The Car-buying thread on Reddit

[George K]

Interesting comments about people's experiences buying/negotiating cars.

As a sales person I loved when customers would do the opposite. They would tell me they got some amazing deal at another dealership. I mean a deal that is impossible. They are just trying to get a better price. I would say "Wow, if they are offering that price , go and take it. We can't match that. You don't want to miss out.".
9 out of 10 times they wouldn't leave.. Funny how that works.

My boss was prepared to walk over $7 when he bought his last car. The salesman asked if he was really going to walk over $7. His response was, "are you really going to let me walk out over $7?" Never be afraid to leave at any time in process

A salesman at a Toyota dealership started pulling my husband's credit without notifying him. When we caught on to what was happening, we asked if he was doing a credit pull. He sheepishly said yes, and we just stood up and left. He had the gall to chase us to the door and hand us his card, which immediately went into the trash can right next to the door. Car shopping is the worst when it comes to manipulation tactics.

As a general rule, be prepared to walk out of a car dealership at any time.
This is why you NEVER give them your keys if you're trading your car in. The first thing they do is get it out of your sight. One time I had to call the police because I waited two hours for my car. Turned out they took it to a lot about five miles away. They "lost" my car. And the car I went look at, a car they said they had twenty minutes before I arrived, "sold". I refused to look at any other cars. I was interested in that specific car. I was livid.

Dealerships will also make you wait around to try and get you to buy a car in haste, so you don't waste any more time. My dad had a rule when we went car-shopping, one coffee. We took a seat and he got a coffee. We chatted, he drank his coffee, while I was clearly getting antsy. He finished his coffee and told me that we were going to leave.
For reference: I called ahead, let them know the car I was interested in, and to discuss about the online price. I walked in and was greeted by someone at the door who began to lead me to his desk. His manager took over instead, and said he'd print some stuff out. Then the computers were slow, printers were screwy, thanked us for our patience. So when my dad finished his coffee we left.
Got to another dealership, and the other one started calling and texting. Come back and we'll give you an amazing deal, you'll be talking with the head of the dealership, you'll get a crazy good warranty, please come back.
Got a great deal on a car at a dealership that didn't fuck with us.

Have a friend that's a small time ligation attorney. When a dealership tried to say they didn't have the vehicle they had agreed to sell him he dropped a lawsuit on them the next day. They had to give him the deal they offered.

[Klaus]

I've never bought a car at a dealership for that reason.

I bought a few new cars, but I bought them online, with no negotiations about anything. They offer a prize X for a specified car and I pay X or don't buy the car. Very simple and transparent. That's how I want to conduct business. There's no reason why buying a car has to be more complicated than ordering a USB cable on Amazon.

Tesla with their direct sales business seem to go in that direction, too. I like that. The whole "dealer network" concept is outdated, in my opinion.

[George K]

@klaus said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

There's no reason why buying a car has to be more complicated than ordering a USB cable on Amazon.

Indeed. The last time I bought a car it was non-negotiable on either side. The only thing we negotiated was the value of my trade-ins.

[LuFins Dad]

Oh, the car dealers hate me. Always willing to walk out the door.

When we bought Karla’s Ford Fusion in 2012, I dropped her off to pick up the car and sign the paperwork. They were going to have me e-sign the docs…

As soon as I got to work, I got a call from Karla that the numbers were somewhere between $1000 and $1500 higher than what we had agreed to over the phone (I can’t remember at this point). I told her to stay there and I was on my way to pick her up. The dealer tried engaging me three times over the phone on my way to the dealership to explain. I interrupted each time with a calm “We have nothing to discuss”. I showed up, put her in the car, and the manager came out and talked to me through the driver’s window of my car. Not only did we get the original deal, but we got two years of oil changes out of the deal.

Karla hates going car shopping with me.

[jon-nyc]

I decide exactly what I want and email 4-5 dealers Internet sales departments for the best price. I can do that because I pay cash and don’t give them a trade in. Also helps to be in a place that has 4-5 dealers of each major brand within an hour drive.

In my experience one or two refuse to play and just insist you come in. A couple take it seriously and give you decent prices. I always do it in the last days of the month, too.

[Aqua Letifer]

Carmax. Fuck it.

[George K]

@aqua-letifer said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

Carmax. Fuck it.

Agreed. When I went to my dealer to get rid of my A6 ("We'll buy your car!"), they undercut the Carmax offer by $4000. I showed them the Carmax offer and said they couldn't match it.

[LuFins Dad]

Yes @aqua-letifer said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

Carmax. Fuck it. Yes is it a

2020 Accord EXL $33K with 12,000 miles. https://www.carmax.com/car/21385349

CarMax warranty service sucks, and they finance on average at 5-6%.

New Honda Accord EXL MSRP $32,305, new manufacturer warranty, 0% APR for 36 months, 0.9% for 60… https://www.arlingtonhonda.com/new/Honda/2021-Honda-Accord-796640020a0e09a80ee3a75718efe19b.htm

Fuck CarMax…

[Aqua Letifer]

@lufins-dad said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

CarMax warranty service sucks, and they finance on average at 5-6%.

You don't have to finance through them. I never have.

[George K]

[xenon]

Unless you're going for a specific, scarce model / trim, I do the same thing others here have mentioned.

Get quotes from 5 dealers through the internet. Do a merry go round with the lowest offer through the other dealers. Should get reasonably close to a minimum margin.

It's also a pretty low effort sale if you show up ready to sign the papers.

I'd also gladly pay a few hundred extra dollars than doing the half-day dance between the sales guy and his manager's office.

[Catseye3]

@klaus said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

I bought a few new cars, but I bought them online, with no negotiations about anything. They offer a prize X for a specified car and I pay X or don't buy the car. Very simple and transparent. That's how I want to conduct business. There's no reason why buying a car has to be more complicated than ordering a USB cable on Amazon.

Klaus, I love this. Bookmarking it for when I'm ready to go that route.

I take it various extras are offered for X extra, so you can build your package? Yes on heater, no on AC and so on?

Do any of these places make used cars available this way? (I understand you could get rooked, but I'm still curious.)

[Mik]

I generally decide on what is a fair price for the vehicle I want, then shop. I offer a check for that amount + tax and that's it. Not a dollar more. The dealer has two possibilities, yes or no. If it is anything other than yes I walk.

Last time when I bought my Murano it was a little different because I went to look at a used model. I liked it OK but it was the end of the month and he offered me a smoking deal on a new one. I could not resist - it was the model I really wanted, the Platinum edition.

[George K]

@mik said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

I generally decide on what is a fair price for the vehicle I want

On what do you base your opinion of what's a "fair price?"

[jon-nyc]

@xenon said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

Get quotes from 5 dealers through the internet. Do a merry go round with the lowest offer through the other dealers. Should get reasonably close to a minimum margin.

I don't shop the lowest offer back to the group. I tell them upfront I won't do that so they'll give me their best price and not hold back.

[George K]

@jon-nyc said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

I don't shop the lowest offer back to the group. I tell them upfront I won't do that so they'll give me their best price and not hold back.

Actually a good strategy (but, you're the money guy, right?).

"Not gonna make you compete, so what's your best offer?"

Right?

[jon-nyc]

@george-k said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

@jon-nyc said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

I don't shop the lowest offer back to the group. I tell them upfront I won't do that so they'll give me their best price and not hold back.

Actually a good strategy (but, you're the money guy, right?).

"Not gonna make you compete, so what's your best offer?"

Right?

I want to encourage them to make their best offer and also let them know they won't have a second chance.

[George K]

Somewhere, I read that the dealerships make precious little money on sales of cars. Often less than $500.

The money is in service.

[Mik]

@george-k said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

@mik said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

I generally decide on what is a fair price for the vehicle I want

On what do you base your opinion of what's a "fair price?"

Research. KBB, other sites.

[George K]

@mik said in The Car-buying thread on Reddit:

Research. KBB, other sites.

Been there, and done that. I was wondering if you had additional insights.

TrueCar (which you can access through a TON of other services is good too).