I hate car dealers/car salemen

[BoredSysAdmin]

Every time I have to deal with them it's as annoying as pulling teeth.
/Rant

 

[Mikado463]

Luckily I've never had to have any teeth pulled, but dealing with car sales people for the most part have been ok. My current DD purchase was the second one with the dealership and the salesman, it was quite pleasant actually.

 

[Trell]

… My current DD purchase was the second one with the dealership and the salesman, it was quite pleasant actually.

Serious warning signs that you did not make the best deal.

 

[Mikado463]

Serious warning signs that you did not make the best deal.

my brother in-law owns the dealership

 

[cpp]

my brother in-law owns the dealership

I got to be friends with a Chev dealership owner a long time ago and got to obtain some cool cars at a nice price. Its become a life long friendship with his family since the late 60's. There are still some decent car dealerships out there but few and far between it appears these days.

 

[Alex2507]

Every time I have to deal with them it's as annoying as pulling teeth.
/Rant

Their reputation precedes them.

Like if they can't rip you off they start squawking about, "what, you don't want me to eat"?
So what if I don't?

 

[Cos]

Leased my past 3 BMWs through the same dealership. I have owned or leased 5 BMWs, but had a relationship through their service department.
1st time: Ok deal,
2nd time: Insane deal (right before covid)
3rd Time: Great Deal (considering market conditions) I also had them buy my lease instead of turning in and was able to apply 9k equity to the lease. (used car market was still high and the lease buy out was significantly less than market value) I had a third-party company who buys out leases provide a quote when I went to the dealer. They were able to bypass the lease agreement BMW has where you can't trade your car into another mfr. because they use other dealerships to buy the car.

Lessons Learned:

• Shop, internet shop, most dealers will throw you some numbers over the phone
• Use Edmonds to do research, extremely useful in understanding the money factor, risdidual value BMW offers on a lease and how much the dealer marks it up, i had them remove the mark up on money factor
• I bid one dealership against the one I had a relationship with, just to keep them honest

It helps to have a relationship with the dealership, I am fairly comfortable now playing the game, which has become a lot less of a game and more like a simple process to follow.

 

[TankTop5]

my brother in-law owns the dealership

Literally means nothing. 20 years in auto sales.

 

[Trell]

Literally means nothing. 20 years in auto sales.

You for sure have given him some food for thought on the Thanksgiving family dinner!

 

[TankTop5]

You for sure have given him some food for thought on the Thanksgiving family dinner!

I have a very good friend that runs a dealership across town. His brother-in-law came to see me because he wanted a different make and model. Called my friend and told him I would show his brother-in-law a professional courtesy. Prepared two sets of figures one that I would show, any customer as the first set of figures and then one deeply discounted without any finance products. Showed him the first set of figures, he looked at them and said they looked great and he’d take the car. Waited a month before calling my buddy, and he laughed his ass off.

I also sold my mother-in-law a vehicle and made sure she had every warranty known to man, if she calls in the middle of the night a year or two down the road, I can just give her the 800 number and go back to sleep

 

[Mikado463]

Literally means nothing. 20 years in auto sales.

20 years, hell you're a 'rookie' !

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Leased my past 3 BMWs through the same dealership. I have owned or leased 5 BMWs, but had a relationship through their service department.
1st time: Ok deal,
2nd time: Insane deal (right before covid)
3rd Time: Great Deal (considering market conditions) I also had them buy my lease instead of turning in and was able to apply 9k equity to the lease. (used car market was still high and the lease buy out was significantly less than market value) I had a third-party company who buys out leases provide a quote when I went to the dealer. They were able to bypass the lease agreement BMW has where you can't trade your car into another mfr. because they use other dealerships to buy the car.

Lessons Learned:

• Shop, internet shop, most dealers will through you some numbers over the phone
• Use Edmonds to do research, extremely useful in understanding the money factor, risdidual value BMW offers on a lease and how much the dealer marks it up, i had them remove the mark up on money factor
• I bid one dealership against the one I had a relationship with, just to keep them honest

It helps to have a relationship with the dealership, I am fairly comfortable now playing the game, which has become a lot less of a game and more like a simple process to follow.

Yes, I do all that. Only times I was able to get a deal on leases is a combination of three things:
a) Very low interest rates
b) Major deals from car manufacturers to push unwanted models (like it was in the 2020s with unwanted Honda Passport models)
c) Finding a low competing deal online. aka other leasing companies' offers, LeaseHackr, Edmunds forums, etc..
Unless stars align just right and ALL THREE conditions match then you're SOL getting either Insane or great deal.

Maybe by next Tuesday once I'm properly bored at work I'll write up the experience(s) that let to this rant.

 

[Cos]

Yes, I do all that. Only times I was able to get a deal on leases is a combination of three things:
a) Very low interest rates
b) Major deals from car manufacturers to push unwanted models (like it was in the 2020s with unwanted Honda Passport models)
c) Finding a low competing deal online. aka other leasing companies' offers, LeaseHackr, Edmunds forums, etc..
Unless stars align just right and ALL THREE conditions match then you're SOL getting either Insane or great deal.

Maybe by next Tuesday once I'm properly bored at work I'll write up the experience(s) that let to this rant.

To my benefit, I did refer them 3 new car sales, which probably didn't mean much, but gave me fuel to negociate

• 2018 BMW X3M40i (1st release year) Saved about 4k of MSRP this model was hard to get 1st year out.
• 2021 BMW X5M40i Saved 14k off MSRP with all incentives
• 2024 BMW M440i Xdrive only saved 4800 + Lease buy out which added 9k equity.

The X5 and M440i were about 1k difference in MSRP, but my lease for the M440i ended up being about 100 more (all things being equal) due to higher interest rates (money factor) and the car market hadn't recovered yet. Thanks to the equity in on my X5 my lease payment ended up being less.

 

[lovinthehd]

my brother in-law owns the dealership

You're best buddies or just related?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Long story as promised:
My current car is a humble 2021 Honda Passport EX-L AWD in nice blue. The reason for this specific car it was an amazing deal upgrading from back then 2018 Subaru Outback Limited. While I lost built-in Navigation, with my Passport I gained a big step up in cargo space and with Car play, the navigation isn't an issue anyway. Just plug in your phone. The original 3-year lease was to end this April, but I spoke with the leasing bank and extended it for another 6 months, now ending toward the end of October.

I considered buying out the passport, but due to somewhat "high" mileage - currently at 34k miles I can see tires, breaks, and probably a few other wear items would need replacement soon, making the next maintenance a likely expensive one. I have saved enough to do so, but I wanted to explore new leases first. The car has a few minor scratches on the paint and a few recent rim damage on the passenger side courtesy of my wife losing a war with a sidewalk. I also still have 2 payments on it.

On leasehackr forums, I found a deal for a 2024 Honda Passport EX-L AWD with 5k down, should've been around $369/m for 3 years/10k miles per year miles. Per my previous experience best way to get the deal is to my local car dealer and have them honor the same deal.

In addition just in time for Labor Day, my local Honda dealer sent out an email with this offer:
5k down and $375/m for Honda Pilot EX-L AWD with 36m/10k miles. FEES AND TAXES NOT INCLUDED.
So I wasn't been born yesterday I made an appointment, walked into to dealer, and told the guy - I know you have this great deal advertised and I know FEES AND TAXES NOT INCLUDED in the deal, so how much it would be in total? I also clearly stated that 5k is ALL I WANTED TO SPEND TODAY. Included everything.

After a customary wait time, the sales guy comes back and shows me a paper showing a deal for $375 per month and saying that he will honor the deal for either Pilot EX-L or Passport EX-L. Given the prior clearly more expensive car, and while I don't need 3rd row, it might be useful sometimes, it's a brainer I told him to lets go with Pilot EX-L. As I'm not too picky on color (anything but white) - we settle on a model finished in gray with a dark gray leather interior - a fairly classic and tasteful combo.

After spending the next nearly 2 hours checking my car, credit check, and a bunch of paperwork, I finally was invited to nearly the last step of signing an actual new lease by talking to the finance manager. And here the hammer drops - all this time sales guy hid a "little" fact from me - the FEES and TAXES WERE NOT INCLUDED AFTER ALL and If I still want the lease then my downpayment would be not $5k but nearly $10k. WTF.

I am pissed off, but try to stay cool - ok I tell him, how about we consider a new Passport EX-L lease. Best for the dealer to cover one of two payments on the passport. Made ME responsible for any excessive damage to my current car. And his best offer was $389/m with 5k down. Threatening walking out didn't help and I did.

The story isn't ending here as now I emailed the NY Honda dealer which I mentioned above from leasehackr and guess what - the deal was for the 2024 Passport which are now all gone, and the new 2025 Passport deal was over $420/m with 5k down.

You can see why I am so frustrated with this crap.

 

[Cos]

If a Car Dealer DOES THIS, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY | 3 Red Flags (youtube.com)

Youtube caredge channel. Tons of great information! I refer this anyone looking to buy a car.

FYI Honda and Toyota are the hardest to negotiate on as they are very much in short supply, high demand mainly because they are reliable and solid built cars

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

@Cos - I found in general Honda provides better value and deals than comparable Toyota cars.
This video in particular so painful as I've seen similar both dealer and customer behavior before:

 

[Bobby Bass]

Having bought so many cars or helped others over the years I have a lot of stories. My favorites are the one where the dealer wanted my car keys and not just to copy but to keep my license if I took a test drive. Goodbye. Second was the dealer where the buyer I was with felt so uncomfortable in the lot he couldn’t wait for the salesperson to go inside so we could leave. As we were leaving the salesperson ran out of the sales building chasing my car down the lot screaming, “wait, wait don’t leave”. There are some great dealers and salespeople and others to avoid just like many other businesses. Great that you’re doing your research and sticking to what you want and your budget. It gets me when I hear buyers answering the standard first question, “how much do you want to pay a month?”with anything but, ‘want to pay? Zero”. If you don’t feel comfortable or like the deal, move on.

 

[dolsey01]

Long story as promised:
My current car is a humble 2021 Honda Passport EX-L AWD in nice blue. The reason for this specific car it was an amazing deal upgrading from back then 2018 Subaru Outback Limited. While I lost built-in Navigation, with my Passport I gained a big step up in cargo space and with Car play, the navigation isn't an issue anyway. Just plug in your phone. The original 3-year lease was to end this April, but I spoke with the leasing bank and extended it for another 6 months, now ending toward the end of October.

I considered buying out the passport, but due to somewhat "high" mileage - currently at 34k miles I can see tires, breaks, and probably a few other wear items would need replacement soon, making the next maintenance a likely expensive one. I have saved enough to do so, but I wanted to explore new leases first. The car has a few minor scratches on the paint and a few recent rim damage on the passenger side courtesy of my wife losing a war with a sidewalk. I also still have 2 payments on it.

On leasehackr forums, I found a deal for a 2024 Honda Passport EX-L AWD with 5k down, should've been around $369/m for 3 years/10k miles per year miles. Per my previous experience best way to get the deal is to my local car dealer and have them honor the same deal.

In addition just in time for Labor Day, my local Honda dealer sent out an email with this offer:
5k down and $375/m for Honda Pilot EX-L AWD with 36m/10k miles. FEES AND TAXES NOT INCLUDED.
So I wasn't been born yesterday I made an appointment, walked into to dealer, and told the guy - I know you have this great deal advertised and I know FEES AND TAXES NOT INCLUDED in the deal, so how much it would be in total? I also clearly stated that 5k is ALL I WANTED TO SPEND TODAY. Included everything.

After a customary wait time, the sales guy comes back and shows me a paper showing a deal for $375 per month and saying that he will honor the deal for either Pilot EX-L or Passport EX-L. Given the prior clearly more expensive car, and while I don't need 3rd row, it might be useful sometimes, it's a brainer I told him to lets go with Pilot EX-L. As I'm not too picky on color (anything but white) - we settle on a model finished in gray with a dark gray leather interior - a fairly classic and tasteful combo.

After spending the next nearly 2 hours checking my car, credit check, and a bunch of paperwork, I finally was invited to nearly the last step of signing an actual new lease by talking to the finance manager. And here the hammer drops - all this time sales guy hid a "little" fact from me - the FEES and TAXES WERE NOT INCLUDED AFTER ALL and If I still want the lease then my downpayment would be not $5k but nearly $10k. WTF.

I am pissed off, but try to stay cool - ok I tell him, how about we consider a new Passport EX-L lease. Best for the dealer to cover one of two payments on the passport. Made ME responsible for any excessive damage to my current car. And his best offer was $389/m with 5k down. Threatening walking out didn't help and I did.

The story isn't ending here as now I emailed the NY Honda dealer which I mentioned above from leasehackr and guess what - the deal was for the 2024 Passport which are now all gone, and the new 2025 Passport deal was over $420/m with 5k down.

You can see why I am so frustrated with this crap.

I was in a similar situation with my 2020 Acura MDX, but half the mileage, I think you leased your Passport shortly after. Acura and Honda's lease support still pretty much sucks right now. Still no reason to put down the now standard 5K everyone is advertising. You can still drive off with just inception fees.

I've been carefully watching for the last few months and aside from some incredible EV deals, the best ICE leasing right now seems to be Volvo and Mazda. My local lease broker BostonCarConcierge (LF and FB) has posted some pretty incredible deals lately for both. I just sent Acura of the payoff for my MDX, it was 24K and when I calculated what I was going to spend on another 3 year lease for something similar, it was about the same amount of money so it was a no-brainer for me. I've been leasing Honda and Acuras for 20 years, but I guess I'm done now.

 

[Trell]

FYI Honda and Toyota are the hardest to negotiate on as they are very much in short supply, high demand mainly because they are reliable and solid built cars

Once upon a time Japanese cars was seen as junk, at best. How times have changed!