The Dos and Don'ts of Car Shopping

[PuckishOne]

I agree with everything RK said, and want to add one thing from my own experience:

If a salesman ever says anything that just sounds hinky, thank him for his time and leave. Don't think about it, just go. Then, when you get home, call the dealership and tell them.

This is why: When trying to work a trade-in deal several years ago, I did my research and found 2 dealerships that had what I wanted for what I could pay. I went to Dealer A first, because I had a history there and really loved the service department. The salesman gave me the willies pretty much the whole time - the proverbial "something you can't put your finger on." After well over an hour there (having found out that they didn't have what they'd told us they had), I finally convinced my then-husband that we needed to leave. When we told the salesman we were leaving, however, he flipped out. He started yelling at us, telling us that we were playing games with him, et cetera.

We'd been honest from the get-go and told him, "Look, it's you or Dealer B. We like this place, we've been here before, so here we are again. We called to see what you have, and were looking for X at $Y." Apparently this was a completely foregin concept to a man who claimed to have sold cars for 20 years. My ex told me later that he honestly believed the guy was going to lunge for him. And he (salesman) never shut up about how we'd screwed him over, about how he'd taken time away from his family to help us, and how dishonest we were.

Not only have I never been back there, but I made sure to contact the manager and owner to let them know why they lost my business. I didn't even want to use their service department, since I had no way of knowing if that salesman was going to be around.

ISellCars put it very well, indeed: Trust your instincts. But act on them, too.

[ISellCars]

BTW, ISellCars, I've enjoyed your posts. Glad you've joined us. Having said that, I have to admit, I'm probably the sort of customer you hate.

Not necessarily. I don't hate anyone!

Severely dislike, now that's another thing. Haa haa.

Anyways, no, I understand where you're coming from, and trust me I've read every single one of those rules about shopping for a car. And alot of those things are still true. Salesman are trained to take control of a customer, and walk them through the entire process all the way until the customer drives home in a new car. If people haven't figured that out yet, then I'm sorry if I shocked you.

Let me comment on some of your rules here... the only one that would get to me is your #2 about your questions. The price. Yes, price is very important about buying a car. If it's a new car, the price is right there on the window. You want the best price? How about we look at the vehicle first? There are lots of things that go into the "best price", be it rebates, incentives, financing deals, discounts, etc... but if I give you the absolute best price, better than anyone else... and you don't like the car... why are we wasting our time? You're not going to buy it.

But I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Whether you're with a car salesman, a furniture salesman, an electronics salesman, whatever... if they're being dishonest, if you notice them trying to pull wool over your eyes, if for any reason you don't feel comfortable with what they are telling you, GET OUT!! There are thousands of cars for sale, and hundreds of salesman. The majority are decent people who are just doing their job, but occasionally you'll get the slimy snake. Trust me, those kind of guys only work at the dealer for maybe a few months, and then moves because no one can stand him. Unless it's a whole dealer full of 'em. In which case, you're in trouble... leave... NOW!!

All in all, I think we agree on most points, whereas you're talking from the consumer point of view, me from the retailer. I do agree with people doing their research online, I agree with the test drive statement, and most everything else. With some talking and a calm attitude, you can make a dealer do almost anything to accommodate you and let you leave there in the car you want at the payment you want. Bad attitudes, threats, and arrogance don't get you anywhere no matter what business you're at, that's my philosophy anyways.

[powerboy]

Occasionally though they will offer you a deal where you don't have to make your first regular monthly payment until 2-3 months later.

That is the one that I am meaning. I never knew, that after the down payment, that they are just making a profit, from the first payment to the end.

[Barefootgirl]

I've never bought a new car *sob* and because I'm a wuss and lazy when it comes to car buying, I go to main dealers' used car sections. I KNOW I'm paying more than i would pay at an independent dealer or car supermarket, but the used car market in the UK is so good at the moment that we're probably only talking £200-300 extra, plus I get the take the car back with no quibbling whatsoever if it turns out to be a lemon.

I traded my Merc in for a nearly new Ford Focus just after Christmas. The Mercedes was only just coming up for 3 years old and things were already starting to go wrong with it - it needed new wheel bearings, for example, plus MB dealer servicing prices are criminal and their customer service STINKS. So, I decided that I simply didn't want to pay their prices any more and traded in my A-Class for a Focus. We got £6k in trade-in on the A-class, which was substantially more than i expected we would, and paid £3.5 up front which I thought was excellent. In return I got a 9 month old car, with lower than average mileage, a nice enough spec and the ability to hold the road properly going round corners! I like my new little car.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I do agree with what ISellCars says here. It really is about having some consideration for the other guy. A saleman might not like that I won't cooperate, but usually I walk onto a car lot knowing exactly what I want. I know pretty quick whether I will consider buying a car, so unless I know I really am serious, I'm not going to let a salesman try to lead me through the hoops. It wastes my time, and really, it wastes HIS time, too. He might think he will get a commitment of some sort from me, but if I absolutely know he won't, no point letting him try just to be polite.

I have dealt with plenty of car salemen I genuinely liked, who I felt confident were not trying to screw me over. Make a profit, sure, but I certainly can't blame them for that. All I ask is that they work with me to come up with some figures we can both be happy with, with as little bs as possible. And there are plenty of guys selling cars out there who will do just that.

In fact, I bought my last two cars from a place that had, some years earlier, dealt honestly and directly with me when I bought a truck from them. We actually looked for that same salesman, but he had moved on. But the salesman we ended up with was a good guy, too.

I'll be back to that place again, I'm sure.

[Hemily]

i've only bought used cars, and i'm still kinda green at the shopping thing, my first car, was a 1985 Volvo 244DL, actually a good car, it was in good shape, and actually the cheapes car i've bought, well, time passed and i needed a new car, i had a set amount of money, and i went searching, i found a 1978 Ford Mustang II for sale, i called, he said it was in good condition, it had been in a garage for 2 years, no license plates... i tested it, it was nice to drive, coulden't find anything wrong, but after a few months... it turned out the engine was a piece of crap, and the seller, had lied about the EU checkup beeing passed, so i took it to him, and he did the check, he was a mechanic, i finally just had to sell the car, it was a pain, hard to get partsm for, and the engline was made by satan, not Ford.
Then i needed a car again, i had to take a long trip to find the car, costed me a nice amount of money just to get there, a 1980 Buick Century Estate Wagon, i tested it, looked around, and all is well, except the seller being drunk.... i bought it, and i was happy! my first V8 car! except... it had no coolant... no engine oil, and the egarbox had no oil, the choke is living it's own life, as does the winshield wipers, alot of the electrical stuff doesen't work, and i had to drive for 8 hours without a working radio, and i diden't have any casettes... seems i'm easy to trick... *sigh*
Thankfully, i like the car despite the faults, i'm restoring it part by part, and the body is pretty good, no rust, sometime, it'll be a good car, once i'm done

[smellystudent]

I'm lucky when it comes to buying cars; an old family friend owns a few dealerships in Yorkshire. I can call him and say that I'm looking for something like an X and want to spend around £Y, and he'll give me suggestions without any BS.

I've done some IT work for his company, and seen how powerful customer loyalty can be. In particular, I was once sat in the reception area waiting for my car to be washed (if you take your car there, for whatever reason, it will get washed), and an elderly couple had bought their 7-8 year old car in for an MOT. One of the tyres had failed, meaning it would have to be taken to the tyrefitters before it could be passed.

The couple were given a lift home, a mechanic took the car to get new tyres fitted, and the car was delivered back to their house.

He works on the principle that people remember things like that, and will generally come back to him when they have money to spend. It seems to work

[protege]

First car I had, the Tempo, was a POS. Luckily, I didn't buy it...but "inherited" it from my parents. True piece of crap, that one. Something on it broke literally every time I went out...so it wasn't too surprising when it blew up a year later in '94

Anyway, that set the stage for my first call. Well, the first one that was *truly* mine anyway. This was the (then) 3-year old Tercel. Someone had traded it in on a new Chrysler. Other than a dent in the fender and some roof scratches, there wasn't anything wrong with it. Oh there was no A/C or radio to speak of...simply because it was a 4-speed base model. At the time, the car was priced at $6,500. Keep in mind that a *new* one was just over $8,000. Not much of a discount however, because of the scratches/dent, the lack of A/C, and the leaking trunk, Dad and I were able to negotiate down to a bit over $4,400 They accepted, and I happily ran that little car 6 years. And yes, I still miss it.

I got lucky with that car. After driving all over town, I had my father do the looking for me--at the time, he was out of work. Anyway, I told him what I was looking for--something small (about the size of the Tempo...but *not* another damn Tempo!), easy on gas, and inexpensive. The local Chrysler dealer told him about the Tercel. That car had just come in and was proving difficult to sell...mainly because of the trunk leak. Because of that, the salesman was willing to work with us, and didn't seem to be too concerned about his commission.

Shortly after I bought the car, I fixed many of the problems. A cheap tape deck was put into the dash, and speakers were fitted in the rear parcel shelf. Fixing the trunk leak got interesting--the car had been in a minor collision, and the seal wasn't doing its job. Rather than spend loads to fix it, I came up with an interesting idea--why not cut a piece of door seal off the (dead) MGB, and glue it atop the Toyota seal? It worked great!

Fast forward to 2000--the Tercel is starting to rust, and various items are failing. Car was in good shape, but after 100,000 miles, was starting to spew huge blue clouds, and the electrics were playing up. Couldn't afford to fix it, so it had to go.

It was time for a new car. I got tired of inheriting someone else's problems, and tired of undoing their "repairs." That's when I met the worst salesman ever. Rude, and just obnoxious. If it wasn't for liking the Mazda, I would *not* have bought it. Since his dealership was a bit far from home, I didn't go there for maintenance, but the dealer closer to work. Found out the hard way that the service department at that dealer (rhymes with Ron Fallen) sucks. (This dealer doesn't advertise that they're a Mazda agent much...so I had no idea they sold them.) They simply couldn't figure out why the suspension was making noise, and why the CD player quit working. Kinda funny how both of those problems went away after I fitted aftermarket parts After that, I no longer go there for service--the local garage is more than happy to help me.

As for the MG, well, that was a freebie. Seriously--my mother got tired of looking at it in the garage and told me to "do something with that damn car." Since I knew what I was getting into, I jumped at the chance. The car had been in the family since new, and I knew most of its faults. I knew the engine had to be rebuilt, the transmission was fine, and the bodywork had some rust. Most of that has been taken care of.

Anyway, my feeling about salesmen--if you're polite, and are willing to work with me, that's cool. I'll return the same. However, if you're a rude, obnoxious jerk, I'll not only walk out, but might make a complaint or two. Most salespeople do *not* fit the stereotype.

[Gurndigarn]

3. Don't deal with saleman who say such stupid things as "think about what your girlfriend will think of you when she sees you sitting in this truck!" (this eyeroller was actually said to my husband.)

"She'll think that I spent too... oh, damn thanks foryourtimeIllseeyoulater.

The line I hate from car salesmen/women is "What would it take for you to buy this car today?"

http://www.gocomics.com/stonesoup/2007/01/13/

[skeptic53]

I love that comic strip, one of the best of the mainstream syndicated strips!

[Sonoma]

I've had overall good experiences buying cars. The biggest problem I have is when they don't seem to believe that you're not looking for a car. If I've got mine in for service, either an oil change, or some other repair, I like to go out & check out the new trucks on the lot. Usually much nicer than just sitting in the waiting room. The last time I had my truck in, it was a beautiful day, the sun was out, and I would much rather be outside. I don't mind when the salespeople approach, and usually I just let them know I'm just out looking while mine's having whatever work done. Most of the time they'll just acknowledge me that and that's the end of it. The last time, the salesperson started in on the 'what will it take....', and then insisted on getting the keys so we could test drive it. I repeated that I am just out looking around when mine's having a quick repair done, I had not even had Ranger for a year, and was definitely not looking to replace him. She tried to bring her manager out, and I had to tell him I'm just enjoying the sunshine while mine's in service. FINALLY, after 20 minutes, I was able to convince them that I was NOT going to buy that truck.

[Rahmota]

Out of the dozen or so cars I've bought in my life I'e only bought 3 from a dealership. And they where from the dealership I worked at so I only paid what the dealership paid for the trade plus PAC and then only after I had put the cars up on the lift and driven them around for a week or two to make sure they where going to be good (well except the excop car Caprice I had to jump on that one before any of the mechanics did) Everythign else is out of some guys yard or garage and I think I've done a lot better with the guys in the yard than the dealers. The lowest I've ever paid for a car was $20.00 and the most is $1500. Yeah I've had to do a bit of work on them but oh well get anythign used and you have to do something to it. And besides which if I fix it myself then I know its been fixed.

I'm another one of those customers salesmen hate. Since I worked in a dealership I know a little about how it goes and I also know that I am the one with the power in any deal. I do not have to buy that car as I probably drove past or more on my way to your dealership. You play ball by my rules or I take the ball and go someplace else. Sorry to be harsh but thats the way it is with me. If I'm going to be spending any kind of serious money (and for me it starts getting serious around a couple hundred) on a car then there had better be some pretty good communication between us.

[ISellCars]

I remember the first car I bought was a 1989 Eagle Premier. I know what you're thinking. "What??"

Yeeah, I never heard of it either, and to this day, I've only seen 1 other on the road. Bought it from a private buyer... complete mess. I was only 16, grandparents were buying me my first car (I think they spent like $1000 or something)... it didn't have A/C, or Heat (I lived in Michigan).

"Oh, all it needs is some freeon."

Try a new blower. And all sorts of things went wrong with that car. Until I tried to drive it to Chicago. Once we got back, that thing was kaput. Then I got a 1994 Ford Tempo. As Protege said earlier, man that Tempo was a piece of crap. I actually ran it to the ground so far that the brakes no longer functioned. I had to pull up the Emergency Brake to stop. I'm still shocked at how I never got into a wreck, because I was doing that for about a month or two before we took it in to a Ford dealer that was offering a "Push pull or drag it in, we'll give you $1500 for it!" kinda deal.

Now me, still being a green pea to the car game, I bought a '98 Grand Am at asking price with trading in the Tempo. I guess I didn't haggle, because whatever I could do to get out of that Tempo, I did. But, I was happy with the Grand Am, it got me to Florida, until I traded it in for my new truck! '05 GMC Sierra, and I've never been happier!

[digilight]

My tips are rather simple.

1. Take your knowledge from working retail and with the public with you when you buy a car. Don't act like the type of customer that you hate. Go in with knowledge and be informed about what you want and don't want. But be willing to let the dealer make suggestions (they may have a idea that you haven't thought about yet).

2. Like has been said, use your gut and walk if the dealer is a Sucky dealer, theres good, and bad just like every profession, a bad dealer will make you hate the car, and always feel like you got screwed. A good dealer will make it a easier experience.

3. Know how to do the math. Know how much you can afford per month, know your credit so you have an idea of how much your rates will be. This will give you a rough idea of ballpark.

4. Never discuss trade in until you have the price of the car set in stone. You will be surprised at how fast your trade in value will dissapear with some dealers (not all).

5. Don't discuss payments until you have an out the door price. I've seen some dealers, not all, pad the payments to fit their agenda (again honest versus dishonest).

6. A good honest dealer will treat you the same way that you would treat a good customer at your place of employement. Remember sales type jobs are all the same fundamentally.

[protege]

Then I got a 1994 Ford Tempo. As Protege said earlier, man that Tempo was a piece of crap. I actually ran it to the ground so far that the brakes no longer functioned. I had to pull up the Emergency Brake to stop. I'm still shocked at how I never got into a wreck, because I was doing that for about a month or two before we took it in to a Ford dealer that was offering a "Push pull or drag it in, we'll give you $1500 for it!" kinda deal.

Mine was an '87. For the first 3 years my parents had it, it wasn't too bad. But, by the time I got it, it was 6 years old, and things were starting to go wrong. Of course it didn't help that very little cash was ever spent on it... Car looked good from a distance--fresh paint, new tires, etc. Underneath though, was a different story--the brakes were constantly failing, the doors, floors and other areas were rusty, the exhaust was held on with a coat hanger. But, the best part was (insert dramatic pause) that the driver's door flew open if you hit the brakes

I did have a little fun with the dealers after it was destroyed though. I'd tell them I was looking for a car similar in size to a Tempo, since I'd just lost mine. They'd ask "well, are you going to trade it." At that point, I'd drop the license plate on the table, and say "here's all that's left of it!"

I can't complain too much about the car, since the insurance gave me quite a bit more than the $400 the car was worth. About a month before the car was totaled, I'd gone over it--removed the rust, took the dent out of the hood, cleaned the hell out of it, and got $1800 to show for my efforts. That cash went a good way into the Tercel