Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Purchasing Strategies - Questions & Success Stories
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I didn't take a close look, but it also wouldn't surprise me if there was a name that you could associate with each ticket, so they can track that even better.
For special occassions, it's probably less worrisome. And, while I've never gone to a dealership *just* for the food, I have stopped in at one when I was exploring the other dealerships, and might not have stopped in otherwise.
So, yeah, it can be a draw, even to the people they're looking to attract.
They were all nice enough when I said I was just there for the food/drinks. No tickets. Got business cards stating that if I was ever interested, to ask for them.
Maybe I'd shop them when it comes time to buy a car, maybe not. I don't know that it would sway me one way or the other if I was in the market, though.
I can see where it would generate some traffic. Don't know how qualified the buyers would be...and if they were even in the market for a car.
Human nature being what it is, never doubt the power of anything "free" as a marketing tool, however.
I go to about 4 trade shows/year. Lots of companies are always there giving away free stuff trying to secure my business, or at the very least, my attention. I'm always amazed at what some people will do to get a free hat or t-shirt (or how long they'll wait to get either).
A lot of car purchases are made on impulse, and the whole relationship game begins by getting customers onto the lot. I'm sure that these events must typically generate business, or else they wouldn't bother holding them.
Big question are they actually new or just untitled? They could be demos or loaners with 10-15K miles and just hasn't been titled. If thats the case I would treat it as a used car, lets face it it is a used car.
If it truely has never been used (no more than a few hundred miles) I would doubt that Ford has any incentives on them. The dealer on the other hand would most likely take deep discounts on them. I would seriously start in the low to mid teens depending on what the car has.
Either way that car won't move unless there is a good amount of $'s taken off.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Personally, if you are interested, I would go in there with a check for $12k and see if that sparks their interest. My brother bought a NEW '04 Taurus SE last year for $11.6. The worst that they will do is to counter.
The Taurus is still available to fleets and is still somewhat popular as a fleet vehicle as it can be had for significantly less than a Fusion or a Five Hundred.
While I realize that you are not a fleet buyer, this does give you an idea of how eager Ford is to dump these, as that is a high incentive compared to other Fords.
I'm going to guess (and this is a guess) that your local dealer got a special deal from FoMoCo to dump these normally-fleet-only cars onto the market. I would assume that these cars warrant a very steep discount, certainly an amount well below invoice. I'd say that J Lawrence has the right idea here.
And it would be wise to check the mileage. If they are high-mileage demos, then treat them as used cars, even if they are technically "new" under the law.
If the price is right who cares? Sure its two model years old but if you can get it for thousands off invoice would it be worth it? Some say yes. As for the engine sitting there for all that time, I wouldn't have an issue if they changed all the fluids.
But I have a suspicion that these were demos and/or loaners that have racked up a few miles.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Snake makes another good point. See what the mileage is. Could be service loaners that were never titled with a few thousand miles on them.
Nothing wrong with the Taurus. I've driven several as rentals. They seem to be solid cars and decent trasportation. It's just an older design that lived past its "freshness" from a design standpoint. Understand that resale is low on these, too. Take that into consideration if you decide to take a stab at buying one.
Good luck. I'd be interested in hearing how you do.
They are not the cheapest cars to maintain but they will make 150-200k miles if (AND ONLY IF)you service them properly and DON'T defer maintenance.
DO NOT BUY a Taurus at this point if you are planning to hold the car short-term. It is an end of life cycle product at this point and a fleet favorite which is the death knell for ANY vehicle. Ford has been pretty much giving away these cars to the large car rental fleets and the car rental fleets have been using them rather than paying more $$$ for MID-SIZED cars (like the Chevy Malibu).
Never, never, never pay anything close to book for a Taurus (or any discontinued vehicle).
For the record - I have Ford's Fleet Manual in my palms - there is a 2007 Taurus. I would NOT be surprised if tehy keep the beast going another year.
Why not? Ford amortized the tooling a long time ago, They have excess production capacity. And, as long as they can sell them to someone (fleets, rentals, dealers looking for a relative bargain in their new car inventory), why wouldn't they.
The factory in Georgia where the Taurus is built is slated for closure, so I'd guess that the Taurus will be leaving us soon, they're just building them until the bitter end in order to use up the plant capacity and to try to keep the Five Hundred from becoming a fleet car. (That being said, the Five Hundred seems doomed to become the new Taurus fleet special...)
The '05 might not even be worth it at $12k, given the lot rot that's probably setting in. I'm a little concerned about rusty brakes, dry rot on the tires & hoses, etc. I was just wondering if anybody knew of a specific program out there so I could get an idea just how low it might go. I know there's $8k factory to dealer incentives on the '06 Lincoln LS to clear out the last of them, and I've seen it as low as $26k, versus a sticker price of nearly $40k.
I'm not too worried about resale, as I plan on driving it into the ground.
Note that you'll still be covered by the factory warranty, such as it is, when you buy it.
Embrace the power of "no", and remind them that "If anyone wanted these cars, you'd have sold them by now." Haggle hard.
Dry rot on tires and hoses takes much longer to occur. Plus, I would imagine that the dealer had to at least start the cars and occasionally move them around their lot.
SELs are the "upgrade" over the SE Tauri.
A long standing member here at Edmunds, qbrozen, had a Lincoln LS. If I remember correctly, he thought it was a great car for the money. You might want to drop him a note and ask him of his thoughts if you're going to move in that direction.
Unfortunately, before he could get his GMC sold, someone bashed out all the windows of the vehicle ... and he was self insured.
audia...now you'll really get socal in a "snit" over that comment about how he's aware of how dealerships operate like that and how he's got the definitive answer/reply.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
The glimpses I caught showed a couple buying a car that wasn't remotely close to what their budget was. Yet, they hung around and hung around until finally, that dealership closed them for way more than they planned. I'm sure the car cost more than they planned to spend, but the longer they stayed at the dealership, the more convoluted the deal became until they signed.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard from others...."I never felt comfrotable about my car deal...or didn't like the dealership where I bought...etc".
The only question I've always had is....."why did you buy where you bought, then?"
The reasons are varied, but they always boil down to...."I felt pressured". Same question....."why did you complete the deal if you felt that way?".
No one holds a gun to anyone's head to buy.
The highest pressure sales pitch I've ever been though was at a couple of those "freebie" vacation time share pitches....the ones where they give you a free weekend at a resort if you agree to sit through their pitch. Not saying time shares are bad deals, per se. But none of them ever fit my vacation needs. Those folks really have a hard time taking "no" as an answer. In the end, you just have to get up and walk out.
For the folks that feel "pressured" or have a hard time saying "no", I would suggest trying this " No thanks, I am not interested. Good bye." Then leave. You do not "owe" a specific reason why you choose not to buy.
For the most part, I think the majority of us have been brought up to be polite. It's hard for a lot of people to just say "no" and walk away as that's viewed as rude. Instead, it's been in-grained that when we say "no", we have to give a reason. We don't.
So true. Telling someone "no" is a form of rejection, which is tough for some people to do. Especially when the seller has established a "relationship" & is giving you that sad puppy dog look.
I use to feel that I "owed" someone an explanation, or excuse, for not buying their product. But, in the end it's just a waste of mine and the salespersons time...and if not careful...my money in buying something I did not want.
When were done with the test drive, I told him to give me his business card and maybe a few pamphlets on the Corolla. We go inside, he leaves, me expecting him to get the pamphlets. I then see him outside waiting for his next "up". This other guy in the cheap suit sits down and starts talking prices.
I literally laughed in his face, told him I'm not buying today, where's the pamphlets. Told him, if your newbie out there really listened to me, you wouldn't have wasted your time. I never did get the pamphlets.
Long time ago, I did happen into one of those. Sales person greats me, shows me what I'm interested in, then turned me over to the closer. Closer sits down, tries a few trial closes. It became clear that they were more interested in a more protracted negotiation session after the trial closes yielded nothing. After about 10 minutes of various trial closes, I finally got up and stated..."we aren't close, it doesn't look like we're going to get close....thanks for your time, but lets not waste any more of my time, nor your time"...and I headed for my car.
Then, another closer came out to my car to try yet, again....this time inviting me to come back into the dealership to evaluate my sales person & process (that was a new line for me to get me back into the dealership). I told him...."your sales person & techniques failed...that's all the evaluation you need". Drove away.
move. The closer was just giving it a shot !
But you knew better and did what you have to do !
WALK!
If you would like to own the car, then make an offer, just like the sales person suggested.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
However, seems to me you don't stand to lose a thing by sending him and email with your OTD offer. What's the worst thing that will happen - he may say no and tell you that you are crazy?
I am in sales, and my boss often says, "You don't know what their (the other party's) answer will be if you don't ask."
From all descriptions, his method does not care what the stickers or invoices are. It's all about what it is worth to Bobst and then, if really rejected (which means the dealer lets them walk), simply raising that by some small amount and try again some place else.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
I need you to update the e-mail address listed in your profile - i just got a bounce-back. Thanks!
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I don't see why you wouldn't. I'd simply ignore the window sticker, and be ready to counter any efforts to deal with such absurd numbers.
The dealer is simply using a negotiation tactic that is common to the business, and it's not a big deal just so long as you understand it. First, he high-balls you, in the hope that you counter with a number of your own (hopefully one that is above the market price), to which he will respond by pulling your price upward so that he can eventually "split the difference" with you, thus netting out at a high price.
The best approach in that negotiation is to get him to counter himself, so that you don't allow outlandish numbers to influence the amount of your counteroffers. There are a number of specific tactics you can use, but most of them tend to come down to simply asking for more. A polite variation of "you can do better than that", combined with "I'd be ready to buy today at the right price" should do the trick.
Salesmen show the door to customers who offer $7K under market value of car, why shouldn’t I do the same to this salesman.
Because you're buying a car, not a salesperson. If the car can be had at the right deal, why bother worrying about the guy who sells it?
You'll live with the car for years, but you'll deal with the salesperson for perhaps a half-hour. The guy is doing his job by trying to earn money for himself and his employer, which is what you would do if you were in his position. (The free market at work.)
Your job is to get past the smoke screen and get the merchandise that you want at the right price. Rather than either trying to befriend or demonize the dealer, accept that each of you is playing a part in a play, and each of you is supposed to do his best for his position. When you play chess, you don't expect your opponent to help you to win at his expense, and I wouldn't expect that from a commissioned salesperson in any industry.
But thanks for being honest, and hopefully we can keep this discussion moving along the same groove.
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S: We have a 2006 Taurus SEL with 7,800 miles. We do not have a new 2006 Taurus. Please let me know if you are interested in the one we do have
Me: How much is it?
S: The Taurus is $16,999 includes a 6 year / 75,000 warrenty
Me: This price is much higher than what I think this car is worth. I am not interested.
S: Would you like to make an offer on this Taurus?
Me: NO, when you quote such an unreasonable price, there is no point of wasting my time.
S: Ok sounds good, I'm just trying to provide you with pricing opitions. Please let me know what price would be reasonable to you on this Taurus.
Have a wonderful day
From the logical perspective, I sort of agree with you guys, but from the emotional side, why should I put up with this nonsense! Salesmen don’t waste their time with customers who make unreasonable offers, why should I waste my time with unreasonable salesmen. Unless you think that $7 to $8K over market value is a reasonable asking price. It’s a freaking Taurus for heavens sake.
Please take this as intended: There shouldn't be an emotional side. It is a business deal, not a friendship, and it isn't "nonsense", it's a tried-and-true negotiation tactic that the dealer finds to be effective in many circumstances. Fortunately, it need not be effective in yours.
Negotiation has been with us since the beginning of mankind, and it is futile to try to undue such a fundamental element of human behavior. Buying a car is not like buying a can of soup, the entire process is built around "imperfect information" (the average seller knowing a lot more than does the average buyer) and high margins being rewarded to the most skilled salespeople.
That's just reality, so you can either accept it or bang your head into the wall. It's not the salesperson's job to get you a low price, that's mission belongs to you.
And unless he lives under a rock, he realizes that too. It's not like you are wasting time by going down there in person - it's just email.
I would respond with something to the effect of:
"Based off of what I am seeing with the market, my OTD offer is $XX,XXX. If you would like to accept my offer, I can stop by as early as tomorrow with a check. Just let me know."
If he doesn't budge, then move on.
In all of that they seem to believe that those turned off/angry customers are easily offset by those gains and hopes, i.e. they are willing to pay a price of losing your business in favor of hope of once-a-lifetime deal when that Taurus (or anything else) gets sold at some outlandish profit.
The only way to change that behavior/set of beliefs (if of course desired by the public at all) is to contradict it by avoiding their businesses and letting them know why. If enough people hang up/walk away, they may change the highball paradigm. As long as they believe it serves them well and there is no evidence to contrary, they won't.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Bingo, I couldn't said it better myself. This is exactly what I am doing.
Except you are such a tiny part of the marketplace that your efforts won't come to anything. You don't have enough power or influence in the scheme of things to make a difference.
In any case, it doesn't matter where the negotiation begins, what matters is where it ends up. If it starts out nicely but you end up overpaying anyway, that's a poor outcome, even if everyone is all smiles and you've ended up with a "relationship".
Sometimes I'm OK with having a bit of goodwill in the bag. If I slightly "overpay," but when I need warranty or other work, I can get help in receiving same-day service, I'm a much happier hostess all-around.
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I'm not saying all games to be gone, just let everybody determine their threshold of pain, after which they say no more. Right now I see more people simply going with the flow cause nothing can be done. It's like with democracy - one vote may not exactly count, but eventually it does.
2018 430i Gran Coupe