Secret Tricks of Car Salesmen

sorry mikeinnh,
but gs rag top is correct.
deepplaid

hello dealership consultant:
please clarify:
what did you mean when you said:
"there’s a reason deep plaid is where he’s at"
thanks
deepplaid

Bill Heard Chevrolet (19 STORES in Texas alone)
announced last week, that they
had closed or would close, nearly all of their Chevy dealerships nationwide.
Heard Chevrolet was G.M.'S highest volume selling and delivering dealer. After today’s vote, in the senate and the house, coupled with the more recent events on wall steet and the recent “bailout” program,
all of these events have caused or will cause
all automakers worldwide to re-structure & re-think the way all automobiles are marketed, financed, bought and sold. Their will
be major changes to come on the horizon,
in the auto business world wide.
deepplaid-Texas

i was in auto sales for 25 years and alays wore shirt and tie and dress slacks no sans. always sharp… the other descriptions sound like used car guys.

evidently you haven’t been to some of the new car stores here
in texas. dfw area has even relaxed their dress codes somewhat since
the mid to late 80’s. oh sure, the high end import stores in dfw area still
require that “phily lawyer” type dress code but, get out in the sub-burbs
down around austin, san marcos, the texas hill country it’s jeans -wranglers,
wrangler boot cut dress slacks, cool- & comfortable:
the orde of the day- for texas car sales people!
dockers, boots and even cowboy hats -it’s casual & comfort, but clean cut &
& neat dress. that’s the order of the day down here!
deep plaid

Hey - Deep Plaid you still around?

I am shopping for a new car and I have seen in a few places on the web that they say “never accept when a dealership offers to get your car from another local lot” I am curious why this is? What is your feeling on it?

I have a sales person I like and respect but she says she will have to get the car from another dealership. There is another local place that I know has the model and color and options I am looking for, but I do not like their sales team as much.

Advice?

Just dropped by to nit-pick something that’s not really pertinent so take it for what it’s worth, “Do unto others” is not one of the ten commandments.

My fiance wants to lease a custom porsche (he does not want to pay for all of the extra options the car typically comes with). The salesman has told us that he will not guarantee most of the pricing numbers, particularly the interest rate and the residual value, claiming that these will change over the two months it will take to make the car. This is despite requesting a healthy deposit that is not refundable if he chooses not to lease the car when it comes. Is this typical practice? He states that “porsche” sets these numbers, why do they vary from dealer to dealer even within the same state? Thank you.

This is for Deep Plaid (Frank): Hello, my name is Brittney. I am the eldest grandaughter of the late Jackie B. Cooper. I read the interview that you gave on the car talk website. I appreciate the good tone you used when talking about my grandfather. I’m sure you as anyone else who has met him know that he was and still is one of a kind. I am contactig you because I am starting to do some research for a book. I would love to talk to you, and ask some questions and get some quotes from you about your relationship with my grandfather and the things that you learned through training with him. My email address is killerbeansmommy@live.com, please email me as soon as possible. I would love to be in contact with you. Again thank you for speaking so kindly of Jackie. God Bless!

hello brittney,your grand pa jackie-well he’s one of a kind!
i’m honored you contacted me.
a book is an incredible idea! i’d be honored to be a part
of that.
yes i’d love to help you.
sorry about not replying to quick. we had a death in the family
and i have been kinda out-of-pocket. please excuse the wait.
i have sent you an email -i’ll help you all i can. please respond
to my email and we will start working on it.
thanks again “deep plaid” (Frank)

Hi Frank I need some advice on something. I bought a new car under the dealership’s financing. It was a good deal because it’s a 0.9% APR. But the two salesmen who sold us the car said that the financing is paying for the 1st two months of the bill as part of their promotion. Basically that’s what got us into the deal too. We asked them several times and they said that yes, this is part of the promotion. A month later the bill came and they were already charging us for the first month! So we called them back and the salesmen said that they made a mistake that it was the previous month’s promo! So I was very disappointed and told them that the deal was closed with the addition of this promotion and told them business is business and they have to be held accountable for what they did and say. But it seems like they are now giving us the run around about it.
What next step do you think I can do so we can avail of this. This was so unprofessional of them!

Frank,

Thanks for all your advice so far. Quick question about profit percentages on a used vehicle. I know it’s a “get all you can” game, but what’s an acceptable profit percentage on a used car? If a customer came in and had done his homework (comps, Manhiem prices, etc…) and made an offer that was in the 10% profit range (above current wholesale), would you bite or tell him to walk?

Thanks!

My biggest difficulty is knowing what is really a “fair price” for a particular car. For instance, if I make an offer based on what Kelly Blue Book says a car is valued at and the dealer accepts it, should I consider that a good deal or is that just the starting point (ie. maximum) that I should even consider paying?

First, don’t fall in love with one specific model or color. If he’s any good, your salesman will pick up on this immediately, and it will cost you dearly!

Deep Plaid what do I do if I know the make, model, color (interior and exterior), and accessories I want the car to have? I have been researching about the car I want for the months(internet, Consumer Reports magazine, talking to owners of the selected car.

If I know what I want what strategies should I employ to avoid having my car cost me?

This is an amazingly interesting thread. Thank you so much for it. Very enriching.

I have a question that goes a little against the “conventional wisdom”. I have heard (or better read) you say on a couple of occasions to “know what kind of car you want”.

What if you are open-minded and looking for the best deal around? What if what you really want is that the sales person finds that car with the unpopular equipment package or color and can give you an excellent price on it? What if you don’t care if it has cloth or leather seats? Can’t you get an even better deal if you can get that car that nobody else wants?

Happened to me once. Inadvertently. We had just moved to California from abroad without a car. We were looking for a used vehicle but were willing to wait for up to 4 weeks. We did not have a good idea of what we wanted. New was not an option because of a lack of credit score (foreigners). One Saturday we went on the lot of the local Toyota/Chevy dealer and test drove a couple of used cars
ranging form Buick Century over Subaru Outback to Geo Tracker. Nothing pleased us. The sales manager got visibly frustraded (but always friendly) and clearly was trying everything to keep us on the lot. He ended up offering us a used Toyota 4Runner at a price that was along the lines of KBB private party value and more than 1/3 under the sticker price. We had never intended to buy such a big and relatively late model SUV but under 10K it was too good to pass, especially after my wife loved test driving it.

Turns out the car had been sitting on the used car lot for 6 months. The reason: It was the base model, 4 cylinders, 150 HP, 2.7l engine with RWD (no 4WD). It was white, had steel wheels and a 5-speed.

We are joking to this day that no American would have ever bought this car. But for us - to drive the point home - having an open mind and not being desperate steered us towards what we now know was a killer deal for a vehicle that we owned for years to come.

The car after that: Different story. I knew exactly what I wanted and had to fly from SF to LA to pick it up because they are so rare.

Just curious: If we had planned for the above it would not have worked so well. Any thoughts about how to signal flexibility without appearing as a tire kicker who does not know what they want?

So Deep Plaid, here’s a question for you.

I’ve been doing a LOT of research on cars and car buying. One website (possibly cars.com) reminded me to look for all rebates for which I qualified. I checked with AAA and they have a price protection deal with car dealers. According to AAA: “each dealer agrees to price their models relative to invoice price ($x below invoice). This price relative to invoice is guaranteed by AAA not to change and additional options are priced at invoice, not MSRP.” Further “your certified dealer must offer all available incentives off the invoice price; your price includes destination and all manufacturers fees plus applicable incentives).”

I have received from them quotes from 3 different local dealers that are quite good.

The car I’m particularly interested is quoted at $15,694 under these terms.

Meanwhile, my dear husband has gone directly to one of the dealers and asked for quotes. For the same car with the same model he got three quotes: the MRSP, the dealer’s offer and then “the final price minus a manufacturer’s rebate.”

The quote he got as the dealer’s price for the same make, model and options is $17,997. Under this was subtracted $2500 of manufacturer’s rebate. Thus his “final price” was $15,497

I argue that we need to compare the price I received against the price to the dealer: $17.9K. He argues we need to compare the price I received with the final price: $15.5K

Who is right and why?

I realize this might be a bit long-winded for your tastes, and I apologize in advance, but thank you SO much for your car purchasing insight from the other side. As a foreword to my question, all my experience is based on 1 used-car dealer purchase, of a '99 Pontiac Grand Prix GT that I absolutely fell in love with (yes, I know this was a problem, but I got it at the price I was looking for so I must have hidden my lust for this car in an acceptable manner).

The first part of my question lies on the opposite side of the equation. I read about you saying that the salesperson needs to know you are legitimately interested in the car, but once you successfully convey that you are, how do you know (as a consumer) that the salesperson is being legitimate with you? What indicators should I look at from a buyer’s point of view to acknowledge that he (the salesperson) wants me as a current and return customer? I know I was blown off by multiple salespeople the first time I bought a used car because of my young age (17 for those interested). I had the cash in hand and was looking at cars within my price range, but only one took me seriously among the 5-7 dealers I shopped. What would you suggest I do as a young adult looking to buy a new car (this time around) to dealerships that do not take me seriously? It’s not for lack of a good credit score (both my fiance and I have 650+ credit scores across the board) or cash on hand, but it seems all dealers seem to take us with a seriousness that is less than significantly serious. Any tips for young, legitimate buyers?

My second question focuses on the trade-in value of cars. I realize my Grand Prix won’t fetch much (despite being in great condition and fully loaded), but I worry about the dealer shafting us on my fiance’s '04 Mazda 3. I know roughly how much the car is worth (via KBB) but I know individual appraisals may differ greatly. Should I take a median number in my head and stick to it when negotiating, or should I be more flexible when dealing with a salesperson/dealership? I know what I want for it, but how firm should I be when negotiating its trade-in value?

Any answers are to these questions are greatly appreciated, and I appreciate your insight greatly!

STRIKEFORCE.

Many dealers called in response to my online inquiries about a 2011 Sonata. One said that they are offering $1500 over trade in value and are having great sales this weekend. Others have different financing rates. I’ve heard that the end of the month deals are better than beginning, but haven’t considered end/start of new year (or end of “Black Friday” sales). Any thoughts?

I was car shopping once and didn’t like the used cars I was seeing with a salesman. When he asked me about a car and the price, I just wanted to leave and trying to be polite, I just said “That car’s not worth that much.” It wasn’t, but now he had me. He asked me to say how much I thought it was worth. I intended to low-ball him with a range at around 5 thousand, but couldn’t quite do it. I said “maybe 5 or 6 thousand”.

Now he had me even more. He took me to his desk on the floor. Talked with people. Within earshot he said “he’s willing to pay 6 thousand”. They ‘debated’ it. The manager said to me, “Six thousand? For six thousand we got a deal?” Well, my attitude had changed over this time (and I’m sure it was reflected in my body language). Somehow, I got caught up in wanting to win, or something like that. So when he said “Six thousand?” I nodded. We signed a deal.

Fortunately, NJ has a state law which requires dealers to give you 24 hours to back out of a deal. I cancelled and got my deposit back with no further hassle (whew!).

I would like to hear about any other subtle (or not so subtle) psy-op tricks you play (for example, the one where you write the offer on the bottom of the page with no more room, etc.). I am older and wiser now, but I still like to hear about them (so I can get even wiserer).

Thanks.