Any Questions for a Car Dealer?

rroyce10

........ I'm sorry you had a problem, but here's some food for thought ...

              Dealers will see 70/100/200+ people a week depending on the store, thats 300/800 folks a month ~ the unfortunate thing is, most are not as nice as the good people here on these boards ..

              Most owe a whole lot more than the value of their trade (but won't admit it) some have some questionable credit (but they won't discuss it) .. most will have little or no money down (but they want to keep their payments the same) and are looking at a $35,000+ vehicle, plus you have the "enthusiast" driver that reads every car mag on the planet and takes a day-off to drive 7/8 vehicles (even though he won't be buying one until 2008) .. then, some will gather a little information from Edmunds, some will use a little info from Cars r us, Cars R U, then whatever fits "their" needs the most is what fits into the soup, whether it true or not .l.o.l. .. and lets not forget the buyers that drive 50/150 miles to save $50 and want to tell the sales staff how their product is "distressed" and they need to give it away and lose $2,000 ~ and he wants to drive 5 cars and then come back after he thinks about .l.o.l..

               I'm not agreeing with your experience and I didn't say it was fair .. the point is, if you had a bad experience (Foreign or Domestic) this is one of the major reasons why.! these are the people "you" are competing with on a daily basis.. you see them for 2 hours once every 4 years, dealers see them everyday, so they Do get a little jaded .. and salesman, SM's, GM's, owners have to be able to "dissect" the good from the "not so good" ..... I didn't say you have to agree with it, but perhaps you might understand it better ..

           Me personally, I'm a major advocate of demo's, plus over nighters (waaay before GM .l.o.l.) and even weekend drivers for specialty vehicles, but I'm going to know a whole bunch more than a handshake and a grin when it's My insurance and My vehicle ... the best thing you can do is call the SM, explain your need to demo the 3 types before you buy and go from there .. I always appreciated a customer that appreciated my investment and bent over backwards for them .........................

                            Terry.

barbarabeth

What is the difference between an "administration fee" and a "title & documentary fee"? The NH dealer I am working with lists both for a total of $125 - but I still have to register the car myself here in RI. So what am I paying for? It's the $94 admin. fee that I suspect is bogus. At another dealership I was told that they have to keep records for 10 years - that's why they charged $198 fee, however they did register the car.

barbarabeth

My last post was too long to include this - I'll try to be brief. I have been offered a $716 discount on a demo car with 4,774 miles - 15 cents per. Where does this pricing come from? Is there an industry standard? BTW, this is a Toyota dealer, if that makes a difference. Considering gas prices and repair costs it doesn't seem very competitive.

bowke28

even if you have to register the car, they still have to transfer the C of O to your state, and collect taxes. feel lucky that its only $125. dealers in other parts of the country charge up to $600-$700 for the same thing.

BTW...as much as noone likes doc/admin fees, they are not bogus. as long as it is disclosed, there is no weird stuff being pulled on you.

mh3

I work for a Toyota dealership and we base the $.15/mile demo discount on the $.15/mile overage charge on leases.

I don't know if that's an industry standard or not.

bobst

In Virginia it is normal for the dealers to charge Doc/Admin fees of $250 to $350, and I don't question them. I am only concerned with the final price after all the fees are paid.

If you check around, you might find another dealer that charges $100 more for the car but has a Doc fee of only $10, which would save you $15. Buy the car there. That amount of savings would buy a magnificent feast at McDonalds.

To make it simple, most of us include the Doc fee when we make an offer.

barbarabeth

I thought it was OK, but I was just checking. You read so much about bogus fees and high-pressure deals that I am very wary even when a dealer seems legit. Actually I am more concerned about the demo pricing or if a demo car is a good deal.

barbarabeth

That's interesting. I don't think that would have occurred to me - thank you.

bowke28

if it were my money, personally, i wouldnt buy a demo. normally, even if it has 5000 miles, your discount wont be more than $500 or so additional. years ago, when cars were $3000-$5000, it was WAY worth it...but now that we spend $20k minimum for a base sedan, $500 isnt much in comparison, and i would just as soon have the brand new one.

having said that, if you drive alot, say over 25k per year, the extra couple thousand miles doesnt mean much either.

i only drive 10k miles a year, so 4k-5k miles means ALOT...alot more than $500.

driftracer

have a demo, make sure that the demo discount is ON TOP OF the discount you've already negotiated - you'd feel awfully foolish to get a $700 discount for the car being a demo, then see an ad a week later showing $2,000 off the price (discount). Strike your best deal, then apply the mileage discount.

Bowke is certainly right, though - there's not many scenarios where a demo makes sense - if you can get the same vehicle with no miles on it, you're better off in many ways.

carson310

I just relocated to a different city and need to purchase a used car or lease a new car, but am currently unemployed. I have been constantly employed for a number of years and have good credit.

If I were to put a down payement of 1/4 the cost of the vehicle could I get financing?

whzrd

I have a question on whether or not I speak to a salesperson and an internet person from the same dealer is this a conflict of interest.

I have been in contact with several internet people from different stores would this be rude or just good business as far as getting the best price. I am not stringing them along and advised up front that i am not serious yet.

danf1

Any bank that I use has minimum income requirements regardless of previous credit. You have to show the ability to pay a loan in order to get a loan. If you have a job lined up, you could get a letter of intent from your future employer and some banks may accept that.

bowke28

if you can provide proof of income sufficient to pay for the note, then it doesnt matter where the income comes from (as long as its legal).

if you cant prove income, its very tough.

bowke28

if you spoke to the internet person first, just drop an email and ask them who you should see should you come in.

if you spoke to the salesperson first, stick with them.

Kirstie_H

A reporter is doing a story for Parade magazine (the magazine in most Sunday papers nationwide). She is looking for someone who, this year, traded in their SUV, pickup truck or minivan for a car, preferably a domestic car, but that’s not necessary.

If you have done this, or someone you know has, and would be willing to speak with the reporter, please e-mail pkrebs@edmunds.com by 5 pm PT today. Thanks!

dillydill

A relative of mine in Central Massachusetts bought a new honda pilot last Sunday the 15th of August. The car was located in NY and was to be trucked for delivery one week later the 22nd. Today is the 24th and they have not received any calls from their salesman and said they have been calling daily for updates. When they last talked to their salesman he said the vehicle was on the way to Charlestown(a port city) and that it should be in in a day or so.

I have told my relative to relax and see if it comes in tomorrow. They are upset that the car is already two days late. My question about this situation is that is this normal? It seems awfully long to get a car from the next state over. . .I assume this has happened before to other people. . . should my relatives ask for something to ease their minds or something like a free oil change thrown in. . . ?
Is there some type of goodwill that the dealer could offer?

They are getting frustrated and I told them not to do anything until I get back to them.
All thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated.

Dillydill

mirth

I think you gave them good advice. It may even be a week or more late. Car deliveries are not an exact science I've come to realize. ;-) But their salesman should be communicating with them - that's frustrating. Of course I see it all the time where people in the service industry promise to call back but never do.

I think it's not enough of a big deal to be asking the dealer for freebies. Now, if the car was a month late and they never got back to you, then...of course, by then you'd have gone somewhere else anyway.

rroyce10

....... Tell them to take a Chill Pill ..

            I ship vehicles all over the country and "most" of the time the dealer has little or no control over the time span, especially if it's a one unit drop .. the driver will probably drop the closet first and sometimes they might run 30/60/90 minutes late and the last store might close early and they missed the drop time, that means they hafta stay overnight, which kicks the whole deal sideways for the next one or two drops ....... relax.! .. usually the closest distance takes the longest time, if you look over at page 44 of the book "Aggravation" it explains it all ..........................

                              Terry.

jlawrence01

I am not in the car business but I always have 25-75 container shipments on the water at any time.

At the current time, there are delays in receiving nearly any shipment from the far east. A lot of the delays have to do with the shortage of cargo ships with the improvement in the economy. Also, there are a lot of delays at some of the busiest ports, especially those in Southern California. Add on to that, the delays in the western railroads.

For others out there, if you positively absolutely must have a vehicle by a particular date, please order one that is in stock.

weaselinsuit

horror story. I had a car shipped across the country when I moved once. Arranged for door to door service.

Got home on the Monday of a Thanksgiving weekend to find a message from the driver, left Sunday afternoon, saying he was just about to our town and wanting to tee up delivery. Then later that same Monday night at 11 pm, got a call from the driver that he was a province over and that he had dropped off the car in the parking lot of a local hotel and given the keys to the front desk. He then suggested that we should get over to the hotel as soon as possible to pick the car up so that the hotel would not be inconvenienced.

Yeeesh.

bowke28

one thing that popped in my head just now is that your relative may have insisted that the truck be "trucked" instead of driven. had they wanted it to be driven, it would have arrived before now.

robr2

Per chance is it silver? I just drove by the Boston Auto Port in Charlestown and there was 1 Pilot in front of about 6-800 BMW's, VW's, MB's, Audis, and Porches.

dillydill

Thanks for all the fast reply's . . I really appreciate it. . .

robr2 . . I believe they said it was white. . .

I passed along all of the info and I will keep you posted

Dillydill

stacy1

silly question, what is a tonneau? Was looking at RAV4- is listed as an option in one of the packages.

stacy1

Dealer at Toyota dealership would not show invoice price of Rav 4 L pkg wihout leather. Is 25000 fair with nav?

steine13

I'm not a car dealer but I play one on TV.
Good for them for not showing you the invoice... it's really none of your business how much money they make on a car.

OTOH, you can let your finger do the walking and go over to the "new car" side of edmunds and I guarantee you can price out the exact car you're looking at to the nearest $50 in <5 minutes. That's what Edmund has been doing for decades.

You have to realize that "Rav 4 L pkg without leather" isn't something anyone here can give you a price on, that's a little imprecise. year/options/transmission play a small role, too :-)

More importantly, having figured out invoice, figure out what the incentives are, if any, and THEN you'll have to check around -- Town Hall is good for THAT -- how much over invoice-incentives you should have to pay.

Rav4's are not distressed merchandise; they'll want to make a little money on these, nothing wrong with that.

-Mathias

stickguy

Is the cover that goes over the cargo area. I usually think of it as the cover for a pick-up bed, but I guess it sounds fancier than "cargo area cover"

ramped

My friends' virtually brand new (3,000 miles) PT Cruiser convertible was severly damaged by Hurricane Charley a couple of weeks ago.

He thought the car would be totaled, but the adjuster said all he can allow for the damage is about $10K to cover the cost of repairs.

The resale value of the Cruiser is sure to suffer even if the repair "looks like new." I know I have seen this discussion elsewhere, but I can't remember where or when. Should my friend demand something extra from the insurance company for diminished resale value? Can he do that?

robr2

Does Florida allow for diminshed value claims? Not every state does. Start there.

alfox

fix it and drive it till it drops. Diminished value is meaningless if you plan to keep the car.

mirth

Similar thing happened to my grandmother. She wrecked her Civic and we expected the insurance company to just total it. But instead they sent us a check for $7500 to cover repairs (car was worth around $9500 tops). So we got it repaired. Turned out that the insurance guy had underestimated the damage and the ins co ended up ponying up another $2500 to complete the repairs. My grandmother gave the car to my sister and she's still driving it to this day, but sometimes these ins companies outsmart themselves.

jlawrence01

>>but sometimes these ins companies outsmart themselves. <<

To the insurance co., it is just a claim. The adjuster thought that the claim was worth $7500, so why not fix the car? There is no emotion to it. And sometimes the body shop misses something.

Three years ago, my wife totalled a 1974 Ford Pinto with 24k miles owned by an elderly German engineer. Appraised value of $4200 per her company's guide. She cut the check, no problem.

mirth

If they had offered us even $500 more we probably would have hauled the thing to the scrapyard, but they made us go through the repair rigamarole. Considering their initial estimate was close to what the car was worth, they should have just totaled it and saved themselves some money not only in repairs but in customer service rep time.

ramped

Too bad my friend doesn't use that insurance co. Based on that valuation, his Cruiser convertible should be worth about $100,000. Then again, I guess finding '74 Pintos that didn't turn into torches is pretty difficult.

dillydill

Just wanted to give an update that the pilot did not come in today. . . I told them to give their salesperson a buzz tomorrow to check in. . . should the salesperson be checking in with updates on the whereabouts of the vehicle?

Dillydill

jlawrence01

It is THEIR choice ...

mark156

Dillydill, you are going to drive yourself crazy calling everyday. Just wait a couple of days then call.

They should be keeping in touch with you about any delays but apparently they are not. Bad dealer.

Mark

bowke28

update folks when there is a delay. in this case, he DID say it would be longer...but a day-to-day update is overkill, IMO.

isellhondas

I learned long ago to always under promise and to try to over deliver. On an incoming car, I'll always pad the expected date by at least several days. That way, I can make sure it gets prepped and cleaned before I call my customer.

I don't want someone bugging me every day if there is a delay.

A lot less stress and my customers are happier.

turboshadow

When I was looking at cars, I noticed that a lot of the salespeople revealed they have bad credit. Aside from the fact that I never would have revealed this info myself, I was wondering how prevalent bad credit was among salespeople and if it caused any concerns for the SMs, GMs, owners, etc.

Turboshadow

stickguy

just guessing, but I would think it's a fairly common problem. Not because of selling cars per se, but because it tends to be a transitory occupation (for many folks), that doesn't pay real well, and has erratic compensation due to commissions. If you are basically broke to start with, and have a slow month where you only make $500, some bill is going to get missed.

I agree that if I had poor credit, no one would ever know (that I could keep it from), but it's also possible that it was a sales tactic (just a way to get you on there side, or some other psychological ploy).

bowke28

my credit is below average, around 600 or so, but there is no way i would ever let someone know that.

ive noticed that LOTS of salespeople have bad credit, but it tends to get better as they stay in the business longer, mine included.

after 5 years in the business, a bad month isnt as bad as it used to be. my bad months these days still pay the bills.

some people may let you know to give you a sense of superiority (lets face it, we all have egos), but as a salesperson, i dont want you superior to me, i want us on equal ground.

cole

Uh, didn't you just reveal your credit score? : )

Seriously though, a question:
Does having a car detailed just before trade-in have any real impact on the offer of the dealer (more so that a thorough car wash and vacuum)?

bowke28

ask terry over at RWTIV.

BTW...i dont know anyone here, and noone knows me...thats the beauty of anonymity...lol.

kyfdx

Uh.. I know your name and where you work.. what else would I need to know? Seriously, I'd get your last name out of your profile.. Just asking for flaky people to give you problems...

regards,
kyfdx

dillydill

Mark,

The pilot was purchased by a relative who asked my opinion so in turn I asked the opinions of the dealers and members here. . . my relative is the one driving me crazy. . .lol

bowke,

I am trying to help reduce their stress . . they know that if it was shipped UPS then it would have been here the next business day. . .lol. . .as it stands it has been 4 days late and they are just stressed buyers that put down a big chunk of the purchase price down and have no vehicle to show for it. . I would expect a quick call to say ,"I haven't forgotten about you. . I don't have any updates". . once a day until the customer gets their car that's late. . doesn't seem like much effort to make a 2 minute phone call.

isell,

I totally agree . . .too bad they don't live near you. . .

I'll give another update once the cars is delivered . . .but I wanted to thank everyone for their opinions. . what a great place this town hall is. . .

Dillydill

rroyce10

.. **my credit is below average, around 600 or so, --- but there is no way i would ever let someone know that**

             hmmm, whats the word for this: an oxymoron .l.o.l... just kidding, it's the "way" you wrote it ..................

                            Terry.

rroyce10

........ Depending on the vehicle, time of the year and the miles .. it can make $300/$900+ difference, is that worth it.?

                           Terry.

bowke28

OK, OK, OK...my syntax wasnt exactly award-winning...lol.

kyfdx...someone with a little knowledge about the area here can figure it out, but the average joe scrolling posts doesnt really care to pursue it.

i meant that i wouldnt go around bragging about having bad credit to a customer.

on occasion, however, i WILL empathize with a person trying to rebuild it..."sir, ive been in your position before, and this is how i corrected it..."