Comments on: Car dealership shenanigans with our $10,000 new car quest

By: Bought a new 2007 PT Cruiser » Make You Go Hmm

Bought a new 2007 PT Cruiser » Make You Go Hmm — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:10:40 +0000

[…] search for a $10,000 new car is […]

By: True cost to own your car from Edmunds » Make You Go Hmm

True cost to own your car from Edmunds » Make You Go Hmm — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:02:55 +0000

[…] on our adventure to find and buy a $10,000 new car: still looking. We’re still open to suggestions if anybody has them in the […]

By: in mn

in mn — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 09:48:52 +0000

I agree with online bartering of price. I utterly hate feeling pressured over an extra $100 or so. ANd its such a huge waste of time. I say: i want x, what will you give it to me for? ..

one guy gave me a price via web, when i went to go in to the dealer the other salesguy (the guy on web left for the day) wanted to argue that they dont sell them for that low. I said, well xxx says you do, and you will. and that 1 in front all prepped is mine.

He started commenting, i zipped up my checkbook and grabbed my keys, then the next thing out of his mouth was “well we can do it just this once”

another perk is in another transaction, i got the dlr to drop down 20% just by forgetting to check my email or spend the time to reply.

emails great for price negotiations…you can always inspect it and find things that werent pointed out and leave.

good comment about the keys btw, i will never do that

By: yan

yan — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 05:35:23 +0000

I can imagine my parents talk this way, not someone running a popular blog. The world has changed. Just think about it.
There are easy ways to know you write to a dealership representative, if this is an issue. The person you write to is not “someone online”, he/she is there at your local dealership in flesh.
Don’t make any commitments, don’t give out any financial info about yourself, just bargain the price and make the date/time for the appointment. Then print out the email with a quote and bring with you.
I just don’t have the guts to sit at the desk face to face with the guys who are pros at selling cars. Some enjoy it, I hate it. There are other better things I’d rather do.

By: TDavid

TDavid — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 01:47:47 +0000

My concerns, yan? I already don’t trust many people online. I’ve seen all sorts of crazy things online in the 10+ years I’ve been building and running websites. When it comes to financial stuff, I prefer to deal with people directly, in person.

I’m not saying there aren’t good, honest people online — of course there are — but I prefer to deal (or haggle in the email case) with transactions over a certain dollar amount more directly, and $10,000+ is in that range where I want to deal with someone other than over email. Face to face, phone call, and/or some combination of both is preferable. Yes, this might waste more of my valuable time, but I like dealing with people and email is a bit too faceless for larger transactions.

Just my 2 1/2 rusted pennies.

By: yan

yan — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 21:32:56 +0000

New car is a new car and you won’t tell two same models apart. Once you decide on the model — just bargain for the best price online (over email). What exactly are your concerns?

By: TDavid

TDavid — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 01:29:50 +0000

Not sure I’d want to deal through email for a purchase this size, yan, but looks like otherwise some interesting tips there, thanks.

By: yan

yan — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 01:21:46 +0000

Since you are looking for a new car, I suggest you to do all the price negotiations over email. Show up only to test drive. This has proven to be a sure and hassle free technique for me. I summarized my new car buying tips when I wrote about it in January [see signature for link]

By: thatedeguy

thatedeguy — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 02:56:36 +0000

My best friend is a Car Salesman so I generally go to him when I’m looking for a car. Even so, I rue going to the dealership as even he gets a little pushy when he smells the scent of the prey.

Seems to be the nature of the beast, maybe it’s time to start looking harder at eBay, carsdirect, and other used car sale sites.

By: Rob O.

Rob O. — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 00:44:40 +0000

I like the looks of the Yaris, but the ratings aren’t great… Seems like either the Fit or Aveo are a better-rated choice.

Myself, I’d love to try a Smart Car!