<NA><RANT> Car stealership </RANT></NA>

WannFly said:
So along with the housing market being completely nutzo, car stealership are at their finest. Low inventory and the frenzy to buy cars have pushed used car prices close to new ones and the stealers have come up with new ways of milking for new cars.

last evening we visited 3 stealerships - the lady needs a car, without going into too much details, its a need not an want.

first, inventory is very low, like there are 3 of those models and we are expecting 4 more sometimes in September 3 of which has been pre-booked

across all 3 places we went, new car prices are anywhere from 3.5-5k over MSRP and new ways to justify that.

1. Protection plan - between $1400 - $1900 - i asked them what that was all about. the reply was, "its a paint protection to ensure paints dont chip or fade". um... thats what clear coat is for...
they didnt even bother to say its a ceramic coating. dont even get me started on "ceramic coating" put on by dealers.

2. $1600 - $1900 - Inspection - not even sure what that is all about. the manufacturers did their QC and inspection

3. Service plan - $900-$1200 - 3 years of full maintenance. I asked what that was, the reply was oil change, all regular max and anything that breaks we fix it. really? oil change is what $40 per change? anything that breaks is covered by bumper to bumper warranty anyway

This is just ridiculous.
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These sales tactics happened even before covid. We got taken by a service plan that included free towing from anywhere. I did the calculation and figured it would be cheaper than joining AAA. But it was a bad move. With AAA you can cancel any time. This was money up front. Also, what are the chances of you needing a tow for a brand new car? Even if it does happen, it would be a lot cheaper to just pay for that one time tow. Lesson learned. Now, I don't hesitate to say no to everything the salesman offers, except for the product you are there to buy.
 
Check your auto insurance policy - most (all?) have a line item as part of your policy for towing. And renting a car while yours is in the shop. Now if I could just figure out if I have interim coverage on the new car over the weekend until I can talk to the agency on Monday. So it's going to stay parked in the garage for the entire weekend. Not a happy camper. Agency's "new and improved" website is a joke - can't find anything useful, but its very pretty.
 
Fortunately my new car and truck buying is timed to periods when prices are low and inventories high.
 
More scams to be aware of:

1. Nitrogen refill upgrade - $300
2. Dealership fees - about $800 or so - I asked so whats the destination charge and the fact that they get on dealer pricing and we are paying MSRP, right now anyway. the guy mumbled about something and said he will get back to me
3. $2200 for Kahu - a GPS tracking device that whatever company makes for dealership inventory tracking, tracking driving habits (and i can bet they sell that data off), it also have capabilities to make your car not start at all if you default on your lease/ loan payment etc. from what i can tell, the actual price is about 600 (not including the volume discount that the dealer will get) and there is no way in heck I am paying a single penny for such a thing.

I know honesty is not the strongest characteristic in a car stealership.. but man this is out of hands
 
I believe Tesla lets you order a car online and have it delivered without any haggling. A huge point in their favor, I just don’t have much use for an electric car yet.
 
asicer said:
The very same stuff you can get at the Costco Tire center for free?
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yupp told them that too , but after i played dumb and have him explain the benefits of nitrogen refill for about 12 mins
 
cowman said:
I believe Tesla lets you order a car online and have it delivered without any haggling. A huge point in their favor, I just don’t have much use for an electric car yet.
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believe they are about 12-14 weeks out for delivery unfortunately
 
murphey said:
Read over parts of the manual - ah, there's a slot for an SD card for the navigation system. Nope, no SD card anywhere. You think Garmin & Jeppesen are picky about the cards? Nothing compared to Mazda.
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yupp, we are looking at Mazda too, and you gotto pay some $399 to buy the card, else you can use CarPlay, and i believe its wireless carpaly with ios at least, or so i have been told. Thats the only dealer we have found so far who hasnt jacked up their prices, but when we go to the next level of "managers" will see where it gets us
 
WannFly said:
3. $2200 for Kahu - a GPS tracking device that whatever company makes for dealership inventory tracking, tracking driving habits (and i can bet they sell that data off), it also have capabilities to make your car not start at all if you default on your lease/ loan payment etc. from what i can tell, the actual price is about 600 (not including the volume discount that the dealer will get) and there is no way in heck I am paying a single penny for such a thing.

I know honesty is not the strongest characteristic in a car stealership.. but man this is out of hands
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This is absolute crazy town. How about $2200 off MSRP because the car isn't worth half that in reality? Idiots.
 
Thats why carvana, shft and the others are getting popular. Find a car online, do the paperwork and its delivered to your house. No sales critter needed. Almost like ordering from amazon.
Tesla is the order and we will call you when it comes in for the new cars. But the used cars are the same as above, order it and it will be delivered.
Co-worker ordered a new Model 3 Performance and a week later it arrived.
 
I bought my 2020 Ranger back on Black Friday before things went nuts. It's crazy that with 12,000 miles on it, it books for more than I paid for it.
 
For all you blokes that hate dealing with dealerships... hire me. I love to screw with them, it has become a sport.. pay me in cheeseburgers.

For instance - sales person threw the owners manual at me and tells me never to come back. Went to battle with the fiance guy who gave me 2.99, when all I wanted was 3.99.. said something to the effect, will you please shut up.? Another fiance guy who I negotiated a low interest rate only to pay off the loan in 30 days called screaming at me.. even used one of those compound words that starts with an F and included a part of our anatomy - I was mortified ;) But the best, was the sales manager... got up an walked out of the pressure room saying, " I don't need this _____ anymore - give him what he wants.."

I will say it may have changed since I bought the last car in 2019... but things are starting to stabilize.. seems that some of the real estate markets and leveling out if not declining a little..
 
Ventucky Red said:
For all you blokes that hate dealing with dealerships... hire me. I love to screw with them, it has become a sport.. pay me in cheeseburgers.
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Me too! have bought a few things over the past few years and I always leave happy when the sales manager and sales guy are thoroughly pizzed off.

I got into such a screaming match once with a sales manger while buying a travel trailer the salesman handed me a $100 bill cash after the manager caved and walked out to try and make things better to resolve the issue!

But I did have to pay MSRP and travel 6 hours for my last truck this past summer cuz the inventory was so low...that one stung but I knew what I was getting into, but they did not get one upsell...that got shut down real quick and they got the message!
 
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What a change from the "old" days. Back in the 1930s my great grandfather bought a Buick from the factory, to be picked up at the factory. He shipped their bags ahead and when he arrived in town took a taxi to the factory. "I'm Floyd St. John. Where's my Buick?" It was out front, warming up, with his bags in the trunk. Try that today.

Our newest car is 8 years old with about 132,000 miles on the clock. It runs fine, so I don't expect to be in the market for a number of years. Thank goodness.
 
Ghery said:
What a change from the "old" days. Back in the 1930s my great grandfather bought a Buick from the factory, to be picked up at the factory. He shipped their bags ahead and when he arrived in town took a taxi to the factory. "I'm Floyd St. John. Where's my Buick?" It was out front, warming up, with his bags in the trunk. Try that today.
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That actually might work if you substitute "BMW" for "Buick".
 
Well, we were able to find a dealership that’s not a complete jack arse after all, we were even able to secure a 3% off MSRP.

On a diff note, the finance guy will probably ban me from entering their premises soon enough. He was not happy with me since he did his best to convince her on a 10 Yr extended warranty or a German car that’s known for reliability only for $12k, she almost agreed and signed on it, until I stepped in and told him to pound sand.
 
WannFly said:
Well, we were able to find a dealership that’s not a complete jack arse after all, we were even able to secure a 3% off MSRP.

On a diff note, the finance guy will probably ban me from entering their premises soon enough. He was not happy with me since he did his best to convince her on a 10 Yr extended warranty or a German car that’s known for reliability only for $12k, she almost agreed and signed on it, until I stepped in and told him to pound sand.
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Holy crap...$12k for a warranty. That is your Archer interior upgrade...sacrilege:)
 
Sorry @WannFly, late to the thread because I was on forced vacation for being more blunt than @Pilots Of America Management allows.

Don't buy new, and don't go to what you call the stealership.

Find a leasing company and tell them you want to buy a lease return. It'll be about 24mo old, around 30k miles, and a much more fair purchase.
 
Ravioli said:
Sorry @WannFly, late to the thread because I was on forced vacation for being more blunt than @Pilots Of America Management allows.

Don't buy new, and don't go to what you call the stealership.

Find a leasing company and tell them you want to buy a lease return. It'll be about 24mo old, around 30k miles, and a much more fair purchase.
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Already bought Rob.
 
wsuffa said:
He said German, not British... ;)
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Not necessarily a good indication. Back in 1987 I had a German coworker who drove a Subaru. In Germany. He pronounced BMW as B M TroubleU. It was not a mistake on his part. He did not like them.

Personally, I've never owned a German car, but I did have a British car for a couple years in the early 1980s. A 1976 MG Midget. You did not walk up to that car without a wrench or screwdriver. It was a mechanics delight. It certainly did add to the bad image of Lucas electrics. "Why do the British drink warm beer? Because they keep it in Lucas refrigerators!" It was a fun car, but I don't miss it at all.
 
I think that era (and slightly newer) of British makes are all pretty horribly unreliable. I don't think that is as much the German problem, at least save a few years in the 90s when they were making wiring harnesses with "biodegradables". But when they do break, they are painful. People don't always understand that the $15k used car that once sold for $95k is going to have $95k car repair bills. At least if you don't get creative/DIY/know a good cheap specialist. I personally love em and their design efficiency, and have owned one or more for all of my adult life, but I can see why some were burned.
 
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