Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Interesting post. I bought a new car a few years back the old school way by walking into dealerships and talking price. I later read about many people using dealer internet sales dept to iron out a price beforehand as to avoid all the in-person BS games. I thought I was a dinosaur for not trying this approach but according to your post, it seems some places aren't receptive to talking numbers without a face-to-face.
In the end, I hate all the nonsense associated with buying a car.
You cannot buy a car without being in the dealership and physically signing the papers. Once you have the "best price" from a dealership they have almost zero chance of ever getting you in the door. Any other dealer will say they can beat the deal just to get you in the door, then try to ratchet the price back up. I left the retail end of the business years ago, but we never - ever gave a "best price" over the phone unless it was a ridiculous lowball to ensure you came in.
You cannot buy a car without being in the dealership and physically signing the papers. Once you have the "best price" from a dealership they have almost zero chance of ever getting you in the door. Any other dealer will say they can beat the deal just to get you in the door, then try to ratchet the price back up. I left the retail end of the business years ago, but we never - ever gave a "best price" over the phone unless it was a ridiculous lowball to ensure you came in.
Not true. I bought my current car online. We hashed out price online, did the financing online, and the papers were Fedexed to me to sign.
1. I looked online, found a car I wanted and then could email / text the place. I'd say 9 times out of 10 they wouldn't provide any sort of price at all unless I called them. It's odd that they have the email us for price, text us for price box but then just flood my inbox with requests for my phone #.
I would never buy a car or do business with a dealer that didn't have any price at all of a vehicle I wanted, new or used online. I've also not run into any dealers that don't have a price displayed in a long long time unless it is something they just traded in or is on order.
Quote:
2. Even when I did finally give in an call them because I really wanted the car they'd still the majority of the time not give me their "best price" over the phone. They gave me the ole, "you need to come in and take it for a spin then we can chat!". I knew what I wanted and what I was willing to pay but they won't negotiate over the phone.
I don't bother getting a "best price." The "best price" is the one I am willing to pay. I go there and I offer it in person, if they don't take it, I leave. How could anyone know what the "best price" is for me unless I offer it to them? How can they know what is "best" for me is best for you or the next guy?
Quote:
3. Why do some salesmen prefer losing a customer completely over providing info via email, text, or phone? A few guys, I pushed hard for a price before I came in since they were over an hour drive away and many simply told me "Sorry, no can do. Unless you come in and chat, we can't provide a price." They were fine to just not deal with me.
See above. They offered a price on their website. If you don't want to deal, all they are doing is bidding down on their own property. When does it stop? Do you call a realtor and just tell them to keep lowering the price? Do you think you'll get a chance for them to show you the house or property or do they just hang up on you? If you don't want to give them your info, you aren't really interested.
Quote:
4. I know the answer to this one already but I just want to rant about it a bit. I found a car I was ready to buy for say $10k online. The actual price said OUR PRICE $9999! I go in, test drove it, loved it, and said can you provide me the out the door price? They came back and it looked like this:
$10,749 (lost $750 "cash discount" because I was not financing the vehicle)
$1,200 (Tax tag title etc.)
$300 (Dealer fee??)
$1,500 (Unremovable accessories they say they "Have to add on to every car that comes in")
_______
$13,779 total on a 9999 car.
I know there's tax on everything I buy. I know there are some dealers that charge fees. I have to account for these things when I see a price on something. If they have unremovable accessories I just move on.
You cannot buy a car without being in the dealership and physically signing the papers. Once you have the "best price" from a dealership they have almost zero chance of ever getting you in the door. Any other dealer will say they can beat the deal just to get you in the door, then try to ratchet the price back up. I left the retail end of the business years ago, but we never - ever gave a "best price" over the phone unless it was a ridiculous lowball to ensure you came in.
Granted it's not done very often but you indeed can. My mother in law traded in her motor home and bought a new one all from her living room. The dealer knew her motor home from servicing it and she knew what she wanted.
Price was agreed to, the dealer brought the motor home and paperwork to her and picked up her old one.
That's BS about having to buy dealer add-ons. What I did was pick a car that had just been unloaded. I had my USAA discount quote in hand for another dealer and this dealer actually beat that price. And I avoided all those stupid add-ons that do nothing except jack up the price. When I bought my Jeep I just did a special order and again told the dealer no add-ons.
It's a game to them. I was going to buy a 6 month old Toyota from a Nissan dealership. I agreed on the price with the salesman, then went to the finance dept. They offered me 4%, I said no since I could get a unsecured loan at 1.75% or pay cash. Then they tried selling me an extended warranty and all this other BS. I balked at all of it, we couldn't make a deal they had to sell me some add on to give me the agreed price. 3 weeks later they called me back, at this point I found the same car in a better trim w/ less miles for $750 miles less and bought it. You have to walk away, unless you are looking for something very specific like a Porsche 911 in burgandy w. chamagne interior and the random features most cars are a dime a dozen.
I recently purchased a car and took my time doing so. I visited many dealers and talked to many salesman. I am going to list a few key things I found in my experience. I'd like feedback of car salesmen or former salesmen on why things are the way they are, or why they do the things they do.
1. I looked online, found a car I wanted and then could email / text the place. I'd say 9 times out of 10 they wouldn't provide any sort of price at all unless I called them. It's odd that they have the email us for price, text us for price box but then just flood my inbox with requests for my phone #.
2. Even when I did finally give in an call them because I really wanted the car they'd still the majority of the time not give me their "best price" over the phone. They gave me the ole, "you need to come in and take it for a spin then we can chat!". I knew what I wanted and what I was willing to pay but they won't negotiate over the phone.
3. Why do some salesmen prefer losing a customer completely over providing info via email, text, or phone? A few guys, I pushed hard for a price before I came in since they were over an hour drive away and many simply told me "Sorry, no can do. Unless you come in and chat, we can't provide a price." They were fine to just not deal with me.
4. I know the answer to this one already but I just want to rant about it a bit. I found a car I was ready to buy for say $10k online. The actual price said OUR PRICE $9999! I go in, test drove it, loved it, and said can you provide me the out the door price? They came back and it looked like this:
$10,749 (lost $750 "cash discount" because I was not financing the vehicle)
$1,200 (Tax tag title etc.)
$300 (Dealer fee??)
$1,500 (Unremovable accessories they say they "Have to add on to every car that comes in")
_______
$13,779 total on a 9999 car.
I said this is ridiculous, as I lose 750 for paying cash, have to pay for all their crap accessories etc. After attempting to walk out and nearly being physically restrained they said ok we will give you the car for 9999 plus tax tag title and lose the accessory fee, dealer fee, and theyd give me back the 750 for paying cash. So in the end they offered it for the advertised price. But I was so annoyed they made me go through this exercise that I walked saying I don't appreciate their tactics. (rant over)
FYI I'm not saying I didn't have any positive experiences, as some of the salesmen were really cool. The bad definitely did outweigh the good though. I eventually did find a good salesman that gave me an exact price over the phone. I test drove the car the next day and paid cash.
It's a waste of time to tell a customer a number over email so they can undercut it by $5 or $150 or whatever amount. We could just sit and spit numbers all day for nothing that way.
We want you in front of us. To have a chance to sell you the car. After that you branch off into ethical salespeople and unethical. I had customers come back and pay me slightly more. Offered less at other places but they did not have the attention to detail and such and tried to scam or play hard ball and they appreciated the work I put in to show them everything on the car, negotiate a fair price that didn't expire in 30 seconds, and let them go comparison shop knowing they can come back and nab the deal I offered.
You found yourself with unethical people offering a bait and switch who then relented and offered you what was advertised, and I can't understand that method because I would never do it. But I just know that it works often enough to make it worth their while.
X number of times the customer is tired of shopping, they are already there, and they will pay the higher amount to get it over with, figuring every place is going to do them the same anyhow.
I'm glad you didn't take it. They didn't deserve your business.
But more to your point is that the car business is still structured in such a way that profits are unevenly distributed. The salesman won't make a living giving the lowest price on every car and neither will the dealer.
They've got to get you in there to hope to make a little profit or at least not waste their time giving numbers all day with no sales.
Internet and phone sales are all going to be pretty low profit, and they are to keep volume up, but can't be rock bottom on each one and that is what the customers are seeking. The rock-bottom price regardless of service or anything else they can't even know about over an email.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
