vader1

After months and months of surfing for different cars, one car caught my attention. The price was right, it was two years old, had 6,000 miles on it and was priced $25k off its original sticker. I sent inquiry to the dealer they said they would not move off the price, which was ok by me as the price was fair. It was out of state but a half days drive so I said I could come down and get it, but needed a value on my trade. They said I needed to send them photos, options, and the VIN, so I did.

I was told they would get back to me with a trade offer and if I liked it, would sign a purchase agreement. They did get back to me. To sent me an email telling me they raised the price $2,000. No trade appraisal. They did not raise the price on their website, or on any of the apps it was offered on, just to me as far as I could figure. So I thought, "Screw em!" Then I get home and they have left three messages on my answering machine about getting back to them to close a deal.

I have blown them off completely, but still wonder if there is a way where I answer the phone and it is a live person from that dealer how to yank their chain and make them run in circles for a couple hours before they realize I am now as serious about buying the car as they are about trying to actually sell it to me.

I don't think they can actually wonder why people hate car salesman.

sam_spider

That is pretty bad. Check if they have any type of presence on social media and post a picture of the purchase agreement and picture of the listing online for $2k less, it may get some attention.

vader1

Yeah I don't even have any intention of mentioning them here, don't want to go the social media route, walking away is good enough for me. Plenty of other dealers and plenty of other cars. But I thought other people might have some horror stories.

I worked at a dealer as a teen and I remember listening to the salespeople laugh about how they would screw over non-sophisticated customers. Just kind of a weasely business at some places, and very professional at others.

Soul Coughing

I sold cars briefly when I was younger and the joke among the sales guys was trying to get a customer to sign off on the BOC package for $2000. The money would go straight into the salesman's pocket and was short for Balls On Chin package; needless to say, car sales wasn't for me! I've recently seen dealerships try and charge people for nitrogen filled tires, and exorbitantly priced doc fees.

QUIKAG

My worst story still to this day was my girlfriend a few years out of college needed a ride to replace her aging Camry. She decides on a new '04 4Runner and I check around with a few different dealers. One is very responsive and good, Texas Toyota in Grapevine, TX. We agree on like $4k off the 4Runner and they said they would give a grand or two on her old, busted Camry over the phone. To speed up the process, my gf fills out a credit app and faxes it over with her salary, DOB, social, etc.

We show up after work and the guy I was dealing with wasn't available so they put me with their "best" salesman. We literally start over from scratch. He agrees to knock $500 off and offers lease deals with like $5k down and $800/month and other completely ridiculous crap. They are playing the "4 Square" game, marking on it, asking her to intial and sign one of the boxes (of course we don't) and I'm really starting to get pissed. I told the guy multiple times, we had a deal on email and we want them to honor it and to stop the BS.

They finally agree they can work something out with us and say they misplaced her credit app and ask her to fill out another one. As she's filling it out, the light turns on in my head that if they really lost it, it has a lot of very confidential info on it and that would be pretty bad. I jump up and ask for the manager and tell them they need to find the original credit app or I'm going to flip out. They start playing more games and said it's not lost, it's probably just misplaced, may even be locked in their safe or some crap. I literally start yelling that we want her Camry keys back and we are leaving. I was yelling and getting angry enough that 3-4 salesman were standing around me while their manager was trying to calm me down. They finally give us the Camry keys, we take the second credit app and put it her purse, and I tell them to F-off and we walk out and drive off in her old Camry.

F THAT PLACE. Texas Toyota in Grapevine sucks balls.

A few weeks later, she bought a new '04 Acura TSX from a good Acura dealer out in Fort Worth and it was an awesome car for her for years.

freq

This thread has potential.

vader1

The now out-of-business Dodge dealer I worked at back in the day was right at the forefront of the "protection package" craze. Rustproofing, fabric protection and paint seal. We charged $1200 for it, when cars were all about $15k sticker price so nearly ten percent of the cost of the car. Rustproofing was sort of legit, but totally unneeded. Fabric protection was me puffing a spray bottle of Scotch Guard on the seats and carpet. And paint seal was a cheap spray on wax and a run through the Buff-and-Shine machine. Half the time these were noted on the sticker and not actually done to the car, half the time they were and you could not even tell if two of those three had been done or not if you were not sure, only the rustproofing left actual goopy evidence.

I saw a cost per car sheet and the actual dealer cost to do this stuff was less than $50 per car. Not quite the BOC package, but close.

mosesbotbol

My buddy has been in the car business for 20+ years. Had his own dealerships, partners is others... He now works at Lexus dealership and is killing it. Very little selling; more just order taking. Once the first round of his leased customers comes up a high percent will lease another one...

He had a story about one dealership (he did not work at) that use to throw the customer's keys onto the roof and tell the customer "we can't find your keys" in order to keep them at the dealership until they made a deal. He also has a saying "You know how to tell a car salesperson is lying? Their lips are moving."

When I bought my Rapide, I thought I'd do the dealership a favor and give them first chance at financing. They told me the best they could do was 6% because it was exotic and blah, blah... I go to the local bank and get like 3.5% and update the dealership I got my own financing now. He says "if we can match that, will you finance through us?" I said "you can't get that rate, you already told me that..." Friggin crooks; probably got 2 points on that loan if I did it.

mosesbotbol

Funny you mention that story. My parents bought a Dodge Raider in 1987 and got the rust proofing. It was $500 at the time. We had the car until 2005 where it was rusting through near the gas tank. Car would smell from gas. The rust proofing company gave us a check $350. Probably the last Dodge Raider on the road in New England!

Saki GT

I've been casually looking at a used car purchase this year, and for the most part have just sworn off dealers. I'd rather deal with some private citizen and their emotional price inflation than a dealer and their bs fees.