quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
We (GM) are not allowed to report a sale until it has arrived, they know when that's happened

Thanks for the inside perspective.

That would be a hard "NO" from me. Want a deposit, absolutely, sign a contract before I inspect the vehicle in person, "NO".

With the auto market the way it is you are in a power position. Don’t let them push you around. They are desperate for buyers.

They are the ones getting into your pocket take your time.

They are right in that, taking possession is the true consideration in the contract. Without it, it's just paper. They could sue you, but they'd lose and they know it.

Still, how TF long does paperwork take? Deposit only as others above have said. You have to inspect it as having all the equipment you asked for, right color etc. Plus, as mentioned above, it could have been damaged in transit. Take at least 5 minutes to look for ANY damage. No yada yada'ing on this.

You loose most of your leverage if you sign before it's there and the market has changed a lot in the last year or two.
No way I'd sign.

Nope. I put a deposit down a few years ago when I bought my 4Runner, it was $500, this was so the dealer could pull the spec I wanted from SE Toyota distributor or some such. All paperwork was executed once vehicle and I were both on the lot.

I worked in ten car dealerships in 47 years, parts and service departments. Saw a lot of funny shit go down and experienced some of that myself.

New car sales,used car sales, same thing.

Don’t trust them.

In April we bought a new Honda minivan that was in transit. We only had to provide a deposit and were told if we changed our minds when it arrived they would refund the deposit. I actually found one cheaper while waiting and called them and they knocked the price down to match. Long story short, there are plenty of cars out there and a credible dealer you would want to work with won’t push like this.

The paper work you sign will be held by the dealer till the vehicle arrives, banks won’t fund them on the vehicle they don’t have, plus as stated, most manufacturers, don’t allow dealers to report sold before it’s delivered.
That being said, most likely I would not do it personally

What do you get out of it if you go along with the dealer? I don't see any benefit for you. I wouldn't even put a deposit down; it might take the edge of their eagerness to make a sale.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
What do you get out of it if you go along with the dealer? I don't see any benefit for you. I wouldn't even put a deposit down; it might take the edge of their eagerness to make a sale.

This times 100%. What they are doing is locking in the deal. People will come up with all kinds of excuses to walk away from the deal but if they sign the papers they have mentally committed to the deal and are much less likely to bail. That’s all this is. No need to jump to their side without inspecting the vehicle. There could be an option missing or any number of things you don’t like.

Nope.

I saved for 4 years for a limited edition performance car for my 50th last November. In March of 2022 I put a $1k refundable deposit down for one and I got it in writing via email. Where I placed my deposit there was one person in front of me. He got the only limited edition the dealer received last year. So they pushed my order to 2024’s and I was first in line and they gave me a rare custom order. This is scarce with Toyota dealers as Toyota, in North America, goes by allocation system. So a dealer only gets to custom order a vehicle model/trim/spec/color, etc, a few times a year. While that wait was going on, 18 months, I found the exact color Ltd edition at a dealer next to my rural land. No deposit was asked for. Both dealers MSRP only and keep in mind this car was getting 5k ADM, 10k ADM, and 20k ADM in some cases. No paperwork signed of any kind. Just an email from dealer #1 stating that they had received my $1k deposit, and it was 100% refundable. Bought from dealer #2, and dealer #1 refunded my deposit via certified check in the mail.

Never sign anything, until vehicle inspection (when you are ready to sign, buy, and leave with the vehicle) is complete. That means PDI is done at the dealer by a tech/mechanic, signed off (this is the process for every mfr in existence), and then you get to inspect all body panels for scratches, blemishes, paint imperfection. Pop the hood and do the same. Then run your fingers under the front bumper, rear bumper and feel for scratches from the 18 wheeler goons offloading it. Then ultimately a test drive, city streets, and highway, to verify full functionality. Don’t think of buying it as payments, or anything else. Think about it like buying a home. Would you purchase a home without the home being inspected? IE a blind purchase? If the answer is no, then fuck that salesman. Tell him/her, you’ll put down a $1k refundable deposit (the vehicle could have an issue), and you’ll sign a sales sheet with the numbers only for trade in, and new vehicle purchase price. Anything past that, pound sand.

Now is actually not the time to buy a vehicle for 2024. The Fed is going to cut rates this year, several times. And vehicles are starting to pile up on lots. Last I checked it was 71 days. When it hits 90 days, dealers will start dealing again. That will coincide with % rates dropping this year. So the Covid sellers market should turn full scale into a buyers market within the year. Only buy now if you cannot wait. The way I look at this process is the sales people need to meet my demands. I’m the customer. I’m the person spending tens of thousands of dollars. They seller is not going to tell me how everything is going to be and make me sign a bunch of shit before I can even see the product with my own eyes. Say you were going to some store like Nebraska furniture mart. You had a big insurance check to replace or buy new furniture for an entire home. New tables, couches, beds, TV’s, night stands, dressers, entertainment center/furniture, etc, etc. Well I wouldn’t expect the sales people to be serving me premium wine and grey poupon sandwiches but I would expect some level of courtesy this salesperson isn’t giving you. These fucking dealers and sales departments are still doing this Covid sales bullshit, even today. All during Covid they would demand you sign off on everything before the vehicle even hit the lot. They were getting away with this because they’d have the entire 18 wheeler trailer of new vehicles sold and spoken for before they were even unloaded off the truck. Sounds like this dealer is used to this business practice and they have not figured out that game is up. Finally starting to see $500-1500 off new Toyotas, any model they make, finally. A year ago they were putting ADM on everything unless you found one of the very few MSRP only dealerships in your state.