Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire One of my FAVORITE THINGS - Shopping at a Car Dealership Today

I am looking to sell my pickup and get a new/used pickup with lower miles so today I went to a local dealer with a pickup approaching what I am looking for.

Had a simple reminder why I despise dealers. Looked at a vehicle listed online for $24,900. Test drove it and told the salesman I was interested even though the used truck was a little higher mileage than I really want. Told the salesman to simply tell me what they would sell the used truck for and what they would give me on my truck as a trade-in. I stated explicitly, I don't want to dicker around. Give me your best prices and I will decide if it works for me.

Well, they low-balled me on the trade (to be expected) and then listed the sales price as $1,000 above the listed price online. I called the salesman on it and of course I got the bullcrap that he must have written something down wrong.

I politely demanded my keys and walked out. They are all the same. Lower than whale-[bleep].

Have not purchased from a dealer in over 25 years, Don't plan to again, if I live another 25.
Dealers are like casinos, there to separate you from your money.

Edit to add, I forgot a new Dodge Pickup in 1996.

I bought a brand new truck in 2008. They advertised it in the paper, looked about like what I was looking for and the price was good. Drove down there and the salesman walked out (also the owner) and had the keys and said here take it. I drove it and came back and said give me your bottom dollar total with TTL for it. He went to the accountant (the same guy, the owner) and printed me out a total on adding machine tape. I took that piece next door to the bank and got a certified check.

Walked back to the dealer and he said it was Friday and he didn't want to do paperwork so he drove my old truck home and I drove the new one and he had the shop guy pick him up.

Next week I stopped by and spent 5 minutes doing paperwork.

Gotta love small town dealerships with 20 trucks on the lot and 1 car in the showroom. Months after I bought the truck KBB showed a used one selling for more than I paid for a new one.

I'll never deal with a larger dealer, this one has an owner/salesman, a shop guy, and a secretary and that's it.

its why i like dealing with friends that own one of the local dealer ships....as business owners ourselves we know they need to make money to so when we are ready they give us a decent deal on trade in(we beat the chit out of our trucks and rack up miles so know we dont get top dollar for them anyway), give us the best deal currently available with rebates and such and send the paperwork to the bank....usually have the deal done in short order and everyone is happy....

I refuse to buy a new car. Used for me. I'll let someone else take the $5000 loss when it rolls off of the lot.

hard to find low mileage used here.....i like everyone else here live in the middle of nowhere so miles get racked up fast.....

The pAst 2 trucks I bought was from the same family of dealerships. The father owns both a Chevy and ford dealership. The Chevy was new and when I traded back to a ford the other brother gave me a good trade. I can't say anything but good about those two. If I trade again that's where I'm headed back.

So, you avoid any business that makes any profit?

Good luck sir...

I try if at all possible to avoid the dealers. I have yet to have a pleasant experience with a dealer. They do the same old song and dance where the tell you they have to "talk to the manager" when you make an offer. Then they squirm a bit and tell you that if they sell you the truck at that price, they'll have to give the Boss one of their kids, and get flogged in the show room. Then "The Closer" comes over to get involved. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere comes the "other party who wants the truck" who is little more than the guy they pay to help the closer convince you this trucks' gonna be gone if you don't sign on the dotted line right now at their price. It's all a game, and one I don't play. I do better buying from private owners, get my vehicles checked out by my mechanic, and don't have to deal with this crap.

Simple answer to that "talk to the manager" crappola. When they come back and state a number, just say "I'll talk to my manager" -- and leave.

Some years ago vehicle shopping I found a truck, told the dealer I didnt want to dicker, just give me the best price. He quoted a price, and I simply said " Wrong Answer" and got up to leave..
He quickly backpedalled and said " Today we could do it for $300 less..."

I simply said, " Now thats REALLY the wrong answer...when I asked for your best price the first time around..."

Adios!




I just bought a new vehicle from a dealer,the sales guy was old school ranch stock, and so am I, so it was a pleasant experience with no going back and forth.
Give me the right price and I'll write you a check. He did, and I did...

My dad went to about a dozen car dealerships looking for a new car, several years ago. Told each salesman exactly what he wanted and for them to write on the back of their business card what there lowest price would be. He also told each salesman that after he got thru visiting each dealership, he would look at the card and whoever had the lowest price would get his business.

Almost all of the salesman told him that if they didnt have the lowest price to contact them again and they would work with him to get a better price.

He bought the car he wanted and the dealer that sold it to him was about $3000 lower than the highest offer. And... none of the dealers were contacted a second time, except the one he bought from.

Went to a dealer with my mom when she was looking to buy a new car. Told the dealer we didn't want to mess around, just give us the best price and after we checked out a couple other places we'd buy the one with the best deal. Dealer flat out said, "Sorry, we don't do that. Every time we do we lose." Guy really didn't seem to realize that he'd just admitted they always have the highest prices..

Just bought two 2012 vehicles. Bought them from a used car dealership that puts the prices on the windows, and what you see is what you pay. No dicker. Got both for at least 10% under book. They get most of my business for the last few years.

Pretty much the way it is with large metro dealerships - like those on the "61 strip" near White Bear Lake; I should know - I worked for a couple of the biggest there for ten years..

I hated it most of the time.. They just don't get that things have changed and the "old school" tactics just ain't gonna cut it any longer..

Last two F-350s I bought were from small-town, local dealers. Absolutely painless and most pleasant experiences in every way..

I know a couple guys that got fleet deals because our agency spent millions of dollars on F450 chassis for 10 years. It was pretty simple for them and they saved lots of money and no muss or fuss. I bought a Honda Accord in 03 by internet shopping. I was surprised at how much we saved with no blah, blah, blah from salesmen. I figured out if I wanted to go spend all day dickering I might have saved another $500. It wasn't worth it to me.

A young friend of mine got a huge settlement when he was 14. When he was 18 he watch a friend of his get royally screwed by a big car dealer. He went to his bank and withdrew a briefcase full of money then headed out to Portland, Oregon's car dealer row. He would drive up, get a shark, oops make that a salesman, to help him find a new car. He would clearly ask the salesman if he was authorized to sell a car. Then they would head for the salesman's office. Once the door was closed or they were seated in a cubical he would start to dicker. He would open the briefcase, tell the shark how much we would pay for the new car he selected, then tell him that if he left the office or touched the phone the deal was off.

He spent the whole day going from dealer to dealer but could not buy a car. Not one shark could make a deal or sell a car without first talking to his manager. My friend said it was fun to watch them sweat and moan watching a commission walk out the door.

Keep in mind that's not the salesman's fault - it's the dealer owner who sets the rules - and if a salesman violates 'em he's out the door inside of 5 mns..

You have NO idea how true salesmen at dealerships despise those orders - they'd love to be able to do the whole thing themselves and the majority are more than capable of doing it.. It's simply not permitted at those large dealerships; at least, the ones I worked for at the time....and both customers and salesmen would get very frustrated..

Sometimes with all the rebates is better to buy new, our Dodge 1500 4x4 cost under $27k new. I internet shopped all the dealers within 3 hours of us for the model we wanted at the best price. No haggle with the internet prices.

I don't mind dealing if one is not in immediate need of a rig. Years ago we made an offer in June and were essentially laughed at. The same offer in December with about 20 minutes more of additional exchanges, and we drove it off the lot.

I am a bit disappointed, however, that manual trannys are becoming a thing of the past in working pickups.

Extended the range you're willing to travel may also provide a significant savings. I found a car I wanted on the internet, flew from Boise to Seattle for about $100 after telling the salesman the car had better be EXACTLY as described. He picked me up at the airport and on the ride to the lot told me if I didn't purchase the car they would pay for my flight home. The Corvette was exactly as described and I save at least $4k over what similar cars cost in Boise. Sheer luck I didn't get a ticket during the drive home.