Another New Car in the Driveway

[Steelerz1]

As you said, with all due respect ... maybe it's not just the dealerships?

Maybe not...not sure if you are saying that maybe I or other prospective buyers are part of the problem? I am sure there are many factors. As far as me personally I just expect to be treated fairly and respectfully and that's the way I treat others. I also research the crap out of any big purchase and pretty much know ahead of time what a fair price is for something. I am not going to do business with someone that quotes me a price upfront and then will not honor it , wasting my time in the process. I have never tried to weasel my way to the cheapest price for anything. I don't enjoy shopping that much...just want to get in and get out as quickly as possible without getting taken to the cleaners.

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[Roaddogg4040]

There are two kinds of car buyers: Those looking for nothing more than the least amount of money they can spend on a single deal and those looking to build a relationship with a dealership so that they can avoid having to do it all over again when they need another/more new vehicles in the future. People who are in the first group will never get much respect, whereas people in the second group will -- far beyond that single purchase.

In 2002, we moved to the area we live in now. In 2006, we needed a new car. I walked into the local Ford/Lincoln dealership and had a conversation with the salesperson I had picked out. One of the first things I told him was, "I'm not here (just) to buy a car -- I'm here to build a relationship."

I did end up buying a car from that dealership that day. Over the past nearly 20 years, we've have purchased 15 new Ford and Lincoln vehicles from that building. Ownership changed hands after the second vehicle we purchased, but since then we've purchased every vehicle from the same salesman with the exception of the last two (last week and yesterday), and those we purchased from our former salesman's son. Our regular guy retired and his son started working there a couple years ago.

During these past 2 decades, that dealership has gone WAY above and beyond for us. For example, the owner had me in a rental vehicle at no cost to me for over 2 months while they were working on getting Bluecruise working in my 2021 Job 1 F150 (This was on Ford engineering, not the dealership, as my truck ended up being one of the first 2021 Job 1 F150s to get BC working after the OTA update failure debacle). Another example is I was offered first dibs when they got their first allocation for a 3rd Gen GT500 when they reappeared in 2020. I could go on an on about how well they have treated us over the years.

I guarantee you that I many (most) of my trade in values on my vehicles have been SIGNIFICANTLY higher there versus what other dealerships had and/or would offer me.

Bottom line, you can treat a dealership like a grocery store and try to get the best deal on a single purchase. But in the end, if you build that relationship, you will come out far more ahead down the road than just a few hundred dollars.

For me it’s not that “last few hundred dollars” at all. One of my headaches is actually getting sale done and signed without having to spend 2-3 days just trying to get numbers into somewhere even close to reality. I’ve had sales people take off for 15-30 minutes to try to find an answer to a fairly easy question. One more fun thing is they tell you they will really take care on me as a customer then as soon as you get to the “deal” and they send you off to F&I guy they disappear themselves and get really hard to get a hold of. Oh well at my age I prolly only have a few more cars and trucks to go through this buying nightmare buying dance again.

 

[UGADawg96]

There is a reason Granger sells so many vehicles to out of state folks. There is also a reason CarMax sells as many vehicles as they do. The buying of a vehicle should not be so adversarial or predatory.

 

[roadPilot]

For me it’s not that “last few hundred dollars” at all. One of my headaches is actually getting sale done and signed without having to spend 2-3 days just trying to get numbers into somewhere even close to reality. I’ve had sales people take off for 15-30 minutes to try to find an answer to a fairly easy question. One more fun thing is they tell you they will really take care on me as a customer then as soon as you get to the “deal” and they send you off to F&I guy they disappear themselves and get really hard to get a hold of. Oh well at my age I prolly only have a few more cars and trucks to go through this buying nightmare buying dance again.

Not my experience.

I've purchased two new vehicles in the last 2 weeks alone. Don't think I spent more than 10 minutes "getting numbers", and the only time spent with the F&I guy was to sign the purchase agreement, the title & registration paperwork and a few other required forms. I don't finance there. No questions about anything, no attempts to sell me a thing.

Perhaps that's what I get for building that relationship instead of running between dealerships to get the rock bottom price.

 

[Roaddogg4040]

Not my experience.

I've purchased two new vehicles in the last 2 weeks alone. Don't think I spent more than 10 minutes "getting numbers", and the only time spent with the F&I guy was to sign the purchase agreement, the title & registration paperwork and a few other required forms. I don't finance there. No questions about anything, no attempts to sell me a thing.

Perhaps that's what I get for building that relationship instead of running between dealerships to get the rock bottom price.

I’ve never shopped dealerships ever. I try to buy local and I’ve never tried to get that last dollar either. I’m sure you are a great car buyer and I guess I suck at it. Wish I had someone with that talent to buy for me.

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