Car dealership horror stories

[Storer50]

Just wondered if any of you had less than stellar dealings at car dealerships? I have been thrown out of one for yelling when it took an hour and a half to figure out who would make the sales commission, before they even told me the price of the vehicle. I walked out of one after waiting a few hours for the sales manager to get back with the corvette he wasn't supposed to be driving, and then today when the local chevy stealership told me the part to fix my headlight started out at a thousand bucks.

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[WiregrassBenGal]

(11-14-2019, 06:23 AM)Storer50 Wrote: Just wondered if any of you had less than stellar dealings at car dealerships? I have been thrown out of one for yelling when it took an hour and a half to figure out who would make the sales commission, before they even told me the price of the vehicle. I walked out of one after waiting a few hours for the sales manager to get back with the corvette he wasn't supposed to be driving, and then today when the local chevy stealership told me the part to fix my headlight started out at a thousand bucks.

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Off the top of my head I remember in 1997 when I was shown a four-year-old Mercury Tracer with low miles and then told the price would be $12 grand (ridiculous, since that's what a new once cost back then) and then having to beg to get my car keys back so I could get out of there. That was north of Orlando, Florida in case you're wondering. 

[Benton]

I always looked young, so it used to drive me crazy when I'd go to a lot in my late 20's/early 30's and when someone would finally talk to me, they'd say something along the lines of "If you're really interested, bring your dad and we'll take it for a drive."

[*Synric*]

I wouldnt say horror story but I'll never forget when I bought my first brand new car not a used car. It was a KIA I was 20 and when they asked how I was going to pay credit debit cashiers check... I said cash and pulled out a baggy with 16.5 in it LoL. The womans eyes go so huge and they got 4 employees together and took the cash straight to the bank.

[HarleyDog]

Once when I worked at a car dealership, some kid came in and gave me 16.5k cash for a KIA on the lot. We were a Ford dealership. Still today, I have no clue who's car he drove off with?  

[Goalpost]

I'm looking for a car myself. Times have changed. I've been searching on line. Car Gurus mainly. I've also been looking at rentals. Even though they have slightly higher miles, Enterprise, Hertz, etc do lots of service checks on them. No haggle is the way to go.

[jfkbengals]

Damn, I was thinking this thread was going to be about Haunted Dealerships.

Thought maybe I would finally figure out where Christine was originally purchased from!

[kalibengal]

(11-14-2019, 11:11 AM)WiregrassBenGal Wrote: Off the top of my head I remember in 1997 when I was shown a four-year-old Mercury Tracer with low miles and then told the price would be $12 grand (ridiculous, since that's what a new once cost back then) and then having to beg to get my car keys back so I could get out of there. That was north of Orlando, Florida in case you're wondering. 

in my younger days, when I bought used cars...I have gone nuclear in dealerships on many occasions. Stick to your guns..they are all slime bags...and they know it when you call them out on the BS they are slinging. 

[jfkbengals]

(11-17-2019, 01:05 PM)kalibengal Wrote: in my younger days, when I bought used cars...I have gone nuclear in dealerships on many occasions. Stick to your guns..they are all slime bags...and they know it when you call them out on the BS they are slinging. 

Not all.

CarMax is on the up and up.

My better half was looking for a new car about 8 years ago and went in to the local CarMax to look at a Ford Focus she saw listed online that seemed like a great deal.  When they brought the car out to her, she questioned the price tag on it and showed the online listing.  Turns out they listed the same car twice, one for what it was supposed to be, and one in place of the 5 year older model they also had on the lot.  They corrected the listing while she was standing there while showing what the correct car was.  They then pointed out that she could not be prohibited from buying the newer car at the lower price that day because it would be false advertising.  She bought it that day.  Two years later she traded that car in for a brand new car, and the trade in she got was still more than what she paid for the vehicle two years earlier!

[Fan_in_Kettering]

(11-17-2019, 01:43 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: Not all.

CarMax is on the up and up.

My better half was looking for a new car about 8 years ago and went in to the local CarMax to look at a Ford Focus she saw listed online that seemed like a great deal.  When they brought the car out to her, she questioned the price tag on it and showed the online listing.  Turns out they listed the same car twice, one for what it was supposed to be, and one in place of the 5 year older model they also had on the lot.  They corrected the listing while she was standing there while showing what the correct car was.  They then pointed out that she could not be prohibited from buying the newer car at the lower price that day because it would be false advertising.  She bought it that day.  Two years later she traded that car in for a brand new car, and the trade in she got was still more than what she paid for the vehicle two years earlier!

Absolutely. I bought our last two cars at CarMax; one for my wife and one for my daughter. It was a pleasant experience.

I also give props to Foreign Exchange. I’ve driven Volvo since ‘98 and they are just fantastic with maintenance and upkeep. So is Tremaine Volvo near Dayton.

[jfkbengals]

(11-17-2019, 02:39 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Absolutely.  I bought our last two cars at CarMax; one for my wife and one for my daughter.  It was a pleasant experience.

I also give props to Foreign Exchange.  I’ve driven Volvo since ‘98 and they are just fantastic with maintenance and upkeep.  So is Tremaine Volvo near Dayton.

The other nice thing with CarMax is the 1 week period to return the vehicle.

[George Cantstandya]

Overall I don't think all car dealers are all scum bags.  They are just trying to use every trick in the book to sell their cars for as much as possible. It's just business and they know all the buttons to push to maximize profits.  It isn't like car dealers are alone in that.  They know a lot of people just want to get the buying process over with or are making impulse decisions and use that to their advantage.  Their worst enemy is the educated consumer who is in no hurry and is willing to walk away.    

My tips for buying a car:

1.  Wait until the last quarter of the year and or the last week of the month.  That is when dealers are trying to meet their sales goals.

2.  Do a ton of research on the value of the car you want and walk in to the dealership knowing the max you are willing to pay based on that research.  The Internet is such a valuable tool when car shopping.  Take that research with you, Blue Book value, Carfax info etc.  Dealers are banking on consumers coming in blind with no idea of the true value of the cars they are selling.  Their bread and butter is the consumer that shows up and just wants that car no matter what.  (That's also how they suck a lot of people into shitty financing with high interest rates. So knowing your true credit availability and options is another important factor if you need financing).

3.  If given the time go to dealerships that have a car similar to the one you want or even not the same model car at all but in the same price range and get an offer.  If the offer is close to the car you want even though you have no real interest in buying that car, take that offer to the dealer that has the car you want.  Give them, "Here is what the other dealer offered on another car I'm looking at."  Yes many dealers are used to smart consumers but it is still surprisingly effective.

4.  This is the biggest one. Be ready to walk away no matter how interested you are in the car.  Car dealers make a ton of money based on impulse and emotion.  Sure, maybe you fell in love with the car and really, really, really want it.  But that is what they are counting on.  If they can't match your offer then be willing to walk away instead of getting into the haggling thing where they come back with "I talked it over with the manager and the best we can do is take another $500 off."  If the counter offer doesn't meet your educated expectations (see above) and you are still serious about the car tell them no thanks and to contact you if they change their mind and then leave.  Thank them for their time and just walk away.  In my experience this is very effective.

Last year my mom needed to buy a car and asked me to help her do the shopping.  We found the one she wanted, went through the whole "have to talk to the manager thing".  The dealer came back with a "final offer, best we can do," around $1,500 over what I thought she should pay.  I told him no thanks and we will look around.  No kidding, as we were driving out of the lot I saw him in the rear view mirror running after us waving his arms to get is to stop. At first I thought there was some kind of emergency and that was why he was flagging us down.  We stopped and suddenly our offer was fair and they decided to take it.

Cars are not high volume items when it comes to sales and cars of most every model are not rare or hard to find. In most cases there are not going to be several people looking to buy the exact same car on the lot which gives the advantage to the consumer if they understand that. That car will most likely be sitting on the lot the next day. If not, and someone else buys it, guess what there is probably another one just like it for sale in your area. So the consumer can get a better deal if they are willing to be patient, not give in to "I need/want this" emotion, and do their research.

[*Awful Llama*]

Not so much of a horror story, but I had a somewhat interesting encounter.

I bought a new car back in March. It was a routine transaction for the most part, except the salesman I was working with was dealing with some sort of flop sweat. I mean, we were just sitting there doing the normal paperwork and such, and he was sweating like Nixon. It was just dripping off his hands. I then spent the remainder of our time together wondering how, after it was all over, I was going to get out of there without having to shake SpongeBobs's hand. Our business having concluded, he was walking me toward the door when another salesperson approached to ask him a question. I seized the opportunity and put some space between us, turning as I fled toward the car to wave goodbye. Disaster averted.

Ew.

[grampahol]

My opinion is that anyone who buys a new car off the lot deserves whatever pain they get. After all it's not AS IF nobody has ever heard about the sleezy reputations of car dealerships or something..  6-8 years old is about right.. That doesn't even mention the notion of instant depreciation. The second you sign on the dotted line you give up all rights to a fair deal.. the same applies to cell phones by the way..

[grampahol]

(11-17-2019, 05:11 PM)George Cantstandya Wrote: Overall I don't think all car dealers are all scum bags.  They are just trying to use every trick in the book to sell their cars for as much as possible. It's just business and they know all the buttons to push to maximize profits.  It isn't like car dealers are alone in that.  They know a lot of people just want to get the buying process over with or are making impulse decisions and use that to their advantage.  Their worst enemy is the educated consumer who is in no hurry and is willing to walk away.    

My tips for buying a car:

1.  Wait until the last quarter of the year and or the last week of the month.  That is when dealers are trying to meet their sales goals.

2.  Do a ton of research on the value of the car you want and walk in to the dealership knowing the max you are willing to pay based on that research.  The Internet is such a valuable tool when car shopping.  Take that research with you, Blue Book value, Carfax info etc.  Dealers are banking on consumers coming in blind with no idea of the true value of the cars they are selling.  Their bread and butter is the consumer that shows up and just wants that car no matter what.  (That's also how they suck a lot of people into shitty financing with high interest rates.  So knowing your true credit availability and options is another important factor if you need financing).

3.  If given the time go to dealerships that have a car similar to the one you want or even not the same model car at all but in the same price range and get an offer.  If the offer is close to the car you want even though you have no real interest in buying that car, take that offer to the dealer that has the car you want.  Give them, "Here is what the other dealer offered on another car I'm looking at."  Yes many dealers are used to smart consumers but it is still surprisingly effective.

4.  This is the biggest one. Be ready to walk away no matter how interested you are in the car.  Car dealers make a ton of money based on impulse and emotion.  Sure, maybe you fell in love with the car and really, really, really want it.  But that is what they are counting on.  If they can't match your offer then be willing to walk away instead of getting into the haggling thing where they come back with "I talked it over with the manager and the best we can do is take another $500 off."  If the counter offer doesn't meet your educated expectations (see above) and you are still serious about the car tell them no thanks and to contact you if they change their mind and then leave.  Thank them for their time and just walk away.  In my experience this is very effective.

Last year my mom needed to buy a car and asked me to help her do the shopping.  We found the one she wanted, went through the whole "have to talk to the manager thing".  The dealer came back with a "final offer, best we can do," around $1,500 over what I thought she should pay.  I told him no thanks and we will look around.  No kidding, as we were driving out of the lot I saw him in the rear view mirror running after us waving his arms to get is to stop. At first I thought there was some kind of emergency and that was why he was flagging us down.  We stopped and suddenly our offer was fair and they decided to take it.

Cars are not high volume items when it comes to sales and cars of most every model are not rare or hard to find.  In most cases there are not going to be several people looking to buy the exact same car on the lot which gives the advantage to the consumer if they understand that. That car will most likely be sitting on the lot the next day.  If not, and someone else buys it, guess what there is probably another one just like it for sale in your area. So the consumer can get a better deal if they are willing to be patient, not give in to "I need/want this" emotion, and do their research.

Unless you JUST won the states biggest lottery drawing of the past 50 years be prepared to get screwed..  Lol

[*Synric*]

(11-17-2019, 11:58 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: Once when I worked at a car dealership, some kid came in and gave me 16.5k cash for a KIA on the lot. We were a Ford dealership. Still today, I have no clue who's car he drove off with?  

Lol I got a clean title it's all good. Ex Wife totalled it she was driving through a place they were doing construction going 5 miles an hour she took a tire off the side and it twisted the frame..

[fredtoast]

In the late '90's I had a Ford Probe. The radio would go on and off randomly. It was still under warranty, but when I took it to the dealership there was never any problem. At one point they replaced the radio but that did not fix the problem.

After the warranty had expired I had the car in a different Ford dealership garage just to get an estimate on some body damage. While it was there the radio went out. I told them that since there was a record that I had taken the car in to have the radio serviced while it was still under warranty then they still had to fix it under warranty. The service manager told me that was correct, but that I had to take the car back to the dealership that had failed to fix it. I raised holy hell about how a warranty from Ford should be good at any dealership. Finally he told me that he would have his men look at it and if they could fix it without having to order any new parts he would do it. They found a problem in the wiring and I never had the problem again.

The guy at the second dealership was just following official policy when he told me I would have to take it bac tot he original dealership. He was the one who dealt with most of my wrath, but he ended up helping me. The first dealership that could never find the problem were the ones who should have gotten chewed out.

[*bfine32*]

Anyone had any experience with Carbana?

[reuben.ahmed]

The BMW dealer here broke the batwing on my convertible. I dropped the car off for service, batwing working. Pick it up, batwing broken. Told them they did it. They said no, this part breaks around htis time. It's $700 to fix it. I told them you fix it for free or I don't come back here. Said it loud enough so other customers could hear. They did not fix it, I did not go back.

On my way out a kid said he didn't do it, but saw the other guy who did (who apparently didn't know how to remove something on the car).

The dealer I bought my car from was much cooler, I used to test drive any car, they'd throw me the keys and tell me to come back the next day. I did that for almost a full year before actually buying it.