Bernie . . . ?
For what it’s worth, I can’t stand Lloyd Blankfein, either. He seems pretty arrogant and aloof. He has nothing in common with “regular” people
No…but I hate some of their tactics. I no longer buy new vehicles but when I did…I knew they would play games. I always parked away from the dealership and kept my keys in my pocket. I knew what I wanted and if the dealership didn’t have it or it was too expensive…I simply walked away. I’ve never understood people who can’t so no. I’ve said no all my life so I guess it’s easy for me. That and the fact that I never met a salesman…vehicle or otherwise that knew more about the product for sale than I did. I do a lot of research before I go to purchase anything. Sales people hate that and I know it going in. Maybe I’m playing games with salesmen now that I think about it.
If you hate getting flim flammed in a car deal wait until you get caught in the purgatory of surgical charges and the insurance provider dodging out on technicalities. A surgery and a long term treatment resulted in total costs to me that would buy a new Tesla. My opinion of hospital administrations and health insurance companies is far lower than my view of car salesmen.
Excuse me for getting sidetracked. I have a check to an insurance company in front of me and it galls me to think I will mail it tomorrow. Oh well, such is life.
@missileman
You’re not playing games with the salesmen
You’re making sure you are well informed
If that doesn’t play well with the salesmen, that’s their problem, not yours
Considering the fact that a car is USUALLY the second biggest investment after the house, it makes perfect sense to be as well informed as is reasonably possible
Automobile pricing is a game. Refunds, kick backs, add ons, zero interest financing, and add to that confusion the trade in. If anyone enters into car trade negotiation without being informed they will almost certainly pay for that mistake.
I bought my second last new car (a Toyota) from retired farmer at the delaership who wanted something to do. We had a lot in common since I was also raised on a farm. I told him exactly what I wanted from the brochure, and he said that model was not in stock, and they would get me one from another dealer. This after he said what their lowest price was, which was OK with me after researching it on line. Toyota does not make a lot of profit on a basic compact; they try to make it on the add-ons such as extended warranty, etc. My farmer friend was told no extras and he understood.
My last purchase took me to Hyundai, Kia, and Mazda dealers. The Kia salesman was very helpful and called me immeditely when the model I wanted, a Forte hatchback in red, was in the showroom. The poor visibility to the rear nixed the sale. The Hyundai salesman was less helpful and wanted to sell me the loaded model on the floor. Even that model did not have a spare or jack (you get an inflator bomb instead) which would cost $300+ extra.
The Mazda salesmen was a guy from the Middle East with a bad accent and used to living under a dictatorship. He followed the sales managers pitch to the letter, lest he be put before the firing squad. I had to tell him several times I did not want his financing (paid cash), or the $100+ wax job, and extended road service and extended warranty. These are all good moneymakers for them. Since my car had to be brought up from another city, they wanted an extra $188 for transport. I told themtransport` was already included in the price from Port of Entry on the West Coast, and started walking out. They quickly changed their mind.
My late father compared car buying to horse buying, except that the horse sellers appeared a lot more knowledgeable than today`s car salesmen.
The ones who don’t know the product and make up lies to cover don’t get my business. Ever. I’ll either walk out or ask the manager (sales manager, probably) for someone who knows what he’s talking about. In this last round that happened twice and in both cases the sales manager took over. I suspect he didn’t want a fight over the commission if he assigned us to another salesdude. The Ford guy was the worst, knowing nothing about the different Focus trim levels. Not exactly an obscure model.