Author Topic: Tell us about your expierience buying a car. (Read 4454 times)

lostmykeys · « **on:** August 29, 2012, 07:53:10 PM »

This could get ugly, as I was a car salesman for eight years.
This thread could be helpfull too.I have thick skin and it takes alot to piss me off so dont worry about me getting butthurt.
Just try not to get butthurt, because I am aware that buying a car is about as much fun as going to the dentist.Spelling mistakes soon to come,from me.

Stev-o · « **Reply #1 on:** August 29, 2012, 08:06:08 PM »

Traded an '05 Taurus that my wife inherited from her Dad. Great cond, clean, 60K miles. Hoped to get $6000.

Bought an '07 Toyota Rav4, 40K miles, very minor little rear quarter scrape, they were asking $15K. Came down to $14K, gave me only $5K for the Taurus and a cut a check for the balance.

Sweet deal, cool sales guy and The "RAD 4" is a great vehicle! [but I never drive it]

lostmykeys · « **Reply #2 on:** August 29, 2012, 08:23:02 PM »

Steavo,what year was it when you did this deal?

Stev-o · « **Reply #3 on:** August 29, 2012, 08:27:34 PM »

Quote from: lostmykeys on August 29, 2012, 08:23:02 PM

Steavo,what year was it when you did this deal?

Sept '11, almost a year ago.....

lostmykeys · « **Reply #4 on:** August 29, 2012, 08:32:50 PM »

Stevo,I need to know the details of what pissed you off reguarding this transaction.
What was the amount of the check they cut you?

Stev-o · « **Reply #5 on:** August 29, 2012, 08:35:24 PM »

Quote from: lostmykeys on August 29, 2012, 08:32:50 PM

Stevo,I need to know the details of what pissed you off reguarding this transaction.

Nothing, good deal. I think you confused man!

lostmykeys · « **Reply #6 on:** August 29, 2012, 08:48:48 PM »

Yea! Sorry SteavO.I got you mxed up with someone else, and it seems he was able to delete his post.

mark · « **Reply #7 on:** August 29, 2012, 08:52:35 PM »

I bought the Zook ('95 Swift) off a guy on craigslist. It still runs almost a year later. A $2 gasket fixed the f@&# check engine light.

lostmykeys · « **Reply #8 on:** August 29, 2012, 08:53:41 PM »

SteavO,I'm REALLY REALLY sorry.

Stev-o · « **Reply #9 on:** August 29, 2012, 09:03:27 PM »

Really?

lostmykeys · « **Reply #10 on:** August 29, 2012, 09:31:40 PM »

With my bad spelling and overall making an ass out of myself, I'm starting to feel somewhat insecure.
I REALLY need a woman with big boobies right now to comfort me.

mark · « **Reply #11 on:** August 29, 2012, 09:45:53 PM »

Quote from: lostmykeys on August 29, 2012, 09:31:40 PM

With my bad spelling and overall making an ass out of myself, I'm starting to feel somewhat insecure.
I REALLY need a man with big testies right now to comfort me.

there ya go.

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #12 on:** August 29, 2012, 10:52:51 PM »

There was this used car saleman in Mizery once that tried to screw me over on a car deal, Savage Pete might have been his name.

dave500 · « **Reply #13 on:** August 30, 2012, 12:56:38 AM »

remember the loser car salesman in that film 'FARGO"?i hope thats not you lostmydealerslicense.

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #14 on:** August 30, 2012, 09:12:01 AM »

It might have been Fargo, I am not so sure... all kind of fuzzy.

Duke McDukiedook · « **Reply #15 on:** August 30, 2012, 10:24:02 AM »

And you are not telling a story about your car buying experience, who is the dosenozzle now?

Hmmmmm? Hmmmmmm?

NewOldSchool · « **Reply #16 on:** August 30, 2012, 10:26:07 AM »

My first "Car" was a 1991 For Explorer. Loaded with 4 wheel drive, power everything, Eddie Bauer (!!!) edition haha.

Bought it from the family of a "friend" of mine in 2005 for $2800 bucks, with what I thought was 89,000 miles on the clock. It looked clean enough to believe and I didn't do a car fax because FRIEND! har har har.

After less than two years of ownership the front diff blew and leaked allll the oil out all over my driveway, driver's side interior door handle broke off, got a crack in a cylinder head, and it slowly alll went to hell.

Finally sold the beast for $500 to a scrap yard and was done with it. While looking for a new car I paid for the one month use of CarFax and looked up my vin # from the Exploder. IT HAD 289,000 miles on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It must have been garaged all its life, but DAMN?

LoVel · « **Reply #17 on:** August 30, 2012, 10:35:33 AM »

I have had nothing but great experiences buying cars. Salesman are the best ever but for some reason my anus is always a little sore the next day.

shark · « **Reply #18 on:** August 30, 2012, 02:33:03 PM »

Most car buying experiences have not been that great. A lot of thinking after the fact of what I should have done. And a lot of "did I make the right choice" moments.

There were a few exceptions.

The best one.

1990,my dad was tired of spending so much on gas, he decided to trade in the '72 Chrysler Newport on something more fuel efficient. We went to a used car section of a new car dealership where we had bought 2 cars previously off of a salesman we knew through a acquittance.

He was not there. We dealt with someone my age.

Durring the negotiating stage, we would not let him get a word in.

We gave this kid some abuse.

Then we just got up and went into the sales managers office and started negotiating with him.

Screw the whole "I need to talk to my manager" bit.

Duanob · « **Reply #19 on:** August 30, 2012, 03:27:56 PM »

Car Salesmen Suck!

Thats about it!

fmctm1sw · « **Reply #20 on:** August 31, 2012, 06:39:44 AM »

I've gotten much smarter than I used to be. I always say, if you go into a store not knowing more about what you want to buy than the sales people there, you're making a mistake. There's just too much informaiton out there not too. I always run VINs and check prices on replacement stuff through autozone. Then read up on any documented issues the vehicle may have had (shooting spark plugs on Ford Expeditions anyone?). Since I'm a pretty good wrencher though, I usually just determine what kind of vehicle I want, then go look for it. Experience pays too. Many lessons learned from that flooded Buick I had. $:-\$

ChuckG750f1 · « **Reply #21 on:** August 31, 2012, 01:33:36 PM »

Death By 1957 Chevrolet (Used Cars)
Roy L. Fuchs (Used Cars)

lostmykeys · « **Reply #22 on:** August 31, 2012, 09:44:59 PM »

Im glad I started this thread as I'm thinking about getting back into car sales.
One of you guys should upload the movie "Suckers" on this thread. I dare you.

Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er · « **Reply #23 on:** August 31, 2012, 11:33:41 PM »

Just pulled the trigger. I've owned a business that sold big ticket items so I'm very familiar with the 'tactics'. Also had some close friends at an Acura dealership so I feel like that provided inside info into the 'dealership culture'. I can talk some of the language as a fair warning to them. I went there today/Friday beginning at 5'ish pm. Close at 8pm. They want to make the deal and leave so they are less inclined to dick around and play 'the game'. I inform them I will NOT play 'the game'. Never been to the dealership prior. Sent email yesterday evening inquiring. Got a call this morning. Said I can't get in since I'm in the middle of painting my home's interior. Said I was just thinking outloud on a whim and I really didn't intend on purchasing. This was my BFD to them to start off. sales people can not take rejection. It ain't in their blood. Today is the last day of the month - urgency ensues. Sales people need the extra sales for their next bonus level. Managers also. This is model close out time with CHEAP financing. Deals galore. 2012's need to go so they can bring in 2013's. End of day. End of week. End of month. End of model year. "I'm sorry but I expected better deals. Maybe I should just wait for a 2013 or skip it altogether. It's just on a whim anyway". This after a VERY brisk test drive of my new 2012 Torch Red Grand Sport Corvette that hit 120 REAL quick. Too much traffic so I backed off. The manager 'just happened to overhear the deal I was looking at at the other Chevy dealer and I just happened to be sure that he did and he joined us as they usually do after he looks it up online. Bringing in the big guns to close. SOP. Then the 'what would it take?' comes out finally. 'You'll probably laugh but you asked - $x0,000 with my trade'. I have a great trade and knew what it's worth. They can sell it easily and at a premium. By now it's after 8pm and yes, they WILL stay to get a deal. He even mentioned he was holding up his evening date. Recently divorced just like me, NOW we are bretheren. ;-) So they all retreat to BS, lie, tell jokes and play with numbers. 'This is what we can do $x5,523.00'. 'Not even close' is my answer. He asks where I live and then we discuss the locals hangouts and the online dating sites. I tell him my ex hangs out at his favorite so I don't go there much anymore but I offer to buy him a beer sometime. Back to the deal as it's past 8:30 and EVERYONE involved from 2 sales people, managers, F & I, etc have to stay just in case a deal is made. I hold up the entire remaining staff ;-) They are actually working 3 or 4 signings and it's kinda crazy which makes them want to get done all the more. I respond 'there's no way I can go over $x2,000 so you'd either have to up the trade or lower your price or whatever combination otherwise I just can't do it!'. Almost 9 now. They take it back to Mr Big, come back with the congratulations, I sign a few papers and say I'll be back at noon, then we can all leave. These salespeople put in seriously long hours so go late and make 'em stay. One rule I was taught in sales is - the last person that speaks is the loser. Let them talk but don't give an answer. Let them counter. If not they lose. If they counter and it's good you win 'the game'. If you offer a counter then you just paid them more - you lose.

dave500 · « **Reply #24 on:** September 01, 2012, 02:55:15 AM »

i started young,i traded that jeep for a squad car,it had cop engine,cop suspension cop tires and good pick up.

Stev-o · « **Reply #25 on:** September 01, 2012, 06:50:27 AM »

Or it didn't happen! Good read, BTW.

Duanob · « **Reply #26 on:** September 01, 2012, 09:22:43 AM »

One mistake I will never make again is having the car inspected by a reputable mechanic. Sometimes dealerships are the worst. Even a Toyota Certified doesn't mean shyte. We bought our Honda Civic Hybrid from a Tpyota Stealership. I wanted to tke the car across the street to the Honda place to get inspected. He said it was Certified by Toyota. I should've inquired what that actually meant but I thought it sounded strange. But we bought it and it turned out it had been in a wreck that never showed up on Carfax. I'm pretty sure the sale-jerk knew about it. Scum Suckers anyway.

Stev-o · « **Reply #27 on:** September 01, 2012, 01:44:34 PM »

Car fax is a sham. Most likely your Honda was repaired in a mom and pop shop and they didn't take he time to report it.

greenjeans · « **Reply #28 on:** September 04, 2012, 11:02:55 AM »

Nobody likes buying cars, but I kinda like it. I negotiate for my parents, siblings and a few friends.

First off - take a couple hours and do your homework. Know what you are looking for and how much is a "fair" price.
9 times out of 10, I have financing in place before I make a single call or email.

I only talk to the sales manager or used car sales manager. Not wasting time with the guys that have no authority or are just learning the game.
I am polite and do not use a demanding tone.

I keep my communications short and sweet. "I am interested in one of your vehicles (stock number) - I have financing in place ready to go.
I would offer you X amount - no more. I am ready to buy today. If you can not meet that price, I understand and will continue to search"
I also add that I do not have much if any time to come in and negotiate. Just get the car ready and my bank will call your bank and we can be done.

Believe it or not, most salesmen hate "the game" as well. I'll always add, you can sell me that car in 10 minutes and have the rest of that time to sell another car to another client. Most appreciate the time savings as well. Anytime they start with the song and dance, cut them off and tell them that you do not have the time.

You have to be realistic too. If you are buying a new car you can't expect to get 10 grand off a 30k car... Also watch the fees for paper work etc.
Most states have limits as to what can be legally charged. Those can be negotiated as well. Last time, they tried to charge me $300 for paperwork. I told them I understand that they can charge some, but since I did most of the legwork for them and saved them hours of negotiation I'd give $100 and that felt like too much. Of course they said no, and I told them that believe it or not, I would walk out for that difference.

Be upfront and curtious with the salesmen from the get go. Saves everyone time.

lostmykeys · « **Reply #29 on:** September 04, 2012, 04:06:42 PM »

Greenjeans,You made a very point.You can always get more bees with honey than you can vinager.
However customers like you are few and far between as most customers want to get stupid and try to outsmart a salesman at his own game.
When you add a stupid salesman to that situation,nothing gets sold.
Car salesmen can become biased #$%*s and hate the car buying public and cut their own throats as salesmen because they cant hide this from the customer, even if they try.
I sold cars for eight years and saw both sides.
One thing that really blew my mind was this.
The customers that beat you up on price and were the biggest #$%*s and got the car for 100.00 bucks over were still a pain in the ass after the sale.
The customers that I made the most money on were the best and they sent thier friends to me.

CBGBs · « **Reply #30 on:** September 04, 2012, 07:40:02 PM »

I just bought an 08 Honda Element from a dealer. I've always bought from private sellers in the past. The salesman was very personable. We liked the car and talked them down about $600. We had two demands. There were a couple plastic fasteners missing on a couple interior bits that we wanted, and we needed the haze of wax removed from all the black plastic fenders. We created a document with those conditions and came back days later to inspect the fenders. We werent confident that they had removed the wax so we told the manager to keep it and do more work on it. They started to get impatient with us. Days later we came back to find the car looking great but when we went to pick it up they had lost the keys. So it had to be towed to a dealer and we demanded that a new remote be provided with the new key and that it be working, so it all had to be programmed. Gave us a working key and a non programmed remote with 2 of the 4 fasteners that we needed. Then there is the loan..... We had the dealer set up the loan and when they let us drive off the lot with the car we were expecting some paperwork to arrive in the mail. That never came. I called them when the payment should have been due and they directed me to a bank to make a payment. The bank had no loan on record for me and the Element. I called them and told them to handle it and get back with me. I had to call them back after a few days and went back to the bank to get the same response. I went into the dealer to demand a new temp tag and figure out the loan. They told me that they went to the head of the account and it would be personally handled in the morning. I wasn't impressed.
Today I was able to goto the BMV and plate the vehicle but I still need to get to the bank and see if I can make a payment.

mark · « **Reply #31 on:** September 06, 2012, 05:08:47 PM »

As long as you have keys and tags there's no need to worry about the little bs details.

72 yellow · « **Reply #32 on:** September 06, 2012, 06:08:53 PM »

Wife and I wanted to purchase a new van. Our trade in was a old Mercury Cougar with dead power steering and really bad brakes. You had to pump the brake pedal several times to build pressure. The salesman was a arrogant a-hole. He looked at the car from the showroom and said in a snarky voice "I won't give you anything for a trade-in on it, so don't ask." We didn't really care so we said nothing as we just wanted to get rid of it. When we picked up the van, he asked for the keys to drive the Cougar over to the used car office which was housed in a temporary trailer. We watched as he threw it in reverse and backed up, slammed it into Drive and headed for the trailer. The brake lights came on, then off, on, off,on, off, and on. He crashed into the concrete bumpers which kept him from going through the trailer. He returned to the showroom white as a ghost and asked "Why didn't you tell me the brakes were bad ?" I looked at him and said "You didn't ask". We left with the van and never returned there.

74cb750 · « **Reply #33 on:** September 07, 2012, 08:08:45 AM »

There is an old saying:
"Used car salesmen know lots of people, but have few friends"

I helped a friend negotiate the sale of a used MGB.
Next day we arrived with the $ in hand and the salesman
tried to pawn off a different MGB saying my friend had signed for the 2nd MGB
which was worth $$'s less and in worse shape.

What a sleezeball.

speedy gonzalais · « **Reply #34 on:** September 07, 2012, 08:27:34 AM »

2003 Peugeot 206 47,000 miles paid 175 pound for it with a head gasket fault intending to fix it, on closer inspection some one had just put oil in the water, weather it be the woman that owned it or her local garage trying to pull one over on her il never know.

lostmykeys · « **Reply #35 on:** September 08, 2012, 08:50:30 PM »

74cb750,a true friend would never allow his friend to buy an MGB,unless he was good with the electical nightmare that these cars possesed even when new.

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Author Topic: Tell us about your expierience buying a car. (Read 4454 times)