Incredible Car Buying Experience (long read)

[PTskilla]

This is about an incredible car buying experience in which a customer, Dave, and a car salesman are totally open and honest with each other, revealing thoughts, motives, and methods that typically don‚t get revealed in real-life car-buying. Learn from Dave's experience ....

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(Dave enters the dealer's new-car lot and is soon spotted by one of a flock of eagerly waiting salespeople loitering near the front door [the "point"]. A saleman quickly approaches his potential new customer [an "up"] )

SALESMAN: Hi there. It appears you may be looking for a new car today. My name‚s Benny and I would like to help you if I can. Sales have been slow this month and the dealership hasn‚t met its sales quota yet, so I‚m going to be very anxious to sell you a car today, any way I can. What are you interested in and are you a serious buyer? If you‚re not going to buy today, I would rather not waste my time on you. We prefer buyers to shoppers.

DAVE: Hi Benny, my name‚s Dave. I‚m really interested in one of your new LX models with the V6 engine. I want to see what colors and features you have available. If I can find what I want, at the right price, I would buy it from you, today.

SALESMAN: Good Dave, we definitely have a number of the models you‚re interested in. I‚m sure we can find one that you like. Even if we don't have the exact model you're looking for, I'm sure I can convince you to buy another model that we have in stock. I'm a little short on my sales commissions this month and I need to sell something to somebody. I'm hoping you're that somebody.

DAVE: I just want to let you know that I‚m a little new to car buying and don‚t quite understand all the ins and outs of the process. So, if you‚ll give me some guidance along the way, I would appreciate it very much. Since your dealership has a reputation for customer service, I‚ll trust you to give me information and advice that will be in my best interest.

SALESMAN: (This is too good to be true!) Great Dave. I appreciate you sharing that with me. Honestly, I had already detected that you were probably a little inexperienced in car buying. After a while, we learn to spot uninformed buyers from a mile away. It‚s something about your approach, the kinds of questions you ask, and your lack of confidence. Obviously, we have a better chance of swaying a deal our way with less knowledgeable customers, so I don‚t want you to get away today. The less experience you have, the better we like you. You look like a prime candidate.

DAVE: I understand. I‚ll tell you that one of my real concerns is that I not be cheated and get a good fair deal, even though I‚m not very experienced. I know that every customer that comes in here pays a different price, one way or the other, for that same car model, which doesn't seem very fair. I just want the best price you can give me without a lot of complicated negotiating, which I‚m not good at. Just show me respect, treat me fair, and no tricks or games, please.

SALESMAN: Well Dave, it‚s true we sell the same cars at different prices to different customers, depending primarily on their experience, knowledge, and bargaining skills. Although we sometimes sell at very low prices, this is balanced by other higher priced sales to customers who are less knowledgeable or less discerning. It‚s amazing how many people willingly pay at or near full sticker price ["full pop"] without a whimper. Our goal is to make as much profit on each sale as possible, and make the customer feel good about the deal, whether it's a good deal or not.

DAVE: Well, OK, so how much for that beige LX over there on your lot? I really love that car. My friend has one just like it and thinks it‚s the best car she‚s ever had. And I LOVE that new metallic paint. And the nice alloy wheels. Wow, what a nice car!

(Reflective pause)

DAVE: And one more thing you need to know. My old car broke down yesterday and can‚t be fixed. So, I NEED a car TODAY so that I‚ll have something to drive to work on Monday.

SALESMAN: OK Dave. I a

[IRPT]

PTskilla, thanks for taking the time to post, very true!

[Hooligan]

By the sounds of the info that ThatFatBaby posted about her experience, maybe this happened to her!!!

[ThatFatBaby]

quote:Originally posted by Hooligan

By the sounds of the info that ThatFatBaby posted about her experience, maybe this happened to her!!!

Well I was going to post about how true all that is since we just went through that but very fortunately we're not Dave. In fact I haven't discussed the wonderful (cough cough) day at the dealership. Thank goodness my dh is very educated in the car department (buying and selling). We've always known what we can afford out the door and secure our own financing through our credit union. Never have discussed monthly payments w/ the salesman. We knew what the holdback was on it, we used the CSI to our full advantage, even threw a $100 off coupon hehe at them after it was a done deal. THAT was hilarious! Stuttering "but we already did the numbers!" @@ We even got the spiel about how it costs to operate the dealership, got the green pen markings for the wheeling and dealing, we knew the kelly blue book AND NADA value of our trade, knew what the other dealers were offering for incentives and what their sticker prices were ($1000 more actually). When we haggled and got as low as we thought they'd go or just about go...we went to another dealer gave them all the info and they couldn't come within $3000. We gave them the price we gotten the other dealer down to and they couldn't beat it. Like I said couldn't touch it within $3000. Went back haggled them down even further and that was all she wrote.

I just looked up the kbb on it and the retail is 22,540. We paid $19,500.

Btw anyone want some 04' heated seats? Don't think I'll get much use out of them after this year!

[Rolo]

That was killa, PTskilla, and dead on accurate. [^]

Doing business on the phone really screws up their routine; it eliminates a lof of that "buddy-buddy psychological guilt-trip" crap they try and lets them know that your time is valuable. (Stating that you do not have a lot of time to talk helps also, they do not want to risk your hanging up on them.)

If you go in person, they usually ask for your driver's license to do a credit check. Say "no". It is better to show up with a pre-approved loan, which = cash to them anyway. I try to start off my shopping with a test drive with the salesman at 110 MPH slalom on the freeway to throw him off kilter and remind him that he is mortal. [}]

Remember: this is a business transaction, nothing personal. You are there to purchase something that you want at the best price possible (which you should already have calculated before talking to a dealer). You do not care how well or poorly the dealer is doing or if the general manager "is gonna like it". You do not care how much the salesman makes or if his children eat tonight. Always remember: they need to sell it more than you need to buy it, especially if it is a prior model year.

Search the Internet for the "inside info" on the vehicle you want to purchase, the extra $30 or so for the report will save you a few thousand.

Introduce yourself by last name only and use their first name when addressing them. (beat them to the punch)

Never show emotion! (Except for a little disdain and disappointment here and there.) When I first test-drove the PT turbo at WOT, I was giggling inside thinking "This little f****r is quick! Must. Have. Now!" but I looked like my kitty just died; "That was alright." was my only comment when the drive was over.

Never spend too much time at a dealer, if you do, you are toast. Things I have said to keep the "negotiating" to 15-minutes or less:

"Cut the crap, don't insult my intelligence."

"That isn't relevant."

"I don't care about that." (whether true or not)

"I said 'cut the crap' and you lied to me again. I will not waste my time arguing with you. Good day." (exit, stage left) The first dealer that had a DC2 blew it. I started looking at '04's until I found another DC2.

For the "Will you be financing today?" bit: "Let's see if you have something I want first, there Champ!" (Call him "Sport" if he is young.)

"This is an '03, it is a year old. The Kelley Blue Book will tell you that." (Do that research, know how much the prior two model years have depreciated, i.e. an '01 and an '02 to compare an '03 with an '04.)

"Yes, I would not mind having this before the 1st, before you have to make your next interest payment on it." (Always shop the last week of the month, the last week of December would be the best.)

"I would rather not wait until January 3rd when the car gets auctioned off--you can take a little profit now or a loss later."

"You can make a few hundred right now, or zero. Make your choice."

For the "We would only make $200!" whiny remarks: "Bull****, nobody invests $20,000 only to make $200."

"Are we going to discuss the bottom line here or do you wish to continue to waste my time?" (look agitated)

While the salesman is silently regrouping, "What is the dead cost of the vehicle and what do you think is a fair profit?" (Dead cost is what the dealer paid for the car--the invoice price is not what they paid for it! Find out, as best as you can, what the dead cost is and do not go over 3% of that cost for your purchase price, start at 1 or 2%.)

"floorplan fee", "holdback", etc. Know the vernacular and use it to let them know that you know how the system works and cannot be deceived.

"You are not giving me $3,000 cash back, Chrysler is; that is a factory-to-customer incentive, not a dealer-to-customer incentive. Will you pass on the factory-to-dealer incentive to me as well?"

It is possible that the factory-to-dealer incentive is the same as the factory-to-customer incenti

[Rolo]

quote:Originally posted by ThatFatBaby

Btw anyone want some 04' heated seats? Don't think I'll get much use out of them after this year!

Aw man! Heated seats rule! [?]

Yes, I live in Florida and I do use them every trip...so relaxing.

[ThatFatBaby]

quote:Originally posted by Rolo

Aw man! Heated seats rule! [?]

Yes, I live in Florida and I do use them every trip...so relaxing.

They make my cheeks sweat! <g> When I go out to start the car (so it's warm for the toddler and stuff) I turn the seat on low then when I come back out before I do anything else I turn it off. Otherwise I feel like my ass...well lets just say it's not too comfy.

I'm trying to think of all the things that were said or done at the dealer. I know we kept getting up out of the office and walking around on him. Everytime he'd go "talk to the salesmanager" we'd bust up laughing at what had just gone on. He'd come in and start giving us some story and I'd jump in w/ "Did that have side air bags?" or "Could you go get me some water?" When I'd finally shut up long enough he give us the price (ya know the whole whopping $30 less than before), I'd roll my eyes and sit back and start flipping through a magazine. Dh would tell him no THIS is what I want to see and then he'd just sit there. I get bored w/ it after awhile but dh gets such a kick out of the haggling especially when he knows the secrets and tricks. He wants to be a professional car buyer for people lol. Granted we might have been able to get them to come down a tad more but as dh says "At least we're informed when we get ripped off." I know one thing I can never car shop alone. Men just don't take me seriuosly. I've had it happen more than once were they won't even give me credit for being human.

[bobs turbo pt]

"At least we're informed when we get ripped off" lol

[quicksilverdon]

I bought my PT painlessly. I went to the Chrysler web site, "Build your PT", put in options and got MSRP. Then clicked "get a quote", entered my zip code and radius in miles, and got all dealers in the area. Then, sent dealers an email asking for a price for the car as I'd optioned it. Some came back with "you have to come in an talk" - I told them if they didn't want to quote, they should take their name off the list. I got quotes from $2,500 above sticker to $1,000 below sticker (remember when the PT got above sticker?). I printed the email, went to the dealer and bought the PT for $1,000 below sticker - no hassle at all.

[ThatFatBaby]

quote:Originally posted by quicksilverdon

I bought my PT painlessly. I went to the Chrysler web site, "Build your PT", put in options and got MSRP. Then clicked "get a quote", entered my zip code and radius in miles, and got all dealers in the area. Then, sent dealers an email asking for a price for the car as I'd optioned it. Some came back with "you have to come in an talk" - I told them if they didn't want to quote, they should take their name off the list. I got quotes from $2,500 above sticker to $1,000 below sticker (remember when the PT got above sticker?). I printed the email, went to the dealer and bought the PT for $1,000 below sticker - no hassle at all.

I personally would like it done that way lol. But dh loves the haggling. I think the sticker on ours was $23+? I have it out in the car I'll have to look.