[Greengoose]

Ever wonder what really happens in the back room when the sales person leaves to go talk with the boss? Its long but very insightful. Edmunds.com hired someone to go undercover to find out what its really like on the inside as a salesperson.

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/ar ... ticle.html

 

[billmeek]

Like you said, a LONG read. But well worth it.

 

[pauljo]

Wow! That is the longest article I've ever read on the Internet! But I did read all of it. Fascinating. I like cars and motorcycles, and am fairly knowledgeable about them. I've sometimes thought that it would be fun to try sales for awhile. Looks like the fun gets pretty much sucked out of the process at many dealerships...

My worse car shopping experience was at a high pressure Toyota dealer years ago. Somehow, they got my car keys away from me. The sales person was terrible. Although I had told him exactly what we wanted to look at, he kept showing us vehicles that weren't even close. Walked us all over their several car lots until our legs ached. My son, who had never used bad language in front of us, called him a "F---ing Jerk" right in front of my wife and I. :shock: I went to the "greeter" and told her that we wanted to leave and needed our car keys. She informed us that we would not be allowed to leave yet. :shock: :shock: I informed her that unless I had my keys within 2 minutes, I would call the police. They brought the keys. I never set foot into another Toyota dealership - and I never will.

 

[vfdcaptain]

Thanks for finding that article Bryan - it was a great read.

I learned something new today - and that's a good thing!

Reg 8)

 

[Randy]

That was a true "2 cup of coffee" read. Interesting and well written.

 

[ajwood]

A couple of weeks ago, I read in our papers business section that Precision Toyota
had lost their BBB status because of their push/lie/swindle methods.

My 'Who are You...' post from Feb '04 tells the tale
of getting me and my brand new (and now expensive) AN400K3 out of the
22nd/Kolb Motorsports parking lot after closing.

Suzuki laughs all the way to the bank of Tokyo.

 

[bechtoea]

We have a dealer in Columbus OH that is famous for their horrid sales methods. It's even earned their own web site...

http://www.columbusconsumer.com/

I actually like dealing with them. They figure in their "crooked" money into deals, but if you catch them at it, you get the best deal in the world.

My 2002 Ford Ranger retailed for $13, 400. The lowest any dealer would sell it for was $9995 but my friends at Columbus told me they were selling them for $8495. Of course, you know as well as I that this is too good to be true. But the car business has been a hobby of mine ever since I was in grade school. The main reason I don't work in the auto retail industry is because I have integrety.

They attempted to sell me financing, bed liners, fabric protection, service contracts, etc; with no luck. Here's my checkbook, and I am ready to buy. They finally just added on $1600 in the contract for "anti theft engraving" and a service contract that I told them I didn't want. Once I caught them at that, I started to walk out. I ended up getting the truck for $9200 out the door. It was almost midnight and they were NOT happy, but I got my truck for about $1500 less than "honest" dealers were willing to sell it for.

Lesson learned. I will always buy off of the most crooked dealer I can find. By outsmarting them, I always seem to get the best deal.