Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

[the_invisible]

When you go to a Dealer's Used Car Department, you are usually able to make an offer of which the agent/sales person/marketing specialist could accept or decline. That's fair, right? That's the difference between car dealers and car stores. In car stores, you would not expect to be able to negotiate. Period. But in car dealers, you expect some sort of negotiations, be it a 15% or fifteen-cents off the listed price. The bottom line is, when a place that sells cars is labeled as a dealer, you expect to negotiate with the person representing the business.

So I've been planning to replace one of my cars with a 2007 pre-owned BMW coupe. I've been doing a lot of research recently and have found an ideal car. I requested a copy of the service record and the bodyshop invoices on the car I am looking at. The car has a lot of RIDS, swirls, brushing marks, wax-stained aluminum and rubber trims, and so on. The car is not in perfect condition, but nothing unrepairable. It'd be a great car to learn the rotary buffer on. The car is currently at a BMW DEALER. Not a BMW STORE.

So anyway, I think the car is mechanically sound and the price isn't too bad. It has 19" wheels and all the packages available. Though it is on the more expensive side. The price is not worth its asking price at all. It has been sitting in the used-car lot for over two months. That's gotta mean something.

So a few days ago, I cashed out some of my investments to purchase the car. I was planning to offer an extremely reasonable price to the dealer for the car, and drive it home. Note that I do not intend to lowball. My plan was to simply offer a price higher than the fair market value of what is worth of the car.

Today, I arrived to the dealer before it was even opened. I was greeted by a salesperson. I told them about the RIDS, the stained trims, etc. The salesperson gave me a blank look and said, "Yes? What's your point? What is your plan here?"

"I plan to drive this car home today, but I want to make you an offer first because I have inspected the car for half an hour and I do not think this car is worth its asking price," I replied.

The salesperson then told me that if I like the car, I buy it, if I don't, I leave. He doesn't accept offers. A store policy, he claims. I am just really fed up with the responses I got. Why is the business called a dealer when it is clearly not willing to accept offers. Also, I was not offered the chance to see the car start-up or to inspect the interior of the car. I found that a little offensive. MAYBE I would pay full price for the car if I were treated with more respect. But I was simply told to leave if I were expecting a negotiation.

I don't think this car will ever get sold for its asking price. A few weeks from today the price will drop once again. And that is when I will make my move. I hope.

If the car is sold at its current asking price, then all the power to this BMW dealer.


Even when I eventually buy the car at its asking price, should I find a different salesperson? The first salesperson I encountered on my previous visit did mention the word "negotiate" a couple times.
Maybe I should reserve some dignity and shop elsewhere?
What do you guys think?

[Eddie6th]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

I don't think the price will drop in the near future. Shop around. Check private sales.

As far as attitude goes,these guys are all the same. They're only nice when the money comes out or about to come out.

In the past 20yrs,I can honestly say,I've only met one or two nice salespersons. As for the rest,they all have superiority complex.

[Trojan fan]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

I think you call back, ask for the sales manager and explain your situation. That you were at his dealership with a pocket full of cash that you wanted to give them, but that the sales associate turned you down. Most things going these days cash is king.... you're not talking about financing....

[the_invisible]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

I don't think the price will drop in the near future. Shop around. Check private sales.

As far as attitude goes,these guys are all the same. They're only nice when the money comes out or about to come out.

In the past 20yrs,I can honestly say,I've only met one or two nice salespersons. As for the rest,they all have superiority complex.

I agree. I've never had any decent experiences with salespersons. And I can understand their attitude.

A friend of mine who worked at the Used Car Department of a VW Dealer told me that their profit margin is sometimes as high as 40%. And salespersons of high end car dealers could make a very decent living by selling only one car a week.

The salesperson I talked to today was wearing Italian Designer brand clothes from head to toe.... lol...

I think you call back, ask for the sales manager and explain your situation. That you were at his dealership with a pocket full of cash that you wanted to give them, but that the sales associate turned you down. Most things going these days cash is king.... you're not talking about financing....

I think their manager would ignore me. The sales manager earns comissions based on decisions he/she makes with the sales agents. In cases where the the sales manager doesn't earn an incentive bonus, he is paid to ensure that his sales agents and the business sell products for as high of a price as possible. This particular dealer's policy is ZERO price reduction on all used cars... so I do not have a case. What I lost is two hours of my time and some gas money to visit this BMW dealer.

[Eddie6th]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

[QUOTE=the_invisible;351936]

The salesperson I talked to today was wearing Italian Designer brand clothes from head to toe.... lol...


That doesn't surprise me. They must be making a good living.That gear is expensive.....(not worth it IMO).

[Calais]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

After the incredible run-around dealers have given my uncle for the past few months in his effort to buy a fairly new used American car. He ended up with a beautiful Ford Five-Hundred. They flat out lied to him about pricing a whole bunch of times, tried to put the most ludicrous charges on the bill and made every attempt to milk every dollar out of him. The stories I heard were unbelievable. Thankfully, I only really like classics so I won't have to deal with any car dealers in the near future.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

I would definitely give the sales Manager a call, tomorrow.Tell them that you were there with cash, Did your research, and were prepared to make a fair offer. If he is any type of business man, he will at least here you out. After all they have overheard to. mention the fact that the car has been sitting for a couple of months. That is costing them. Maybe it will work. Either way, Good luck to you.

[DAC17]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

I would check some of the BMW enthusiast web sites. There will be lots of nice cars for sale that people will be willing to entertain offers on. At the end of the day, someone wants to sell the car or they don't. Can't make them change their minds until the car becomes stale on the lot.

[Ryan L.]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

I agree with going to the sales manager. When we were shopping for the Jeep we have now it was between that and a another F150. We came on a Monday cash in hand to buy the Jeep and take it home. Sales person wouldn't budge on the price or warrenty (which was the main thing we wanted) and so we told him were going down the street to buy a F150.

He says okay fine go buy it. We come back with a F150 on a test drive and park it next to the Jeep and told the sales manager that we will be leaving today with either that Jeep or that F150 and he gave us a incredible price and the warranty we wanted.

Ryan

[sdprius858]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

When I bought my Eclipse 3 weeks ago, the Mitsubishi dealer offered me $15,000 for my 2008 Toyota Prius Package 2 with 23k miles. The Eclipse was $19,988 and had been sitting there for 4 weeks (which I had been following the price drop from 22k to its current asking).

I told him $15,000 was a joke and Edmunds and KBB in POOR condition (which mine was def. not) was $15,800 and Excellent was $19,000. He said all he could do was bring the price of my trade to $16k and drop the price of the Eclipse to $17,800. Partly because I bitched about the paint condition which I have my hands full with.

Before this, I looked at an 06 BMW Z4 2.5i with 22k miles asking $20,000. Dealer would not budge even though the car had been sitting on his lot for 3 MONTHS!

[the_invisible]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

Thanks for the insights, guys!

Sooo... I emailed a three other sales associate from this BMW "dealer". They all replied telling me that their business policy is that they sell all of their used cars at their list price. One told me that there are and always be a couple instances where they may budge a couple hundred dollars for a customer, but that is rare and told me not to count on it for the particular model I am looking at.

Brand new BMW's are a different story because new BMW sales are extremely competitive in British Columbia. According to my friends, discounts on new BMWs usually come in the form of packages and options at half price.

I guess I will wait. This car won't be sold for sure at its current list price.

The ten or so RIDS on this car will require wetsanding, and is the sole reason why this car has been sitting on the lot for two months.

[CieraSL]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

If you really want to buy that car, go to the head hog in charge and ask him about their policy. Worst case scenario, you get the same shuck and jive you got from the sales people. But don't take sales reps' word for anything. I have heard salesmen make some of the most outrageous claims. One salesman told his customer he wasn't supposed to wax a brand new car for at least 6 months. The customer looked rather dubious and asked me if that was right, and I told him he could wax it whenever he wanted to. So, my point is, go to the top and inquire there.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

You told the salesman that your plan was to drive the car home that day, but did you specifically mention that you had cash in hand?

My wife and I recently purchased a year old, lightly used vehicle for her and I let it be known immediately that we would be paying in whole for the vehicle. After making an offer on the vehicle the sales manager said that their advertised price was already a heavy discount from their "original" asking price and that he didn't have $50 to give on the deal. I replied that if that were the case, we had nothing left to talk about and I wouldn't be taking up any more of his time, or mine. My wife and I stood up to leave and that was enough to restart negotiations. We held our ground and got the car for what we wanted to pay.

I did the same thing several years ago when I purchased a used Miata, even though the finance guys wanted to argue pricing with me. I politely told them that they had my offer, that I knew the car had been on their lot for many months, and if they should decide they actually wanted my money they could call me - but don't wait too long! They stopped me at the front door and wrote the deal I was asking for.

You had cash in hand - that should be the most powerful shopping tool you could possibly ask for. With cash in hand you, not the dealer, are negotiating from the position of strength.

[the_invisible]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

I kind of assumed that the salesman would know I had cash in hand. Before we even sat down, the salesperson basically told me that the "dealer" has a firm price policy.

Today, I called this dealer and requested to speak with the "sales manager". My call was routed to a regular sales associate. I asked again to talk to the sales manager, and was told that the sales manager does not interact publicly with customers regarding sales, and is represented by his team of associates. Acting as a new customer, I asked if there is any price negotiation room on used cars, he said maybe a couple hundred dollars at best on certain models.

So yeah, that pretty much confirms what I have experienced yesterday.

[Mark McGuire]

Re: Fed Up with Car Dealers!!

If you have cash money in your hand. Do this, walk in and sit down with a salesman, tell them your offer and put the money on the table. Tell them in 5 min. you will take 100 dollars back, for every 5 min. you will take another 100 dollars back, I would say that within 15 min. you will either have your deal or you can leave knowing they won't give. Just my thoughts.