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Picture of mcrimm
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I've bought a multitude of cars in my 55 years of driving. Many of these were new. I've never had a bad experience with a car/truck/SUV purchase. I've generally lived in small towns and dealt with small town dealerships. I know there are enough clowns in the business to justify the 'car salesman' persona but these folks are generally easy to pick out. The worst offenders, to me, are the people selling their own used car.
Mike



I'm sorry if I hurt you feelings when I called you stupid - I thought you already knew - Unknown
...................................
When you have no future, you live in the past. " Sycamore Row" by John Grisham
 
Posts: 4214 | Location: Saddlebrooke, Arizona | Registered: December 24, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Jack of All Trades,
Master of Nothing
Picture of 2000Z-71
posted Hide Post
So if there's a dealer in Denver who has one, contact them directly. Ask to deal with either the internet of fleet sales manager, typically less BS and run around. Stress reduction, make a day out of it; drive up have breakfast at the B&B Cafe in Castle Rock, pick up the car, drive it up Bear Creek Canyon and have lunch at the Little Bear in Evergreen, have fun on the drive home.




My daughter can deflate your daughter's soccer ball.
 
Posts: 11749 | Location: Eagle River, AK | Registered: September 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Page late and a dollar short
posted Hide Post
Dealers can be dicks to their employees too.

I worked for a now long defunct Chevy dealer in metro Detroit. 1973 I was driving my rebuilt 66 Pontiac 2+2 to work one morning when a differential pinion bearing failed. My friend and I both worked there, we lived a few miles from each other so we took turns driving. I was in parts, he was a line tech in the shop.

So we wrote an order on it, I got the bearing from down the street at a Pontiac dealership. That dealer sold to us at 10% over dealer cost, my employer was 25% over cost so that should give you a hint how that dealership went. Plus it was a Union shop, pay was good but they had a lousy reputation all around the area.

So my friend used the call box and said "Come out here now", I didn't put 2+2 together but a little while before the dealer's personal lackey came into parts and got a large box of the dealer's license plate frames saying "Mr.X said to put frames on all the cars in the shop", not realizing that my car's Ace Wilson's Royal (Pontiac) frame was now in the trash.

So I go out to the shop, my friend points to the now changed frame on my car, my Royal frame is nowhere to be found. I approach the lackey and said "Where's my frame?" to which he answered "I'm following orders." Well the conversation got very heated from my side. He made too many smart ass remarks to me, I grabbed him by the shirt, made him take my frame from the trash can and "assisted" him back to my car. While I had the techs standing around me watching this go down my Royal frame was put back on the car. The kid just stood there when I told him "Let me have that frame", he handed it to me and I promptly broke it in two pieces, it was diecast.

I handed it back to him and told him "The day Mr.X owns this car he can put anything on it he wants, until then his frame is not going to be on my car". I truly expected to be written up that day but nothing came of it. But it got around that the hippie in parts was not to be screwed with.

P.S., still have that frame today, it now graces my '67 2+2.


-------------------------------------——————
————————--Ignorance is a powerful tool if applied at the right time, even, usually, surpassing knowledge(E.J.Potter, A.K.A. The Michigan Madman)
 
Posts: 8066 | Location: Livingston County Michigan USA | Registered: August 11, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Jack of All Trades,
Master of Nothing
Picture of 2000Z-71
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Oh I've got another good one for you. On a whim decided to see what GM's First Responder discount was on a Chevy Tahoe. One dealer in town had 2 with the Z-71 package. E-mailed back and forth a couple of times wand went to take a look at it this afternoon.

Salesman I had been e-mail with was busy and I got introduced to another one, Ok, no big deal, it happens. First I get told that in order to go on a test drive with their new Cover policies, I would have to negotiate a final price first before the test drive. Told him thanks but no thanks, I'm not going to wast time and brain cells negotiating on a vehicle that I haven't even driven and have no idea if I want to buy or not.

Then was informed by the salesman that the only difference between the Z-71 package and a standard Tahoe was only cosmetics, there are no mechanical differences. That was the point where I walked out. One of my pet peeves, salesmen who know nothing about the product that they are selling.




My daughter can deflate your daughter's soccer ball.
 
Posts: 11749 | Location: Eagle River, AK | Registered: September 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Page late and a dollar short
posted Hide Post
By 2012 I had worked in GM dealership parts departments since 1970 and got fed up with the product line not to mention how the "new" GM screwed over stockholders of the old company, certain classes (non UAW) of employees and the stupid things we in dealerships had to deal with, like when we called in for assistance we were routed for a time overseas to a call center. That was a real trip!

Because GM no longer offered a midsize SUV in true 4wd I bought my wife a new Jeep Liberty from a dealer in the group that I worked for. No problems except for the distance, about a hundred mile round trip. So I figured that I would try a local FCA dealership, there were three in a fifteen mile circle.

First one I went to was around the corner from my part time job. All was fine until I asked for assistance in an out of warranty by 2k miles, door hinges were corroding and the paint was bubbling. I called Jeep Customer Service, they said that the initial request must be made by a dealer. I called and visited them several times, the service advisor had stories or excuses, take your pick on why he did not have a case number for me. My last call to him, he said that he was not going to call the rep for this, it was out of warranty and he would get me an estimate for the cost. Well, obviously I got the old blow off. Kudos to our store that I bought it from, we had a manager transfer to our store that was previously over the three Chrysler stores. Once he heard from one of my co-workers of my problem he took over and got the problem fixed.

So two years later I retired. One afternoon I got a call from a local number but did not notice it until late that afternoon. It went to voicemail, as I played it back it was the local Jeep dealer imploring me to come in and trade up. It was not a robocall but a real person from the in house Business Development Center. So I called them back and told the person that first answered in the sales department to please remove my number from the call list. That person passed me to a purported manager. This manager asked why I wanted to be removed from the call list, I replied that I was not interested at present or in the near future and a phone call was not the way to solicit my business. His reply was "Oh yes you are interested, you just don't know it!" Well, that lit me up. I said "Oh really now! You are going to tell me that I don't know what I want? Just remove me from the list now!" and I hung up.

All well, so I thought. Three months later I get another call. So this time I sent a very detailed email to the general manager. Told him that I was very aware of sales tactics used by dealerships due to having worked in the for close to a half century, how and why I first came to their dealership as a service customer, why I had not been back since 2014 and was unlikely to due to the cavalier dismissal of my request for assistance by FCA for an out of warranty problem. Then I also told of my second to last interaction, being told that I was interested despite telling the salesperson that I was not. I stated that as far as I was concerned if this was a response that their training program tells them to use, it was an insult to me and if it was that person's own concocted response he needed a training session or two on how to speak to customers and overcoming their objections without insulting them. Add to that my request that was ignored to be removed from the call list was a violation of Federal law and if it continued I would be filing a formal complaint against them.

Been almost three years since I heard from them.


-------------------------------------——————
————————--Ignorance is a powerful tool if applied at the right time, even, usually, surpassing knowledge(E.J.Potter, A.K.A. The Michigan Madman)
 
Posts: 8066 | Location: Livingston County Michigan USA | Registered: August 11, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
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quote:
Originally posted by BigSwede:
It's sounds like you are after a highly sought after, low production car. Amplify that low number with most all plants world wide being shut down for the last few months. More than likely if a dealer doesn't have it, he can't get it. Why would a dealer that has it give it to another dealer? What's the incentive? None
If you know where these cars are at, deal with them directly via email or phone

Inventory is very low right now. I am having trouble locating a 1500 WT right now, it's crazy. Can't order it right now either, they are finishing up 2020 models and ordering 2021's doesn't start for a couple of weeks

This industry as with most industries are chock full of idgits, they usually don't last. Keep trying until you get someone with some sense, ask for the sales manager maybe, a lot better chance of getting the info you need.

Car buying services are crap (Cars.com, Cars Direst, Truecar Etc.),, they are paid by the dealers to gather your info and then hand your info to the dealer, that's their job. Costco or Sams is decent choice because a set discount is already negotiated between the dealer and Costco/ Sams, hot models can be excluded so that probably won't help the OP

My number one piece of advice for buying a car is to keep the emotion out of it, think of it as a hunk of metal


My niece is looking to buy a new small SUV
Visited 2 Toyota dealerships, they only had 10-12 RAV-4
Honda dealership had 7 CRVs these dealers normally have 300-400 new cars.
Inventory of new cars is definitely super low.
 
Posts: 1176 | Location: Upstate  | Registered: January 11, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
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Have you considered emailing your closest dealership internet sales department and telling them that you want to order this vehicle with this color and these exact options, give me a fair price and I'll sign a sales order and give you a deposit until it comes in?
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Legalize the Constitution
Picture of TMats
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by mcrimm:
I've bought a multitude of cars in my 55 years of driving. Many of these were new. I've never had a bad experience with a car/truck/SUV purchase. I've generally lived in small towns and dealt with small town dealerships. I know there are enough clowns in the business to justify the 'car salesman' persona but these folks are generally easy to pick out. The worst offenders, to me, are the people selling their own used car.
Mike

Yeah, I haven’t always had a great experience, but the good outnumbers the bad and I usually drive away feeling satisfied and respected.


_______________________________________________________
despite them
 
Posts: 13166 | Location: Wyoming | Registered: January 10, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
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I'm not a cheerleader for any car salesman or dealership regardless of my earlier post.

But I've been treated well and, just last Wednesday, I went to the dealership where we had recently purchased two new vehicles. The shop was to put on an accessory I'd purchased a few days earlier.

Well, the Service Guy (I never am sure what to call them) came in and said it had taken them too long to do the job and there was no charge. Wow!

I probably will remain a customer.

Bob
 
Posts: 1558 | Location: TampaBay | Registered: May 22, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Laugh or Die
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I just want to say that your phrasing and wordage in the main paragraph of your rant is art.


________________________________________________
 
Posts: 10199 | Location: NC | Registered: May 17, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Yew got a spider
on yo head
Picture of DoctorSolo
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by smschulz:
So to recap the story:

Car dealer won't find/sell you the car you want?

Correct?

Your expectations were that they go out and search for you exact car specifications?

Correct?

I am curious on why they wouldn't if they could find the car.

Something seems missing in the equation (other than you or them being a dick).

Confused


Hmmmm maybe it was a little hard to pick a point in all of my vitriol.

For me, the most infuriating thing about automotive sales people, is that I have to do their job for them.

To quote one of my favorite movies "I BET YOU'RE THE KIND OF GUY WHO'D FUCK A MAN IN THE ASS AND NOT HAVE THE COMMON COURTESY TO GIVE HIM A REACH-AROUND."
 
Posts: 5101 | Location: Colorado Springs | Registered: April 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
goodheart
Picture of sjtill
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As far as I can tell, these days there are two kinds of customers, with two kinds of car buying experience.
1. Those who go to the dealer showroom and the guy whose turn it is comes and tries to get you to buy something you don’t want and he knows nothing about, based on “How much do you want to pay a month?”.
2. Those who go to the internet, find a car buying service through Consumer Reports, AAA, Costco or the like; locate the specific car you want at a dealer; email the dealer to set up an appointment with the internet sales manager; if in the process you got a lower offer anywhere than the car service’s price, present that to the internet sales manager. Walk off happy with the car you want at less than MSRP.

I’m customer #2.


_________________________
“ What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.”— Lord Melbourne
 
Posts: 18017 | Location: One hop from Paradise | Registered: July 27, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
אַרְיֵה
Picture of V-Tail
posted Hide Post
I have been known to be sjtill’s customer # 1.

Dealer guy: “How much do you want to pay a month?”

Me: “Zero. Let’s discuss the cash price.”



הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים
 
Posts: 30545 | Location: Central Florida, Orlando area | Registered: January 03, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
eh-TEE-oh-clez
Picture of Aeteocles
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by sjtill:
As far as I can tell, these days there are two kinds of customers, with two kinds of car buying experience.
1. Those who go to the dealer showroom and the guy whose turn it is comes and tries to get you to buy something you don’t want and he knows nothing about, based on “How much do you want to pay a month?”.
2. Those who go to the internet, find a car buying service through Consumer Reports, AAA, Costco or the like; locate the specific car you want at a dealer; email the dealer to set up an appointment with the internet sales manager; if in the process you got a lower offer anywhere than the car service’s price, present that to the internet sales manager. Walk off happy with the car you want at less than MSRP.

I’m customer #2.


Customer 3: Walk into the biggest (most inventory) dealership you can on the last day of the quarter, with the best internet-only price you've negotiated from some other dealership, and let the sales guy on the floor work his ass off to get you a better price. Play along with the mind games and petty tricks, let them think they've got a sure thing... And wear them down until they are losing money on that particular vehicle to make some quarterly bonus number.
 
Posts: 13046 | Location: Orange County, California | Registered: May 19, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of barndg00
posted Hide Post
Similar to #3, let them run a bunch of financing numbers, show you interest rates and payments. When they finally get to where you want on the total price, pull out your check book. Usually requires walking towards the door to get them to honor that, but most will.
 
Posts: 2155 | Location: NC | Registered: January 01, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Yew got a spider
on yo head
Picture of DoctorSolo
posted Hide Post
Well, they might kiss your ass if you are buying a car they are having trouble moving.

Miatas, civic type-Rs and other low cost sports cars are in high demand and low in stock, as BigSwede mentioned. They could not care less if I walked away. If the car sells itself they can be as aloof as they want. That's one of the reasons for my ire.

As it is, I worked out a deal with Mazda's interweb sales. Provided it doesn't fall off the boat, Ill have an MX-5 Club, optioned exactly how I want, in my driveway in uh... A while. Will I pay too much? Not for the enjoyment I'll get out of it.
 
Posts: 5101 | Location: Colorado Springs | Registered: April 12, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Thank you
Very little
Picture of HRK
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by sjtill:
As far as I can tell, these days there are two kinds of customers, with two kinds of car buying experience.
1. Those who go to the dealer showroom and the guy whose turn it is comes and tries to get you to buy something you don’t want and he knows nothing about, based on “How much do you want to pay a month?”.
2. Those who go to the internet, find a car buying service through Consumer Reports, AAA, Costco or the like; locate the specific car you want at a dealer; email the dealer to set up an appointment with the internet sales manager; if in the process you got a lower offer anywhere than the car service’s price, present that to the internet sales manager. Walk off happy with the car you want at less than MSRP.

I’m customer #2.


My neighbor in the automotive business, not a dealer, says you'd be amazed how much money costco makes off sales referrals, not millions, not 100's of millions but over a billion a year.....

Kinda tells you where the market is going as far as purchasing, wouldn't be surprised to see the car salesman being a thing of the past at some point.

They'll become nothing more than paperwork and delivery agents..



 
Posts: 23243 | Location: Florida | Registered: November 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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