Peculiar incident at a car dealer
-
A friend and I went to an authorized Hyundai used-car dealer yesterday as he's looking to buy a car. He was interested in an Elantra (2004) and he asked for the price. The salesman said it was 12,000. My friend (who's new to the country) said he was looking for something cheaper (around 8K or so). Then this guy went in, got the keys and insisted that we drive the car. He said if we did that he will see if he can drop the price. So we took a 5 minute test drive, and while the car ran okay, there were some odd noises throughout the ride. Then the guy took us inside and after a few minutes of going inside came back with a weird price (9457 or 9387 or some such hard to remember number). He said he would give that price if my friend purchased it right then. My friend replied that the price was still high and even if it wasn't he wasn't going to commit to anything right then. He said he'd need 4-5 days to think about it. So I asked them to give him a price that'd be valid for the entire week. Then another guy (the first guy's manager) came in and both of them again tried to push my friend to buying it right away. They said if he agreed to that, they'd further reduce the price - but would tell the price only if he agreed to buy it right away (how they expected him to commit to an as-yet unknown price is beyond me). The 2nd guy said this was a trade-in and they never tried to make money off trade-ins and so this is a great bargain etc. After my friend (who was quite uncomfortable by now as was I) insisted he can't buy it right then, they said we could buy it then, drive it home, and if we didn't like it then my friend can return it after 2 days. Obviously this sounded very odd - I didn't even think they meant what they said. Then a 3rd guy (probably the 2nd guy's manager came in). I had a phone call I had to take so I had to get up and move slightly away but I could still see/hear was what going on. This guy started insisting (a little rudely I thought) that this is a great deal and he should buy it right that day. He said the car wouldn't be there the next day as it was such a good car and such a great price. In fact, he also used some Hindi sentences seeing that my friend and I were Indian (the 3rd guy looked like he was from India or Pakistan). Sadly my friend could barely understand Hindi (I don't understand it either) so we don't really know what he said. At that point the 3rd guy got more rude and said my friend was lying - that he didn't plan to buy the car and that's why he asked for 5 days. My friend a
Some day, I'll write an article on the tricks that car salesmen (and other salesmen) use with customers. My first professional programming gig was with a rather large car chain here in the UK. I was lucky!?!?!?! enough to get an insight into the tricks that salesmen play. Here are a couple as a teaser: 1. How much are you prepared to pay weekly? Most people will take a monthly figure and divide by 4, forgetting that there are more than 4 weeks in a month. 2. When a salesman goes to "see the manager to get a deal for you" he's not really doing that. He's only trying to appear to be nice to you so that you'll think he's your friend when he comes back with a derisory offer. Remember - when buying a car; the salesman is not your friend - he's trying to gouge out as much money from you as possible. He doesn't care if you're left homeless - he just wants nice trims on his Ferrari.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
-
A friend and I went to an authorized Hyundai used-car dealer yesterday as he's looking to buy a car. He was interested in an Elantra (2004) and he asked for the price. The salesman said it was 12,000. My friend (who's new to the country) said he was looking for something cheaper (around 8K or so). Then this guy went in, got the keys and insisted that we drive the car. He said if we did that he will see if he can drop the price. So we took a 5 minute test drive, and while the car ran okay, there were some odd noises throughout the ride. Then the guy took us inside and after a few minutes of going inside came back with a weird price (9457 or 9387 or some such hard to remember number). He said he would give that price if my friend purchased it right then. My friend replied that the price was still high and even if it wasn't he wasn't going to commit to anything right then. He said he'd need 4-5 days to think about it. So I asked them to give him a price that'd be valid for the entire week. Then another guy (the first guy's manager) came in and both of them again tried to push my friend to buying it right away. They said if he agreed to that, they'd further reduce the price - but would tell the price only if he agreed to buy it right away (how they expected him to commit to an as-yet unknown price is beyond me). The 2nd guy said this was a trade-in and they never tried to make money off trade-ins and so this is a great bargain etc. After my friend (who was quite uncomfortable by now as was I) insisted he can't buy it right then, they said we could buy it then, drive it home, and if we didn't like it then my friend can return it after 2 days. Obviously this sounded very odd - I didn't even think they meant what they said. Then a 3rd guy (probably the 2nd guy's manager came in). I had a phone call I had to take so I had to get up and move slightly away but I could still see/hear was what going on. This guy started insisting (a little rudely I thought) that this is a great deal and he should buy it right that day. He said the car wouldn't be there the next day as it was such a good car and such a great price. In fact, he also used some Hindi sentences seeing that my friend and I were Indian (the 3rd guy looked like he was from India or Pakistan). Sadly my friend could barely understand Hindi (I don't understand it either) so we don't really know what he said. At that point the 3rd guy got more rude and said my friend was lying - that he didn't plan to buy the car and that's why he asked for 5 days. My friend a
The test drive bit is a common underhanded thing they do at car dealerships. They ask to see a valid drivers license for the test drive, note down the info or keep the license until you come back and while you're gone they do a credit check using the drivers license info so they know exactly how much you can afford to spend then bargain accordingly. In other words the game is rigged in their favor the moment they get your drivers license.
"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." - Walter Bagehot
-
Colin Angus Mackay wrote:
I travelled 200 miles
There is a dealer named Dave Smith in Kellogg, Idaho and people drive from all over the U.S. to buy his cars. It's funny, you can't ever seem to find a good car near where you live, but if you drive anything over 100 miles the options seem to get better.
"Pigs don't know pigs stink."
-
A friend and I went to an authorized Hyundai used-car dealer yesterday as he's looking to buy a car. He was interested in an Elantra (2004) and he asked for the price. The salesman said it was 12,000. My friend (who's new to the country) said he was looking for something cheaper (around 8K or so). Then this guy went in, got the keys and insisted that we drive the car. He said if we did that he will see if he can drop the price. So we took a 5 minute test drive, and while the car ran okay, there were some odd noises throughout the ride. Then the guy took us inside and after a few minutes of going inside came back with a weird price (9457 or 9387 or some such hard to remember number). He said he would give that price if my friend purchased it right then. My friend replied that the price was still high and even if it wasn't he wasn't going to commit to anything right then. He said he'd need 4-5 days to think about it. So I asked them to give him a price that'd be valid for the entire week. Then another guy (the first guy's manager) came in and both of them again tried to push my friend to buying it right away. They said if he agreed to that, they'd further reduce the price - but would tell the price only if he agreed to buy it right away (how they expected him to commit to an as-yet unknown price is beyond me). The 2nd guy said this was a trade-in and they never tried to make money off trade-ins and so this is a great bargain etc. After my friend (who was quite uncomfortable by now as was I) insisted he can't buy it right then, they said we could buy it then, drive it home, and if we didn't like it then my friend can return it after 2 days. Obviously this sounded very odd - I didn't even think they meant what they said. Then a 3rd guy (probably the 2nd guy's manager came in). I had a phone call I had to take so I had to get up and move slightly away but I could still see/hear was what going on. This guy started insisting (a little rudely I thought) that this is a great deal and he should buy it right that day. He said the car wouldn't be there the next day as it was such a good car and such a great price. In fact, he also used some Hindi sentences seeing that my friend and I were Indian (the 3rd guy looked like he was from India or Pakistan). Sadly my friend could barely understand Hindi (I don't understand it either) so we don't really know what he said. At that point the 3rd guy got more rude and said my friend was lying - that he didn't plan to buy the car and that's why he asked for 5 days. My friend a
I had a similar experience in Sydney. My sister was taking me shopping for my first car. The salesmen at one place were getting really really pushy. I told them that I would look at the other dealers in the area, then if I couldn't find anything else, I would consider buying this car. He told me that while I did that, he would ring his manager and try and get a cheaper price. I gave him my mobile number to call me only if he could get a cheaper price. Later that day, I found a much better car (a Subaru Impreza), and bought it. This guy from the first dealer rang me. I didnt want to talk to him, so I handed the phone to my brother in-law. The guy from the dealer told him that I had agreed to buy the car, and it was ready to be picked up. My bro in-law told this guy that he was an idiot and should not be working in a sales job, and hung up on him. They tried to call me 4 or 5 times that week, so I had to get their number blocked.
-
Some day, I'll write an article on the tricks that car salesmen (and other salesmen) use with customers. My first professional programming gig was with a rather large car chain here in the UK. I was lucky!?!?!?! enough to get an insight into the tricks that salesmen play. Here are a couple as a teaser: 1. How much are you prepared to pay weekly? Most people will take a monthly figure and divide by 4, forgetting that there are more than 4 weeks in a month. 2. When a salesman goes to "see the manager to get a deal for you" he's not really doing that. He's only trying to appear to be nice to you so that you'll think he's your friend when he comes back with a derisory offer. Remember - when buying a car; the salesman is not your friend - he's trying to gouge out as much money from you as possible. He doesn't care if you're left homeless - he just wants nice trims on his Ferrari.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
Pete O'Hanlon wrote:
1. How much are you prepared to pay weekly?
Why would that matter? I get paid monthly, as I'm sure most of us here do.
-
I had a similar experience in Sydney. My sister was taking me shopping for my first car. The salesmen at one place were getting really really pushy. I told them that I would look at the other dealers in the area, then if I couldn't find anything else, I would consider buying this car. He told me that while I did that, he would ring his manager and try and get a cheaper price. I gave him my mobile number to call me only if he could get a cheaper price. Later that day, I found a much better car (a Subaru Impreza), and bought it. This guy from the first dealer rang me. I didnt want to talk to him, so I handed the phone to my brother in-law. The guy from the dealer told him that I had agreed to buy the car, and it was ready to be picked up. My bro in-law told this guy that he was an idiot and should not be working in a sales job, and hung up on him. They tried to call me 4 or 5 times that week, so I had to get their number blocked.
Thunderbox666 wrote:
Subaru Impreza
:omg: :rose:
-
A friend and I went to an authorized Hyundai used-car dealer yesterday as he's looking to buy a car. He was interested in an Elantra (2004) and he asked for the price. The salesman said it was 12,000. My friend (who's new to the country) said he was looking for something cheaper (around 8K or so). Then this guy went in, got the keys and insisted that we drive the car. He said if we did that he will see if he can drop the price. So we took a 5 minute test drive, and while the car ran okay, there were some odd noises throughout the ride. Then the guy took us inside and after a few minutes of going inside came back with a weird price (9457 or 9387 or some such hard to remember number). He said he would give that price if my friend purchased it right then. My friend replied that the price was still high and even if it wasn't he wasn't going to commit to anything right then. He said he'd need 4-5 days to think about it. So I asked them to give him a price that'd be valid for the entire week. Then another guy (the first guy's manager) came in and both of them again tried to push my friend to buying it right away. They said if he agreed to that, they'd further reduce the price - but would tell the price only if he agreed to buy it right away (how they expected him to commit to an as-yet unknown price is beyond me). The 2nd guy said this was a trade-in and they never tried to make money off trade-ins and so this is a great bargain etc. After my friend (who was quite uncomfortable by now as was I) insisted he can't buy it right then, they said we could buy it then, drive it home, and if we didn't like it then my friend can return it after 2 days. Obviously this sounded very odd - I didn't even think they meant what they said. Then a 3rd guy (probably the 2nd guy's manager came in). I had a phone call I had to take so I had to get up and move slightly away but I could still see/hear was what going on. This guy started insisting (a little rudely I thought) that this is a great deal and he should buy it right that day. He said the car wouldn't be there the next day as it was such a good car and such a great price. In fact, he also used some Hindi sentences seeing that my friend and I were Indian (the 3rd guy looked like he was from India or Pakistan). Sadly my friend could barely understand Hindi (I don't understand it either) so we don't really know what he said. At that point the 3rd guy got more rude and said my friend was lying - that he didn't plan to buy the car and that's why he asked for 5 days. My friend a
Google 'confessions of a user car dealer' - It was an article published (I think) at 'Edmunds.com' or somewhere. One of the journalists went and worked as a dealer in three different lots for a month or so each, and wrote a diary of his experiences. Your account sounds exactly the same as the ones in those articles. The reason you got passed around was to try out different 'closers'. These guys use different techniques on people - sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Some abuse people, and they feel intimidated and sign up. Some try to be your friend, so you sign up to help them out. Of course they are trying to rip you off- the thin margins, intense competition and difficult trading conditions mean they will try and take anyone for a ride who looks like they will fall for it. I wouldn't feel upset or bother following it up with anyone. Just take your business elsewhere, and anywhere that gives you the same techniques, just walk out without a further word. Or, you can give your phone number on a card, walk out and go home. They'll be on the phone, no problem at all. Last time I bought from a used dealer I strung the negotiations out over a week and got the price reduced by about 20%, plus got the vehicle serviced and some repairs made. I even got a full tank of fuel in the deal. The reason is I decided on the vehicle I wanted, then told them the price I wanted. They refused of course, but in each step between the price they wanted and my starting price, I extracted concessions. In the end we met about halfway but by then I had added the aforementioned service, minor repairs and the final concession was a full tank. You've just got to take it seriously, and not personally. Realise the salesman has a wife and kids to feed, and he's just playing the game to feed them as well as he can.
Bruce Chapman iFinity.com.au - Websites and Software Development | Do you need a specialist DotNetNuke developer? Plithy remark available in Beta 2
-
Pete O'Hanlon wrote:
1. How much are you prepared to pay weekly?
Why would that matter? I get paid monthly, as I'm sure most of us here do.
Let's say you get paid 10,000 per month. You've decided to spend 1,000 per month on a car. So the guy asks 'how much weekly'. You respond '250'. He says, OK, puts it into his payment plan. Only 250 / week is 13,000 per year, not 12,000 as you thought, or, 1083 per month, not 1000 of your budget. Multiply the extra 83/month by the leverage of financing, and all of a sudden you've got a contract in front of you with a vehicle much more expensive than you had planned. And he says 'you said $250 a week' - which you did.
Bruce Chapman iFinity.com.au - Websites and Software Development | Do you need a specialist DotNetNuke developer? Plithy remark available in Beta 2
-
Pete O'Hanlon wrote:
1. How much are you prepared to pay weekly?
Why would that matter? I get paid monthly, as I'm sure most of us here do.
Bruce's answer is spot on. It takes into account that people are generally bad at math, and they get caught by a basic error.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
-
Bruce's answer is spot on. It takes into account that people are generally bad at math, and they get caught by a basic error.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
Yes, but my point is that the salesman bringing up a weekly amount would immediately raise suspicion, even if I couldn't do maths at all myself. If I say I want to spend x per month, and he brings up y per week, I'm immediately going to dismiss the weekly amount as irrelevant, without even going as far as multiplying it by either 4 or by 52.
-
A friend and I went to an authorized Hyundai used-car dealer yesterday as he's looking to buy a car. He was interested in an Elantra (2004) and he asked for the price. The salesman said it was 12,000. My friend (who's new to the country) said he was looking for something cheaper (around 8K or so). Then this guy went in, got the keys and insisted that we drive the car. He said if we did that he will see if he can drop the price. So we took a 5 minute test drive, and while the car ran okay, there were some odd noises throughout the ride. Then the guy took us inside and after a few minutes of going inside came back with a weird price (9457 or 9387 or some such hard to remember number). He said he would give that price if my friend purchased it right then. My friend replied that the price was still high and even if it wasn't he wasn't going to commit to anything right then. He said he'd need 4-5 days to think about it. So I asked them to give him a price that'd be valid for the entire week. Then another guy (the first guy's manager) came in and both of them again tried to push my friend to buying it right away. They said if he agreed to that, they'd further reduce the price - but would tell the price only if he agreed to buy it right away (how they expected him to commit to an as-yet unknown price is beyond me). The 2nd guy said this was a trade-in and they never tried to make money off trade-ins and so this is a great bargain etc. After my friend (who was quite uncomfortable by now as was I) insisted he can't buy it right then, they said we could buy it then, drive it home, and if we didn't like it then my friend can return it after 2 days. Obviously this sounded very odd - I didn't even think they meant what they said. Then a 3rd guy (probably the 2nd guy's manager came in). I had a phone call I had to take so I had to get up and move slightly away but I could still see/hear was what going on. This guy started insisting (a little rudely I thought) that this is a great deal and he should buy it right that day. He said the car wouldn't be there the next day as it was such a good car and such a great price. In fact, he also used some Hindi sentences seeing that my friend and I were Indian (the 3rd guy looked like he was from India or Pakistan). Sadly my friend could barely understand Hindi (I don't understand it either) so we don't really know what he said. At that point the 3rd guy got more rude and said my friend was lying - that he didn't plan to buy the car and that's why he asked for 5 days. My friend a
A suggestion for next time: Instead of visiting a random dealership, look for one that advertises as no hassle/haggle. You'll be spared the high pressure sales approach, and instead of trying to swindle you for well over book value unless you manage to argue them down to it, offer what the book says are dealer sale prices upfront. Even if you don't end up buying there the few dealerships I visited after that one all cut back on the amount of crap they threw my way after I mentioned it.
Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall
-
I think she is referring to the crazy nutters in the car dealership. I've found it quite difficult to buy a car from someone what I actually liked. The last car I bought I travelled 200 miles to a dealership because I couldn't find any local dealerships that would sell me the car at the price that I wanted.
Recent blog posts: * Introduction to LINQ to XML (Part 1) - (Part 2) - (part 3) My website | Blog
My experience so far has been two good, one bad out of three dealers I've tried. When buying my first car in August 2002, I was looking for a Ford Focus. (I tend to select the model first then shop around for the actual car.) At the time, the main Ford dealer in Reading had two garages, one on Bath Road (formerly called Horncastle), the other on Basingstoke Road. Both were now owned by Reg Vardy. My parents got their Escort serviced at Bath Road so I went there first. I stated at the outset that I was looking to pay cash as I'd saved up, rather than get a finance deal, but the salesman kept on and on about finance before even showing me cars, and after about ten minutes I got up and walked out. Then I drove (my parents' car) over to their other location, where the (older) salesman did a great job of finding out what I wanted. He didn't really have anything in my price range in stock but there was a slightly newer, more expensive one on the forecourt, so we took it for a test drive. I fell in love with it even though it was supposed to be the 1.8 litre, more than I was after (and generally considered the worst engine, as it had the 2.0's cast-iron engine block but not bored out to the same diameter, so actually weighing more than the 2.0). Looking at the paperwork we discovered it was actually the 1.6 (brilliant piece of sticker work there), so he discounted it a bit. I decided I could stretch to the extra funds and bought it. Still, they'd only give six months' road tax inclusive rather than the full year. In the end, he allowed me to sell myself the car, though. They did manage to avoid telling me that its one previous owner was Flightform Ltd, owners of Budget Rent-A-Car. I think it was a fleet car rather than a rental though. Also, I was fairly sure that there hadn't been a scratch on the rear bumper when I'd viewed it originally, but there was when I picked it up. No proof though, so nothing I could do. This time around, I decided I wanted a Prius and looked for the dealers on the web, and what they had available. A three-month-old base model (T3 spec) ex-demonstrator came up at Octagon Toyota Bracknell, I went to the dealer who informed me that it was actually being used by their workshop manager as his company car and could I come back in a couple of days for a test drive? I agreed, took the test drive, and decided to buy. The salesman was very enthusiastic and helpful throughout. The finance manager (I'm paying on Personal Contract Purchase) then proceeded to waffle on for ages. Again, I could ha
-
A friend and I went to an authorized Hyundai used-car dealer yesterday as he's looking to buy a car. He was interested in an Elantra (2004) and he asked for the price. The salesman said it was 12,000. My friend (who's new to the country) said he was looking for something cheaper (around 8K or so). Then this guy went in, got the keys and insisted that we drive the car. He said if we did that he will see if he can drop the price. So we took a 5 minute test drive, and while the car ran okay, there were some odd noises throughout the ride. Then the guy took us inside and after a few minutes of going inside came back with a weird price (9457 or 9387 or some such hard to remember number). He said he would give that price if my friend purchased it right then. My friend replied that the price was still high and even if it wasn't he wasn't going to commit to anything right then. He said he'd need 4-5 days to think about it. So I asked them to give him a price that'd be valid for the entire week. Then another guy (the first guy's manager) came in and both of them again tried to push my friend to buying it right away. They said if he agreed to that, they'd further reduce the price - but would tell the price only if he agreed to buy it right away (how they expected him to commit to an as-yet unknown price is beyond me). The 2nd guy said this was a trade-in and they never tried to make money off trade-ins and so this is a great bargain etc. After my friend (who was quite uncomfortable by now as was I) insisted he can't buy it right then, they said we could buy it then, drive it home, and if we didn't like it then my friend can return it after 2 days. Obviously this sounded very odd - I didn't even think they meant what they said. Then a 3rd guy (probably the 2nd guy's manager came in). I had a phone call I had to take so I had to get up and move slightly away but I could still see/hear was what going on. This guy started insisting (a little rudely I thought) that this is a great deal and he should buy it right that day. He said the car wouldn't be there the next day as it was such a good car and such a great price. In fact, he also used some Hindi sentences seeing that my friend and I were Indian (the 3rd guy looked like he was from India or Pakistan). Sadly my friend could barely understand Hindi (I don't understand it either) so we don't really know what he said. At that point the 3rd guy got more rude and said my friend was lying - that he didn't plan to buy the car and that's why he asked for 5 days. My friend a
Nishant Sivakumar wrote:
while the car ran okay, there were some odd noises throughout the ride
I suspect this is the reason for the rush to get him to buy it. Those could be some expensive noises, and they are trying to get rid of it quick. Actually, I'm surprised they didn't come after you for "damaging" the car during the test-drive. High-pressure sales tactics drive me away, rather than convince me to sign.
"Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..." "There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..."
-
Yes, but my point is that the salesman bringing up a weekly amount would immediately raise suspicion, even if I couldn't do maths at all myself. If I say I want to spend x per month, and he brings up y per week, I'm immediately going to dismiss the weekly amount as irrelevant, without even going as far as multiplying it by either 4 or by 52.
Brady Kelly wrote:
I'm immediately going to dismiss the weekly amount as irrelevant
But that's you - not everybody is as sharp. So many people get suckered in by this trick.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
-
Brady Kelly wrote:
I'm immediately going to dismiss the weekly amount as irrelevant
But that's you - not everybody is as sharp. So many people get suckered in by this trick.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.
Obviously, but I would have thought all salary earners would think, "But nothing works weekly!" Of course the pickings are prime with ex-wage earners just promoted, comparing there handsome pm/4 to what they used get per week. :(
-
Obviously, but I would have thought all salary earners would think, "But nothing works weekly!" Of course the pickings are prime with ex-wage earners just promoted, comparing there handsome pm/4 to what they used get per week. :(
Brady Kelly wrote:
Obviously, but I would have thought all salary earners would think, "But nothing works weekly!"
You'd think so wouldn't you. Unfortunately, I saw this trick work so many times - it was kind of depressing really.
Deja View - the feeling that you've seen this post before.