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

A while back an elderly lady from our small town went and got her oil changed in the city. They charged her $80. I believe it was Jiffy lube. Typical easy target sales tactic. Some car dealerships will do stuff similar to this on "easy" marks. FWIW my neighbor and I changed the oil in her car for the cost of oil and filter.
One of my best friends was in car sales/finance for several years. Fortunately it was a pretty good dealership that valued return customers over big profit. He told me stories of people coming in and buying cars from them after poor treatment from other dealers in town.
Another very close friends father ran the Buick dealership in my hometown. I was always impressed at the very loyal customer base he quickly built up while he was in business.
Not all dealerships are created equal.

Fair enough. I did overstate my thought a bit.

I will try this again. MOST sales managers are the same, lower than whale [bleep]. A decent number of sales people are alright but working under the constrains of the owner and sales manager.

As an earlier poster said, you get to lie to me once. I left the door open and they lied outright about the price. I explained I don't want to waste time dickering, tell me your best price and best trade-in and I will let you know if it works for me. Not only did they not budge an inch on a vehicle they haven't even had long enough to clean up, they jumped that price by a thousand. Then they seriously low-balled the trade.

The only reason I entertained the idea was that the truck I am looking for is really rare and this dealership happened to have the truck I want (although it has too many miles on it).

some of you guys should really get away from the huge dealerships and try the small ones.....

Did exactly the same thing when we moved back to Texas a few years ago with our local small town dealer. Then when the "haggling" started we gave a price we were happy with to the salesman, a retired local teacher, he intermediately advised us to stick with it. He went back to the manager and came back with a higher prices, "stick with it", to the manager and back again, "stick with it, sold.

In a free market capitalistic system like we all clamor for, isn't any price between MSRP and dealer cost fair to try for? Some carbuyers are so foolish and incompetent as to go into a dealership and just plunk down MSRP. There's also the smart negotiator who does his research and gets a vehicle for the minimum the dealer will sell it for. The MSRP fool shouldn't get the same price as the researcher/negotiations-conscious customer, as he shouldn't be rewarded for being stupid and incompetent.

I think people who call all salesmen rats are just mad that the rats are smarter.

I do all our car shopping online. Bought my truck after getting getting a quote and some emails over a few days which I could live with. Spent 25 minutes dickering over trade value - difference of $500. I certainly found not being in a rush helped me. They kept coming back sweeting the not bad deal. Larger dealership that I had not dealt with before - will go back.

Similarly, got an good online quote for my wifes car. We drove down and bought it an hour later. Very small dealership, she may buy from there again, but it's Chevy only dealership so I'll pass for my vehicle.

For the kids used vehicles I've found a small family dealership that treats you fairly and doesn't sell junk. he earned my business when my daughter in law asked me to check out a used car on his lot for her. I was there the next a.m. and asked him to look it over. He laughed and said he'd already taken it off his website (less than 24 hours listed) as he did his run through and it wasn't up to his standards - off to auction. He prices fair and if you want to dicker it's the price of his warranty - with or without. I can live with that. We bought our middle son an older truck there and have been very pleased. Will go back to him for used vehicle.s

research is the key. know what a car is going for on craigslist, auto trader, blue book, etc and don't waiver more than a few hundred from that. i realize a dealer has to make a living and i don't begrudge them that. i have 3 dealerships i deal with for the dodges, subarus and hondas that i have been buying the past decade or so and i keep them honest by doing my homework. i would never buy a used car from a used car dealer either. you can get a better deal on a used car from a new car dealer because he has already made his money on the sale of a new car to the previous owner and has already lowballed that guy on the trade.

I ordered a new pick up one year back when undercoating was all the rage. I told the dealer to hold off on doing it when it came in so I could decide whether I wanted to do it or not.

When the dealer called to tell me the truck was in, I told him I didn't want it undercoated, but he said they had done it as soon as it came in. OK....

Fast forward 3 or 4 days when I went to pick it up, I made a swing through the shop and asked the mechanic when the truck had been undercoated....."This morning" was the reply.......

Why don't you invest the 6-10 million in a medium car dealership and let me know how that works out for ya!

You could change the market, the whole process, be everyone's hero on this board. It's gotta work, right!? You have it all figured out.

You are an idiot, but that is coming from a whale [bleep], right?

Got my Ford F-150 from the Ford dealership in Ontario, OR, that was the easiest and most open deal I�ve ever seen. The salesman listed the prices for the truck and all the options I wanted and they agreed with Edmonds �invoice� price to the penny. Then he said, �now we add $700, that�s our profit and it�s not negotiable.� But the bottom line price was $14,500 for a $19,500 sticker price truck and that�s the price HE offered without me even saying anything. (Shows how long ago that was!) I�m sure they made more than that $700 with dealer incentives and what not but I don�t hold that against them. The guy didn�t jack me around, he didn�t go �get his manager� or any other BS, so I bought the truck then and there and recommended that dealership and specifically that salesman to anyone who would listen.

I wouldn�t piss on any Larry Miller dealership in Boise if it was on fire. They agree on a price and then come back again and again trying to raise it. My friend has taken a Dodge pickup back there five times to get the heater fixed and it�s never been fixed, and four of those times he drove away and something else was wrong.

I�ve bought a Toyota pickup and two Hondas from Tom Scott dealerships in Nampa and it was easy peasy. I did my homework, came in with an offer, they said okay, we did the deal in five minutes each time.

Can�t remember the name, it�s a �small, home town� dealership in Weiser, ID. The service manager (ex, he quit) that worked there told me those guys were the biggest crooks he ever saw.

I have nothing against a dealer making a profit, they have to stay in business. Big or small dealer, small town or urban, just treat me square, don�t jack me around and I�ll come back for my next vehicle.

Just thinking some more about profit. When I sell a gun at a gun show, I don�t tell the buyer how much I paid for it nor what my profit is, that�s none of his business. We agree on a price we both can live with and that�s that.

Same with a car dealer. I know they get all these hidden profits they don�t tell you about, meeting quotas and whatever else, but that�s their business. I either agree with the price they want or I don�t, my choice.

Tell me what you want for it and that�s that. I will buy it or not.

I went to the �local� Toyota dealer in Ontario and offered a price on a Camry, they said no. I drove over to the Toyota dealer in Boise and offered that same price, they said yes and I bought it. I went back to the local dealer in Ontario and told the salesman what I had paid for it.

�Oh, we could have met that price.� Yeah? Then why the ever lovin� F*CK didn�t you take that when I first offered it to you and instead made me drive all the way to Boise? They blew their one and only chance for a repeat customer then and there. They lost my business forever.

Quit trying to bullsh*t me and give me the run around. That will make me walk away and NEVER come back.

And you wonder why most people hate car dealers. lol

There's a pretty large dealership near here that draws from 2 metro areas. They really don't have salesman. They put the price of each car/truck on a piece of paper in the windshield, that's it. A guy will come out and get a key for it if you want to sit in it or ride around in it. If you want it you pay that price and go in and fill out the paperwork. They've been doing that for almost 20 years. I bought a truck from them in the mid 90's. They had a bunch all alike with the only difference being the color. A friend bought the same exact truck/color combo I did a few months later at another dealership and told me about the great "deal" he got because he knew someone. I paid $9999 for my truck and spent zero time haggling. He spent all day and paid $12,500 for his great deal.

Many-many years ago, I had a car break down on me in eastern Ark. I was on my way home from Illinois for a week. Long story short, I abandoned the old car and hitch-hiked, getting home on a Sat afternoon.

Boss called and needed me back at work Monday morning (good bye week off) and here I was without a vehicle.

Called local dealership owner Sunday morning, explained situation and he said to meet him at the business. Dad and I drove down and met with the fellow, explaining again that I had to leave that day and that I wouldnt be back for at least 2 weeks and maybe 4 weeks. Also explained that I wasnt looking for top of the line vehicle, just a plain truck to get me to work and back.

Owner said to pick out what I wanted and when I got back in La. to come by and sign papers. He carried the vehicle as a loaner on his insurance for 2 weeks, while I worked another hitch in Illinois.

You dont see that kind of service anymore, these days.

Yes, the deal between the salesman/manager and individual is between them.

And I did correct my original statement walking it back a bit.

What frustrates me is when you state clearly what you are interested in, want, don't want etc. and that person looks you right in the eye and says alright. Then within moments ignores the request and goes down a road I just told him I had no desire to travel.

That combined with outright lies tends to turn me off.

I have met a few decent people to deal with in the dealership environment. My BIL being one. He is the sales manager at a small dealership where I grew up. He is one that understands people and deals with them respectfully and decently. No screwing around. No pushy ego-driven crap.

There's also a local mid-sized dealership we deal with occasionally. Decent guys and gals, straightforward, civil and respectful.

Finally, I can assure you that I lose zero sleep worrying whether a salesman or manager is smarter than I am. Not sure I've ever found one of these smart rats you speak of.

Exactly. It can be kind of fun playing with them. When they keep trying to get you to do something that you have already stated you don't want to do, treat them like they may be a little retarded.

Well I work at the biggest used car dealer in town. I am one of five guys and we are our own salesman, sales manager, and finance guy. The owner and GM are very selective on who gets hired and involve us sales guys in the process. There is very little turnover. I get paid a decent six figure salary (non commission) to do what I do and it doesn't include harassing customers. We put the yr, price, and miles on the windshield and stick pretty close to it due to a very modest mark up.

I get the "whats your best price" many times a day. Sometimes I sell it, sometimes I don't but if you are buying from me you have to know if you ask once, you've got it. More times than not after I give my price I hear "well how about this much" and I politely tell them "thats it". It works both ways in this business and I have run into some true scum of the earth on the other side of the table. We try to be fair and respectful and because of that, we get a ton of repeat and referral business. Its a fun job, no two days are the same. I have met a lot of real neat folks and made many new friends from across the table.

Sorry for the long windedness but again, not all stores are the same and if one smells from the start just move on. I couldn't imagine spending tens of thousands of dollars from someone I felt was shifty and dishonest. I would drive 300 miles and spend more, and I have customers that do just that.

I get the same satisfaction when I get some jerkoff who thinks he is smarter than me (i.e. maybe you) come in and be demanding. I am still polite and say either yes or no but this is what I can do. Sometimes they leave but most often they buy after they have gotten over themselves and realize I still have the best offer.

I have ascertained them's the wages of MT, and most of the rest of the West. Fuel costs are a big consideration there. Touring around out there I was struck by how many OLD 4wd Toyotas trucks are still on the road out there.

It just seems that way because the tactics car dealers use have become socially acceptable. Let's put it in a different context by comparing a car sale to a gun sale. Let's say I'm looking to buy a new rifle. One store has it for $1050 another has it for $999 and another for $1200. That's the way the free market works. Depending on supply or demand the $999 store might be sold out and if I don't want to wait or shop around I'll have to buy the higher priced one.

Now if a gun store operated like a used care dealership, they would not tell you the price until they evaluated you to see how much you would pay. They might charge one customer $1050 and the next gullible one $2000. Most people would call a business like that thieves and would refuse to buy from them.