4 ms·

I'd rather go get a cavity filled, then buy a new car. Do it as infrequently as possible (hoping to get another 10 years out of my 11 year old Toyota). Every t

by ejb999 4y ago

I'd rather go get a cavity filled, then buy a new car. Do it as infrequently as possible (hoping to get another 10 years out of my 11 year old Toyota). Every time I visit a new car dealer I feel a need to take a shower, just to get the stink off of me.

flavmartins 4y ago
> I'd rather go get a cavity filled WITHOUT anesthesia
vl 4y ago
BTW, apart from fixed price online sales, there are fixed priced dealerships. They advertise price on the website and don't negotiate. You just show up and get car at this price. Very smooth.
- phpthrowaway99 4y ago
  You can do this at any dealership.
  - dangrossman 4y ago
    You'd like to think that, but no, there are plenty of dealers that will TELL you they're happy to negotiate everything by email/phone and then you just show up and get the car, but once you're there they want to change the deal and will still make you sit in a little office with someone that tries to add-on warranties, paint protection, prepaid services, etc.
    - phpthrowaway99 4y ago
      You mentioned you liked dealers that don't negotiate. So I mentioned you can buy without negotiating at any dealership. The advertised price is pretty fair at 90% of dealerships. Beyond that, their advertised specials are spectacular deals usually. Who spends money and attention advertising specials that don't even compete with the competition?
      - adriand 4y ago
        The problem is that you feel like a chump if you don’t negotiate. No one wants to feel like they didn’t get a deal especially on a used car. But the last time I bought one it was from a dealership that didn’t negotiate, a fact I discovered when I started negotiating. And then to see if it was true I started pushing pretty hard and they stood firm and the end result was great, I left very happy with my purchase.
  - vl 4y ago
    Yes, you can, but during normal times at most dealerships (current market being atypical) it means that you left few hundred dollars at the table.
- bluGill 4y ago
  Unless you have a trade in as this is one area where they can still get you. Do those fixed price dealers count their various add-ons (rust proofing, extended warranty...) in the fixed price or not. These add-ons are how most dealers make money (that and warranty work)
  - vl 4y ago
    For trade-in compare price they offer to Carmax (including taxes and fees adjustment), if less, just sell to Carmax. Whatever is on the sale sheet is included. You can order extra stuff, they will install it for you, but obviously it’s not included in the advertised price.
    - bluGill 4y ago
      Sure, but "smart dealers" won't tell your trade in is worth, instead they give you final payment after your trade in, and they often won't tell you how long the loan term is for.
- acchow 4y ago
  Uhhh....they don't add on unnecessary charges? Like a paint coating you didn't ask for?
  - hansvm 4y ago
    I had one try to add $3k for invisible (UV) paint the police could use to prosecute the thieves if my car were dismantled. All the extra fees turned a $4500 car, listed at $8500 at that dealership, into $19500. The "fixed price" just meant they were completely and utterly unwilling to negotiate on that sort of insanity, so some dealership down the road got my business instead. $5k later, the same car has had no issues for 50k miles. Honest question, when the customer knows you're trying to fleece them and is willing to pay a small premium to finish the deal and get on with their lives, why would a dealer double down on something so outrageous?
    - JoshuaDavid 4y ago
      Because making a $15,000 profit 5% of the time and nothing 95% of the time is better than making a $500 profit every time. Basically if scamming your customers works a nontrivial fraction of the time and the margin when you're not scamming is small, scamming is the incentivized behavior.
  - vl 4y ago
    The whole idea is that there is a car and non-negotiable advertised price, you pay the price + taxes + registration + processing fee, which are all known in advance and get the car. That’s it. If you are talented negotiator and have time, you’ll get better price elsewhere, but I value my time and well-being more. Obviously there could be bad dealership which would try to screw you, read some reviews and don’t go to such place.
maroonblazer 4y ago
I once dated a girl whose dad's idea of a fun Saturday was to spend the day at a car dealership to see how low a price he could negotiate for a car. He'd always walk away, regardless of how low they went. I thought that was hilarious.
- throwaway2037 4y ago
  This needs to be a reality TV show with hidden cameras!
- sdwr 4y ago
  Jesus, that just feels cruel to me.
  - dredmorbius 4y ago
    The car salesman practices this every day. The buyer might practice this 4--20 times in a lifetime. At the high end, that's only a month's experience for the salesperson. Consider it a form of practice which might save many thousands of dollars in time.
- unixhero 4y ago
  What a Chad dad :)
- sleepdreamy 4y ago
  Something is deeply wrong with her father!!! Probably my least favorite consumer experience leans toward purchasing cars. Ironically I also LOVE cars. Hate buying them though
toss1 4y ago
Don't ask them, tell them. Do your research, narrow it down to a small set of models and trim levels, know what the best deals available are, and set your numbers a bit lower. Ring several dealers and say "I'm looking for X.Y.Z at price $NNN, what can you do for me?". Some will not even respond, and do NOT get pulled into the "we can only talk when you are here" - cross those off the list. I found one that would come very close to what I needed, and did the whole deal via email, only actually physically meeting him when I actually went to trade-in and get the new vehicle. And guess who got the next sale a year later when my wife's lease ran out? And who will get the next one? On top of that, my experience at that dealer overall has been FAR better than many others. It's worth the long search and semi-log drive to find the right one.

by ejb999 4y ago

flavmartins 4y ago

> I'd rather go get a cavity filled WITHOUT anesthesia

vl 4y ago

BTW, apart from fixed price online sales, there are fixed priced dealerships. They advertise price on the website and don't negotiate. You just show up and get car at this price. Very smooth.

phpthrowaway99 4y ago
You can do this at any dealership.
- dangrossman 4y ago
  You'd like to think that, but no, there are plenty of dealers that will TELL you they're happy to negotiate everything by email/phone and then you just show up and get the car, but once you're there they want to change the deal and will still make you sit in a little office with someone that tries to add-on warranties, paint protection, prepaid services, etc.
  - phpthrowaway99 4y ago
    You mentioned you liked dealers that don't negotiate. So I mentioned you can buy without negotiating at any dealership. The advertised price is pretty fair at 90% of dealerships. Beyond that, their advertised specials are spectacular deals usually. Who spends money and attention advertising specials that don't even compete with the competition?
    - adriand 4y ago
      The problem is that you feel like a chump if you don’t negotiate. No one wants to feel like they didn’t get a deal especially on a used car. But the last time I bought one it was from a dealership that didn’t negotiate, a fact I discovered when I started negotiating. And then to see if it was true I started pushing pretty hard and they stood firm and the end result was great, I left very happy with my purchase.
- vl 4y ago
  Yes, you can, but during normal times at most dealerships (current market being atypical) it means that you left few hundred dollars at the table.
bluGill 4y ago
Unless you have a trade in as this is one area where they can still get you. Do those fixed price dealers count their various add-ons (rust proofing, extended warranty...) in the fixed price or not. These add-ons are how most dealers make money (that and warranty work)
- vl 4y ago
  For trade-in compare price they offer to Carmax (including taxes and fees adjustment), if less, just sell to Carmax. Whatever is on the sale sheet is included. You can order extra stuff, they will install it for you, but obviously it’s not included in the advertised price.
  - bluGill 4y ago
    Sure, but "smart dealers" won't tell your trade in is worth, instead they give you final payment after your trade in, and they often won't tell you how long the loan term is for.
acchow 4y ago
Uhhh....they don't add on unnecessary charges? Like a paint coating you didn't ask for?
- hansvm 4y ago
  I had one try to add $3k for invisible (UV) paint the police could use to prosecute the thieves if my car were dismantled. All the extra fees turned a $4500 car, listed at $8500 at that dealership, into $19500. The "fixed price" just meant they were completely and utterly unwilling to negotiate on that sort of insanity, so some dealership down the road got my business instead. $5k later, the same car has had no issues for 50k miles. Honest question, when the customer knows you're trying to fleece them and is willing to pay a small premium to finish the deal and get on with their lives, why would a dealer double down on something so outrageous?
  - JoshuaDavid 4y ago
    Because making a $15,000 profit 5% of the time and nothing 95% of the time is better than making a $500 profit every time. Basically if scamming your customers works a nontrivial fraction of the time and the margin when you're not scamming is small, scamming is the incentivized behavior.
- vl 4y ago
  The whole idea is that there is a car and non-negotiable advertised price, you pay the price + taxes + registration + processing fee, which are all known in advance and get the car. That’s it. If you are talented negotiator and have time, you’ll get better price elsewhere, but I value my time and well-being more. Obviously there could be bad dealership which would try to screw you, read some reviews and don’t go to such place.

maroonblazer 4y ago

I once dated a girl whose dad's idea of a fun Saturday was to spend the day at a car dealership to see how low a price he could negotiate for a car. He'd always walk away, regardless of how low they went. I thought that was hilarious.

throwaway2037 4y ago
This needs to be a reality TV show with hidden cameras!
sdwr 4y ago
Jesus, that just feels cruel to me.
- dredmorbius 4y ago
  The car salesman practices this every day. The buyer might practice this 4--20 times in a lifetime. At the high end, that's only a month's experience for the salesperson. Consider it a form of practice which might save many thousands of dollars in time.
unixhero 4y ago
What a Chad dad :)
sleepdreamy 4y ago
Something is deeply wrong with her father!!! Probably my least favorite consumer experience leans toward purchasing cars. Ironically I also LOVE cars. Hate buying them though

toss1 4y ago

Don't ask them, tell them. Do your research, narrow it down to a small set of models and trim levels, know what the best deals available are, and set your numbers a bit lower. Ring several dealers and say "I'm looking for X.Y.Z at price $NNN, what can you do for me?". Some will not even respond, and do NOT get pulled into the "we can only talk when you are here" - cross those off the list. I found one that would come very close to what I needed, and did the whole deal via email, only actually physically meeting him when I actually went to trade-in and get the new vehicle. And guess who got the next sale a year later when my wife's lease ran out? And who will get the next one? On top of that, my experience at that dealer overall has been FAR better than many others. It's worth the long search and semi-log drive to find the right one.