How Car Dealerships Rip You Off (the truth) (F150, vehicles, auto)
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Didn't watch this particularly video, but seen many on the "4 Square" thing. Never dealt with in my life because I don't negotiate payments. I have my own "4 Line" Method
1 - Negotiate Price of Car (with any mandatory "fees" like doc fee included in my price)
2 - IF trading in vehicle, negotiate price of trade in (already prepared with estimated values and maybe a Carmax offer)
3 - IF financing, review various dealership offers for rates/duration (already prepared with what my credit union will offer)
4 - READ EVERYTHING - and make them take out all the BS they added like "interior protection, window vin etching, Lojak, rust coating, etc, etc...) I tell the finance manger I'll be there a while because I READ EVERY LINE OF WHAT I SIGN.
Didn't watch this particularly video, but seen many on the "4 Square" thing. Never dealt with in my life because I don't negotiate payments. I have my own "4 Line" Method
1 - Negotiate Price of Car (with any mandatory "fees" like doc fee included in my price)
2 - IF trading in vehicle, negotiate price of trade in (already prepared with estimated values and maybe a Carmax offer)
3 - IF financing, review various dealership offers for rates/duration (already prepared with what my credit union will offer)
4 - READ EVERYTHING - and make them take out all the BS they added like "interior protection, window vin etching, Lojak, rust coating, etc, etc...) I tell the finance manger I'll be there a while because I READ EVERY LINE OF WHAT I SIGN.
That's why I don't deal with 4 box junk.
Good on you, z28.
I do most of the same things you do.
I get a pre-approved loan from my credit union in the form of a check up to a certain amount and bring that with me.
That's it.
No warranty, no extras, this and that. They get high profit margins on these things and they're rarely needed.
Didn't watch this particularly video, but seen many on the "4 Square" thing. Never dealt with in my life because I don't negotiate payments. I have my own "4 Line" Method
1 - Negotiate Price of Car (with any mandatory "fees" like doc fee included in my price)
2 - IF trading in vehicle, negotiate price of trade in (already prepared with estimated values and maybe a Carmax offer)
3 - IF financing, review various dealership offers for rates/duration (already prepared with what my credit union will offer)
4 - READ EVERYTHING - and make them take out all the BS they added like "interior protection, window vin etching, Lojak, rust coating, etc, etc...) I tell the finance manger I'll be there a while because I READ EVERY LINE OF WHAT I SIGN.
That's why I don't deal with 4 box junk.
That’s almost the same thing the video said. Almost.
Once you realize it's all a big razzle game, a shell game where the sales carnie has all the pieces under his control, you'll never walk into a dealership again.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,687 posts, read 81,473,200 times
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I have bought 30+ cars over the years and I love the challenge of dealing with the sales people. The last three have been from the same dealership, because I found them to be honest and fair, and not play the games that others do. My last purchase was a 2017 F150, with a stick price of $46,800, and I was trading in a 2007 Ranger. I did not tell them how much of a payment I wanted, how much I wanted to pay for the truck, or how much I wanted for my trade. I simply told them the features I wanted in the new truck, and color choices. The sales person looked up the Blue Book on the Ranger. then while I test drove (2) they evaluated my Ranger, and came back offering me $800 more than I expected. When I decided on the truck I wanted I saw the invoice and sticker and offered $36,000, plus $250 to add the OEM trailer brake controller. He went to get approval from the sales manager and came back with the OK, no long negotiation involved. Then I told them I had pre-approval from my credit union, but then he talked to their finance guy and offered me a loan through another bank for .5% lower interest rate.
Dealing with dealers is why I keep my cars long term. I hate dealing with car sales people. My current vehicles are 26 & 16 years old with no plans to replace them anytime soon.
It's all about maintenance ,maintenance ,maintenance . Also not falling victim to car ads, or other sells pitches.
I have bought 30+ cars over the years and I love the challenge of dealing with the sales people.
Well, it's just two sock puppets in the dark here, but I suspect most of your transactions would show... points that could have been improved in your favor, no matter how good a deal you are convinced you got.
One of the things the system fosters is the idea that Joe Q. Carbuyer can walk in and wrassle that alligator for the win... which is hilariously nonsensical. Most people buy a car no more often than every two or three years; these guys sell a dozen, fifty, a hundred a day. Every single factor is loaded in their favor, and when someone walks in armed with the latest Consumer Reports "How to buy a car" article in hand, they have layers and layers of backup tactics to deal with them.
You have a better chance of stepping into a back-alley craps game and being allowed to walk away with any winnings. That Freddy Friendly lets you 'win' a few small rounds doesn't mean you didn't get cleaned out.
The entire dealership system needs Congressional-level examination, review and overhaul, but in an era when the CFPB has been gutted on their landmark credit card and loan sharking protections, it ain't gonna happen.
Go to a reputable auto broker when you need a new or CPO car.
Yup, they take it and then you spend 2 hours with the "business manager" doing the paperwork, where they try and push all types of warranties and extras.
It is AMAZING to me that a sales person will spend an hour telling you how wonderful and perfect a car is; and then two minutes later you have a business manager telling you the car will essentially fall apart as soon as you leave the lot if you don't buy extra coat protector; specific electronic warranties, etc. Such a scam.
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