I haggled on a used van today

[eds1275]

Though your GM dealership may be the exception to the rule, and I'm not saying it is, I have yet to find a salesman (car, real estate, even appliance) who is willing to take what the customer says is their budget and work within it. They always "have to show you this one thing, and it's a little more than what you can spend, but..." or find something where the sticker price is near the mark but then the bottom line is way over after all is said and done. While it often makes for a sale, the consumer is angry for being pressured into overspending, and will likely not be a repeat customer.

[smalltownguy]

Though your GM dealership may be the exception to the rule, and I'm not saying it is, I have yet to find a salesman (car, real estate, even appliance) who is willing to take what the customer says is their budget and work within it. They always "have to show you this one thing, and it's a little more than what you can spend, but..." or find something where the sticker price is near the mark but then the bottom line is way over after all is said and done. While it often makes for a sale, the consumer is angry for being pressured into overspending, and will likely not be a repeat customer.

Sorry that's been your experience.

www.johnsonmotors.com

Feel free to call and ask for Brad Lutz (that's me). I'll put you in touch with a sales person that actually cares about your needs.

I certainly hope we're not the exception to the rule. Dealers cannot afford to disregard customers' needs. They won't stay in business long if they do.

[ChadTower]

Man, I went looking for a truck around that era, too.  Went to some Dodge dealer as many of them were advertising new Rams for less than <$20k.  Salesguy takes me to a new truck so cheaply made that Dodge should have been ashamed of themselves.  "This one is $27,000, and the price goes up from there."  "Uh, what about the $18k one in the paper?"  "Can't help you with that" and he walks away.

Ended up fixing the F150 and keeping it another 4 years.   

I remember that, actually.  Your F150 had electrical problems and the dealer was racking up hour after hour of diagnostic labor.  Pretty sure I also remember that you said you bought a Tacoma, had posted a pic or two, and made a bunch of comments about how you didn't want to be "truck buddies".  That sticks out because I had never heard the term before.  Those are among the posts that weren't restored, though.  Might have been the pbj "Die In a Fire" thread.

[yotsuya]

I have a neighborhood dealership I buy my cars from. Bought my last two from them, all parties walked away happy. 

[pbj]

I remember that, actually.  Your F150 had electrical problems and the dealer was racking up hour after hour of diagnostic labor.  Pretty sure I also remember that you said you bought a Tacoma, had posted a pic or two, and made a bunch of comments about how you didn't want to be "truck buddies".  That sticks out because I had never heard the term before.  Those are among the posts that weren't restored, though.  Might have been the pbj "Die In a Fire" thread.

Well, it sat in the shop a month and ended up with a ton of parts replaced and a new computer.  The final damage was about $1,400, and I got another 4 years out of it so I can't complain.  Other than that, the truck was flawless until the last six months and I had it around 12 years.

There was a Tacoma I came very close to buying, but ultimately did not.  I wouldn't have intentionally posted that I bought it but god knows I wasn't seeing too clearly by that point.


 

[BadMouth]

I went to a dealership to buy a Mercury Cougar when they were relaunched back in the late 90's.  (a fact that I'm embarrassed about now)
After doing a test drive to make sure that it was what I wanted, I gave the sales guy my offer.
He looked at me confused and said "I don't know where you got this number from, but THIS is the price" while pointing at the MSRP. 
I was horribly insulted and ready to leave at that point, but he scurried away to "talk to the manager" and left me sitting there for 20 minutes.
All that did was give me time to stew, get more pissed off, and resolve to buy the car elsewhere.
When he came back, he asked if I was ready to sign some papers if they'd give it to me for the price I offered.
I said "That's exactly what I tried to do 20 minutes ago.  I will buy this car, but I'll be buying it elsewhere."

I actually ended up buying a V6 Mustang instead.  That dealership didn't jerk me around, but would not budge from $500 above what I wanted to pay.  (my number never moves).  So I walk away, but get a call after I get home.  "I'm sorry, we didn't realize that you were the husband of a relative of the owners, of course we can knock that last $500 off."  Got the car for what I wanted, but was kind of annoyed that I needed to be related to get it for that price.

When shopping for a low mileage used car for my wife's aunt at the same dealership that had the Cougar, I scoffed at the price of the first car we inquired about.
The saleswoman said "You might want to try one of those dealerships with a gravel lot."
It was a friggin Nissan Sentra.    It's not worth 5k more because it's on a paved dealership lot.  Her aunt couldn't find a used car she liked, so ended up buying a brand new one elsewhere.  Might have been there had they not insulted us (again).

I used to work for a GM supplier.  That was pretty nice.  We had a no-haggle supplier price + any current incentives.
I'd just print out a paper at home and take it to the dealership.  The only issue there was making sure you knew all the current incentives, otherwise the dealership would try to keep those for themselves.

My last vehicle was bought when GM was on the verge of going bankrupt, before the gubmint stepped in.
GMAC wasn't doing any financing and the future of the company was uncertain.
I made out pretty good.  They seemed happy just to be unloading inventory.

I haven't dealt with buying a new car under normal circumstances in over a decade.

[pbj]

My last two cars have been Scions.  I don't have the time or inclination to play games with dealerships.  Used car prices are so ridiculously high that I bought brand new, which is something I've never thought I would do.

[Hoopz]

The only issue there was making sure you knew all the current incentives, otherwise the dealership would try to keep those for themselves.

Damn right.
Everybody feels that way and it's not predicated on anything but fact.  Well, not the shady salespeople, because they see it as their right to keep it.

I take offense to your blatant generalization. We're running a business. To make money. We are not in the business of fleecing customers. It does not promote repeat business.

The sales person wants to make as much money as possible.  It's the nature of the salesperson and what motivates them.  With people hanging on to their cars longer now, salespeople aren't as motivated by getting a repeat customer as that's not guaranteed.  Keeping the incentives, hold back, etc is just lining their pockets.  Don't take it personally, it's the weasel factor of salespeople. 

[yotsuya]

BadMouth, your stories remind me of the time my wife and I went car shopping. The saleslady was showing us a car with a sunroof, and my wife joked with her, "Being here in Arizona, you really need it to be a moonroof." The saleslady didn't get the joke and starting rudely insisting that it was called a sunroof, going on and on even when my wife tried to explain that she was just kidding. Needless to say, we didn't buy a car there, although we still get a laugh thinking about her reaction.

[lilshawn]

all car salesmen are weasels... new and used... although more so on the used side.

I did some audio installs for a few months at a used car lot I bought car from (mainly to get a great deal on the car) and man oh man, the stuff i'd seen. 

if a car came in with anything of value on it, it was gone. nice wheels? nope, steel rims and hub caps. nice poioneer aftermarket radio... NOPE, stock H/U went in.

i did some nice installs though. (sometimes even with said removed equipment) I think the manager was probably using my sweet installs as a selling point.  He sold a guy a car and upsold him a new stereo system that not even a week before was in there already. kinda makes me sad thinking about it now.

All said and done i got my car for less than 1/3rd of what the sign in the window originally said though. 

[pbj]

Last salesman found out where I work and what I do, and proceeded to give me this sob story about he was going to go back and finish college and, by golly, he's gonna be something some day.  Then showed me pictures of all his sports car projects and just because he's a car salesman doesn't mean he's a loser.

I mean, let's get real, my broke ass in here buying a Scion.  I'm sure he makes twice what I do.  The ship has kinda sailed on needing to impress me... but here we are.... while we wait for the computer to churn paperwork....

"See, this is just temporary, I'm going back."

"How long have you been selling cars?"

"Oh, about 7 years."

 

[lilshawn]

"See, this is just temporary, I'm going back."

"How long have you been selling cars?"

"Oh, about 7 years."

 

yeah, that's not happening. 

car salesmen have to be making somewhat decent money (if they are good at selling anyways) otherwise they wouldn't continue to do it.

car salesmen make most of their money on the upsells...

the theft protection etching
the carpet/upholstery protection
extended warranty
breakdown assistance
etc.

someone once said a car costs between 1000 and 3000 to actually make. dealers pay slightly over that... and you get hosed with the rest.


i have to laugh, on the radio they have  "jus over invoice" or "pay waht the dealers pay" or even "fahmily pricing" yeah family ---my bottom---...you'd hose your own family to sell a car.

[Generic Eric]

I haggled on a used van today.  Way out of my comfort zone.  Got them to move $500, but they wouldn't go any farther.

I walked away.  It felt good.

Nice job, wasting the sales person's time.

The car industry has changed, the days of haggling for hours on end on price are long gone. With the age of digital inventory, everyone knows what every car is worth, period. If dealers don't list the vehicle for their best price right away, they won't get any ups on it. Simple as that.

Next time try shopping a car that actually falls in the price range you can afford. Fishing tactics like that will get you zero love from dealers. They will remember your name, and you probably won't get a call back next time.

They wanted more for the van than the bank that was loaning us money would approve the loan for.  Dealers might have changed in your area, but the old guard still operates here. 

[RandyT]

Just had to upgrade my "get big stuff" vehicle from our upstate NY, salt-ravaged 97 Expedition to an MS, "rust-free" 06 F-250 Diesel.  I've never owned a vehicle newer than three years old, and I expect to drive them for at least 10 more years.  Can't really afford to do it differently.

I've had decent experiences at dealerships, but also got the "let me check with my manager" and "family story" performance at one many years ago, which consumed about 4 hours of my time.  I did eventually buy a vehicle that day, but I also swore that I would not go through it again.

The way I bought the new (to me) pickup was something I never thought I would do... I bought it on ebay.  I did the whole carfax and seller research thing, reviewed the "test drive" video and photos, etc.  In the end, you have to feel good about the seller, and I did.  The transaction went mostly without a hitch, with the only issue being the local bank screwing up the wire payment (no fault of the seller).   The real issue came with getting it shipped.  I had based the cost on shipping quotes shown by ebay, which originated from U-ship, and they were unrealistic for a vehicle of this size and shipping origin.  If you think the car salesmen are seedy, you haven't seen anything until you start dealing with the shipping companies (brokers).  Many of which require deposits prior to them getting a carrier assigned (a common scam), promise low prices and can't deliver, and so on.  Some of the tactics of the worst outfits (usually those with the lowest quotes) border on harassment.  It took spending more with a different company than I originally started the process with, to actually get it done, but took over two weeks to get to that point.

In the end, the truck arrived without damage, was exactly as represented, and I managed to save about 4k off book price, all of which made me happy.   So, it can be done, but the stress of dealing with the details of going this route, makes the dealership shenanigans seem quite mild in comparison.  Considering the number of things which could have gone horribly wrong, I'm considering myself fortunate and wouldn't recommend this approach to everyone.  But if you are feeling adventurous and find the right deal, it may be worth considering.