New car shopping frustration, part 2

[notstock71]

Maybe someday a dealer will open that realizes volume can be profitable. People will know they are getting a genuine fair price. Building customer relations has just as much value as the sale. Relationships bring repeat business which generates more sales.

My dad was in service for decades. He never sold anything that wasn't needed. He gave customers a heads up on what repairs were coming due so they could plan and budget. Seeing a customer walk in and say just do what is needed because they knew he wouldn't take advantage of them was amazing to me. To this day I still remember that and have the utmost admiration and respect for him.

Maybe that's why car shopping is so difficult, I want to do business where your word and a handshake means something. Your business is nothing without your customers and your employees are your biggest asset. I don't think that business exists.

[daleone3]

Originally Posted by notstock71

Maybe someday a dealer will open that realizes volume can be profitable. People will know they are getting a genuine fair price. Building customer relations has just as much value as the sale. Relationships bring repeat business which generates more sales.

My dad was in service for decades. He never sold anything that wasn't needed. He gave customers a heads up on what repairs were coming due so they could plan and budget. Seeing a customer walk in and say just do what is needed because they knew he wouldn't take advantage of them was amazing to me. To this day I still remember that and have the utmost admiration and respect for him.

Maybe that's why car shopping is so difficult, I want to do business where your word and a handshake means something. Your business is nothing without your customers and your employees are your biggest asset. I don't think that business exists.

Sounds like your Dad was a stand up guy, few and far between in Sales and Service. My mom has a 2008 Camry with 28k miles, she went to the dealer for an oil change and was told her water pump was leaking and needed a battery as well, quoted her $1100 and told her the car was unsafe to drive. She called me and I told her to leave after her oil change. The Adviser told her again the car was not safe to drive and tried to scare her in to doing the work. She stood her ground and left. I went over that night to check the car and no leaks and the battery was load tested and fine. Two years later, the water pump is still fine. Needless to say, I called the dealer and they wanted her to come back and make it right but I told them to screw and proceeded to put up detailed reviews everywhere I could which they replied to again, asking me to contact them to make it right which I replied to as well. They prey on people. Not all of them but certainly most of them so proceed with caution. Coincidentally, my father in law brought his 2010 Arcadia (40k miles) to a different dealer and they did the same thing to him but he had the work done. Must be part of a new training to up sell water pumps, who knows. Nothing gives me more pleasure than kicking the sh*t out of a sales guy for an hour and then walking away.

[300deluxeL79]

Originally Posted by daleone3

Sounds like your Dad was a stand up guy, few and far between in Sales and Service. My mom has a 2008 Camry with 28k miles, she went to the dealer for an oil change and was told her water pump was leaking and needed a battery as well, quoted her $1100 and told her the car was unsafe to drive. She called me and I told her to leave after her oil change. The Adviser told her again the car was not safe to drive and tried to scare her in to doing the work. She stood her ground and left. I went over that night to check the car and no leaks and the battery was load tested and fine. Two years later, the water pump is still fine. Needless to say, I called the dealer and they wanted her to come back and make it right but I told them to screw and proceeded to put up detailed reviews everywhere I could which they replied to again, asking me to contact them to make it right which I replied to as well. They prey on people. Not all of them but certainly most of them so proceed with caution. Coincidentally, my father in law brought his 2010 Arcadia (40k miles) to a different dealer and they did the same thing to him but he had the work done. Must be part of a new training to up sell water pumps, who knows. Nothing gives me more pleasure than kicking the sh*t out of a sales guy for an hour and then walking away.

GM did have an extended warranty on those Acadia/Enclave/Traverse water pumps

[njsteve]

This happened on the Dodge Charger I bought for my wife in '14.

We wanted a white car with red interior and AWD. There was one at a dealer about 50 miles away. Our local dealer was going to get it for us in a dealer trade to close the deal. They pulled the old dealer BS, making us wait around while they checked prices etc., confirmed availability, yada yada... (we were going to pay cash outright with our Chrysler 300 trade in) Finally closing time comes around and they pull out a number that is now $1000 more than we agreed upon and say that's the best we can do.

I walked past the salesman, and the remaining customers and proceeded directly up to the sales manager. I smiled and told him in the loudest "stage whisper" I had, that we were going to buy this car today and your greedy little amateur move just lost our business forever. His face dropped as we walked out. I told him I was blocking their phone number so not to even attempt to call me back.

At 9:00 AM the very next morning I was at that other dealer 50 miles away and made an even better deal on that exact car (It had been sitting on their lot for over two months by then due to the unique paint/interior scheme) and that no other dealer had ever contacted them on it. As they were no longer taking orders for 2014's - the assembly plants were ramping up for the facelifted '15 model year, this car was now distressed merchandise and they really wanted it gone.

We traded in our Chrysler 300 for more money than the other dealer offered, and we were out of the dealer in a couple hours. Everyone was happy. They even gave me 3 years of free oil changes as a bonus.

I was driving home in the new Charger when guess who calls??? The sales manager from the previous night (I forgot to block his number). I stopped him mid-sentence and said: "Ya hear this? (I revved the engine). I just bought that exact car for $2500 less than your deal. You should have taken my offer."

I then hung up and blocked the dealer's number.

I never felt so satisfied over a car deal. :-)

(With all the leftover model year incentives and USAA discounts, combined with the higher trade in value, the final price was below dealer cost)