New England B.S. Thread

Yeah I'm just gonna check a few more local places and probably just do it myself if I'm crazy enough/it warms up

 

I love the incessant dealer calling when they don't have what you want, but they try SO hard to sell you what they do.

When I went to purchase my Tacoma, I used TrueCar so I had a bunch of dealerships calling me. Boch had a truck identical to what I wanted, but it was one I had already test driven and when I was driving it I noticed the odometer had 75 miles on it. Maybe to some people that wouldn't be a huge deal, but to me, that's not really a "new" car anymore. I'll spare the debate because I know I might be in the minority there, but anyways.

So when Boch called they were trying to sell me the 2012 (it was November of 2012 and the 2013s were hitting the lots) claiming how great a price it was. I explained that I knew they had a 2012 with 75 miles and I wasn't interested in that particular one. The salesman said he'd go look, blah blah. Long story short it was that model and I explained I didn't want that one (that took a solid 20 minutes). I eventually said I wasn't interested, thanks for their time, blah blah. About 2 hours later I get a second call from the same salesman trying again to sell me the truck and then threw in they had a new Tacoma coming in off the truck and I could have that one for their price. I said great, but it's MGM, right? He said oh, no, it's black, but it's exactly what you want...WTF?, really?

So yeah...I but about zero trust into salesmen and try and avoid as much headache as I can. I figure unless you're looking for a painfully specific model, you have to remove the emotions out of the deal.

 

Luckily Boch had what I wanted, just not in red, so they took some cash off.

At Balise they had a used Silver 2012 4R TE (it was still 2012 at the time) for about $30K. So of course I get down there and they tell me "They just sold it". It was purchased from Ohio, and already paid for. It was probably sold days ago, and of course the ad (on Auto Trader) lured me down there. So of course they try to talk me into a brand new one. All they had on the lot was a coupe black SR5s. At this point they were trying to talk me into one of the SR5s they had, and asked "Do you really need a TE?" "Look, the SR5 had the chrome door handles and grill. Doesn't that look better?"

So after I make it pretty clear I want a TE and not a SR5, a second salesman comes along to help out the first guy. "What are you going to do with a TE than you can't do with the SR5?" After talking with the 2nd guy for a bit, he wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he wanted to make a quick sale, and immediately turn around and sell my truck. Apparently they already made some calls and had people looking at it while I still had the keys in my pocket! So finally they start calling around to see who had a new 2012/2013 TE in stock. After a few hours of keeping me waiting, they could only locate a 2012 Red TE, about 150 miles away.

So yeah, I kind of got pressured into new, but at least I made sure it was something I wanted. Only took 7 hours at this point.

So a week goes by of them telling me "It'll be here tomorrow." At this point I just asked for my truck back, which took another day for them to comply. While waiting for almost 2 hours for my deposit, the manager tells me he'll call me in two weeks because they're expecting a TE in stock. "They come straight from Japan." Well why did no one tell me that a week ago?! I would have just ordered one exactly how I wanted it, and would have patiently waited out the 2 weeks. I told him don't bother calling, I'm keeping my truck, it's almost paid off. The 2nd salesman told me "No one ever pays off their vehicle, that's why you're here."

 

Yep, that was him! Definitely buying a snatch strap after today, those things work awesome!

 

A lot of salesmen get too cocky and at that point I just walk out. I know what I want, you can't tell me what I want. Color is one thing, but if I'm looking for a specific vehicle with specific options, I expect that and nothing else.

 

I should have walked away as soon as the one I came down to see was sold.

 

Yeah. I love the "let me talk to my manager" game. Even better when a 16 year old cuts your nuts off at your own game lmao

 

This. The ease of installation, adjustment, and replacement of the BJ is awesome. Also, the upper BJ can be adjusted to maximize the placement of a larger tire so it doesn't rub. I love the LR UCAs Johhny sold me.

 

I am suprised, i will have to look into that. I have seen maybe three negative reviews or complaints about them, and literally hundreds of people on the site have them.

 

I read a LOT of negative things on them. I think they have resolved the issue though.

 

I hate that came. I actually told the salesman when I was in there on Friday that if the Sales Manager wasn't going to accept my offer, he'd better come out to talk to me rather than play 15 rounds of that game. The dealership was dead (which is why I went that day to begin with) so the manager actually did come out and try to work out a deal with me.

 

Yeah I don't like the games they play and the middle man bullshit, but I love knowing more about the vehicle than the salesman does!

 

A jeep I might actually buy...

http://youtu.be/4IgdBd8fITY

 

It took me 3 dealerships before I found one I felt comfortable working with. Not to mention finding one that accepted the fact that I came in as an educated buyer, but just don't schmuck off the street

 

When I bought my Trans Am, I think I upset the salesman that I knew more about the car than he did. Tried to tell me it had a 430HP LS6 after I told him it only had a LS1. Pretty sad when his boss was crazy about Vettes.

 

You guys should not be surprised by the tactics that the dealerships use. They have been using them since before any of us were even born. It's very simple and if you were on the other side it would make perfect sense.
In Mikes case if they were advertising a low price it is very possible that more than one person was looking and making offers at the same time. They just took the deal that they made the most money on. Sometimes they will even tell you that someone else is looking at the car so as to start a bidding war.
Jason, of course they want to sell you what they have on hand. They don't have to find it and transfer it in and all the paperwork that goes along with it. I'm not surprised that they told you that they wanted to sell your truck right away the quicker and more they sell the more they make.
Having the sales person be the middleman is just a way to make it look like they are one your side and will work to get you a better deal all the while they are trying to keep the price as high as they can to make the most profit. It works on a lot of people otherwise they wouldn't keep doing it.
Oh yea and before I get the that's why I do all my shopping online comments, they do the same things as well. Go to any big shopping website and it either wants to ask you a bunch of questions "to help narrow your choices" or it has windows showing "people who looked at this were also interested in that" kind of things.
I took marketing in school and loved it. I found it very interesting. My teacher used to pass out Playboy magazines in class and have discussions on different advertisements in them, especially those liquor ads that have airbrushed naked women silhouettes in the ice cubes. I have been doing sales ever since. I used to sell cars and sometimes I even get hired by some people to help them get the best deals. So good luck with all the car shopping you guys seem to have going on.

 

I agree with you, Rob. I'm not surprised by the tactics used, just disappointed that they haven't evolved. I had done my homework and I'm sure it was apparent when I started talking to them. At that point, they should have cut the bullshit and been straight with me. As a marketing professional, I'm sure you can tell what type of person you're dealing with and have to change your tact on the fly to accommodate the situation. A lot of these car dealerships just keep trying to force one tactic for everyone. It may work for most but they have to know how to deal with an educated buyer (and how people go car shopping without doing their homework first blows my mind with the information being as readily available as it is these days).

 

Maybe it wasn't so much just the price on theirs. Perhaps another deal brought a better trade-in, or a huge down payment..or maybe some shitbum with bad credit so more coin in the financing.

I have been on the other side a lot insofar as selling my own vehicles, heard a real good one when I was about 20. Guy came to see my Camaro and left a deposit. The next day he comes up with his brother to take it out. I go in my house to fill out the title and after doing so we go out to find his brother picking the car apart to no end, then the good cop-bad cop starts. He even said "well you'll need a new title now since you filled it out", which my dad caught as he was walking by and tore these 2 a bunch of new assholes. The brother said "well it's his car not yours", at which point I told him I agreed and provided detailed instructions on how to leave my yard either in their car or at the business end of a Halligan.

 

Ugh. I ran into that when I was buying my STi. I had just turned 24, had my first job after college, the whole nine. I wanted to get behind the wheel to confirm that was what I really wanted, so I found a Subaru dealership that had one for sale with about 10K on it and asked for a test drive. I had read that dealers were hesitant to let anyone test drive the new ones so I brought my Mom figuring it might cut through some of the BS. When I explained I wanted the STi I got the "are you sure you don't want a WRX?" I said no, and the salesman goes "they're the same car outside of the wing". (sigh) I ended up walking away as the car was an "executive demo" that had been obviously driven stupid hard and put away wet. Any car that is on its second set of tires with under 10K raises a flag, especially a performance car with tires that weren't as nice as the stock units. Granted, I swapped out the OEM tires on my Tacoma at 843 miles, but let's not discuss that.

 

Mike I couldn't agree with you more. I call it mirroring the customer. Some people are rough and use profanity so you can use some profanity, others are proper and you need to be on your best behavior and so on. Unfortunately most dealerships don't continue to learn, develop and train, they just keep doing what works for them most of the time. It's the sensible people like you that see through the BS that they piss off.

Yea like I said, the dealership probably took the other deal because it benefit them more in some type of way.