Can anyone tell me if there is a place left where you can go buy a car without having to refer from salesman to salesman just to find out about this or that. Get a fair and honest trade in value, and still get the deal they are "promising you".
I'm asking this because I just got back from looking at a 2000 F-250 PSD, very nice truck. Of course after checking book value it was priced above book, but the "sale" price brought it back down within reason. What really got me is they were going to give me next to nothing for my trade! They made the mistake of showing me what a lesser model of my trade sold for a week ago. They were still making 100% profit! Sure if it were hunderds 100 or even 150% profit wouldn't be unreal but were talking thousands!
Their reasoning behind it is they use the "black book" (auction)value. If I wanted to get auction value for my vehicle I would sell my trade and buy my new truck off Ebay.
Their "great deal" was a real hoax too. If you add up the payments they jacked the price of the truck up from the "sale" price to meet the amount of your down payment and trade.....
Hmm..giving you aucton value for your trade..then selling it to someone else for KBB or NADA value.. something doesn't sound right.

 

This is why people do not trust car salesmen. None of them seem to know what they are talking about, nowadays. If you want to get a reasonable deal, go to a smaller lot, with less salesmen, and talk with the owner.

When I go to a car sales lot, the first thing I do is chase away the salesmen. They cannot answer any question I have posed in the last 3 new vehicles I have bought, so why have them hovering around, trying to sound intelligent.

Theo

 

I guess it's time for the REAL car salesman to jump in. This question is just slightly less complicated than "what is the meaning of life?'' First of all, not knowing what dealer you went to or all the other pertinent details, it's difficult for anyone to fully judge what went on there. If the dealer only wanted to negotiate based on a monthly payment, then that's a dealer you want to avoid. Figure out what you can afford for a monthly payment BEFORE you walk into a dealership. For every $1,000 you borrow, this is what it will approximately cost you:

48 months: $25/ mo.

60 months: $20/ mo.

72 months: $15/ mo.

These are APPROXIMATE numbers, and will vary depending on the exact interest rate you qualify for, but they're close. So let's say you can afford $300/ mo., and you want to finance for 60 months. That $300/ mo. will buy you about $15,000. Add to that any down payment. If you've got $3,000 in cash and trade, then you should be looking at an $18,000 truck, more or less. Now you can negotiate price intelligently, without falling in the trap of negotiating payment.

As for the trade-in, keep in mind one thing: if your state has a tough used-car lemon law, you're not going to get much for a high-mileage and/ or older vehicle. Here in New York, they've made it impossible for a respectable dealer to sell a high-mileage vehicle to the general public, no matter what condition it is in. We have to send these vehicles to the auction, and they're bringing NOTHING right now; too many vehicles, not enough used-car dealers to buy them. We encourage people to sell their trade-in themselves, because we know they'll get more money for it. Don't like to have to sell the vehicle yourself? Sorry, that's part of earning more money for it. If your trade-in is a late-model, low-mileage vehicle, then it does sound like the dealer was trying to steal it. Again, I don't have all the details. You say they offered "half what it was worth." According to who? NADA or Kelley Blue Book retail? Their numbers are nuts. Remember: a vehicle is worth what someone is WILLING TO PAY FOR IT. I've often wondered how someone gets that kind of money from NADA. I mean, do they come to your house and write you a check, or do you have to bring it to them? And what if I find a web site that says your vehicle is worth half of what Kelley Blue Book says? Who's right? Again, this ain't no easy subject.

If you're anywhere near Rochester, NY, I offer a 6-hour class that teaches you how to buy a car. I've put my 17 years experience in the car business into it, and it tells you ALL the tricks of the trade. New, used, financing, leasing, negotiating: it covers just about everything. Now, I'm not allowed to sell anything on this site, so I'll tell you what: if you want to take the course, it's yours- FOR FREE. It's 3 hours spread over 2 nights, September 24th and October 1st. You're welcome to it. I've only scratched the surface here tonight, but I hope it helps. Good luck.

P.S. That offer for the class is open to ANYONE here at FTE.

 

I was really impressed with the salesmen at the ford dealer just north of where I work. I went in told the salesmen what I wanted to do, pay off my current vehicle, then sell it and use the money for a down. The van won't be paid off until feb or march, and won't be sold till march or april. I wanted to test drive a few vehicles so I knew what I wanted when it came time to buy, the guy was like well lets see what we have that meet your criteria, handed me the keys and a plate and said see you in a bit. He was all cool with the fact that I wanted to play it smart and wait, gave me his card and said ask for him when I'm ready. Didn't try to force me into a vehicle I didn't want or anything I give the guy 5 stars.

 

Basically I have begun to make the assumption that car salesmen know absolutely nothing about cars. They only read stuff and say it thinking that it will dazzle the consumer. When I told the guy that sold my mom our jeep that it had warped rotors, I believe his comment was something like "Oh, and how do you like those, must have been a nice upgrade." This isn't the first time Ihave run into salesman like that and I highly doubt that it would be the last.
Its good to hear that you had a decent experience pfogle.

 

Vehicles are a rip-off, and most car salesmen have little knowledge of the vehicles, they move from dealer to dealer so much, they can't keep it all straight. Don't let them guide you on anything. Go in informed and tell them what you want, don't let them tell you what you need. Tell them what they've got to do, and if they won't, find someone who will. They will do everything they can (within reason) to keep you from going to someone else. You didn't say what you are trading, but don't trade if you can help it. I've traded a few times, but you just have to accept the fact that you will lose money, but you can minimize the loss. Don't ever get in a hurry or act exited with a car salesman.

Try to raffle your vehicle. I had a truck for sale, asking $12500. I decided to try a raffle out of curiousity (don't sell the tickets or pick the winner yourself, get someone trustworthy and neutral). I got a local store owner to do it for me. I gave him 250 tickets and told him they were $75 each. Drawing would be in 5 months or when all tickets sold, whichever came first. If he didn't sell at least 168 tickets in 5 months, all money would be refunded, no draw. I sold all tickets in about 4 months. I'll let you do the math.

 

1956MarkII-

Thanks for the good info. You sound like a professional, not someone chasing money. This, of course, does not include you in the opinion I stated of "most" car salesmen. I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.

 

Long read, kind of interesting, I got this off a car forum. The thread that refered to this link was almost closed and a member was suspended for a week, car salesman member vs. buying members.

Wes

Confessions of a car salesman from edmunds

 

Of course, such a raffle is ILLEGAL in most of these United States......

 

Yep, I wouldn't crow too loudly about that one. You may get complimentary probe of your nether regions by the IRS.

Waxy

 

"If you're anywhere near Rochester, NY, I offer a 6-hour class that teaches you how to buy a car"

I wish a lot of the "salesmen" would attend!! I didn't mean any offense 1956MarkII thier a few good salesmen that know what they are doing out there..just not many (that I've found). As you said a vehicle is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. So why is it fair to offer someone the cost of what you can buy at auction (one that only dealers can buy at) rather than what it is actually worth. Being offered $5000 trade is an insult for a vehicle they are going to turn around and sell for $12-13,000
I'm in business too, I know you need to turn a profit. But if you can't survive off a $2000 profit when your moving 100+ cars a week then their is something wrong.

 

i bought my truck from a small town dealership that only has under 10 cars on their lot at any time. i still paid too much for my truck but they were very friendly and helpful. the dealership had just opened a few months before i bought my truck there, so when i was filling out the paperwork with the owner he told me that "doc fees" were just a scam to bring in more money so he threw em out and saved me a couple hundred bucks. they also gave me a free car wash certificate since they didnt have time to wash it for me when i got it, and then a few days afterwards they sent me a thank you card. i thought it was nice of them to do all that. in my opinion the smaller dealerships are more customer friendly and arent as concerned about money and screwin ya over. at the time they didnt have financing so i had to take out a loan..2 and a half more years and i got it paid off

my truck also bluebooked at a higher price than what i paid for it.

 

Yep, it's ILLEGAL, but if you're willing to take a chance the rewards are good enough. I tend to forget that things are a little different everywhere you go. I'm not saying I recommend breaking the law, I normally don't. Hell, my worst conviction is a 4-point traffic ticket. It's really a matter of conscience.

 

I couldn't agree more. We sell about 100 cars a month, and I WISH we averaged $2,000 a car! We're currently selling all our 2003s at $500 below invoice, and all our 2004s at $200 below invoice (except SVT). How do we do it? We make it up on service and used cars. We need to make about $1500 on each used vehicle to keep everything going here. And I don't have to tell you that a service department is a profit center for almost any dealership.

A dealer that takes in a vehicle at $5000 and sells it for $12000 should be ashamed of themselves. The only way you can do that is to take advantage of someone's ignorance, and I have absolutely no regard for people like that. (Now, if you can take advantage of an arrogant doctor or lawyer in the same manner, then more power to you!) If it's any consolation, consumers are getting smarter, and the low-life dealers are becoming a rarer breed because of it.

 

i would be suprised if they acutally new about cars and would want to help you to be nice and not for the commision