dealer tricks and getting the best deal

[2003Cummins4Me]

The two previous posts are acurate... our fake invoice were printed with a laser printer and looked nice and they were put in a book at the desk... the real invoice was in a filing cabinet in an office. Thats something that i REALLY didnt like at the dealership i worked at, they were very old school salespeople and they pressured the crap out of you... ie lie cheat steal type thing. Not my way of selling and eventually we started butting heads so i left... but i learned a lot of useful information about buying vehicles... live and learn.

 

[klenger]

Whether the invoice is real or fake, you can verify the invoice prices using one of the on-line car buying websites. That's what really matters.

 

[Jengle]

Question for the dealers out there. How close is the Edmunds Invoice price to the real invoice price, and how does that relate to the actual dealers cost for a given vehicle?

 

[krs]

..... and Vancouver Dodge in Vancouver Washington has a $2449. "dealer added markup" (some such term) on every '04 diesel truck on the lot.



Is the invoice price really what the dealer pays for the truck... ... A friend of mine dads delivers fords all over Texas for this dealer. A while back he had to go pick up two trucks so he asked his son if he wanted to drive one of them back so he did... ..... and his son was looking through it at the paperwork. Sticker was on truck with list price and in glove box was another piece of paper with what they payed for it. I will just use 20000 as a random number. Paper in glove box said there price was 10000 or about half of window sticker. Any truth to this?



Truth to it? I'm not sure. I did once receive a new Ford Crown vick that was slated to be a postmaster's car and had been delivered from a local San Jose, CA dealership inventory though it had been procured through GSA. The window sticker listed $22K and change but our receiving certificate of origin listed just under $12K as the price paid by the Postal Service.



Was the lower price the real cost of making the car? I don't know. I also don't know what we could do about it if it is.

 

[wbrown02]

As a sales mamager in a large Chevy store in So. Cal I have seen and heard just about everything from both salesman and customers alike... . Most of the time it is the customer who is lieing to us. At least in our store... . we tell oufr sales people not to lie to the customer about anything... . if they don't know the answer to a customers question..... find someone who does. People always brag about how little they paid for their car and about how much thay paid for their house..... most times they are not truthful abut either. Unless you are in a very competive market most dealers will not go into the hold back money... ... 3% on a 30,000 dollar investment is not unreasonable profit when you consider a commission must be paid, flooring charges are involved and keeping a place for service open is not free. If you like the dealer and the way you are being treated it might be worth it to pay a few dollars more especially if you intend to take that car to the dealer for service and warranty repair. Many times a dealer will help a customer above and beyond if he is a repeat customer or purchased from said dealer.

Very true statement... ... the last dealer to talk to the customer almost always gets the sale... . many times the customer is just plain tired of shooping. What is your time worth?

 

[DGibbs]

My experiance was like Navyramman. Went to Southtown Dodge in St. Louis and was met by a salesman named John Masters. He claims that DC has a deal going that employees can give their "Green sheet" to anyone between now and the end of the year. I was given the employee cost on the truck plus all rebates at the time. Got a much better deal on my 2002 Ram w/Cummins than anywhere else. Great experiance and no hassles!

 

[RobbieH]

Originally posted by 2003Cummins4Me

The two previous posts are acurate... our fake invoice were printed with a laser printer and looked nice and they were put in a book at the desk... the real invoice was in a filing cabinet in an office.

That's it... and what Tommy said... the real ones look like something from the 70's.



I have seen countless dealerships open a book full of pretty sheets of paper and say "look, you are only paying $50 over invoice... "

 

[Ramrod]

I was told today by my local salesman that no orders will be taken till after the new year. I wonder what type of rebates I will be able to get then if in fact his statement is true. I sold my truck yesterday. I was getting ready to go shop for the new ride. What do I do now. This sucks. I am in limbo with no ram. I have to drive my dads 96 Lincoln Town Car. If I have to wait a month to order I am looking at a long time to wait for a new truck. Well I guess I will post some used and new parts and accessories I have for sale.



Thanks to all the people who chimed in on this informative thread.

 

[Tomeygun]

ramrod:



do you want me to locate you one, so you can have it now??



Cause I know waiting stinks!

 

[Ramrod]

Its time

Its time. Let the bidding begin. Who wants to sell me a truck real cheap. Oh yeah, just make sure its a Cummins 600.

 

[lil red cummins]

tomeygun tells it like it is.



my "local" dealer was ok with at invoice, however he added a $475 advertising charge that he said was added to ALL orders for dealers in this area. i talked to a different dealer about 7 miles north and they said "what advertising charge?" .



guess where i ordered mine.



jim

 

[rroudy 98]

I always bought Chevy's until this year when I finally bought my beautiful CTD. Being a General Motors Employee, I had always been loyal and get GM's at a reduced price.



I won't pretend to know all the dealer jargon, and I also won't drive 200 miles to get a truck $500 cheaper, but I can tell you with 19 brand new vehicles purchased in three different countries, I have yet to have a dealer salesman at GM live up to his/her committments. Same thing now, if not worse at Dodge. Whether this be as simple as a free oil change, or floor mats, they always seem to go back on what they promised. You don't have to look very far in this website to find bad experiences. I know dealers have families to feed, but the fact is most of my bad experiences have nothing to do with price negotiation!!!!!



There are some exceptions, but I feel that I have had enough buying experience to say the vast majority of dealer sales people only enjoy helping their dealerships, and see themselves in the business of deceiving, and in many cases trained by their dealers to maximize money, not customer satisfaction.



The service personnel I have dealt with at GM and Dodge have been completely clueless, just last week they drove my CTD out on the lot and handed me the keys but the plug in the rear end cover was missing! Don't ever let a dealership tell you they have a good service dept. Request letters, references, meet the manager. . is he/she in on Saturday? Words are cheap... especially at a car dealership.



My advice: You will meet these 'shady' dealer personnel with each brand and each city, buy locally to make sure your tax dollars go to your schools and roads.



Sorry for being so wordy.

 

[Tomeygun]

Originally posted by rroudy 98

I always bought Chevy's until this year when I finally bought my beautiful CTD. Being a General Motors Employee, I had always been loyal and get GM's at a reduced price.

...

There are some exceptions, but I feel that I have had enough buying experience to say the vast majority of dealer sales people only enjoy helping their dealerships, and see themselves in the business of deceiving, and in many cases trained by their dealers to maximize money, not customer satisfaction.

...

My advice: You will meet these 'shady' dealer personnel with each brand and each city, buy locally to make sure your tax dollars go to your schools and roads.



Sorry for being so wordy.

I'm just shooting in the dark here, but i am going to guess that you have been deceived/lied to/scammed/tricked more than once at you local dealer... heck 19 of them, and not ONE good one??



Well, keep looking, cause there out there

 

[AlFischer]

I would like to add a few thoughts.



When I purchased my 2001 I visited 3 dealers and called several more. The first two had salesmen that treated me like an idiot. Young kids that just wanted to shuck and jive and then pass me off to the 'manager'. Very unprofessional.



The third that I visited (after calling him and agreeing to let him look for what I wanted) treated me with respect, was quite knowlegable and professional. I drove his truck, he gave me a price that I had expected to be fair and I signed the contract. 2 hours total time in dealership. Satisfied customer.



I will return to that dealership and that salesman.



Second thought (similar to first). People buy from people they like.

It is hard to like a kid that knows everything about everything and doesn't listen. I walked out of those dealerships and will not return.