Buying a New Car Stories

[Mike in Horseheads]

Today I ventured out in search of a new car and I get a kick out of the BS and exaggerations you will get fed. Its not like it used to be when the salesman had a idea what the product  is and how it works that for sure. For example:

 

     1) I had a salesman tell me that the MSRP on the window sticker is not necessarily the lowest price.  Unfortunately my long time GF was with me and gave me "the look" so I didn't unload a bundle of sarcasm back. Instead I just said well I hope so. Then the kid had a hard time finding the keys (I think he unlocked every car on the lot).  Then said you can look at our other lots and we can transfer it here. WOW.  Off to next dealer

     2) I asked if the Hybrid still had a federal tax credit. Well this set off a chain of confusion. (I still don't know) . So we drove a regular gas one and returned for the exchange of numbers .

     3) Salesman says what do you think your car is worth. I say Carvana offered me X.  Well he ran down Carvana that they won't give you what they say. I reply a friend of mine sold his car to them. Tow truck showed up handed him a check and deal was done, 

 

Tomorrow off to another dealer!  Please share your stories.

 

[Augie]

 

THIS is the reason I’m still driving my 12 year old Toyota dog taxi my wife wants to get rid of.

 

There are very few experiences I enjoy less than car shopping.

 

Why would I want a new car? My car is already all perfectly “used”.  Making me break in a new one would make me anxious for a while. 

 

.

Edited Monday at 11:50 PM by Augie

[Another Fan]

Maybe wait until Labor Day?  That way some dealers might offer a special up and you can match offers.  Labor Day Weekend Special kind of thing.

 

 

I want to say it was the weekend after Thanksgiving I got a deal on my car.  Being a Costco member they had I want to say some kind of discount for that weekend.  Then the dealer I brought proof of the price matched it 

[qwksilver]

If you're buying new you need to check manu rebates.

 

I once had a dealer say they kept those. Then I had a direct manufacturer coupon another dealer wouldnt honor it. 98% are scumbags. Needless to say i bought from another dealer. 3 hours away and they offered to deliver it.

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Bought a new Nissan Pathfinder (my wife drives it) back in 2023. Probably the last time I’ll buy a new car, at least in the foreseeable future. The value just isn’t great. I still drive my 2010 Corolla with 150k miles on it I bought for 18k back in 2012 with 20k miles on it at the time.
 

We went with the new 3rd row SUV because of the kids, so hoping for a solid 10 years out of it because moving on. Went through a friend who works at the dealship. They haggled a bit. My in laws are car ppl (former sales now retired) so they gave everything a once over and said it was fine.  I don’t know enough about it, nor do I want to. 
 

I am the kind of car owner that only cares if it functions, efficient and cost effective. You can keep all the other bells and whistles 

[Mike in Horseheads]

3 minutes ago, qwksilver said:

If you're buying new you need to check manu rebates.

 

I once had a dealer say they kept those. Then I had a direct manufacturer coupon another dealer wouldnt honor it. 98% are scumbags. Needless to say i bought from another dealer. 3 hours away and they offered to deliver it.

And I hope you take back for any recalls covered service to the scum bag dealer

[PetermansRedemption]

1 hour ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

Bought a new Nissan Pathfinder (my wife drives it) back in 2023. Probably the last time I’ll buy a new car, at least in the foreseeable future. The value just isn’t great. I still drive my 2010 Corolla with 150k miles on it I bought for 18k back in 2012 with 20k miles on it at the time.
 

We went with the new 3rd row SUV because of the kids, so hoping for a solid 10 years out of it because moving on. Went through a friend who works at the dealship. They haggled a bit. My in laws are car ppl (former sales now retired) so they gave everything a once over and said it was fine.  I don’t know enough about it, nor do I want to. 
 

I am the kind of car owner that only cares if it functions, efficient and cost effective. You can keep all the other bells and whistles 

I feel like the pendulum has actually swung heavily towards new cars in recent years. The value has seemingly been sucked out of the used car market. Many of the dealers price their new cars within 1-3k of their new cars, and the used ones have 20-30k miles on them! 

2 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

Today I ventured out in search of a new car and I get a kick out of the BS and exaggerations you will get fed. Its not like it used to be when the salesman had a idea what the product  is and how it works that for sure. For example:

 

     1) I had a salesman tell me that the MSRP on the window sticker is not necessarily the lowest price.  Unfortunately my long time GF was with me and gave me "the look" so I didn't unload a bundle of sarcasm back. Instead I just said well I hope so. Then the kid had a hard time finding the keys (I think he unlocked every car on the lot).  Then said you can look at our other lots and we can transfer it here. WOW.  Off to next dealer

     2) I asked if the Hybrid still had a federal tax credit. Well this set off a chain of confusion. (I still don't know) . So we drove a regular gas one and returned for the exchange of numbers .

     3) Salesman says what do you think your car is worth. I say Carvana offered me X.  Well he ran down Carvana that they won't give you what they say. I reply a friend of mine sold his car to them. Tow truck showed up handed him a check and deal was done, 

 

Tomorrow off to another dealer!  Please share your stories.

 

Normal hybrids do not have any type of tax credit. Even most plug in Hybrids no longer qualify. You would need a 100% electric vehicle to get any benefit these days. And even that credit is expiring in December now. 

Edited Tuesday at 01:53 AM by PetermansRedemption

[That's No Moon]

2 hours ago, Another Fan said:

Maybe wait until Labor Day?  That way some dealers might offer a special up and you can match offers.  Labor Day Weekend Special kind of thing.

 

 

I want to say it was the weekend after Thanksgiving I got a deal on my car.  Being a Costco member they had I want to say some kind of discount for that weekend.  Then the dealer I brought proof of the price matched it 

end of the month and end of the year are the times the dealerships (or individual salesmen) may need to stretch to hit incentives they get.

[That's No Moon]

2 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

     3) Salesman says what do you think your car is worth. I say Carvana offered me X.  Well he ran down Carvana that they won't give you what they say. I reply a friend of mine sold his car to them. Tow truck showed up handed him a check and deal was done,

1. Carvana 100% shot me an offer and showed up the next day with a check and a tow truck. It was the easiest process ever.  Obviously if you BS the condition of your car that's a different story, but if what you tell them is legit it's a non-issue. Could I have driven around and tried to sell my car at a million lots and gotten a little more money? Sure, but factoring time and gas into the equation it was well worth it to me to go the Carvana route and be done with it.

2. You might be better off just taking the number from Carvana if you are happy with it, when you trade-in the dealer will work the numbers around so that you might get more for your trade but you'll get less off the new car, or pay more in the finance room, or whatever. It just makes it simpler to only negotiate the one thing with the dealer and just use the cash you get in the transaction rather than trying to use your current car as cash.

3. I've gotten quotes at CarMax a couple times and every time they lowball the crap out of me.

4. I never set foot on the actual dealer lot until the day we are closing the deal for the new car.  All the negotiating is done via e-mail and telephone.  That way it's on my time schedule, there are fewer dealership "I have to speak to my manager" games, and it's just a better use of my time. I can speak to as many dealers as I want at a time and not have to drive around and waste time.  When we come to a deal, I go to the dealership, drive the car, sign the papers and leave. I usually bring my own financing in advance but they don't need to know that until paperwork day. I'm usually in and out in about an hour. By doing it this way I can talk to dealerships from much further away. Since the cars themselves are the exact same thing I can shop around for the best price and then, at the end, if I need to drive further away to get the vehicle I'm doing it for a specific purpose not just for poops and grins. My last 3 cars were bought in Bel Air, MD, Bethlehem, PA, and Nyack, NY.  Closest was an hour away, furthest was 2.5.  I do that because the dealers nearest to me suck to deal with and the cars are always thousands of dollars more expensive. Service wise I have zero dealership loyalty anyway so I don't care about any of that. Any dealer has to fix warranty or recall issues so it doesn't matter if I bought it there or not. I change my own oil so their BS service packages (that are just an excuse to sell you more services when you bring the car in) are worthless.

[US Egg]

Bought a used Taurus about 25 years ago, the Ford dealer had a 3 day guarantee or return it. I returned it, it wasn’t easy, kind of faced an inquisition, said no one’s ever done it. But in fairness I bought a nicer Crown Victoria from them and kept it.

[davefan66]

Can’t stand buying cars. Especially when the salesperson has no clue what they are selling. I’ve walked out on a few deals when it’s not what I wanted. Have gotten a call back, other times never went back. Best story is I purchased my first new car - a 92 Dodge Dakota pickup. I offered $10,500 for it, salesperson basically agreed. Went to his manager who was yelling at him in his office. Thought it was a ploy. Nope, apparently salesperson sold it for too low as the manager had to agree to sell it at that price. Ultimately was it a show in their part? Maybe. But got a good price.
 

I won’t buy a brand new car any longer. The last two cars I bought for my wife were Honda’s just off a 2 year lease. Found a few cars on the dealers website that I was targeting. Did my research on price, researched extended warranty cost, worked out payments with what I wanted to put down. Figured out everything before I entered the dealership.  A little haggling, but stuck pretty close to what I was willing to pay.  Cars had 10,500 and 14,000 miles on them and were in great shape.

 

At two years old, figure any issues with that model year are taken care.  Also, don’t have the instant drop in value once you drive a new car off the lot.

 

I’ve leased the last two Silverado’s I got for myself.  Last one, I purchased outright at end of lease as it was worth 5k more than my buyout.  Leasing is good for the right situation. I owned a business many years ago and it was great for that. For myself, it worked out when they had great lease plans with not a lot down.

 

When buying new, do your research. Find out what manufacturer rebates are to the dealer, current rebates from the dealer, MSRP and if that vehicle is selling above or below. Research trade in value, or get a quote from Carvana as said above.  Most important, don’t have a target payment. Dealer can get you whatever payment you want.  Negotiate price and payment will follow.  

Edited Tuesday at 08:11 AM by davefan66

[Not at the table Karlos]

I tell my friend what features I want and what my budget is. A week or two later I have a new car that exceeds my expectations. Sometimes I have to specify nothing crazy because I almost got a smoking deal on a two year old chrome Bentley. 

[dhg]

Paid cash recently for my wife's Trailblazer. Sales guy was sweet as pie with the sale, although he did try to get us to finance(1%) because they get a kickback out of that.

[Augie]

My wife showed up alone at the dealership wearing yoga pants and a tee shirt. She was car shopping after Pilates class, but nobody paid attention to the lady there by herself. She watched as men and couples were greeted enthusiastically. She came and went a couple times to test this. She was ready to write a check for a new car, but they kept ignoring her. She knew exactly what she wanted to test drive, but they didn’t give her the chance. 

 

She wrote the sales manager as a courtesy to tell him why she went elsewhere to buy her new car. It’s hard to believe that mentality still exists, but it’s a real thing in some places. 

[US Egg]

Bought a new cherry red Canyon, my 1st new vehicle, in the spring of ‘16. Got plenty of compliments but didn’t like it not long after.

 

Four days before Xmas that year, without telling my wife, I traded it in and bought a new Lariat. Merry Xmas to me. I still have it. The wife too.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

When Bride the Second was looking to replace her Toy Yoda Echo, we narrowed it down to either a used Mazda 3, or a used Honda Fit, both off dealership lots.  Looked at the Mazda first, and told the salesperson that we still were going to look at the Honda.  That salesperson and the used car manager kept calling and emailing long after we had bought the Fit.  I wonder if they thought we were lying about having purchased the Fit? 🤔

[Fleezoid]

Did you win the Lotto? Who can afford a new car these days?

[Wacka]

Had a  2009 car and totaled it about a year ago. Had decided to run to into the ground as it was rusting out about 6 months before. Had my share of $ from the sale of mom's house  so I decided d I would pay cash if I needed a new car. Had rented a car from Enterprise after the crash.They told me that they had a sales  facility in Amherst. So I wemt there . Told the salesman my price range and he showed me about 5 cars.  Ended up buying a 2021 Nissan Altima right in the muffle of the range.

 

A couple of weeks afterwards, the car would start fine at home but wouldn't start  when I came out of shopping. Got it jumped by nice people in the lots. Then it wouldn't  even be jumped  when I visited my sister's  work.  Luckily there was a rental facility across the street and I walked over there. Told the guy what had happened and to call the sales office.  They talked to the salesman at the rental office and  had him five me a rental to use while the traced down the problem. Just handed me the keys to the loaner ( no paperwork to fill out) and they got a tow truck and took it to their repair facility near th airport. Had it for 3 days, There must have been something draining the battery,  Have had no problems since.

[Toomstone.Part.Duex]

Wanted a new Ford Edge (dont judge haha) so I read somewhere to get the salesmen out of the dealership.  Dont play on their turf so to speak.  I emailed a few dealers and got quotes.  Whenever they'd want me to come in I'd say that I'm very busy with work and just want the quote.  Then I'd fwd them to the other dealers and got one dealer to come down some off sticker.  Then I got a folder with the quotes and I put some other blank pages in the folder so it looked like I had lots of other quotes.  Went into the dealer and noticed the salesman kept looking at that folder.  He was very interested in what other quotes I had.  When in reality I only had about three.  I got them to come down a little more off sticker.  I forget the final number but I was happy with the purchase. 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

Prices for new and used cars are absolutely insane right now.  I typically buy certified used vehicles that are ~3 years old with less than 50k miles.  I find the best value there.

 

I went to purchase a used vehicle this past March, but could only afford a 2018.  It’s a one previous owner vehicle with low miles, but I was hoping for a 2021/2022 model.  The prices of those cars were ridiculous.