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New Car Sales Scam?

There is a law called truth in advertising. If a dealership advertises a vehicle at said price then that's the price they have to sell it for. Most of the time the adds will say "usually in very fine print" limited to 2, 3, whatever in stock and they will have been sold long before you arrive at the dealership. If the add doesn't state limited to stock on hand or a specified number then the dealer is required by law to sell you a vehicle for the advertised price doesn't matter how many doodads or upgrades he's added you've got him over the proverbial barrel. Same with tshelfer's lease experience look back at the add and it had to state lease somewhere in the add. Maybe in print so small that it could only be read with the Hubble Telescope but it had to have been there somewhere else the dealer would have legally bought to sell at advertised price.
 
Spent six years of my life in that business, most as a sales manager. I sleep a lot better at night now.


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Let me guess....Vandergriff

Bunch of crooks....I won't do business with them after they tried to rip.my wife off on service and I tried to buy a truck from them and they played the add on game.

If not Vandergriff....then I guess there are 2 shady dealer chains in Arlington....because Vandergriff definitely is.

Yeah, I had business with Tom a few times (banking) and his son Victor. They were both great and very charming the few times I worked with them.
I think Tom would flip his **** over the crooked people running things today.

Buying my Tundra was a great experience. No add-ons or any BS. They pitched the extended warranty really hard, but nothing crazy.
 
Same with tshelfer's lease experience look back at the add and it had to state lease somewhere in the add.

Oh, I'm sure they were covered by some legal gobbletygook, but it was a radio ad. I kept hearing it a dozen times a day after my experience, and I couldn't pick out the wording, except that they didn't specifically say the word "sell".
 
Just be aware that they start off asking seemingly innocent questions. They are trying to get you into a mind set of saying yes before they ask the closing question. When the closing question is asked, the first to speak, owns the car. I was in sales for a long time(not cars) so I sometimes answer their question with a question, Do your homework. I once told a saleman that I knew more about the truck than he did. Once I told him what the dealer cost and MSRP was on every option, he agreed with me. Then his mgr. gruffly commented that I wasn't really going to buy. Bought one later down the road. I shopped from Alvin to Abelene. Got kindda fun dueling with those guys. BTW bought a truck last year, settled on a price( had financing set through my credit union) got into doing the paperwork and they tried to hit me for an additional $400 for what amounted to Scotchguard. Told them wasn't going to pay. They took it off.
 
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It’s a lot like Vegas. The only way you win is to walk away. Even when I was in the business, I heard so many people brag about how they “Got the dealership”. No you didn’t. You may have gotten what was a good deal, that you could live, with but dealerships can go in the hole on a deal, buy, down rates to get financing done, etc. If they move a unit, they win.


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52 and never bought a brand new vehicle . My wife bought a new 89 GMC 1500 at Red Mcombs on the motor mile in Austin when we were dating.
 
I bought 2 new vehicles this year. One in January and one last week. One was easy as pie.... went through the Costco Auto Buying Program.
The second one was the usual dog and pony show. (Costco couldn't find the veihicle I wanted inside the program... Ford Explorer White/Beige Leather, 20'' wheels, and rear bench seat.... most of them come with rear captains chairs now)
Had to walk on 3 local dealers and almost the 4th except the sales "manager" chased us out into the parking lot as we drove away. (told them all in advance that we had a bad experience at 5-Star a couple of years ago and we didn't play games. All promised no games, but they did and we walked) They finally gave us what we wanted after 3 days of games.

BTW... the "easy as pie" experience was McDavid Honda in Irving.
And, the first 3 are still calling wanting me to come back.

SS
 
52 and never bought a brand new vehicle .

I haven't either, but I did get my '87 Ranger brand new in Houston. It was one of those calls from the midwest by my uncle that had been with Ford since the 50's kinda deal, and he knew everyone everywhere and I was in a real bind trying to take all the work I was finding just moving there flat broke months before in a '73 Datsun mini truck (indestructible, fantastic old thing) that the cops kept pulling me over in saying it needed Texas plates, (it was held together with duct tape and baling wire) so I just went and got the Ranger, signed papers and drove off. It's in my back yard, and is never for sale. The symbol of how you can be lower than a snakes nuts and get back up, work yer butt off and get to living.

I have a '89 BMW 325iS I paid 2500.00 for 21 years ago. (man was in a bind)
A '95 GMC truck I bought for 2500.00 13 years ago and have put 100k on it.

I see no need to ever go through all that dealer horse hockey to buy new, unless I win the lotto and money no longer maters.
like that's gonna happen.
 
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I gotta be honest, when I bought my truck a few months ago I was kind of grumpy that literally every truck on this dealer's lot comes with their "truck package" before it is even listed for sale. It was window tint, spray in bedliner, door edge guards, rock protection, and an interior anti-stain spray for non-leather vehicles.

That being said, after a few months of living with it, I have used every one of those add ons and typically those are just the things that I would never do for myself as I see them as being not a good use of money. Looking back on it now, at least for this truck; I'm very glad that all of them are on there as it really does make for a nicer truck overall.
 
True most of us would learn to appreciate extras that we probably would not do. I still prefer to have a choice of which addons I may or may not want and where they are done.
 
Yes, add-on’s do give the dealership additional opportunities to make money however, it allows them more room to negotiate down. So, if window tint is listed at $1000 and you are $500 off in making a deal, “If I come off another $500, can we do the deal today?” Buyer says yes and the dealership still makes money on $500 window tint, that they only paid $120 for.


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dealerships can go in the hole on a deal, buy, down rates to get financing done, etc. If they move a unit, they win.

And there's actually nothing wrong with that; after all, everybody has to make a living, salesmen included.

I read a book some years back, written by a retired car salesman. He explained inside tricks and told you how to buy a car and get a good deal. No surprise, the book was entitled "How to Buy a Car." He gave a lot of insider info, but he also cautioned the reader against going to war with a salesman or dealership; after all, they have a job to do and mouths to feed. It's not really a good situation when the deal is closed, leaving one or both parties with a bad taste in their mouth. So maybe the most important thing he had to say was this: "Buying a car should be a win-win. A good deal is one in which the buyer and seller both walk away feeling good about it."

That's what I liked about dealing with fleet sales back when you could do that. Everything was straight forward and prearranged, so there was no reason for anybody to be upset. I've mostly found internet sales to be that way nowadays. Seems like, if I can make an internet deal, the only frustration always ends up coming from the same place: the punk in the closing booth who tries to make you feel as if you're risking your life by not buying his "wheel and tire insurance." And yes, that's a thing.
 
The added window tint kills me. I'd rather go somewhere else and pick a better quality and type of film. The ceramic 3M I have on my Jeep is much cooler inside than my old Kia that had who-knows-what kind of film.

Fabric protection is nice, but a can of Scotchguard is cheap.
 
One place I worked paid $9 per can (plus labor for a tech to spray it on the seats) for fabric guard. I have seen it sold for as much as $3,000 in a deal. Crazy!


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We just bought the wife a new grandkid hauler. Web price matched the sticker price. Once we settled on price, the OTD price was $650 more. When questioned about it, they said it was for the ELO GPS app that they loaded into the system. We told em nope, didn’t want it, unload it. Salesman said it would be a pain to unload so they left it and backed it out of the final price. It is always is good to get the online sticker and bring it with you when it comes time to haggle.
 
I bought a new truck in1984 , from the dealer my parts account was at and since my shop was buying around ten grand in parts a year I went straight to the fleet desk and drove off with a new truck at 25 % off msrp with no extras . I bought all the extras from the parts department at my fleet price , chrome rear bumper for 95 bucks , spare tire kit 110 $ and that was a F350 . It didn’t really need anything else .
 
Bought a new truck in 1979 and one in 2011. The Tundra crew max I bought in 2011 I told the dealer what I would pay after a little back and forth they agreed. Maybe I could have got it cheaper doesn’t matter we left happy. Oh by the way it’s the wife’s truck, I am driving the 1974 in my avatar or riding my bike when solo.
 
I bought a new truck in1984 , from the dealer my parts account was at and since my shop was buying around ten grand in parts a year I went straight to the fleet desk and drove off with a new truck at 25 % off msrp with no extras . I bought all the extras from the parts department at my fleet price , chrome rear bumper for 95 bucks , spare tire kit 110 $ and that was a F350 . It didn’t really need anything else .

1984, worst time in US automotive history to buy a Big Three vehicle. I bought a new Bronco II, what a turd that was, almost as bad as the 80 Mustang I owned at the time. Had to put two cams in it before I totally broke it down and did a complete rebuild. The EC III was the epitome of how not to design an engine controller too.
 
We should do a thread on sorry 80s cars. It would fill up quickly. Everybody in America was building dogs. Not sure I could pick a clear loser between the Big Four, but the early S10 (2.8 V-6) and the Citation sure didn't do Chevy any favors.
 
I just watched a YouTube video on what happened to the Pontiac Fiero.
 
We should do a thread on sorry 80s cars. It would fill up quickly. Everybody in America was building dogs. Not sure I could pick a clear loser between the Big Four, but the early S10 (2.8 V-6) and the Citation sure didn't do Chevy any favors.


Cadillac Cimarron had to close to to top of the heap when it came to junky 80's cars.
 
Well, somebody had to take the initiative, so here it is. Post your 80s car horror stories here:

 
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