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car shoping

goatster

SUPER SOAKER
Feb 20, 2005
2,360
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i went car shoping localy here today.although i dont know what i want.i went dressed more or less in work clothes.also telling them upfront it would be prob a month or 2.only 1 dealer asked me for any info and asked me to meet his manager.

reminds me of yrs ago a famer walks into a ford dealer and says hed like to buy a new truck.the owner flat out asked him if he had any money so the guy went across the street and bought a brand new chevywithin the hr. drove it back across the street and asked the owner if he thought he had any money know.

about 4 of the dealers sayed to me we have some nice used ones if you would like to take a look whille i was looking at brand new and asking about brand new veh.only the the one dealer didnt act like i didnt know what i could afford because of the way i was dressed.

oh well just venting alittle but that just burns my backside when someone thinks they know your money situatoin from what u wear.

narrowed the search to about 5 or 6 altough that could change if i could get something w/ low miles at a decent bargin.
 

limpalong

Mental Ward Escapee
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Oct 18, 2006
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Two points... I have worked in and around the construction industry for over 30 years. Certainly, there are some "interesting" people in our industry. But, there are many who have worked hard for years and could, and do, buy any vehicle they might desire. Yet, just try to get waited on auto shopping... or in hardly any customer service setting... when you are dressed as you leave a construction site! Salespeople don't want to "waste" their time waiting on who they perceive as the derelicts of society. And, that judgement is made simply by what a person wears.

The other "interesting" item is gender. I'm sure it's not as bad as it used to be. But... I would die for a Honda Ridgeline truck. Love the concept and hear nothing but good about them. My wife will never allow me to visit a Honda dealer, let alone purchase anything that says Honda on it. Some years ago, we were car shopping for her. Walked into a Honda dealership. The salesman immediately began quizzing me on what features I was interested in... completely ignoring my wife. I finally said, "Sir, this car will be for my wife." "Why don't you ask her these questions?" The salesman replied "When we get to colors, she can pick that out." "That's about all ladies know about cars, is what color they are!" My wife took me by the hand, pulled me from the dealership, we went over to the Lincoln/Mercury dealer and SHE bought a new Sable. To this day, she wouldn't even allow a Honda lawnmower around our house!!!

Good luck with your car shopping. As you well know, we golfers have had many experiences, good and bad, with autos and will be more than happy to offer "free" advice when you get specifics nailed down. There are also some great auto forums that are brand specific which allow people to "vent" about troubles with certain vehicles. Do your homework and your new vehicle will serve you well!!!!
 

BigJim13

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Staff member
Moderator
Aug 13, 2006
11,840
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Two points... I have worked in and around the construction industry for over 30 years. Certainly, there are some "interesting" people in our industry. But, there are many who have worked hard for years and could, and do, buy any vehicle they might desire. Yet, just try to get waited on auto shopping... or in hardly any customer service setting... when you are dressed as you leave a construction site! Salespeople don't want to "waste" their time waiting on who they perceive as the derelicts of society. And, that judgement is made simply by what a person wears.
!

while this is certainly true, I am in the insurance business and a LARGE part of our business is from people in the construction trades. Whether it be the one man "handyman" or the 200 employee construction firm. I find if you treat these individuals fairly and go out of your way just a little bit, it will pay you back tenfold. That one "grubby" looking handyman knows a dozen other handymen that all will be needing insurance and so it goes. I learned a long time ago that if you are going to be in sales then you need to get over the "judge a book by its cover" syndrome.
 

Davebud

Crackhead Zebra
Oct 31, 2005
1,723
0
Friend of mine owns a pizza place and he dresses scrubbed out all of the time, it took him three salesmen to get one that didn't want to run his credit before he found one, then he bought his brand new BMW with cash. He is about a year and a half away from buying his house the same way. He currently rents in a crappy duplex for 550 a month, but he is saving almost 8000 bucks a month towards the purchase of his home.
 
OP
goatster

goatster

SUPER SOAKER
Feb 20, 2005
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im kinda leaning towards a Nissan Xterra.that was the first place i went and was the only place that seemed intrested in selling me anything.they evem said there yr. end sale starts in a few weeks and they will get in touch with a few options.

but the reason i started looking know is so i can get somethung i want and a good deal.before ive always just seen 1 thing amd bought it.

im even looking into driving 100miles and getting buy back rentals with less then 15k on them. a few months back i found a 06 trailbalzer for 19k w/12k miles on it.thats about 8k off the ones ive seen up here.

but when i get right down to it i will get carfax if i buy used.
 

Bravo

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2004
5,822
15
Goatster:

When I bought my new Toyota Highlander a year ago, I ordered (for about $15) a 'new car dealer cost' report from Consumer Reports. You give them your credit card # and they fax the report to you or give you a link to it so you can print it out.

The reports shows the dealer cost on the car and each and every option.

As you know Toyotas are really popular and getting a discount on them is tougher than a Chevy or Ford.

I took the CR Dealer Cost Report and started with the base vehicle, then added all of the options I wanted and calculated the total dealer cost. I then added $500 to that and faxed it to two dealers here. Told them this is what I am willing to pay - $500 over what you paid for the vehicle from Toyota. Period.

One of them snapped it up in minutes. I drove down to their dealership and signed the papers. As I was driving away, the sales manager from the other dealer called to see what was up. I told him I had already bought from the other dealer. He cussed me out and said he would have beaten the deal....

The great thing about it was - I never dealt with the salesman until I signed the papers. I had already found the features I wanted by going to the Toyota website...so I handled the deal by phone and fax and actually dealt directly with the sales managers. None of this stupid waiting in the salesman's office while he "takes the offer to his sales manager" leaving you looking at pictures of his kids, dogs and Salesman of the Month awards.

The report sells for $15 and I figured it saved me about $1300....
 

Pa Jayhawk

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Nov 15, 2005
7,196
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You can likely get alot of the same information here, they've been in that business for about 30 years. I would never buy a car without getting their books, now with the age of the internet it is all free.
http://www.edmunds.com/
 

DaveE

The golfer fka ST Champ
Aug 31, 2004
3,986
3
I learned the lesson about clothes when I was in college.

I worked part-time in shopping center that was is a nice part of town. One day a guy was walking towards the shop in old overalls and no shirt and looked like he hadn't had a bath in weeks.

I made a comment to our manager about the "bum" walking towards us and he told me that the guy owned the shopping center and was worth millions.

I never made the mistake again. I did learn though that I could dress like crap and avoid car salesmen when I just wanted to look. :)
 

JoshinWA

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2006
185
0
A few comments...

1 - Nissan makes a great car - I have two Sentras and have not had a single problem with them (the 98 has 125k miles, the 01 has 55k).
2 - To get a great deal, I like the idea of faxing in the offer based on the dealer cost report, but in addition to that there are a few other things that I might suggest. First, every car dealer gets a "hold back" from the manufacturer. This is typically a 3% bonus for selling the car, so use that as leverage ("I know that you get a 3% hold back, so lets just subtract that from the price"). Secondly, try to purchase at the end of the month, preferrably when that also is the end of the quarter (so maybe around 12/30 for you). When you go in, ask them how they are doing towards their "market penetration" numbers. This is a magic number that each dealership is given as a goal for sales/quarter by the manufacturer. If they hit that number of units, there can be HUGE bonuses (i.e. $100k, trips to hawaii for all salesmen, etc.) If the dealership is close to the market penetration goal, they will sell you the car for less than cost to hit their target. Lastly, even if your bank has a better interest rate, finance the car with the dealership. They also get a bonus from the financing co., so you should be able to get a better deal based on that. Then, 3 months down the road, refinance with your bank, or pay it off if you have the cash...

These tips come from several car dealership owners/employees that I know and trust. I have used several of them to get my 01 sentra for around 2K below cost...
 

Bravo

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2004
5,822
15
A few comments...

1 - Nissan makes a great car - I have two Sentras and have not had a single problem with them (the 98 has 125k miles, the 01 has 55k).
2 - To get a great deal, I like the idea of faxing in the offer based on the dealer cost report, but in addition to that there are a few other things that I might suggest. First, every car dealer gets a "hold back" from the manufacturer. This is typically a 3% bonus for selling the car, so use that as leverage ("I know that you get a 3% hold back, so lets just subtract that from the price"). Secondly, try to purchase at the end of the month, preferrably when that also is the end of the quarter (so maybe around 12/30 for you). When you go in, ask them how they are doing towards their "market penetration" numbers. This is a magic number that each dealership is given as a goal for sales/quarter by the manufacturer. If they hit that number of units, there can be HUGE bonuses (i.e. $100k, trips to hawaii for all salesmen, etc.) If the dealership is close to the market penetration goal, they will sell you the car for less than cost to hit their target. Lastly, even if your bank has a better interest rate, finance the car with the dealership. They also get a bonus from the financing co., so you should be able to get a better deal based on that. Then, 3 months down the road, refinance with your bank, or pay it off if you have the cash...

These tips come from several car dealership owners/employees that I know and trust. I have used several of them to get my 01 sentra for around 2K below cost...

Good point about the 'holdback'...great suggestions about end of month and end of quarter too...
 

Glenn70

Well-Known Member
Aug 15, 2005
213
0
I just bought a Nissan Altima last month. So far I love it. Everyone's advice so far is right on the money. I'd like to add the following:

Read this article before you go shopping. http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html

I have to warn you that it is long, but it is great. Bascially, Edmunds paid a reporter to go undercover and get a job at a couple of dealerships. He then rights about his experience. A lot of the things in the article were pulled on me, but I was prepared for them and knew what to do about it.

One major thing, make sure you have the fortitude to walk away. Nothing made me more mad then hearing "So what can I do to put you in a car tonight". I wanted to run out of the dealership and take a shower immediately. Don't fall for the good cop/bad cop of the salesman and sales manager. Have the resolve to say "No, I need to think about it". They will always come back with "Well, you're not going to do much better than this". Oh yea? Well I'd like to go find out...good bye.

Ultimately, car shopping is one of the worst experiences you can go through. Just grin and bear it, make sure you get what YOU want.
 
OP
goatster

goatster

SUPER SOAKER
Feb 20, 2005
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great advice guys.im definately gonna use your wisdom.another thing i got to check into os the cost of insurance for the different veh.ive looked at.as one of them was an 07 Mustang.im sure that will hike my ins.

but since i figure ive got a few months to worl things out.all these tips and advice is sure gonna help.

now i just need to figure out what the payments on each vehicle will be.my old comp. had a program for that but i havent found it on my new comp.
 

Farquod

Short Game Tragedy
Mar 8, 2005
1,165
0
All of these tips are spot on, and work well. One is key tho...

...make sure you have the fortitude to walk away.

This is my key for any purchase, from a hexnut to a house. Don't ever get so enamored with something that you'll pay more than you think it's worth, or it could bug you 4 ever. I mean, who the hell bought those Tickle Me Elmos for $1000 right before Christmas a few years back, just so they could say they had them for Christmas? They were down to $24.95 the next day.

Same for what, the PSIII's today? Morons.

Only one point bothered me...

Lastly, even if your bank has a better interest rate, finance the car with the dealership. They also get a bonus from the financing co., so you should be able to get a better deal based on that. Then, 3 months down the road, refinance with your bank, or pay it off if you have the cash.

The financing rate is the great equalizer with a lot of these dealerships, and they pull a lot of crap with them. I bought a new 240 SX back when they first came out (first model year, probably 1990). Bought it end of the month, last day of the month, walked in the dealership 30 minutes before closing on a Saturday night. Got the price I wanted, agreed to take it that night, yada, yada, yada. (Coupe, red, black interior, 5-speed syncro, niiiiiiiiice) Then came the financing. Agreed on the rate (like 8.5% back then) and they ran the numbers and showed me the contract. Luckily, I had a computer back then (they weren't really that common yet) and had printed out payment numbers for all interest rates within a 10% and a $10k range. That 8.5% was more like 15.5%. Oops, so sorry, our mistake.

Uh huh.

So bring your Palm, Treo, or whatever, and have access to the right program--just to check. Though you do have 3 days to nullify a deal, so you should be able to have it fixed if they try to screw you this way. But it's much easier (and infinitely more satisfying) to just catch them initially.

And don't ever lease for personal use. If it comes to that, buy a good used car instead.
 
OP
goatster

goatster

SUPER SOAKER
Feb 20, 2005
2,360
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oh i definately check intrest rates between my bank and what they offer.last vehicle i bought i got a 1% cheaper rate thru the dealer.
also lease for me wouldnt be bad.i only have a 20 mi. round trip for work plus i will have 2 vehicles on the road.
 

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