Fee for cash buyers???

[REWahoo]

If you have any links I would appreciate seeing them. DD is car shopping and I'm trying to convince her to wait awhile. I googled it but only got hits on what the best months to buy a car are.

Try searching news for "Wait to buy a car".

Here's the first link that came up for me: https://lifehacker.com/why-its-a-terrible-time-to-buy-a-car-and-how-long-you-1846985137

And there is this on YouTube: Here's Why Now is the WORST TIME in HISTORY to Buy a Car

 

[Ready]

Tesla raised pricing on its Model 3 and Model Y five times in the past two months. And, there is a 2-3 month wait to get a car.

Demand is very high right now for many new cars. And supply constraints are limiting production capacity. So we have a basic supply/demand issue right now. Until supply catches up dealers are not going to be highly motivated to sell cars they have little inventory of.

 

[T-Minus]

There are several new car dealers between me and my local Costco (about 10 miles each way). Yesterday on a shopping run, I drove slowly and looked at the various makes to “see what I could see”. Keep in mind, there’s Porsche, Ferrari, MB, BMW, Audi, Range Rover, Chevrolet, Toyota, GM, Nissan, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Lexus, Genesis, Subaru and a couple others. Most of the dealer lots are almost completely empty, to the point where they have to space what cars they have with 10’ gaps between them (or more) and at angles - just to make the lot look fuller. Previously, cars had been parked with 2’ at most between the vehicles. And, almost all of the displayed cars are used and other brands - like a Lexus dealer with a used Ford pickup. The exception that I observed was Nissan - they had a LOT of new vehicles on their lot. Perhaps they just aren’t as in demand as the other makes? Long story short, with minimal inventory, it’s a seller’s market.

 

[beernutzbob]

This BS is why I now only buy cars from fixed price dealers.

 

[donheff]

Why? Why? Why? Why is buying a car such a process. Think about all the things we buy year around. Think about your house. You may look at many houses and finally settle on one. But you know going in what the price is. Sure you may negotiate some but the list price is still somewhat near the price paid. And once you move in you know your neighbor who purchased two days after you didn't pay $25,000 less because he could negotiate better than you.
Car buying and shopping is a joke.

I agree that car buying is awful but in my area houses are a reverse negotiation. Bidding wars can take the price up 10% or more over the listed price with no contingencies. People write letters explaining why they are the best to take your lovely home.

 

[CSdot]

If you have any links I would appreciate seeing them. DD is car shopping and I'm trying to convince her to wait awhile. I googled it but only got hits on what the best months to buy a car are.

One argument you see for the car shopping crunch is something about a shortage or lack of computer chips due to Covid.

 

[chassis]

Car dealers have some of the lowest business ethics of anyone in the economy.

Buying a car from a dealer is the worst purchase experience I can think of. I have purchased more than a few cars.

Don’t pay the fee.

 

[dm]

One thing that helped was my 2017 Jeep with 30,000 miles was worth more than I thought.

Of coarse the new ones are quite a bit more, but they always seem to be.

And I wrote a bad check, told them not to cash it till I could transfer fund into it, or it would bounce. They said just give them a call when it was good.

Here is a pic of what I bought.

 

[oiseux]

If you have any links I would appreciate seeing them. DD is car shopping and I'm trying to convince her to wait awhile. I googled it but only got hits on what the best months to buy a car are.

The surge in demand from 2020 is quite high, after a year that saw car sales down about 15%. On top of this, a major fire at a chip plant in Japan and the deep freeze in Texas caused some pretty large supply disruptions. Because demand from all other types of products is quite high due to COVID-recovery based demand, the car manufacturers have been caught flat footed with insufficient inventory and a lack of orders on the books with suppliers or with the aforementioned supply chain events. Thus, major manufacturers have had to idle plants while they procured enough supplies.

As of March, US inventories were the lowest in 10 years and April/May demand grew even stronger:
https://lmc-auto.com/news-and-insights/us-inventory-how-low-can-it-go/
(LMC tracks auto sales and production)

It is a disproportionate effect. Players like Ford were particularly hard hit, and have prioritized pickup production and other higher profit cars. Things are starting to improve from the worst impacts but will last for quite a while.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/40739/yes-the-chip-shortage-is-still-kneecapping-global-car-production
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/business/general-motors-chip-shortage.html

 

[CoolRich59]

Yes, it's thing. There are YouTube videos on 'how to negotiate for a car'. https://tinyurl.com/y6oa2l5o The usual advice is to not disclose that you're paying in cash until you're in the Finance office.

Don’t want to hijack the thread, but I think these Kevin Hunter car buying videos are terrific. I watched a bunch of them before car shopping. (But, now I’m waiting for inventory levels to come back. There’s no way I’m walking into a stealership and getting into a “bidding war” for a car. )

 

[CoolRich59]

Yes! Even better if you have a tired & whiny 1 year old along! (We bought a Bronco II back in the day like that).

LOL!

Way back in ‘94 I bought a Nissan Maxima. I brought along two of my boys who would have been about 6 and 8 at the time.

It did not take long for them to get bored and start climbing on top of cars, honking horns, and generally causing chaos. I pretended not to notice as the stealership staff tried (unsuccessfully) to reign them in.

I knew the price I was wanted to pay and was willing to haggle as long as it took. Those boys certainly helped get the deal closed a lot faster than if I’d been by myself.

The icing on the cake came a few days later.

It seems that in the haste to wrap things up, the salesman made a big mistake in the paperwork and no one caught it at the time. The stealership’s general manager called me up and asked me to come in and sign the corrected paperwork. I said I’d drop by that evening. I met the GM in his office and he laid out the corrected forms and offered me a pen. I asked “First, what are you going to give me for agreeing to this change?”

He was not amused.

Another round of negotiations commenced, much less pleasant; it even included threats of lawyers and “repossession” of my new car. I said, fine, cancel the deal. You can take back your (now used) car and give me back my old car (which I suspect had already been shipped off to a wholesaler).

In the end, I *graciously* agreed to sign in exchange for two years of free oil changes.

 

[freedomatlast]

This BS is why I now only buy cars from fixed price dealers.

That way you almost guarantee that you overpay.

 

[teetee]

It is not a thing. It sounds like you did the negotiation with them thinking you are going to finance the car but not so they want their profit back.

Did they exclude the destination charges or dealer paperwork fee?

If you are paying those then that dealer is scamming you. If you are buying a used car, or they offer xx months free maintainence, just leave. No need to waste time dealing with liars.

 

[lauradrops]

It is not a thing. It sounds like you did the negotiation with them thinking you are going to finance the car but not so they want their profit back.

Did they exclude the destination charges or dealer paperwork fee?

If you are paying those then that dealer is scamming you. If you are buying a used car, or they offer xx months free maintainence, just leave. No need to waste time dealing with liars.

We didn't get that far. I corresponded online to confirm they had what I was looking for. When I went in to talk price and possible trade, she wanted to go through the entire finance thing. I said I was undecided about that and was more interested in the price of the car first, then we could discuss possible trade in and how I would pay.

At that point is when she said they charge 1500 for cash buyers. I have bought many cars, cash and finance, and never heard it put that way. I have heard of many different incentives, financing or otherwise, but never a cash fee. Just struck me as an odd.

But in the end, I got the car I wanted for what I wanted to pay and have been very happy since.

 

[beernutzbob]

That way you almost guarantee that you overpay.

Almost everything for sale on Amazon could be bought elsewhere for less.

 

[ncbill]

This BS is why I now only buy cars from fixed price dealers.

I used a broker to negotiate my last lease.

Stuck my kid on a cheap flight to pick it up & drive it back.

If I ever buy a new vehicle I'll use a broker as well.

 

[tenant13]

It may sound strange but at the ripe age of 57 I just bought my first car from a dealer.

25 or so years ago I had a Nissan 240SX but I bought it for cash from a dude who was selling reconditioned post-accidents vehicles. Then I lived in NY and and didn't need a car. This time around I went to a few Subaru dealers and eventually got myself a slightly used 2021 Outback "loaner": this is what dealers loan to people while their cars are being repaired. The car itself is kind of meh - it moves like a cow (I passed on the XT engine) and the seats suck - but I only need it for my across country road trip and that will mostly take places on the back roads. So I guess I don't need a sprinter... And I won't drive long hours.

As to financing. They were quite open about not wanting to do any cash deals - they make money on originating loans and selling them to financial institutions. In this case Chase had a sweet deal of 0.99% financing through some special relationship with Subaru so I went for it. I can definitely make more than 1% with that money so I'll hold off with paying off the loan until my trip is done and I'm ready to sell.

 

[frank]

I used a broker to negotiate my last lease.

Stuck my kid on a cheap flight to pick it up & drive it back.

If I ever buy a new vehicle I'll use a broker as well.

what kind of broker do you use and where do you find them. never heard of a car purchase broker.

 

[braumeister]

what kind of broker do you use and where do you find them. never heard of a car purchase broker.

This may be helpful:

Car Brokers

Using a Car Broker to Buy Your Next Vehicle

 

[ncbill]

what kind of broker do you use and where do you find them. never heard of a car purchase broker.

Bunch of lease brokers here:

https://forum.leasehackr.com/c/reviews/11

Note with a purchase there's only one variable to negotiate.

 

[24601NoMore]

As I understand it, yes, it is. I've seen reports saying it is the worst time since the end of WWII to try to buy a car, new or used.

BIL is a Chrysler mechanic at a very large area dealer and says "I'd hate to be a sales guy right now..we have NO. CARS for them to sell".

Said he's never seen the sales lot so totally empty in the 30 or so years he's been there.

Even used cars are going for way above pay-off value. I read a story the other day about CarVana (?) and other places paying MORE than people owe on their leases and/or loans just to get vehicles. Sometimes a LOT (as in $5K over) more. You can apparently go to their website, key in your car's info and get a buyout quote either real-time or very quickly. They are apparently totally desperate for cars..but will then turn around and sell what they paid you thousands to much for to some other person for...even more thousands above what they paid you.

Yeah..if you don't ABSOLUTELY need a car right now (or a house), stay far away from either market. They both have no inventory and prices in both are totally bonkers and inflated beyond words.

 

[aja8888]

Today I checked the value of my 2005 Mustang convertible (base model, not GT) with 64,000 miles on it. I used Kelly Blue Book as they are pretty good with average retail and trade in values.

The car is Mint and has new tires, new A/C, perfect paint, etc. Last year, from memory, the "Private Party Average Retail" was about $6 K. Today's value puts it at $9,010. This is nutty money for a 17 year old V6 automatic Mustang.

 

[mz44]

Today I checked the value of my 2005 Mustang convertible (base model, not GT) with 64,000 miles on it. I used Kelly Blue Book as they are pretty good with average retail and trade in values.



The car is Mint and has new tires, new A/C, perfect paint, etc. Last year, from memory, the "Private Party Average Retail" was about $6 K. Today's value puts it at $9,010. This is nutty money for a 17 year old V6 automatic Mustang.



View attachment 39222

I'll have to check on my 07 Gt conv w 33K.

 

[jr6035]

I went car shopping at some local Honda dealers looking for a new or CPO car. I did most of it online so I could cut down time at the dealership. Went to see one in person and was told if I pay cash they would charge $1500 more.

Is this a thing? I never heard of such a thing. I obviously left, but not before I let it play out for a few minutes. She asked me to give her a minute to talk to her manager before I left to "see what he could do". I thought maybe they were going to say they would wave the cash fee and expect me to pay full ask instead like it was a bargain. Nope, manager said it would be full asking plus 1500 cash fee.

I did purchase at another dealer who was happy to negotiate a great deal for me in cash. I was really just shocked by the first dealer and wonder if anyone else ever heard of such a thing.

I paid cash on a new Honda in November. No fee. I would move on to a Toyoya then.

 

[aja8888]

I'll have to check on my 07 Gt conv w 33K.View attachment 39223

Nice!