As many others have said, this dealer is charging extra for the car because of the shortage of available new cars. The add-ons are not worth anyting near what they want. I was at a Subaru dealer about 2-3 months ago and the sticker on the car had an arrow pointing to another paper that said the price of the Legacy was $7000 more than the about $36,000 listed price and for the Ascent with a list of about $42,000 there was a $10,000 extra charge. They were not adding anything to the car except the extra fee. I agree with finding a dealer who is not doing this (which may be tough) or looking for a good used car. If you are going to get a used car, have it checked by a trusted mechanic first.
I wonder just how many people would let someone take their vehicle to a shop for an inspection . If I sold either one of our vehicle ourself I would let you take a test drive with me and then you either buy or go away. As for Carfax , that should be a guide not an actual fact.
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DO NOT agree to pay above MSRP, for a vehicle, period. If you do, you will be underwater from the get-go, and even if you pay cash, you will lose thousands–maybe even tens of thousands of dollars–if someone else slams into it, because the amount their insurance is required to pay is capped at “current book value”. (Assuming of course that there are no injuries; if you are injured, or are in pain from the accident, then obviously you can get paid for that.)
I agree. I would not let the vehicle out of my possession without a signed bill of sale, and cash in hand, period. I would, of course, allow the prospective buyer to physically examine the vehicle, and bring his trusted mechanic onto my property to examine it.
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As I wrote earlier, ask to take the car or have them take the car… Oh, I agree with both Volvo-70 and BCohen2010, I would not let anyone take one of my vehicles with me accompanying them for the ride.
If you really are interested in the vehicle, and they will not let you take the vehicle to a mechanic, ask them to do it and you will accompany them, you’ll pay for it, and give them a copy of the results in case you decide against the purchase. Unless you are very mechanically inclined and very lucky, buy a used car off a driveway is a bit of a crapshoot. Remember, there is always a reason someone is selling a used car and often times, it’s because it needs work or scheduled repairs are coming due.
Caveat emptor et non Habes (Let the Buyer beware and Don’t get Screwed…)
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I hope you laughed in their face and explained that it’s clear that they are trying to taking advantage of people, and you would only consider doing business with them if each and every add-on they insist on tacking on is removed.
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It’s a huge problem, with some dealers paying over MSRP just to get cars:
“If I now have 15 to 20 cars in stock per dealership,” said [Bruce Bendell, a founder of the Major World and City World chains, with eight dealerships in the Bronx and Queens], “I normally have 200 to 300. Nowadays when a truck comes in with eight cars, by the time they hit the cement pavement, I’m lucky to have one left.”
His stores have even resorted to brokers. “I’m paying $2,000 over sticker price, as a dealer in the Bronx,” he said. “Then the car gets sold 30 seconds later. So we’re paying over list just to get inventory, yet customers blame the dealers for high prices.”
What is certainly true is that inventories are next to zero at many dealers. And if supply is way down, prices have only one place to go - up.
One would think that with the franchise agreements that dealers have with the manufacturers that they would still be paying invoice (or close to it ) at worst. The “we’re paying over over list to get inventory” claim is kind of dubious when you consider that it’s outside of the manufacturer/dealer relationship. It’s something that the dealer is doing unilaterally.
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Major World and City World chains is a large used car dealer.
I’ve seen trucks advertised semi locally for sale at MSRP. I’ve also seen a few above MSRP and a few slightly below.
I haven’t looked at car prices similar to what the OP was considering buying. But I’d be surprised if I could find one with that much markup and fees unless it was some specialty vehicle (Raptor, TRX, etc).
I have to ask if these are New Car Franchised Dealerships or just Used Car Brokers? When I Googled them, all that came up was Used Car Inventory…
RUN away from those crooks to another dealer FAST! Don’t buy any of those things.
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if you happen to be female (I didn’t read enough to know), it can be especially effective if you get the sales person’s proposal and rip it in half. They’re more likely to take you seriously next time. Walking away helps, no matter what time you’re buying a vehicle.
But, I would try your credit unions car buying program, True Car, USAA, Sam’s Club, Consumer reports, or other car buying program to assist.
The corrosion prevention is normally put on at the factory, not the dealer.
Also, latest Consumer Reports or even Google can provide the descriptions of the add-ons. One of the add-ons is to take the plastic off of the vehicle interior, and put in gas…
That is terrible advice . Most of the time the proposal is from the Sales Manager and the sales man is just a go between . An Drama Queen act like that by a person male or female will just make sure you don’t get a good offer.
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Gotta agree. If someone did that to me, I’d be at lunch if they ever came in again. I saw some old lady do this on TV and it is not ending well. A very unserious thing for an adult to do.
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I wouldn’t split the offer in half. That’s a little much. I would offer a little less than I think they’d be willing to take. 20% off MSRP, for example. Of course they’d probably laugh at that in today’s market. Hence I’m not buying anything if I can avoid it.
There used to be a fairly large volume Ford dealer near here with a “no haggle” price. They’d list all the rebates, available discounts, and final price on the windshield. From what I could tell, they weren’t going any lower than that price. But no one else was really beating their deal, either. You just avoided all the back and forth. I kind of like that sales approach.
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Part of this statement is true, “corrosion prevention is normally put on at the factory,” but the dealer is more than happy to do it also… Not that the dealer’s “third party Package” is any better and not just like spraying more stuff on what the factory has already done, they will also spray your seats with “Scotchgard” and hire some No-skill folks to slap on some everyday polish that you could do, and a better job too. The dealer will also try to sell you on anti-theft glass etching for 5 to 10 times what you would pay to have it done yourself. Dealers will try to up-sell you everything they can think of and it’s all profit for them, and if you are financing your new purchase, you will be paying the finance and interest charges for years to come. Oh, did I forget the pin-striping, they often do that too and it’s not like you can say, “I do not like it, take it off…”
Remember, in all the excitement of buying a new car, it’s hard to remember that this is just a car, just like thousands of others just like it. It is not an heirloom piece of jewelry that cannot be replaced. That car is just like another one at the next dealership, or maybe the next…
If the dealership is juicing up the price, it is you who has to pay and pay for years and years.
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Excitement of buying a new car? How about just getting something that goes and stops. New car excitement is not in my top 10.
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All of these add ons are kind of foreign to me. I’ve only bough 2 new cars and one “certified used” car from a dealership. I have heard of the Scotch Guard, etc., but I’ve never seen additional fees added (that I noticed). I’ve always paid some amount below MSRP. I’d honestly laugh at them if they tried to tack costs above MSRP for some polish and prep.
I don’t think you can really get a “good deal” on a new car. You can definitely get a “bad deal”, though. I think there’s pretty much a set amount they will take for the car. They know what that price is. We don’t. The closer you get to that price, the better the deal is. I’ve actually had them tell me they were losing money due to the “deal” I got. Yeah…right….
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People do get excited, though. They fall in love, the new car scent flies up their nose and lands on their brain. Then they buy on emotion. “I can afford the payments.” And they might not even know the total price they’re paying.
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