Buying A New Vehicle Can Drive You Nuts

fmdog44

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
I have searched for a special used truck for a couple months with one crazy and annoying episode after another to the point where I pissed off two dealerships as I could not take their attempts to bug me in to buying something else. I changed to new vehicles finally this past Monday. Searching for the exact pickup I want I found two dealerships that showed they had them on their lot. So I called one and he said it is not there yet but will arrive June 4. The next dealership showed two on the website so I called them and said he will check. He came back and said they are not only not there but they have not yet gone in to production! WHAT?! Well to end the agonizing very long and futile if not revealing experience I think I may close the deal this weekend or Monday on a new F150. Dealerships are truly the scourge of humanity. I feel lucky that I have a trace of sanity left in me.
 

When I first got out of the military, I took a job as a car salesman for 3 or 4 months, at a Pontiac dealership, while I was sending out resumes and waiting for interviews in search of an "honest" job. That was a real education....and taught me lessons in car buying that has served me well. Back then, it was rare to see a customer get a really good deal, and things probably haven't changed much since.

A person might be able to get a small economy car for little more than "invoice", but the big pickup trucks are a "cash caw"...both to the manufacturer, And the dealer. When I was fixing computers, I often went to the huge Ford Claycomo plant, just North of Kansas City. That huge plant makes pickups, and I saw some data on just how much it costs to make one, vs. the invoice price.
 

Wish we could put an end to the whole dealer system, it is awful, and adds a lot of cost. If we could just buy online directly from manufacturers it would be both less painful and less costly.

Last few cars I purchased I have tried going the online route, and it can save some of the aggravation, but still seems impossible to buy a new car without a lot of it...
 
UGH.... I can relate.... And it don't matter new or used most of the time... We have been hunting a truck for several months, used and I have a specific set-up in mind... 95% of the sales folks I see or talk to are pushy on something else they have,
And apparently dont know the meaning of not interested
 
My recommended attitude and approach: Know what you want and accept no substitutes. Know what the vehicle is worth (or cost if new) and when you find it, offer the seller a little more. If he/she balks or starts giving you BS, walk. There will another one .
 
JonDouglas said:
My recommended attitude and approach: Know what you want and accept no substitutes. Know what the vehicle is worth (or cost if new) and when you find it, offer the seller a little more. If he/she balks or starts giving you BS, walk. There will another one .
Click to expand...
That's me. I demand it on line or over the phone then they say, "No, get him to come in and we will manipulate him in to buying what he does not want". That's called "salesmanship." I love it in a devilish way because I never go in to a dealership "needing" a ride. My attitude is they need to sell while I don't need to buy. It kills them. I was at a Dodge Ram dealership a few weeks ago and there four people trying to close me. At one point there was three of them and one of me in a cubicle fighting over my demand for what I want for my trade in. Finally when the circle jerk was over another person came up to me as I was leaving and said "I will get you what you ask for your truck." I left and yesterday I bought a F150 from a dealership near by. One hint: Never dress like you have money. I own a Movado watch and it looks as expensive as it was ( my retirement gift to myself)) and another watch that cost me about 10% of what I paid for the Movado. I wore the cheaper watch when I bought the F150.
 

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