Wow, there seems to be a lot of disgruntled people.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rworne

 

I'm pretty sure there are. I would expect that if I walked into a dealer and wanted to pay sticker for a car, I'll have the most pleasant time. When you want to bicker is when it gets ugly. My opinions are also colored by my experiences and the experiences of others.

I've never gone to "no haggle" dealerships that started to appear after Saturn's selling philosophy hit the market. However, "no haggle" doesn't mean "no hassle". I worked in retail and know the pressure that is put on salespeople for "add-ons" like warranty contracts or paint protectant. That can turn a smooth, easy sale into hard-sell "buy this warranty before that P.O.S. breaks and costs you a lot of money!" type of selling. The gotta have Lo-jack and VINs stamped onto the glass type selling. The type of selling that has you walk onto the lot at 11AM and has you leaving with the new car after 4PM and totally exhausted.

I now shop for my cars via my auto broker at my credit union. Since I finance via my credit union, the CU picks up the broker's fees and I am out nothing whether I pick the car up or not. Now I don't deal with salemen at all. In fact, when I bought my S, I never set foot on the dealership it came from. I just went to the bank, filled out the typical forms, looked over the car, signed off and drove home. The broker even found me the exact model I wanted at a price that beat the best offer I could get while shopping around. Why the hell must a dealer do this:

1. Customer walks onto the lot
2. Salesman listens to what customer wants and matches autos based on price/needs then shows the next higher model.
3. Test drive/demo of the "final cut" of prospective cars.
4. Settlement over price: differing amounts of haggling, dealer's feigning disinterest in the trade-in, lowballing the trade-in, trying to resell the customer on a higher model (or higher profit model), push accessories, warranties, protections, alarms, etc.
5. Call in a "closer" if the customer puts up any resistance or refuses add-ons. Basically the nastiest guy in the dealership.
6. Customer gets fed up and wants to walk.
7. Dealership "loses keys" to the trade-in. Stranding customer.
8. Customer threatens to call police
9. Keys mysteriously reappear as customer pulls a cell phone out.
10. Manager comes in and offers to smooth things out.
11. Maybe a better price on car/trade in.
12. Financing, if applicable.
13. Sign off and drive home.

My experience at the CU:

1. I shop for cars online and look over/test drive candidates at various dealers.
2. Estimate "best price" online, call broker.
3. Broker finds car and gives me price, tax and lic. fees on the phone. I can agree to buy or not here.
4. Car is delivered to broker, I arrive, sign papers and inspect vehicle.
5. Final signoff and drive home.

I get a good price, dealer gets a very quick sale, broker gets a cut from the bank. Everyone's happy.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hatty Matty

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by derwood03

 

but there is a high demand for automobiles. regarless of price the cars will get sold, right now its just a matter of whos selling em.

if every dealership put there foot down and decided NOT to discount the cars in anyway and drop all added fees, the cars would still sell.

infact im sure they would sell for more money and get this...

i bet if there was no negotiating customers would get treated like kings and queens, and i bet dealerships would offer things like free oil changes to customers and would pamper customers in every way. cause you know what! people would by from dealers that treated them right if the price was all the same.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Poindexter

 

There will always be demand for cars, however the supply in the new and used market will always be greater. Except in cases of new models and luxury cars(Ferrari's, Bentley's).

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Poindexter
Here's another one to debate on:

Dealers,

Would you say there is a mood difference between someone who pays full sticker and someone who gets the best deal of the year?

 

The ones that pay sticker will not care until a neighbor or coworker gets the same car and they compare prices:

"I got this car for $33,060 + tax and license fees"

"Yeah, I got mine for $31,000 out the door and the dealer threw in a front lip, TI shift knob and spoiler."

I once ran across another S2000 owner who bought a used vehicle for a certain amount with about 10K on the odo. I usually freely say what mine costs when asked, but I got mine new at about the same time he got his used. I spent $250 more than he did. I didn't mention it because I felt bad for him. He was so happy to finally own his S, why should I spoil it for him?