Adventures in car buying

Saint_Ward said
I forget the exact name, but I recall most dealerships have a form that can be filled out if they owe you anything as contingent upon the sale. I.e you notice a scratch on the car before you take ownership. You want an option added or removed. It should be documented and signed by both parties.

Most salesman get their bonuses tied to their survey results. So, if that survey hasn't been taken yet, I'd totally threaten to give them a bunch of 0's or 1's over the matter, and fill out a nasty review, until everyone can come up with an acceptable resolution.

Assuming this is a new car dealership.

It was a new car dealer. What you are talking about is a form that says "WE OWE" in large font at the top. I failed by not getting them to write that down.

TenTwo said
Did you buy a make/model at a dealership that sells primarily that make, i.e. a Ford at a Ford dealership? Usually they all have a regional manager or a national customer care line you can call.

I had a buddy who bought a Jeep...the dealership tried to screw him over in the service department when it required major repairs that was covered on the warranty. They initially refused, but he called Jeep, and Jeep called that dealership and told them to replace the engine or have their name pulled off the dealership sign by the end of the day.

Car companies understand the nature of care sales and do not like it when their dealers pull stuff over on their customer because it hurts their brand. Raise hell at that level and you'll probably get the local manager in hot water and you will likely get your problem resolved. Good luck.

Thanks, I'm going to give them a day or so more to do the right thing.

superchuck500 said
This is true - and a fairly new thing. They have become obsessed with JD Power and similar and want high marks.

My last car purchase was by email with the sales manager. Basically, when you decide what car you want, down to every little option, and you find where that exact vehicle is within a X mile radius of you by searching the manufacturer's inventories. Then you do the whole deal by email with the sales manager - everything is documented. Ideally, you find the same vehicle held by several dealers and you contact each of them.

But this really only works for new cars.

I haven't gotten any surveys yet, I will be brutal when I do. No exaggerating, just honesty.

ReefGuy said
If buying a new car tell them you want to split holdback. That's usually $100-$300 below invoice and I've never met a dealer that wouldn't do it.

Always buy on the last weekend of the month.

Get an appraisal on your car after you negotiated price on the new car. Never take the first offer as they are usually holding back there also.

You get your car appraised at a $10k number from the used car manager meanwhile the sales guy comes to you and says they'll give you $8,000.
If you accept the sales guy will make a commission on the $2,000 he withheld from you while explaining how great of a deal you are getting because of tax credits.

Get pre approved for financing. The finance guy almost always bumps buy rate by half to a whole point. Over the course of a loan that adds up.

I can save anyone looking for a new car thousands of dollars over the course of an auto loan.

And yes get everything in writing especially as it pertains to trade ins and what you are owed.

Jd Power surveys kill dealer allocations also. So if they screw you over the place to hit them where it hurts is surveys. We would get $100 cash bonuses for positive surveys to give you an idea of the significance.

Hope this helps some.

It does help. I Intend to absolutely kill them on the survey.

saintmdterps said
The Toyota sales rep told me that if all marks on survey were not 5/5, her commission was cut in half. The dealership followed up twice post-sale to make sure all was good, and when I brought the car back for warranty/recall work everything was done with no questions asked and a loaner car offered, I didn't even have to ask.

Always read dealer reviews :)

your other points are excellent as well.

Severum said
I'm currently shopping for a new vehicle (Subaru) and have quotes down to 4.8% below invoice from a couple dealers for an order or lot vehicle. That's just from a couple rounds of emails and calls with no public incentives. Some dealers won't move below invoice which seems strange in a competitive market. Trade pricing via Subaru's Guaranteed Trade Program seems reasonable and it's nice to have up front pricing.

Subaru has had a lot of success lately. Sales are way up for them so I bet some dealers will get to where they don't want to deal as much. Honestly, I love Subaru. If there was a dealer nearer to me than Jackson, MS I would have gotten a Legacy.

FWIW: Someone called me from the Dealer and wanted to ask me a few questions about my sales experience. She got more than she bargained for. I had her pretty flustered on the first question and we never got to number two. I was very nice but also fairly forceful in expressing my displeasure at the sales experience, she assured me that upper management reviews all of her customer comments.
I did a google search, my car was listed at various sites online the day after I traded it. They obviously had no intention of keeping our agreement.
We'll see if anything happens.