Thanks for the excellent advice. I know I don’t want ANY add ons–I am spending enough money already!
So far, they have not worked at all for my business–I really did almost walk out yesterday. And now getting the car with spare is not possible for Saturday when yesterday he said that was a real possibility (to be fair, he did not promise). And now he claims even Monday is iffy although they have located a car–ordering the spare tire will take time. Am not impressed . . .
I have decided on this car and need to go through with it. If things really fall apart–they do something underhanded with add ons or I don’t get the car by Monday, I guess I can walk out on the deal.
This might be stating the obvious, but be sure and drive the actual car that you’re buying, the day you buy it, before you sign the paperwork. And inspect it carefully - new cars can be damaged in transit and by inattentive lot employees. Any damage you might find needs to be put in the “We Owe” list before you give them money.
I hope for your sake that the service department at the dealership where you bought your car is more accomodating than the sales department. Dealerships have several departments, and each department has its own manager. These departments are: 1) new car sales; 2) used car sales; 3) service; 4) parts and sometimes 5) body shop. Each department has its own manager and each area is expected to make a profit. I bought a Toyota 4Runner from an agency that had a great new car sales division. My wife wanted a particular car and the salesperson tracked it down for her. The service department, however, left a lot to be desired. In fact, to get the car fixed properly under warranty, the salesman that sold us the car took my wife to the owner of the agency and insisted that the car be made right. I bought a Chevrolet Uplander and wasn’t impressed with the sales department, but the service department was outstanding. This last car we purchased, a Toyota Sienna was from a different Toyota agency and both the sales personnel and the service have been excellent.
In your case, the new car sales area has to go through the parts department for the spare tire kit. There may be a legimate delay in getting the spare tire kit. I do agree with your decision to get the spare tire. On our 4Runner, we had two blowouts about a year apart. Each time, we were going out to eat at a Cracker Barrel (different Cracker Barrels). The second time, the blowout was on the right front on an Interstate, so I called AAA. I wasn’t about to change the tire with the cars whizzing by at 70+ miles per hour. The dispatcher said that the wrecker would arrive in an hour. However, he arrived in 15 minutes and had the spare on in 5 minutes. Had I not had a spare, he would have had to tow the vehicle.
At any rate, relax and enjoy your new car when you get it.
This dealership seems really tiny and not to have separate used and new sales. And parts and service are together.
The car comes with free lifetime oil changes and some fancy roadside service for the first four years. I just had towing on my insurance with the Saturn–the few times I needed it were a true blessing and well worth $10 per year
Have been thinking about voicing my concerns to sales manager–salesman has been pretty patronizing (almost rude) and keeps expecting me to accept that their issues are mine.
Oops, I am ignoring your last bit of super advice–I am stressing, not relaxing. I’ll just call the salesman tomorrow and remind him how important timeliness is and how that was a factor in my getting this car (this particular salesman left at noon today).
I bet by the time you’ve had it a year or two the person that sold you the car will have moved on to a different dealer, salesmen seem to move around a LOT.
It seems that good automobile sales persons are rare. In my 50 years of purchasing cars, I’ve only had 4 that really knew the product they were selling. There is a lot of pressure put on salesman–they either sell or they are gone. Auto knowledge is not usually a prerequisite in hiring a sales person. When my son was finishing his seminary degree, he worked at Sears selling hardware. He did take home literature and study it so he had some idea of what he was doing. He particularly enjoyed working with women who were trying to pick out a Christmas present for their husbands. The wife of the owner of a Ford agency told her husband how helpful my son had been. The owner of the Ford agency tried to recruit my son to come to work for him selling cars. He said he would make at least $45,000 his first year and could expect repeat business in future years and really bring home good money. My son told the owner he had limited knowledge of cars, but was told that automobile knowledge wasn’t important in selling cars. My son turned down the offer. He is now an elementary teacher earning less than he would probably earn selling cars.
Midnite approves of your car choice for Rocky. He would growl at your salesman, however.
The VW salesman was a great salesman–tried to understand my needs and listened. And he explained the cars very well and showed off the positive features without being pushy or negative about other brands. I really feel uncomfortable that I did not buy a car from him.
Acura salesman did literally nothing–did not even come on test drives with me. He could barely deign to speak with me (I am not a fancy person and am not buying an expensive car: just a frumpy, dumpy old Latin teacher–not nearly decorative enough for that dealership.)
So I feel like I rewarded the person who did his job poorly.
By my lights, your son is doing the incredibly important work by teaching elementary grades.
It’s better when they don’t come on test drives with you. It lets you evaluate the car yourself, without a dope that probably knows next to nothing about the car jabbering in your ear and preventing you from paying attention to whether or not you like the car. The salesman was actually displaying a measure of trust in sending you out on your own - “I don’t think you’ll steal or hotrod the car, so I don’t need to babysit you. Go have fun and tell me how you liked it when you’re done.”
Points well-taken, Shadowfax. I guess I look pretty trustworthy . . .I think the whole experience has been colored by the negotiations and now the rudeness over getting the car for me.
The first time I didn’t have a salesman ride with me I was at a loss for words. And I wasn’t too familiar with the area, either, so I could have gotten lost easily, too. They asked if I knew my way around and told me a route to take when I told them I didn’t. Showed me how to start the car(put the FOB into a slot in the dash, etc.) and sent me on my way.
I obtained the car yesterday. While I am overwhelmed with the complexity (car feels like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to me!), the pick-up experience was great. They let me drive the car and inspect thoroughly before salesman went through most stuff with me. Am not over the moon–many things still too new–but hope I will adjust over time.
Oops, have been afraid to drive car. Mostly overwhelmed by electronics but also noticed vibration in gas pedal on the way home which was not really there when I test drove it before I paid for it.
So I have looked around for “vibration in gas pedal” and it sounds like maybe it is something horrible.
Am I being hypersensitive because I am not accustomed to car or should I bring it to dealer? What might this be? Car has only 20 miles on it!
OH, just drive it and see what happens. There is a reason they gave you the warranty, so use it while you have it. If you don’t drive it hard, you won’t know what potential problems there are.
I agree with galant. Take the car out for a long drive this weekend on all kinds of roads. Treat the car just as you would treat your 2nd year Latin classes. I imagine you test them in some form to find out what they have retained from 1st year Latin. When you find what they don’t remember that they should have learned, you address the problem. Do the same thing with your new car. Put it through its paces to make certain everything is functioning as it should. If something isn’t quite right, address the problem by taking it to the service department at the dealer.
As always, so many thanks. Took the car to the dealer today. A nice salesman (not the one from whom I purchased car!) drove my car, than another TSX wagon. Then I drove the other TSX wagon and my car with him. The other TSX did not seem to have the same issue but I noticed (as did salesman) that my car seems a bit peppier. And I noticed the issue was intermittent. So now I feel much better. Hope to get some real driving in this weekend but have an appointment with CarTalk donation program to say goodbye to the Saturn on Saturday.
Here is my almost annual update: car is fine but uses far too much gas. Dealer continues to disappoint–turns out the lifetime of free oil changes had conditions–they won’t change my oil for free because I don’t drive enough (they will only change it for free every 6000 miles). I am a firm believer in at least annual oil changes because my erratic driving habits (sometimes almost no driving at all) are hard on a car.
After all I went through for this purchase, I wish I were happier with the outcome. I am still so grateful to everyone here for all the advice.
