body language convinced the guy not to waste any additional time. No pressure that I recall at all with the Volvo. These were both end-of-the-model-year-on-the-lot-vehicles so maybe they were just happy to move them. I kept any trade in separate.

But next time, I may go the no-haggle route (Costco or Credit Union?) or may M Paquette's method of emailing specs and asking for take-it-or-leave-it price.

-ERD50

 

[lets-retire]

This was my plan, but the wife wanted a hybrid and wasn't crazy about the Prius or Camry. The one she liked was the Ford Fusion/ Milan, and they just havn't been out that long.

Did you know the hybrid technology used in the Ford Fusion is Toyota's design?

 

[Emeritus]

?? The only point I get is that you seem to get some perverse satisfaction from throwing around your legal weight to jerk around the lowly car salesperson and feel 'superior', when you know full well what his/her job description and authority is.

Why don't you simply call the owner of the car dealership ahead of time, explain you will only negotiate with him/her directly, and make an appointment?

-ERD50

This was the time they claimed the manager was too busy with another customer after I called ahead and had an appointment with the manger

 

[ERD50]

This was the time they claimed the manager was too busy with another customer after I called ahead and had an appointment with the manger

So scratch that dealer off your list. Problem solved.

Hmmm, if you end up scratching too many dealers off your list, it might be tough to strike a real bargain. Funny how reality comes around to bite, eh?

-ERD50

 

[Texas Proud]

So scratch that dealer off your list. Problem solved.

Hmmm, if you end up scratching too many dealers off your list, it might be tough to strike a real bargain. Funny how reality comes around to bite, eh?

-ERD50

Heck.... why worry about negotiating with them... call the owner and TELL him to have your car ready to pick up... you will only pay X for it and if you do not sell it to me for that.... well... there will be HELL to pay....

Much easier... takes out all the middle men...

Heck... why not just call up GM and have them send you over a car



PS.... that reminded me of one deal from my BIL I had forgotten... funny story... he had ordered a truck at a GM (maybe Chevy)... back when you did this kind of thing... he kept waiting for it... and waiting... many months go by... he then found out that GM canceled his order because they were having problems with the dealership... he actually talked to the Chairman of GM (I was there)... the chairman said to go to the dealership and pick out any truck on the lot and it was his for the price they had agreed.... BIL got a LOADED truck... the one he ordered was pretty loaded, but not as much as the one he picked...

 

[Emeritus]

So scratch that dealer off your list. Problem solved.

Hmmm, if you end up scratching too many dealers off your list, it might be tough to strike a real bargain. Funny how reality comes around to bite, eh?

-ERD50

no the bad ones go out of business, one way or another. funny how reality comes around to bite eh?

 

[dm]

Did you know the hybrid technology used in the Ford Fusion is Toyota's design?

I did not know that. But it really doesn't matter, she just liked the Mercury better. She probably thinks that they are still made in the USA. The deal is done now and she likes the car. She has already put over a 1000 miles on it. She took my sister and a couple of our nieces shopping in Branson so that raked up a lot of miles. And she is getting around 40 miles to the gallon.

 

[lets-retire]

I did not know that. But it really doesn't matter, she just liked the Mercury better. She probably thinks that they are still made in the USA. The deal is done now and she likes the car. She has already put over a 1000 miles on it. She took my sister and a couple of our nieces shopping in Branson so that raked up a lot of miles. And she is getting around 40 miles to the gallon.

I didin't write the last statement correctly. All of Ford's hybrid technology is licensed from Toyota.

 

[ERD50]

no the bad ones go out of business, one way or another. funny how reality comes around to bite eh?

I'm not sure that a dealer who expects you to work through the sales force is a 'bad' one though. Although not keeping an appointment is rude. Maybe he was just yanking your chain - sensing that you were yanking his?

-ERD50

 

[Emeritus]

I'm not sure that a dealer who expects you to work through the sales force is a 'bad' one though. Although not keeping an appointment is rude. Maybe he was just yanking your chain - sensing that you were yanking his?

-ERD50

It's not a "sales force". They have no authority to sell cars. That's what the whole discussion is about. They are commercial Eunuchs, all talk, no action.

 

[ERD50]

It's not a "sales force". They have no authority to sell cars. That's what the whole discussion is about. They are commercial Eunuchs, all talk, no action.

Whatever....

-ERD50

 

[Texas Proud]

I'm not sure that a dealer who expects you to work through the sales force is a 'bad' one though. Although not keeping an appointment is rude. Maybe he was just yanking your chain - sensing that you were yanking his?

-ERD50

ORRRR, the guy is a busy person and really had another customer come to him... and he WAS busy.... heck it happens... you know... something like: sorry, I can not talk to you right now even though you are here ready to buy a car because I have this guy that is supposed to be here... yes, I know I will lose YOUR deal if I do not talk to you... but I have an appointment.... can't you understand that... with an important guy who wants to negotiate buying a car at so low a price that it is a waste of my time... yes, sorry to see you go.... I am sure I will make a deal with him... if he does not report me to the authorities...

but if you go around thinking everybody is out to screw you.... everything starts to look like a screw....

 

[travelover]

Did you know the hybrid technology used in the Ford Fusion is Toyota's design?

This is not true. It is like saying that a conventional Toyota is Henry Ford's design because they use a similar design and strategy.

 

[lets-retire]

This is not true. It is like saying that a conventional Toyota is Henry Ford's design because they use a similar design and strategy.

I read the article a while back, but from what I remember Ford was more concerned with developing hydrogen technology so they fell behind on the hybrid stuff. As a result, they contacted Toyota and licensed their hybrid technology to use in their vehicles. If they hadn't it would have been several more years before Ford could put out anything in the hybrid area.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Now that we know that the dealer honored the deal and Mrs. DM is supremely happy with the new car and is busy running up the odometer (at 40 mpg! awesome!), "th-th-th-th-that's all, folks!"

YouTube - Porky Pig Cartoon Ending "That's All Folks!"