Dealer wonders why they're being closed...

[Embraer]

So on my way home from the airport tonight, I decide to stop at one of the Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealers that's on the list to be axed early next week, just to see what inventory (if anything) they have left in stock.

I pull up and hop out of my car, still in uniform. I waltz right up to the main office and notice that it's a ghost town. 7 sales guys are sitting around watching TV when I walk in.

I walk over to a Competition Orange Dodge Challenger (not a bad looking car, in my opinion) and notice that the sticker says MSRP of $45,800 with options. As I'm walking around the car, the sales guys trickle over like vultures.

One of the guys starts the usual awkward small talk, and the conversation switched over to their impending closing a few days away. I'm slowly finding a way to ask what kind of deals are to be had...especially on this bright orange Dodge Challenger. He even mentions that they haven't found a dealer to buy their remaining stock yet....

I cut to the chase and say "Ok, so what's the bottom line on this car here...what would it take to drive this away this afternoon?"

"..... $48,500"

....$48,500???? I mention that this is 3K over the sticker price. His reply: "Yeah, but this is a rare model."

As I stand there, mildly shocked, I ask if he is kidding. The look on his face says otherwise. "So what are you going to do with this thing in a few days when you close?"

Sales guy...."we'll worry about that when we get there."

[CJFusco]

Yup, customer service (and common sense) goes a long way.

[tabs]

Ahhh could they be closing because they didn't sell any cars?

[widgeon13]

And they wonder why they are going out of business, they will never get it.

What is the saying "you can't fix stupid".

[wcc]

I was out cruising around one evening and I stopped in to a dealer last fall to look at the Challenger SRT8 limited. Sticker was in the 40s and when one of the flunkies came around I asked about rebates or incentives. He said that their was an offer on the car already for 75k but they were going to pass because they thought they could get more for it. I said they should take it if someone was that dumb to offer that much for it. He told me to wait because they had the v-6 version coming out soon that I might be able to afford. I said okay. I was all set to pay full sticker that day but oh well. Probably a blessing in disguise...

[Gogar]

Maybe the sales guy is hoping to get a fire sale deal of his own on the same car.

[cstreit]

I'd say it's more likely that he just doesn't give a ***** at this point, he's collecting a paycheck for the next 5 days. Personally if I were him I'd tell you about the flaws and send you to the Honda dealer across the street.

[kaisen]

If you are actually serious about the car, enter into negotiation. They're trying to start high, but that doesn't mean they'll stick to it. And, yes, that salesperson sounds like an idiot.

However, that car is good trade-bait for packaging unwanted inventory when they sell to another dealer. So don't expect invoice pricing. But you should get it for a LOT less than $48.5

That's IF you're actually serious. Salespeople have BS meters too.

[Embraer]

Originally Posted by cstreit

I'd say it's more likely that he just doesn't give a ***** at this point, he's collecting a paycheck for the next 5 days. Personally if I were him I'd tell you about the flaws and send you to the Honda dealer across the street.

This was the feeling I got from the guy....in addition to watching TV, they were throwing a basketball around the lobby, trash wasn't removed, desks were already emptied and stuff packed up....

[David]

That ticks me off so much.

I test drove a Tahoe hybrid last year. The salesman said they were selling it for $67K. The window sticker was removed, but I knew it was $55K.

Around the same time frame I was at the local BMW dealer picking up my wife's new car. I was admiring a new 3 series convertible. The salesman said it was the second one they received. He said the first one was sold to a 16yo girl. I said I bet they made a nice premium on it. He said nope, they sell them all at MSRP.

Who do I buy from?

[HardDrive]

I had a similar experience at a Ford dealer a couple years ago. They had the car in question marked up $6000 over sticker. I asked the sales manager how he could justify that when I could buy a car out of the midwest at sticker (or less), and ship it in for $1500. He looks at me and say, "We gotta eat, come back when your ready to do a deal." Totally belligerent. WTF?

Gee, THATS FUNNY, You walk into the Toyota dealer, and the sticker says, $35k. Ask the sales guy, how much can you let it go for? "$35k, we just sell them at sticker, but let me check and see if there are any incentives right now." Totally friendly.

[kaisen]

If you think it has anything to do with domestic versus import, you are flat wrong.

Nissan GT-R?
Porsche GT3 RS?
Toyota Prius (back-in-the-day)
Honda S2000 when they came out
Mazda Miata in 1989
Any Ferrari in the last five years

I could go on (and there are lots of domestic cars too)

All dealers, of all makes, CAN and have played the additional markup game
Some dealers, of all makes, realize that the game hurts their long-term bottom line

[Tobra]

Had a Ford dealer jerk me around on a car when my residency POS daily driver crapped out on me. Howdy salesman guy, I need to buy a car. Guy gave me a price, interest rate on financing and I said cool, I will pick it up tomorrow.

Saturday morning, I get there to pick it up, he says, where did I put that paperwork, oh here it is, right on top of the top drawer of my desk. Sign here and you can drive home in your new car. I look at the contract, wrong price, wrong interest rate. I ask him about it, he says we can't sell it for that, we don't make any money on those cars.

Went down the street and bought a second hand Nissan 15 minutes later. Those guys tried to screw me on the interest rate(it is a used car, can't do the good rates on them, you don't have a long enough credit history, etc.), but gave me a pretty good price. I made sure there was no penalty for paying off early, no interest for 30 days. Paid it off 3 weeks later.

The Ford sales manager called the Monday after I bought my Nissan, wanting to know how we can work out a deal on that car. I bought a car day before yesterday, just like I told your guy when he did his bait and switch routine. I can promise you the next car I buy will not be a Ford, you should explain to your sales guys about repeat business, click.

When I paid off the Nissan, which I got at a Chevy dealer, I got a call from the finance manager. Any problems with the car, etc. He gets to the point, asking if paying the car off was such a good idea, blowing all your dough on it. I tell him that 14.9% is a little too high, to which he responds, "We could do 7.9%, would that change your mind?" To which I respond, "Sure does. I was thinking I might buy my next car from you. Looks like you did your level best to screw me on this deal. Not only will I not be back, I will tell every person I see about how you do business."

[Rick Lee]

I just don't get the whole concept of buying a new car. I can't imagine taking the depreciation hit, when there are so many barely used cars available for so much less than new. In AZ there's no sales tax on private party sales, so I'll never ever buy a car from a dealer here.

[widgeon13]

I had made a deal to buy a Ford truck a few years ago, made a deposit and called to arrange pick-up time. Salesman said, let mew check on the car? Came back and said, jeez, I'm sorry, we sold that car. They wouldn't find me comparable, wouldn't do anything for me whatsoever. I'll never touch a Ford product again! other than to take a Mustang for a test drive and spin the shyt out of the rear tires.

I went down the road and bought a Chev truck in 15 minutes, salesman was an older gentleman, very nice and no runaround.

[john70t]

A nice contingency clause to add to these government bailouts would be that dealerships have to adhere to this policy called "honesty".

There are already bait-and-switch and contract-by-adhesion laws which are seldom enforced.

[Jims5543]

When I went into the local Toyota dealership to look at and possibly buy a just released FJ Cruiser, they were hot items. Hard to come by, dealers were having a hard time keeping them in stock.

I ended up getting a Voodoo Blue one and I really wanted a Silver or Black one. But, I had to take what they had in stock because I did not feel like waiting indefinitely for my color.

Here is the kicker, there was the bottom line on the sticker, I want to say it was in the 26K neighborhood, then there was another $5K tacked on because they were in demand.

I looked at the salesman, and told him that I would walk away if they thought they could stick me with a 5K surcharge, I would then wait for used ones to pop up on Autotrader and get one then.

He slashed the 5K off of it right off the bat without hesitating.

Years earlier I purchased 2 Toyota Tacoma's from this same dealership, before I purchased from there I look at Chevy Colorado's, they were new on the lots and several thousand more than the Tacoma's. The dealership was not willing to budge on the price, conversely, I was able to haggle down the prices on the 2 Tacoma's.

[gprsh924]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I just don't get the whole concept of buying a new car. I can't imagine taking the depreciation hit, when there are so many barely used cars available for so much less than new. In AZ there's no sales tax on private party sales, so I'll never ever buy a car from a dealer here.

I basically agree, although I think there is one type of scenario where it would make sense. If you are attempting to buy a relatively inexpensive, entry level type of car, there often very few lightly used (say sub 25k miles) examples out there. I was looking at Mazda 3s a year and a half ago, and I found almost no used cars with less than 50k miles, and I wanted something newer than that. The few cars I did find with low miles were often priced only $1.5-2.5K less than a brand new car. Factor in the longer warranty and zero percent financing offered on the new car, and it made more sense to go new vs. used. Ultimately though, I realized that I can't drive a fwd Japanese econobox and am still saving my money and waiting for that M3 or 993 in a few more years.

[legion]

Originally Posted by kaisen

If you think it has anything to do with domestic versus import, you are flat wrong.

Nissan GT-R?
Porsche GT3 RS?
Toyota Prius (back-in-the-day)
Honda S2000 when they came out
Mazda Miata in 1989
Any Ferrari in the last five years

I could go on (and there are lots of domestic cars too)

All dealers, of all makes, CAN and have played the additional markup game
Some dealers, of all makes, realize that the game hurts their long-term bottom line

Yep, I went to buy an Eclipse back in 2000 (first new car). Dealer wanted $2000 OVER MSRP. I walked, they told me I was an idiot for not taking the deal. Walked next door to the Pontiac dealership and made a deal that afternoon on a Grand Am.

Around here, many of the foreign dealerships (who are coincidentally mostly owned by the same guy) feel that they can charge whatever price they want and it will get paid.

[TGTIW]

I'm sure these were just Republican owned dealerships.