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When will buyers finally get fed up enough as a collective group and stop dealing with dealerships?! Buying a car is the worst buying experience ever!
Between unrealistic purchase prices,blind sales numbers, under allowing on trade, dealer mark up, doc/ dealer fees, and charging 10x the cost to process dmv paperwork.. Not to mention the wasted time you spend at the dealer when you actually want to buy something. the who process is a joke!
Example : I helped friends of our buy a slightly used mini van. The husband is on deployment and will be for another 4 months. the wife is alone with their kids 2 hours from us left to deal with an unreliable family van.
I research what she wanted, called ahead with details and trade info( 1500.00 trade- no big swing in numbers) , negotiated over the phone, and we met there later in the day to get them a new vehicle.
3 HOURS later she goes home with the van and she didnt even finance. first they tried to under allow on the trade, then charge 400.00 for a second key, then charge an 800.00 dealer fee, and 250 for dmv fees. all in all with taxes of 900, the total was 3k more than we had already discussed. we ended up with the van for what i originally discussed for her( 2019 sienna xle with 20k miles for $30k otd) but what a waste of time..... this should have taken an hour and those dealer fees are just plain ridiculous. If the van was for me and not under these circumstances I would have left.
I hate dealers, I know that is a general statement and not all are the same but the majority give them the reputation they deserve. My favorite part was the manager behind the magic glass writing in red pen on the worksheet, " thank you for your service" save it!
Oh man, do I get it! When I bought my current car it took from shortly after the time of opening (about 9 a.m.) until after closing (7 p.m.?) to make a deal, and I knew what I wanted when I walked in. I don't think I even took a car for a drive during that time. I did finance it through the dealer, but nothing was added to the car and nothing was taken off my trade-in. Crazy! That was 5 years ago, and I think that's part of the reason I haven't been back to trade for a new car. (I've now got 125K miles on my 2015 Prius.) I can remember in years past doing the deal in an hour or less.
My guess is, if I'd have gone to the dealer at 3 p.m. instead of 9 a.m., we'd still have completed the deal by closing time. I might have to set a time limit for the next purchase. ("I'm walking out in 2 hours, so talk fast and write even faster.")
There’s ways to avoids dealers. Buy lightly used cars from Carvana, and the other places that avoid stealership tactics. If they try to charge a $800 documentation fee, laugh and walk out. Eventually they’ll have to change if enough people avoid them.
Buy a used car with no warranty. Then you never see the dealer.
Of course, there are also downsides to that as well.
Carvana's pricing is not that great.
The only thing I'd buy from 'em is a short range EV because they deliver.
Short range EVs are something of a specialty for them.
There’s ways to avoids dealers. Buy lightly used cars from Carvana, and the other places that avoid stealership tactics. If they try to charge a $800 documentation fee, laugh and walk out. Eventually they’ll have to change if enough people avoid them.
I looked at carvana and while they do not have dealer fees, they are much more expensive in terms of purchase price as @eaton53 mentioned. Plus, they only offered $200.00 for her trade. KBB of 1500-1800.00.
I will consider carvana when I am ready to buy another truck simply becasue I will not have to step foot in a dealership. but the price has to be right. The ideal way to purchase a car is through a broker. well worth the 500 fee they charge to buy, and deliver your vehicle.
Last edited by Familyman6; 10-08-2019 at 10:18 AM..
I prefer to buy from private sellers.
With dealers, if I do not get the deal previously discussed on emails & phone, I walk after one hour.
I also tell them that.
Shopping can be a big hassle before you find a vehicle and dealer willing to reach a number you both feel is reasonable. I am not sure what the alternative is? People liked Saturn's "no haggle" pricing back in the day, but often that meant dealers asking full retail while still low balling trade. I am not sure the no haggle approach was the best financial deal either. Mostly, people I suspect just felt better knowing the asking price for them was the same as it was for their neighbor.
It helps if you can find some that knows someone at a dealer. I was lucky, I worked with the general manager of the local Ram dealership years in the past, and kept in touch with him. My dad had also bought several vehicles through him as well. Even then, there is always "secret" numbers... it is a whole sketchy affair. In my case , it worked out awesome. Sticker on the truck was $62k , ended up getting it for slightly under $50k out the door. I actually ordered it, and a good friend pulled some strings at the plant , the truck was tagged as an executive vehicle and had it in my driveway within 10 days of ordering it.
My last new vehicle was in '01, and that purchase went well too.
States like NC require new cars to be sold through dealerships. We have Tesla dealers because customers "are not allowed" to order directly from Tesla.
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