Do Car Dealerships really pull this stuff?

[lumberjim]

i haaaate that guy

[classicman]

yeh - was gonna post a link to that ... THAT GUY thread. meh - just not feelin it.

Originally Posted by classicman

yup - typically he is the only one you hear about.

So its Ok to generalize about lawyers, lobbyists, politicians, etc....just not car salesmen.

When in fact, more people probably had far more direct experiences, often negative, with car dealers, than any of the above.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I have a feeling when it come to sales/buying, many of those "negative" feelings are doubt because they didn't do their homework ahead of time. They don't know if they paid too much or not.

Service departments, however, can really piss you off.

[lookout123]

The four square exists for one reason only. Whichever section you object to will probably be your hot button issue so the sales staff can discard the rest of the fluff and negotiate with you on the thing that matters to you.

the things that car buyers complain exist because of the way the buyer approaches the purchase.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by lumberjim

do you have to do a lot of stretching before you self fellate like that?

Oh, that's real nice.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by lumberjim

If you really need me to explain why this thread and articles like the one you linked piss me off, I will.

I can go into great detail about how fucked up the public's perception of how car dealers should operate is, and how much damage assholes like the authors of these articles (who have typically spent all of 3 months in the business and failed at it) cause to what I do for a living.

What other business do you patronize that you can EXPECT a discount on their merchandise? And why do people resent every dollar of profit a dealer makes? Did you ask to see the invoice for the wedding ring you bought your wife? I guarantee they made a higher percentage of profit than the dealer you chiseled when you bought your Quest.

It's a good idea to do your research before you shop, but the vilification of all dealers because they have developed some skill in selling their wares really frosts my balls sometimes. Especially when some smarmy fuck 'exposes' the 'gimick'

People that read ( and believe)this shit hate buying cars, and exist in fear of being 'screwed.' They don't know when they've gotten an honestly fair deal, and are suspicious and unpleasant to do business with.


With all that said, I don't come to where you work and slap the dick out of YOUR mouth, so don't be so surprised that this irritates me.

[Shawnee123]

I really liked the guy who sold me my Astra (you know, to beat a dead horse, the one that some asshat ran into and totalled after I had it two weeks. Yeah, I'm still bitter.) I would have liked to deal with him again but he couldn't give me a price or a car I was happy with.

I screwed up when I bought my VW. The one salesguy pounced on me, and another walked up behind him. Well, I knew the second guy (know his dad real well, know his daughter, who was a work-study at my old job, know him fairly well...they're just really good people) and if I had any guts at all or at least didn't have the need to be unobtrusive (irl) I would have asked to work with Joe. I liked the other guy well enough, but working with Joe would have been good for both of us.

Anyway, I think that it's true that people go into car dealerships with their attitude ready to go. It's not unlike financial aid, with the mentality that "I'm going to get fucked over so I might as well let them know up front I'm no pushover" before any exchanges have even taken place. Not productive for anyone.

Like any profession, there are good and bad.

[tw]

Originally Posted by lumberjim

If you really need me to explain why this thread and articles like the one you linked piss me off, I will.

If the car salesman was not trying to screw the customer, the deal could be done in 10 minutes. That additional hour spent playing games that include the sales manager - that's the saleman trying to dig deeper in the customers pockets.

10 minutes to make the deal. That's all that is needed. 50 minutes to play salesmen games. Mind games for no useful purpose.

[Pie]

I bought my honda when they were having troubles keeping up with demand, so there was no haggling on price -- full MSRP, take it or leave it. I had already lined up my own financing. There were literally no factors for negotiation.

It was about as emotionless a transaction as buying a paperback from Amazon.

[lumberjim]

Originally Posted by tw

If the car salesman was not trying to screw the customer, the deal could be done in 10 minutes. That additional hour spent playing games that include the sales manager - that's the saleman trying to dig deeper in the customers pockets.

10 minutes to make the deal. That's all that is needed. 50 minutes to play salesmen games. Mind games for no useful purpose.

would you define 'screwing' in this context?

would paying the MSRP on a new car mean you got screwed?

If you went into your Honda dealer and offered the Fair Market Value...or MSRP, you'd have your deal in less than 10 minutes.

you might decide, however that you want to haggle..... you might spend 50 minutes doing this, and you may or may not actually purchase the car.

If you don't, the salesman's time was wasted, the dealers advertising money along with it. (it costs us about $350 per deal in advertising) did they not then get 'screwed?'

If you do get a discount, and make your purchase, then you spent that 50 minutes well.

look at the name. DEALer. they make you a DEAL. If you want no haggle, go could always buy a Saturn.....oh wait.....they went under....

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by tw

If the car salesman was not trying to screw the customer, the deal could be done in 10 minutes. That additional hour spent playing games that include the sales manager - that's the saleman trying to dig deeper in the customers pockets.

10 minutes to make the deal. That's all that is needed. 50 minutes to play salesmen games. Mind games for no useful purpose.

Another based on your expertise in...? what was that again?

Even if you tell a client you'll give them a hard price that is barely over invoice they will want to haggle. That is a stone cold fact that I have seen proven time and time again.

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by lookout123

Another based on your expertise in...? what was that again?

Even if you tell a client you'll give them a hard price that is barely over invoice they will want to haggle. That is a stone cold fact that I have seen proven time and time again.

As well they should, as the above doesn't factor in the rebates the dealer gets from the mfgr.

[Undertoad]

There aren't a lot of things in your life that you buy for over $10,000.

One thing I bought is a house. Like almost every real estate deal, it was a multi-step haggle. My house was bought from the previous owner for like $15,000 less than they offered.

The real estate haggle was well understood by people who looked into real estate. You learned that every house was priced 10% over what sellers really wanted. You learned that houses could sit on the market for a year before purchase if the offer price wasn't appropriate.

So, my theory is that all highly expensive deals result in some level of haggle or bureaucracy intended to wrangle more money out of the deal. There is merely too much money on the table, and too many people motivated to offer full price to catch the sucker bets. And the haggle doesn't have to be painful if people research how the deal will generally be structured etc.

[jinx]

Think about how many people make money when you buy a house, even if you get a 'good deal'.... why are their paychecks not frowned upon like the car dealers?