Truck dealers I have known
Arg -
Somewhere in another thread, I mentioned I was going to buy a new truck, and be away from the 800s for a while.
If you think there are problems with 800notes ... keep reading, if you are bored, and have nothing else to do.
1. I made a phone appointment to see an in-stock truck at the dealer's place, and got a promise to reduce my cost below MSRP.
2. Next day, I got a phone call confirming the appointment for later in the day.
3. I drove to the dealer to find:
4. The truck was sold, earlier that AM. Can you spell "Bait & Switch"?
5. My sales guy was nowhere to be found, but the floor manager looked for another sales guy.
6. Spent a lot of time familiarizing the new salesguy with my conversations with old salesguy, and explaining what I wanted.
7. Had to visit the restroom several times, as my radiator needed draining, due to all the stress.
8. Ready to walk out ... but new salesguy checked their incoming inventory and found a truck in my first color choice. Truck still being manufactured, but was planned to have more (expensive) add-ons than I wanted. Salesguy said he could omit those extras if we closed right now ... today ... sign this!
9. Agonizing negotiations followed. New salesguy claimed they could not go below MSRP, as that model was in very high demand. I claimed some dealers were indeed dealing, and presented printed evidence.
10. New salesguy visits the floor manager several times ... and they settled on one of the prices I showed them, that was a fair amount below MSRP! Slim now a happy camper.
11. I was now ready to pay sales tax, and title/license fees, but found there was an additional "dealer fee" that was not included in MSRP. Back to negotiations.
12. Settled on a figure, then asked for an evaluation of my trade. Half hour later, they offered me too little for the trade. Back to negotiations.
13. Meanwhile, I checked some sites that claimed they purchase vehicles. A quick form-fill gave me a guesstimate a few thousand above what the dealer offered for the trade. Must bring the old vehicle for an in-person evaluation.
14. Renegotiate with the new salesguy for no-trade-in cost to me. Wear out calculator on smartphone. Get an "out the door" price, including all taxes, etc. that was about $64 below the "buy at this price", according to some online estimates. Whoopie. Several hours of negotiations for $64? BUT, the top-line price was a fair bit below MSRP.
15. I will bring old vehicle to local resale place to see if they can better the new truck dealer's trade-in offer.
16. Meanwhile, the new vehicle is "reserved" in my name (if the manufacturer can swap the unwanted extras out). No guarantees yet that they can provide exactly what I want ... will learn Wed (maybe).
Congratulations if you read this far, and did not fall asleep.
Lesson:
Even an experienced vehicle purchase guy (me) can learn something about how dealers charge extra fees, not included in the MSRP I thought was pretty much their asking price (plus TT&L).
* IF you are considering a new vehicle, DO A LOT OF ONLINE RESEARCH. The floor manager would not budge, until he saw my spreadsheet, and citations from recognized online pricing sites.
* Assure their "out the door" price quote includes ALL costs, taxes, etc etc. when comparing prices with different dealers. Reading a comment "I got it $x,xxx under MSRP" is meaningless, without that additional info.
There. I got it off my chest.
No need to reply (grin)
I need more sleep, to recover from the trauma.
Somewhere in another thread, I mentioned I was going to buy a new truck, and be away from the 800s for a while.
If you think there are problems with 800notes ... keep reading, if you are bored, and have nothing else to do.
1. I made a phone appointment to see an in-stock truck at the dealer's place, and got a promise to reduce my cost below MSRP.
2. Next day, I got a phone call confirming the appointment for later in the day.
3. I drove to the dealer to find:
4. The truck was sold, earlier that AM. Can you spell "Bait & Switch"?
5. My sales guy was nowhere to be found, but the floor manager looked for another sales guy.
6. Spent a lot of time familiarizing the new salesguy with my conversations with old salesguy, and explaining what I wanted.
7. Had to visit the restroom several times, as my radiator needed draining, due to all the stress.
8. Ready to walk out ... but new salesguy checked their incoming inventory and found a truck in my first color choice. Truck still being manufactured, but was planned to have more (expensive) add-ons than I wanted. Salesguy said he could omit those extras if we closed right now ... today ... sign this!
9. Agonizing negotiations followed. New salesguy claimed they could not go below MSRP, as that model was in very high demand. I claimed some dealers were indeed dealing, and presented printed evidence.
10. New salesguy visits the floor manager several times ... and they settled on one of the prices I showed them, that was a fair amount below MSRP! Slim now a happy camper.
11. I was now ready to pay sales tax, and title/license fees, but found there was an additional "dealer fee" that was not included in MSRP. Back to negotiations.
12. Settled on a figure, then asked for an evaluation of my trade. Half hour later, they offered me too little for the trade. Back to negotiations.
13. Meanwhile, I checked some sites that claimed they purchase vehicles. A quick form-fill gave me a guesstimate a few thousand above what the dealer offered for the trade. Must bring the old vehicle for an in-person evaluation.
14. Renegotiate with the new salesguy for no-trade-in cost to me. Wear out calculator on smartphone. Get an "out the door" price, including all taxes, etc. that was about $64 below the "buy at this price", according to some online estimates. Whoopie. Several hours of negotiations for $64? BUT, the top-line price was a fair bit below MSRP.
15. I will bring old vehicle to local resale place to see if they can better the new truck dealer's trade-in offer.
16. Meanwhile, the new vehicle is "reserved" in my name (if the manufacturer can swap the unwanted extras out). No guarantees yet that they can provide exactly what I want ... will learn Wed (maybe).
Congratulations if you read this far, and did not fall asleep.
Lesson:
Even an experienced vehicle purchase guy (me) can learn something about how dealers charge extra fees, not included in the MSRP I thought was pretty much their asking price (plus TT&L).
* IF you are considering a new vehicle, DO A LOT OF ONLINE RESEARCH. The floor manager would not budge, until he saw my spreadsheet, and citations from recognized online pricing sites.
* Assure their "out the door" price quote includes ALL costs, taxes, etc etc. when comparing prices with different dealers. Reading a comment "I got it $x,xxx under MSRP" is meaningless, without that additional info.
There. I got it off my chest.
No need to reply (grin)
I need more sleep, to recover from the trauma.
5 x
Re: Truck dealers I have known
Yikes! Recently bought a new car myself. Yep, major hassle even with research!
5 x
Re: Truck dealers I have known
Updates
Althoughthe salesguy said my truck was manufactured ... it was not. It will be excreted from the line next week, then shipped via rail from San Antonio to Houston for the "port" guys to walk widdershins and make offerings. Then, it will (supposedly) get shipped back to San Antonio, where I can test drive the thing. ARRGH!
But, I got a pretty decent trade-in allowance from yet another place,
The logistics of buying a "custom" vehicle sure have changed over the years!
(No, actually, that is not it)
Althoughthe salesguy said my truck was manufactured ... it was not. It will be excreted from the line next week, then shipped via rail from San Antonio to Houston for the "port" guys to walk widdershins and make offerings. Then, it will (supposedly) get shipped back to San Antonio, where I can test drive the thing. ARRGH!
But, I got a pretty decent trade-in allowance from yet another place,
The logistics of buying a "custom" vehicle sure have changed over the years!
Here is a picture of the "brand new" truck when I ordered it ... do you think I have been waiting too long?
(No, actually, that is not it)
4 x
Re: Truck dealers I have known
Nice one Slim!
2 x
Ahr'lhonaema ihirer hotaessraei hwiunaier iarr'voi ortaihkhevha na sienov!
It is cowardice to be reluctant to take up the sword for a just cause!
It is cowardice to be reluctant to take up the sword for a just cause!
Re: Truck dealers I have known
He always is good at that after all! Definitely a good one, Slim!
2 x
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