[OT] I hate car dealerships...

[Desdichado]

You could always do what I do, although for various reasons I can see how it may not be to your liking:

• Work for a car company
• Go get all new cars on the handy-dandy hassle-free employee discount plan

 

[Paradoxish]

• Work for a car company

Nooo! That's like sleeping with the enemy!

Anyway, I hit another BMW dealership today and I found an '00 528i on the lot. I was originally looking at new cars, but I think I'm in love.

And at $33k (sticker price, that better come down) I'm not going to need such a huge loan. The guys at this dealership also seemed a lot more accomodating and less snobbish. Oh, and thanks for all the advice!

 

[Baron Von StarBlade]

Nooo! That's like sleeping with the enemy!

Anyway, I hit another BMW dealership today and I found an '00 528i on the lot. I was originally looking at new cars, but I think I'm in love.

And at $33k (sticker price, that better come down) I'm not going to need such a huge loan. The guys at this dealership also seemed a lot more accomodating and less snobbish. Oh, and thanks for all the advice!

Wow that seems a bit harsh, I got my 01 540 for about 38k. You should be able to get that down alot since the new body style will be out this summer (or you can just wait this summer and watch prices plummet).

 

[Paradoxish]

It depends a lot on your market. Everything, including cars, is overpriced in CT. I'll be able to get the dealer way down from that price, but it's a start.

 

[ninjajester]

just a few bits of advice to add to the thread...

getting approved for financing doesn't mean it's a done deal... when you get approved it means "we'll finance it if everything stated on the application proves true and you meet all our guidelines". and while it does normally only take 30 minutes to an hour to get an approval, it sometimes takes 2 weeks to a month before the dealership hashes out all the technical details with the finance company...

if you don't want a car that depreciates quickly, don't buy a saturn, kia, hyundai, daewoo, or oldsmobile... i personally think saturns are a great car, but the only car that depreciates faster is a kia. as for daewoos, i'll just say the company started out selling crappy electronics, and now the focus has shifted to selling crappy cars...

no haggle dealerships are normally more expensive than standard "negotiate-a-price" dealerships...

as previously stated, be prepared to walk away, and do so if you start to feel too pressured or angry. it works wonders...

don't agree to trade your vehicle until after the price of your new vehicle has been determined. otherwise the dealership may simply raise the price of the vehicle you're buying to offset some of the cost of the trade. it's a fairly common tactic. most will probably get upset if you do this, but very few will get so upset that they will let you walk out of there without signing the contract...

don't ever buy a used car until you've had your own mechanic look it over. if the dealership has a problem with this, remember the advice about walking away...

this last one is a given, but just in case... get everything in writing! just because the sales guy has an honest smile doesn't mean he's honest... if the dealership agrees to fix something, get it in writing. if they offer free oil changes for a certain amount of time, get it in writing. also, make sure to get a copy of all documents you sign. don't believe them if they say you can't have them. they're lying, and you should walk away...

i think that's it for now...

 

[Trip]

as for daewoos, i'll just say the company started out selling crappy electronics, and now the focus has shifted to selling crappy cars...

Heh, I agree, never buy a car from a company that made crappy TV's and VCR's. It's just bad.

Well called the lawyer, and he said the same thing somebody else mentioned, get the police. So I called them, without even bothering to call the car place first. Figured if they wanted to do things without my consent first, then I would do the same. With all ends I have all of my money back for the truck, all the work they did (in a check which I cashed earlier today), and a 100$ gift card for red lobster. I'm not sure if they are getting in further trouble or what's up with that. They were getting pretty lectured by the police . . The cops asked if I wanted to press charges, but I declined, I really don't want to get into all that, but they still had me fill out a couple different complaint forms which will be sent to the town court, better bussiness beauros, and to the Ford company themselves . . . to show what a bad name the dealership is giving them.

Now to find a new vehicle, guess I will spend the next few days looking about. Really like the caddilac escalade sport tracks . . . not sure if I can afford that off hand though, and i really don't want to get a loan considering my credit sucks . . ah well.

 

[ninjajester]

good for you, man. i'm glad everything worked out ok for you. a lot of dealerships act as if the law doesn't apply to them because they're so used to and for the most part good at pushing people around that they get away with it 90% of the time...

 

[jdavis]

Heh, I agree, never buy a car from a company that made crappy TV's and VCR's. It's just bad.

Well called the lawyer, and he said the same thing somebody else mentioned, get the police. So I called them, without even bothering to call the car place first. Figured if they wanted to do things without my consent first, then I would do the same. With all ends I have all of my money back for the truck, all the work they did (in a check which I cashed earlier today), and a 100$ gift card for red lobster. I'm not sure if they are getting in further trouble or what's up with that. They were getting pretty lectured by the police . . The cops asked if I wanted to press charges, but I declined, I really don't want to get into all that, but they still had me fill out a couple different complaint forms which will be sent to the town court, better bussiness beauros, and to the Ford company themselves . . . to show what a bad name the dealership is giving them.

Now to find a new vehicle, guess I will spend the next few days looking about. Really like the caddilac escalade sport tracks . . . not sure if I can afford that off hand though, and i really don't want to get a loan considering my credit sucks . . ah well.

When I had my problems with the local Ford Dealership selling me a lemon, I contacted Ford and they said that if I had bought a Ford from them (new or used) they could and would make the dealership make it right, however I bought a used Volkswagon Jetta from the dealership, so they basically told me sorry you should of bought a Ford.

I think that might be something for people to remember too, dealerships don't necessarily have to stand behind used cars that are not of a brand that they sell. Want a Ford, well you might not want to buy it off a Chevy lot. All dealers are different but when brand image comes in the Car companies take it serious, whether the car was new or used.