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Old 06-23-2010, 12:28 PM   #141
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I just got back from the dealer. I signed new application for title and got a new receipt showing the correct vin. I did not pay any more.

Ive got a tee time so I have to run. But hopefully I'm done with this.
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Old 06-23-2010, 12:34 PM   #142
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I just got back from the dealer. I signed new application for title and got a new receipt showing the correct vin. I did not pay any more.

Ive got a tee time so I have to run. But hopefully I'm done with this.
well done
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Old 06-23-2010, 12:41 PM   #143
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Did you put a deposit on the car over the phone by credit card? If so, they should not have sold it. If not, you really didn't have anything but a handshake deal. One guy I know has been selling cars for 25 years. He said if he had a dollar for everytime a guy said over the phone "I'll take it", but never followed through, he would be retired a long time ago........

No.... I was going to make the down payment by CC, but the guy said, 'you are coming to pick it up tonight, don't worry about it'... so it was him that said not to give a deposit.. I had financing from the CU that was already approved and everything was 'done' except for signing all the docs..

And as I said, the guy quit over this... he said it was not worth working for a dealership that would not stand behind their deals...

I agree... the GM wanted to get more money... he decided that there was no 'legal' deal... fine with me... I will go somewhere else...

Funny thing is he argued with me for over 30 minutes on why I sould take the deal now (after the other one fell through)... I just did it to waste his time... it also was funny that IF I had arrived about 15 minutes later... I would never have known unless the CU guy was still there told me... he was gone shortly after I arrived and the deal fell through shortly after I arrived also...
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Old 06-23-2010, 12:47 PM   #144
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I just got back from the dealer. I signed new application for title and got a new receipt showing the correct vin. I did not pay any more. Ive got a tee time so I have to run. But hopefully I'm done with this.
"I love it when a plan comes together!"

IMHO that is what should have happened on day one...and I am glad to see that the dealer did the right thing! Enjoy your new car!!
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Old 06-23-2010, 12:52 PM   #145
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We used to kick guys like you out of our dealership........
I'd be honored.

Never had a dealer throw me out, even when I cut my offer after being yanked around. I've had a couple chase me down the sidewalk trying to get me to come back, though.

The dealer would do the four-square, pass it over, and I'd say "no trade-in, no financing", strike the trade, down, and monthly, and write my offer (based on a thoroughly researched local real cost, manufacturer's kick, etc, with a generous reasonable profit) and send him off to the tower. He'd come back with 'Manager says no way," a new number a few thousand higher, and shove the four-square back. I'd write my new offer, a hundred less than the previous, and shove it back. This always got "No, no, you don't understand!" and an explanation that I should raise my offer. Hey, my time has value, too, and you are wasting it.

I never got thrown out, and when we reached a deal it was within a few hundred of what I originally offered. I was happy, the dealer moved a car and made some money.
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Old 06-23-2010, 01:06 PM   #146
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The first car I bought I went with an older brother who was better at the negotiation process. I liked his style. After going back and forth doing the usual counter offers, threatening to go to another dealer or buy a competing make at another dealer when we made our final offer, my brother just said, "this is what the offer is, take it or leave it...stuff like taxes, other charges, you (the dealer) calculate and figure out based on the final price." Worked out. Didn't pay anymore than the price offered.
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Old 06-23-2010, 01:11 PM   #147
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Originally Posted by dm View Post
I just got back from the dealer. I signed new application for title and got a new receipt showing the correct vin. I did not pay any more.

Ive got a tee time so I have to run. But hopefully I'm done with this.
All's well that ends well. Too bad you had to have so many days of stress. And no lifetime oil changs for your pain and suffering!
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Old 06-23-2010, 01:26 PM   #148
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I just got back from the dealer. I signed new application for title and got a new receipt showing the correct vin. I did not pay any more.

Ive got a tee time so I have to run. But hopefully I'm done with this.
Excellent results, dm! Enjoy your new car and your golfing.
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Old 06-23-2010, 02:47 PM   #149
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edit - I just saw that dm got it the car at the price he offered - glad it worked out for you - congrats!

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ERD... but your TV analogy does not work... if they have the price at $200 IN THE STORE then they have to sell it for $200... they can quickly go back and tear up that sign, or reprice them, but they can not say you owe $225... that is 'bait and switch'...
Yes, you are right - I was a little loose with my illustration. Let's say the worker was putting up the sign one digit at a time, and as you walked by he had the '2' up but didn't take down the other numbers yet.... you get my drift, some kind of honest misunderstanding between the real price and what the customer thought was the 'real price'.

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However, what if the mistake was $5000, or $10,000? Is the buyer ALWAYS right if a mistake is made? Something to think about..........
Yes, but if it was a $10,000 mistake, the customer would probably realize that something was up. The old "you can't cheat an honest man" line applies. OTOH, if the 'expert', the car salesman didn't realize the mistake, how can we expect the 'amateur', the customer to realize it? That's why I tend to say that in most cases the business needs to eat the mistake and move on.


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The salesman is probably going to be fired.
That may be, but geez, $1700 is the cost of doing business sometimes. Everyone makes mistakes. I think you are often better off keeping the people who made mistakes if it is clear that they learned something from it. They won't make that mistake again. Unless they aren't capable of learning, but they probably should have been let go already in that case.

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Old 06-23-2010, 03:38 PM   #150
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I'm with you on this one. A deal is a deal!
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Old 06-23-2010, 04:07 PM   #151
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Good for you dm. I don't think the dealer got screwed. He was being dumb and finally realized it. Based on dm's earlier comments the dealer may have smartened up in time to keep a customer for the service department where the big bucks are.
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Old 06-23-2010, 05:51 PM   #152
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I just got back from the dealer. I signed new application for title and got a new receipt showing the correct vin. I did not pay any more.

Ive got a tee time so I have to run. But hopefully I'm done with this.
Excellent!

I can't remember, but I think dm said they were a new dealership. I know we have talked about scam/no scam a lot - but assuming "no scam", the next question is customer service and reputation. I could not imagine any dealership (especially a new one) wanting to risk a call to the BBB or hurting their reputation in the area - for $1000. And now, dm might actually go their for service or buy another car from them some day, or at a bare minimum not tell everyone how incompetent they are. He might even possibly tell people how they treated him right after they screwed up. As opposed to the alternative...... And it only cost them $1000.

I do understand their desire to try and recoup some of their loss - but it was their mistake. If they own 2 dealerships, I suspect they could absorb that loss easily. Companies do it all the time.


Our best car buying experience was our last one at a dealership that did not negotiate. The price they listed was the price you paid. Their prices were lower than anyone's within 100 miles and they were always packed. We bought 2 cars within a week from them. It was wonderful.
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Old 06-23-2010, 06:16 PM   #153
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I just got back from the dealer. I signed new application for title and got a new receipt showing the correct vin. I did not pay any more.

Ive got a tee time so I have to run. But hopefully I'm done with this.
Apparently the dealer (or the owner) has been reading this thread...
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Old 06-23-2010, 07:44 PM   #154
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Look over the many posts about carbuying on here. There is an overiding bias against the entire process involving dealerships. Pretty much everyone thinks that dealers rip everyone off and you should expect that.
Smoke, fire?




Quote:
Having worked in a dealership many years ago, and having been in a position to deal with issues like dm faces, it is my opinion that the dealer is trying to be fair. Of course, dm could play hardball and do whatever he wants, but he is driving the car. A mistake was made, and I suppose dm and most here feel the dealer should eat the mistake. However, what if the mistake was $5000, or $10,000? Is the buyer ALWAYS right if a mistake is made? Something to think about..........
I think most here think the dealer should do something. Either give him the paperwork and eat the loss or give him his money back and go away. But the dealer was jerking him around while he took his time. As far as the difference being a larger amount, the buyer would still be right. It would then be up to the dealer to determine how to react. I suspect he'd have given the money back and started over right away.
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Old 06-23-2010, 07:54 PM   #155
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Thanks for the graph. I go back to my restaurant analogy about if you go and order a crab but the restaurant serves you lobster by mistake. What would you expect to happen? I'd think any respectable restaurant would say, "my mistake" and just absorb the expense. The same would go for a car dealership. Either absorb the cost for at least return back to square one and not expect to customer pay more out of his/her pocket.
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Old 06-23-2010, 09:21 PM   #156
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dm,
Great outcome! This has been a great thread, right up there with Fuego's gamblin' SIL...
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Old 06-23-2010, 09:27 PM   #157
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I'll second that. The story of this thread has a nice ending. Still hoping the same for Fuego's SIL story.
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Old 06-23-2010, 10:02 PM   #158
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DM, too bad you couldn't have heard right away not to worry. I hope you can still enjoy the new car!

And I hope you had a great golf game today too.
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Old 06-24-2010, 12:50 AM   #159
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I just read this thread, what a fun thread. I am happy that there was good outcome for DM.

I am pretty sure I would have held out for the keeping the deal as it was original negotiated.
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Old 06-24-2010, 01:16 PM   #160
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You would be surprised to hear that many cars have $800 or less profit from MSRP to cost. Also many cars have much more profit than $4000.
Usually the more expensive the car the more room for the dealer to move on price.
I know this is a bit of a hijack, but I'd like to hear more on this. Are you saying that a lower end car, say a Toyota Corolla or a Ford Escort (if they still make those) might cost a dealer $800 less than the price on the window sticker? I find that a little hard to believe. I've never once gotten less than $1000 off on a sticker price, and I've bought some pretty cheap cars in my life. I don't see how a dealer could stay in business with those margins.

I suspect there is a lot more involved that you aren't mentioning. Incentives, dealer fees, dealer add-ons, etc. that drive up the profit margin. But I don't know, never having worked in the business. I suspect the reason car dealers get such low marks on the integrity scale (lower than politicians!) is the complete lack of transparency. I'd be interested in understanding the process better, so I can determine if my mistrust is misplaced.

BTW dm, congrats. I was pretty sure that was how it would work out, but they didn't make it easy on you, did they?
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