Our last new car purchase in 2000, we had a really great salesman, we trusted the guy, and he treated us well. Unfortunately, we had a lot of problems with the Suzuki over the years. The dealership/repairs division changed hands 5-6 times since we owned the car, and we had a lot of problems dealing with these many service departments, until the last service manager came along, who has treated us very well. So, we are looking to buy another car, and actually went back to this dealership, believing they might cut us some slack on the price due to all the months the last car was in their shop for repairs.

After two hours with this salesperson, who has been there 22+ yrs, and our fourth dealership overall that we've visited....... we ask him to give us his best price the first time around. He says, I am giving you every discount, plus taking into consideration your hardships with your last car, and your price is ****. We could not decide if this was a good deal on the spot, start walking out, and he offers yet a lower price. In one fell swoop, he lost all integrity, as far as I was concerned. He also did not offer a price any lower than another dealer selling the same car. We were very disappointed, to say the least.

So, now we are looking at either an Escape or an Equinox. Curious to know if there is ANY dealer that will give you their lowest price, without all the BS, without having to run all over creatation, to see if you are getting the car for the best price possible. I realize these people are out to make money, but when there are differences in the $800-$2000 range, for the exact same car, and they all come from the same inventory, it is hard to trust anyone.

Any advice on reading the window sticker invoices and a recommendation on what to pay over what the dealer suggests the deal is costing them?

I've had or know of only two really honest, new car deals/salesmen, in 35yrs.... and they gave their best price, the first time around, and they stood behind what they sold, and were priced well below any competitors price.

I got burnt on a 97 Ford purchased in Nov 05 with over $2k in repairs the dealer refused to pay under warranty, and we can not afford another big loss buying another car. We have 375K combined miles on the three cars that we now have, and need a new car soon.

Greatly appreciate any tips on new car buying and how to best work with a dealership... Do those ads on the net offering the best new car price, actually provide any substance in making a decision?

Thanks!

 

I feel pretty satisfied to buy a car at dealer invoice minus any rebates. If they are not willing to sell you the car at that price, go to another dealer. If you are trading in another car, make sure to get a fair trade in value BEFORE you ever go to buy the new car and then you are simply trading on difference. That makes it hard for them to hide true cost. kbb.com is a good resource if you don't know a third party who will give you a fair appraisal.

 

If you don't trust the dealer, and many times you just can't, try to take things out of their conrol.
1) don't give them your trade-in, or at least don't tell them about it until you are done bargaining.
2) don't use thier financing, get a bank auto loan. Sometimes those can be a better deal.
3) tell them exactly what you want, every option. Don't accept anything else like undercoating, extended warranty unless you've asked for it.

One method I've heard of is called fax-buying. Basicaly it makes dealers compete against each other. It's outlined pretty well on http://www.fool.com/car/car.htm

All in all, unless you are dealing with a very rare "good guy" you pretty much have to assume they are going to try to trick and cheat you. Then you have to push them around a little to get the best deal. It's a sad state of affairs.

 

I don't know if this is a good time to chime in or not. I know a guy in Oregon that might just gove you the straight scoop on either a Equinox or an Escape. Just post or pm what you're looking for, and while you're at it, look at the top of this thread for the FTE buyers program.

Linky

 

I can sympathize with your plight. I've been doing some truck shopping lately myself, after selling my 1991 F250. I'm not real sure just what I want to replace it, other than it has to be a 4x4. I've been to dealer's who had trucks I was interested in who won't even give me a price to begin with. I ask what they want for the thing, and they reply "What will you give me for it?" It's happened more than once, at different dealers (Ford, GM, Dodge). When they won't even answer a straight question, I just say "Thanks for your time", and walk away. I've had one guy who chased after me and grabbed me by the arm as I was walking to my truck after an exchange like that! One guy I dealt with for about 2 hours was mad when I told him I wanted to shop around some more, saying that I had "wasted his time all afternoon" when I did'nt have any intention of buying (I had told him that in all likelihood I would'nt be buying that day, as I had just started shopping around), and then questioned whether or not I COULD have bought his truck.
It's a good thing that I have another truck and really don't need to buy anything at the moment, because to be honest, I'm pretty fed up with some of the antics these guys pull. I figure that I am there because they have something that interests me, and I don't take buying a truck lightly, so why should they act like it's a big joke? The guy I buy from will answer my questions, give me time to think things over, and not try to sell me something that he "thinks will suit my needs better" (which usually is something he has that has a higher price on it). No vehicle ever made, at any price, no salesman or sales tactics are going to sway me from buying it on my terms. My money is too hard to come buy to hand over without careful consideration. I'm a hard sell, and I don't apologize for it. I realize that car dealers are out to stay in business, and I suspect that by and large they are not out to cheat anyone, but the examples I've ran into lately seems to show that I might need to re-think that.

 

I did my last one simply and got a good price quickly. I decided what I wanted without a brand preference. I shopped Dodge, Ford, Chevrolet, GMC and Toyota. I told each of them what I wanted and what and who they were pricing against. They understood I was going to take the best price and write them a check. The first price was within $300 of what I finally paid (and they knew I was serious -they knew me except for the Toyota dealer- and I had done my homework) and they were all very close. The only place that tried to play games was the Toyota dealer (he figured I would give him preference because I was driving one).

 

I did post this before but, my last purchase in Nov 05, was from a web ad from a NJ dealer. I had been looking for months for a van with a bed needed due to extreme fatigue. I had previously owned an E-150 for 15 yrs, and loved it. I found a 97 with 34k miles, which appeared to looked like new. It was a 6 hr round trip drive to get there, I had 1 hr to make the decision. I knew I was getting nothing for my trade, and paid a high price for the 97. I decided it was worth it anyway, as the salesman stated they would send a check for any repairs necessary to pass Pa inspection, and the van was thoroughly checked by their tech, and found to be sound. Well, two days and $915 later for the inspection, they refused to pay anything. I put another $1100 into it due to the motor stalling, tires and other repairs. The dealer calls and infers he will withhold my title (and it was paid in full), which he did, because I would not agree to his lame offer. I gave them the benefit of the doubt the inspection issues were just overlooked by mistake. I had requested a copy of the pre-sales inspection list, which I never got. He stated they sold at least 50 cars to Pa residents, which also did not pass inspection. He offered a partial payment of $400, which I refused, and stated I would have to beg him to get the money! He provided documents with my title, which stated I had not paid the sales tax, which I had. Then, after all that, tells me I will have to drive the 240 miles and leave the van at his shop to have it fixed (I would not have trusted this dealer to put air in the tires at this point).... case is pending with NJ Consumer Affairs Office.


Now all this came about due to my Toyota dealer not honoring my $1200 in brake repairs, and after five trips to their shop, telling me not to ever come back! I paid $3500 for repairs, just in 2005. Their general manager told me he did not want to hear about it, and hung the phone up on me. My family had most all our repairs done at this place for many years to boot. I had been in the process of another Consumer Affairs claim with this dealer, and decided to try and reach the owner of the dealership one last time. Here, the man had open heart surgery, and had not been in the office for some months. He had never seen my complaint. He sent me a check for $500, which was at least something. I wrote to Toyota corp, and they could not care less about my complaint. The dealership lost an 06 Camry sale, and a number of customers on that deal. I lost about $5k on the trade and over priced purchase of the 97 Ford, and have been terribly stressed about the ordeal. Good thing my memory is not what is used to be. Need to get my drivers door seal fixed, and I hope to be happy with what I have. Appreciate your ideas and shared experiences.

 

Yechave,

Just in case you didn't pick up the post, send a PM to PolarBear. He is a Chevy/Ford salesman and works with many here on FTE. He will give you a bottom line price with no hassles. Even if you can't buy from him, he can give you and idea of the what the vehicle should sell for.

Eric

 

Appreciate the tip!

 

My last strategy was
1: only buy used that is still in warranty
2: shop around town and on the internet to find the best price (a lot of dealers put their better prices on their websites)
3: shop ebay for at least two months to see what the vehicles are selling for
4: when i find the vehicle with the best possible "buy it now" price on ebay i have seen, it has all of the carfax warranty info, and is from a highly rated ebay dealer, i immediately hit the "buy it now" button
5: although my 1995 bronco didn't fit the warranty requirement, the bronco and the excursion purchases have worked out quite well