Current Events > Shopping for/buying a car really is one of life's very worst experiences.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Just the misery. The annoying vultures that swarm on you like flies. I haven't had to do it for myself in 12 years but I got sucked into going with my family yesterday, who I thought were just going to browse but turns out they were intending to buy.
Omfg. It's one of those experiences you have to be prepared for mentally as well as having your financial details in order. And I say that as just the idk, moral support, being there to help out? Idk. I've done it now for my mom/brother and did it a few years back for my aunt. It is exhausting. I'm sure part of it is because I'm not the one that's buying it so the boredom and annoyance is just amplified.

The song and dance bs of well I have to talk to the sales manager, now the floor manager, now the general manager, now our financial department. And it's just like look, you're either going to give us me the monthly payments I'm asking for or not. And we all know you want the sale. So cut the shit, stop wasting everyone's time, stop bringing in 4 different people to try and talk up a higher payment when in the end you're going to fucking do it at our asking price. Ack!

I'm still pissed off 18 hours later and it wasn't even my money. I hate having my time wasted. I hate scum sucking morons who think I'm an idiot. I hate buzz words, double talk and wordplay. And it's just all of that combined.
Sorry, just had to let off steam.
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Got a 2018 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk three weeks ago. Took six hours.

Thirty minutes to pick out and test drive the car. The rest was constant back and forth. Never buying a car without cash again.
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Oh yeah. When the time comes for me to have to get one for myself again. I'm saving up beforehand (yes this will take a few years) and just paying by check.
And 6 hours is about what they took too.
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I used to hate car buying but it's actually not that bad if you go in there knowing what you want and just walk out if they start with any BS sales tactics (like, "sign this paper so I can go negotiate the cost of the car for you even though it's not a legally binding agreement").

If you're getting the "song and dance" and going through all these steps then you are better off just leaving and finding another dealership.
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I'm considering getting a new car as well, but I dread having to work with the dealer(s). I just don't want to get screwed by paying more than I should.

People always take me to dealerships because I know how to shut them down quick and negotiate the best deal.
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Wasnt that bad for me but I also went to my credit union and was preapproved for a loan through them instead of having to arrange it with the dealer

Paying fully in cash probably isnt the best financial decision when you could be getting a loan and investing that cash in the market instead (average yearly return in the S&P 500 is just under 10%)

What helps in expediting the process is doing your homework beforehand. Walk into that dealership knowing the exact make/model/trim/package/etc that you want. Don't just come in there saying "I want a white SUV" - you're just being naive.

And you'll be surprised at what little knowledge the dealer has about these cars they sell. My goal is to always know more than they do by researching the car I want from their website, then following up on the car mag reviews and forums. You want to walk into that dealership primed and ready.
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DoctorVader posted...

People always take me to dealerships because I know how to shut them down quick and negotiate the best deal.

Can you come with me?

I need to buy a new car and Im dreading it for this reason. I hate the swarming and the wheeling and dealing bullshit. Having to walk away to make them cut the shit etc. Id rather just transparency so I can be in and out in two hours, not 7. Im tempted to go to car max and buy used because of it.

CirocObama posted...

I try to go private whenever I can. I've never bought a car from a dealership. I only buy used, and always pay full.

This works for me, as I'm not a car guy. Driving a brand new beamer, or audi, doesn't really appeal to me.

If you don't mind buying used, and have a good mechanic going private is great. You might have to search for months, but you'll score a great deal more than likely.

Well yeah but there are reasons people deal with the bullshit of buying completely new. Its a pretty solid trade off depending on the brand.
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Cal12 posted...

I need to buy a new car and Im dreading it for this reason. I hate the swarming and the wheeling and dealing bullshit. Having to walk away to make them cut the shit etc. Id rather just transparency so I can be in and out in two hours, not 7. Im tempted to go to car max and buy used because of it.

Not all dealerships do that, so if they do try that just leave.

When we got our most recent car it was literally us showing up, test driving it, we liked it but wanted to bring the price down a little bit so we sat and thought about if we wanted to pay the asking or get it down, then we talked to the salesman and he brought it down to 13,025 and my wife was like "uh you can't just make it an even 13k?" so they did.

I helped a coworker buy a Mini, the woman let us actually take the car to "get lunch" while we went to a dealership down the street and tried out a different car (her idea, not ours).
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It's funny but all of life's most miserable experiences are related to cars.

Buying a car? Yep.
Shopping for a car? Yep.
Getting stuck in traffic? Yep.
Finding out that you were stuck in traffic because of something thst wasn't even in the road? Yep.
Traffic lights? Yep.
Having a breakdown? Yep.
Waiting a week for a repair? Yep.
Paying $1000 for a repair? Yep.
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The dealership I bought my car from was kind of interesting because they weren't negotiating prices on anything. People were coming in, mentioning a price range they were comfortable with and asking about specific vehicles on the lot.

The dealership would tell them what they're payment would be and if it was too high for the buyer they'd just suggest a different, less expensive vehicle rather than lower the price. If a person would insist on the original vehicle with a lower payment the guy would just tell them something like "sorry, but I'm not doing that" and would just end the sale.

I liked it because there was such little hassle (I spent most of my time waiting for the bank to approve my loan) but, despite buying a car well within my budget, I was still hoping for a lower payment.

I dunno how common this is but I went fully prepared to hate every second of being there but it was actually pretty painless
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Virtrudian posted...

The dealership I bought my car from was kind of interesting because they weren't negotiating prices on anything. People were coming in, mentioning a price range they were comfortable with and asking about specific vehicles on the lot.

The dealership would tell them what they're payment would be and if it was too high for the buyer they'd just suggest a different, less expensive vehicle rather than lower the price. If a person would insist on the original vehicle with a lower payment the guy would just tell them something like "sorry, but I'm not doing that" and would just end the sale.

I liked it because there was such little hassle (I spent most of my time waiting for the bank to approve my loan) but, despite buying a car well within my budget, I was still hoping for a lower payment.

I dunno how common this is but I went fully prepared to hate every second of being there but it was actually pretty painless

Sounds nice.
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Virtrudian posted...

The dealership I bought my car from was kind of interesting because they weren't negotiating prices on anything. People were coming in, mentioning a price range they were comfortable with and asking about specific vehicles on the lot.

The dealership would tell them what they're payment would be and if it was too high for the buyer they'd just suggest a different, less expensive vehicle rather than lower the price. If a person would insist on the original vehicle with a lower payment the guy would just tell them something like "sorry, but I'm not doing that" and would just end the sale.

I liked it because there was such little hassle (I spent most of my time waiting for the bank to approve my loan) but, despite buying a car well within my budget, I was still hoping for a lower payment.

I dunno how common this is but I went fully prepared to hate every second of being there but it was actually pretty painless

That guy's not going to last very long as a car salesman if that's his technique.

G-Ziss posted...

That guy's not going to last very long as a car salesman if that's his technique.

I'm not sure if the same guy has been running it but the place has been around for years
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DevsBro posted...

Finding out that you were stuck in traffic because of something thst wasn't even in the road? Yep.

Holy fuck this makes me rage so damn hard

It's always because of an accident ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY WHICH IS DIVIDED BY A FUCKING CONCRETE WALL AND LIKE TEN FEET OF GRASS WHY THE FUCK ARE WE STOPPING FUCK ALL OF YOU AND YOUR MOTHERS and it just makes me really sad sometimes
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Virtrudian posted...

The dealership I bought my car from was kind of interesting because they weren't negotiating prices on anything. People were coming in, mentioning a price range they were comfortable with and asking about specific vehicles on the lot.

The dealership would tell them what they're payment would be and if it was too high for the buyer they'd just suggest a different, less expensive vehicle rather than lower the price. If a person would insist on the original vehicle with a lower payment the guy would just tell them something like "sorry, but I'm not doing that" and would just end the sale.

I liked it because there was such little hassle (I spent most of my time waiting for the bank to approve my loan) but, despite buying a car well within my budget, I was still hoping for a lower payment.

I dunno how common this is but I went fully prepared to hate every second of being there but it was actually pretty painless

Was it Lexus? I know they typically don't negotiate, the price you see is the price you get.
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Only time I bought new I pre-ordered and bought on employee friends and family pricing no negotiations. Took about 30 minutes first time and about 45 minutes to sign everything when I went to pick it up 6 months later.
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We live in an age where literally every piece of information you could possibly want is available at your fingertips at a moment's notice. I could get being overwhelmed at the idea of car shopping twenty years ago, but nowadays literally everybody could narrow their search down to a handful of models that look best to them and go from there with physical inspections and test drives. Who cares if salespeople try to swarm, just politely brush them aside with a firm understanding of what you're looking for and if they don't have it move on.
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littlebro07 posted...

Was it Lexus? I know they typically don't negotiate, the price you see is the price you get.

I bought a new Lexus in 2014 and I (with my father's help) was able to negotiate. I got them to come down in price, add headrest DVD players, add the remote starter through my phone, and get full KBB on my trade in. I actually almost felt bad afterwards, but they probably still made a killing on the deal.

G-Ziss posted...

DoctorVader posted...

People always take me to dealerships because I know how to shut them down quick and negotiate the best deal.

Can you come with me?

Sure, if you're in NYC.
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New car buying is easy, you can negotiate it all via email.

Used cars is trickier.
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littlebro07 posted...

Was it Lexus? I know they typically don't negotiate, the price you see is the price you get.

Nah it's just a used car place called Newcombs Auto. It's not very big but they just expanded their lot this past year and I get free oil changes for my car forever baby
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G-Ziss posted...

littlebro07 posted...

Was it Lexus? I know they typically don't negotiate, the price you see is the price you get.

I bought a new Lexus in 2014 and I (with my father's help) was able to negotiate. I got them to come down in price, add headrest DVD players, add the remote starter through my phone, and get full KBB on my trade in. I actually almost felt bad afterwards, but they probably still made a killing on the deal.

I think it's more of a recent thing, I keep hearing ads on the radio and seeing them on Hulu about negotiation-free car buying.

And yeah, don't ever feel bad about scoring a kick-ass deal from a car dealership. They're gonna absolutely rip off several other people and financially ruin a few others to make up the loss.
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I sell cars for a living lol. I usually have people in and out in under 3 hours.
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why? like terrible salespeople? yeah they have a reputation for being terrible

DoomtheGrav posted...

I sell cars for a living lol. I usually have people in and out in under 3 hours.

You are a saint.

That's what I wanted. In and out in 3 hours. Had so many plans that day...gone.

Not as bad as three years ago when we went to lease the last car. Got there at like 4:30 on a Tuesday, because we figured it'd be faster than going on the weekend.

We picked out the Jeep immediately, because our prior car was a 2012 FWD Patriot and we loved everything about it but wanted a 4x4 with some more features, so we had it ready in ten minutes. Also decided to get a second car, my Dodge Dart, which I had been looking into for awhile so I told them to pull up a blue or black one with the features I wanted. Test drove it, liked it, and we're ready to do paperwork.

We finally drove home in our new cars at 1:30 in the morning.

But we got the payments we wanted even with a bunch of extra shit.
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I really should write a book about this, as car sales antics don't change.

I always get shit done in under an hour.

GO IN JANUARY, YES JANUARY. Why? No one buys cars right after Xmas. Dealers are begging for any sale.

First step is to keep them busy and let em know you are a cash buyer.
Not a cash buyer? Prepare for next day pickup.

With cash my proven method is to test drive a vehicle that is about 20% less than your actual target car.
When you're done driving the dummy car and pointing out flaws and/or dislikes, they will more than likely ask what you are looking for in a vehicle. That's when you randomly mention the actual car you want.

Now, yeah test drive the actual car you want. Then tell em that this is way too expensive tho. They will always fire back with the let's see approach.
Now you're with the guy and you tell em you don't want any back and forth stuff. Which means they will start the back and forth stuff immediately. (not even lying lol) So basically you listen to 2 of their offers and all the BS they shouldn't be charging you for, then BOOM hit em with the final offer price and act like the conversation is over and laugh like you're about to leave.

The guy gets up... talks to the manager, and depending on the layout you can hear most of it if you eavesdrop good. At any rate, manager gets a little pissy but agrees to the price because no one is buying fucking cars and need any type of sale.

Seeing as you're a cash buyer, you can skip the financial officer bs and management can handle your papers. In most cases.

PRO TIP: If you open up a credit card with 0% interest for a year or so, you can usually float a little chunk of funds on that for a while. I usually do this as long as my credit report says 0 new accounts before opening. So you can do it like this every 2 years if you really wanted to.

All in All, if you keep them on their toes, they have a lot less opportunity to nickle and dime you.
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DoomtheGrav posted...

I sell cars for a living lol. I usually have people in and out in under 3 hours.

3 hours is a lot of time for me. My cash demands better.
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Thrillwell posted...

GO IN JANUARY, YES JANUARY. Why? No one buys cars right after Xmas. Dealers are begging for any sale.

I really wish I could have gone in January. The dealership had an amazing deal on AWD Dodge Chargers ($179/month lease sign and drive). But I was already in a lease that had four months left on it.

When the lease was up three weeks ago, Chargers were $300/month with $1000 due at signing. I decided I liked my Dart enough so I bought it.
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Thrillwell posted...

DoomtheGrav posted...

I sell cars for a living lol. I usually have people in and out in under 3 hours.

3 hours is a lot of time for me. My cash demands better.

This is just an average. If you know the car you want and dont bother test driving, and are willing to pay sticker, sure. National average is four hours to buy a car.

Also - cash is NOT king at car dealerships. They get flat fees from banks whenever they kick a loan so they generally are more willing to work with you if you are financing.
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