I just posted this on another thread and decided we could use a thread about this topic.
Tell us you past horror stories at a dealer. I don't want this to become a bashing of smart dealers so lets avoid the Orphan add on stories. Those have been covered plenty of times in other posts. I want to know why you decided to enjoy the no peruses Smart system of purchasing on line.
I was in a dealership once with my wife. While we were waiting one of the salesmen was yelling at a customer "SHOW ME THE COMMITMENT". We got out of there in a big hurry and told everyone we knew not to go there.
Drove up to a dealers lot once and was wandering the lot when a salesman came out. We spoke for a while and went inside for additional information. When we got inside his manager started ripping him a new one because it wasn't his turn to take a potential customer. I just walked away and never went back. Again I told others about it and they stayed away from that dealer.
During a 8 hr session of trying to purchase a Honda, Took forever to get all the paperwork done, the sales manager came out and started yelling at a customer who came in with all the dealer pricing info. (you know the kind we all can get now by doing some Internet research) Rather than just saying we cant sell you the car at that price, he yelled at him and chased him out of his dealership.
Oh yeah, Car buying is a fun time
Last edited by forestacademy; 11-01-2009 at 07:57 AM.
Why I enjoyed the online experience... lets see for starters I didn't have to beat the dealer down on pricing to not get ripped off (aka pay what the other guy did) which I had to do with our '03 Explorer. I was able to configure the car the way I wanted to. It was very similar to how we bought our Z4, no pressure, no hard core negotiating (we did get a little off on the Z4 plus a free sport package - but that was easy, we asked, they did it and they didn't have to). Compare that to buying the Explorer where we walked out of 2 dealerships b/c they kept showing us the price and payment for the 0% at 60/72 months instead of what we asked for which was all of the rebates/incentives.
Aside from the lack of communication & organization caused by the confusion of a new dealer network and the lawyers at smartUSA (remember there still is someone suing them b/c he wanted to import smarts/be a dealer and they wouldn't let him) it was a good buying experience. I attribute the lack of organization to the fact that I picked up my car on the second weekend the dealer was open and they were still training the staff and figuring the operations out.
1. It takes way too long. Your 8-hour honda experience sounds familiar. Every time I've bought a car, the salesman, finance guy, manager all act like they've never done it before - like it's brand new to them.
2. Often the final price of the car is based on the buyers' negotiating skills. It's not only unfair, but should be illegal, IMO.
1. It takes way too long. Your 8-hour honda experience sounds familiar. Every time I've bought a car, the salesman, finance guy, manager all act like they've never done it before - like it's brand new to them.
2. Often the final price of the car is based on the buyers' negotiating skills. It's not only unfair, but should be illegal, IMO.
I agree.....while I don't do much outside of work, my time IS still valuable. I want to use it the way I choose, NOT waste it in some showroom, sitting around while a bunch of salespeople/managers talk about last nights 'big game'.
If I'm not buying a car from my employer (and I haven't many times for various reasons), I will only deal with someone 'online'. While this really only works for new purchases, it saves me time and money. My Jeep Wrangler I leased from a dealer in Cincy. Did the entire transaction 'online' from appraising my trade to negotiating the deal. When I got to the dealer on a Sunday (they're open on Sundays, unlike here in Indiana) the salesman had the paperwork ready, verified my trade, walked me into the F&I Manager to sign the lease and in about 30 minutes, I was out the door with my brand new Jeep. Sort of did that with the smart, so other than the walk around by Joe, we were in and out in no time as well.
'Online' buying.....in MY book, the ONLY way to buy a new vehicle.
Now, bad experience: In the early '80s, the wife (at that time) and I ordered a new Plymouth. Our trade, an old Camaro, was appraised at the time the order was placed and they took the title to the Camaro as our 'down payment' to order and hold the new car.
Weeks went by and no new car. Each time we called, we were told 'just another week or so', yet still after a couple weeks, NO NEW CAR.
Finally, one day we got 'the call' from our salesman saying 'your car is on the transport as we speak, so we should have it ready for you to come pick up this evening. We were so excited, as this was the first 'new' car we had bought together.
I drove to the dealership immediately from work to find that the salesman had left for the day. I asked 'so can I still get our car?' and was told 'your car hasn't come in yet'. I told the sales manager that I had received a call saying IT WAS. He said 'oops, must have made a mistake'. Bummed out, I left to go home. This was on a Friday.
On the following Tuesday, I dropped by the dealership and saw OUR car on the front row. I took down the VIN and the next morning called Chrysler Customer Service. While they couldn't confirm that this car was the one we ordered, it WAS ordered by that dealer the same day as we placed OUR order and was delivered the same day our salesman called us. HUM?
I went to the dealership and demanded an explanation. I got one, but it stunk, so I demanded our title back and left. We drove to another dealer and bought one off the showroom floor.
The bottom line is later we discovered they wanted to cancel our 'deal' because when they appraised our Camaro, there was about a foot of snow on the ground and they didn't see all the RUST on the body. Too bad I thought, but when I came in to pick up the new car and they saw it in good weather, they backed out of it by lying. BASTARDS.
Yes, I work at a dealership in the parts department, but I really don't care for the 'front end' of the business. Just from experience......
One salesman tried to sell me a vehicle that I did not or could afford. He kept getting quotes from the manager even though I did not want that vehicle. I left. As I was driving off the lot to go home, he followed me as I drove off still trying to convince me to buy the vehicle that I had no interest in. I will never go back there.
i just picked up my new smart yesterday at smart center of stevens creek in san jose, ca. i was in and out in 3 hours including kicking tire time, question and answer time, a test drive, some pricing and package negotiations and all the paperwork. salesperson ryan was great at accommodating my needs and overall the experience was as painless as it could be!
i had wanted to buy a car at smart center of san francisco and while the staff was knowledgeable and helpful they just didn't seem to want to sell me a car (or at least a car that i wanted). either it was some other car that had features i didn't want or resistance to the price i wanted to pay, the extras i wanted, etc.
to be fair, at stevens creek it was a relatively easy sale as i already knew what i wanted, knew what i wanted to pay, etc. in the current economic climate i cannot fathom not doing everything reasonably possible in order to close a sale. i can only surmise that the market for new smarts in san francisco is strong enough that the city dealer can get what they ask without budging much if at all.
at stevens creek i asked for some accommodations and i received them. and then it was, as boz skaggs sang long ago:
"Put your money on the table
And drive it off the lot."
We at the two Mini Cooper dealerships here in Miami:
WE- Yeah, we'd like to configure and order a Mini
THEY- Uhhh... I don't think you can do that. Never heard of it. But we have tons of cars in the backlot for you to choose from!
WE- You do know the essence of this brand is that there are literally millions of possible individual configurations, I'm sure. In fact there is an amazing configurator on the web and we've printed it and here are the exact we have discussed at home and agreed to.
[BTW, resulting in a heavily loaded car]
THEY- Ummm.... let me talk to the manager...
THEY, half hr later- Manager says that in theory it is possible but you have to pay for the entire car cash upfront oh and by the way can you come back during a workday?
Dealerships have Millions tied up in inventory that they either bought outright, or pay the manufacturer for every month. To accept a special order without financial commitment from the buyer presents a major risk on the part of a dealership. They could easily get stuck with an tomato orange, lime interior, over loaded with accessories white elephant if the buyer walked on the deal. It has happened, that's why they don't do it!
You wouldn't expect a builder to accept a verbal commitment on a $350K home and enter into the construction of that home without the buyers financial commitment, would you?
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1 - LT N FLFY
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. We got out of there in a big hurry and told everyone we knew not to go there.
. I just walked away and never went back. Again I told others about it and they stayed away from that dealer.
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