Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Dealers Too Busy For OnLine Shoppers
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See, we never hear the "real stories" from our posters ... we just hear the final ending "I bought a VW Eurovan" .. nothing about the Stang stuff ..l.o.l..
Terry.
that fulfills the internet lovers fondest wish, avoiding human contact.
Of course, this eliminates the time consuming part for the dealer (weeding throw blast faxes, looking for obscure OTD quotes on cars that don't exist).
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
All do respect --- are you nuts.? .. 450 miles.?!? ...
You bought a Ford Escape, not an Audi A6, Infiniti M45 or a Porsche Cabriolet....... there has to be 500 Escapes between you and that dealer ..... how far to you drive to get milk.? .. how much could you possibly save, fifty two cents ....??
Yikes.!
Terry.
Terry.
You wanted to intimidate all of the "effete liberal snobs" who putter along on the beltway in their 50 mpg hybrids.
By the way, do you know what famous American I am quoting?
Bob
Well, one dealer never bothered to contact me.
The second dealer contacted me but wouldn't talk price at all on the phone. Wanted me to come to the lot which is a drive across town. I finally told her maybe I'd be in next week and left it at that. She forgot we had spoken at all, and called my cell phone the next day and left a message as if we had never touched base. I ruled this dealer out as they seemed to have their head up their a**.
The last dealer was OK, told me pricing in relation to invoice, but had no cars at all on the lot for me to look at.
I thought it was funny that although I specified to please contact me via e-mail, the 2 dealer that did contact me used the phone.
However, it didn't bother me. When they called, I just hung up on them.
A Saab, eh? That's a car that will make you cry.
I already know what kind of used car I want and what options I need such as an automatic. I don't really care whether it's a 2 door or 4 door. I do have a few select options that I would like but they could wait, like a keyless entry. I do have a dealership in mind that I'd like to buy from. They do internet shopping and I've heard some good reviews on their internet shopping and regular lot shopping. I already know they don't have anything I am interested in at the moment. I do not have a car right now, I have someone that can take me up there like once every 1-2 weeks since it is kind of far, so email is much easier for me.
My price limit is $14,000. I'd like the monthly payments to be as low as possible.
I really do NOT want them to call me.I don't even have a cellphone so there is no convienent time for them to call me.. If they answered my email with enough information then I wouldn't mind calling them. But I rather not send a detailed email just to get told to call them.
So how should an email be written to get the best response? Do just I tell them what exact car and options I need and make it clear I am definatley interested in buying from them..?
Do I tell them my price limit and/or montly payment limit? What is too low to request for monthly payments? Or will that be an instant turn off? If it was up to me, my payments would be like $100 a month but I'm sure that is way too low.
Ask THEM for the price for car with specific options and mileage if they have this car in stock. Don't tell what price you have in mind. If you are an educated customer, you should know what is realistic good price should be, so this way you can bargain. I understand that it is much more difficult to correctly price a used car vs new car, since there are more variables involved (mileage, condition, etc), so its more difficult to estimate if you are getting a really good deal or just an ok deal.
Now contrary to apparently popular belief about online quote requesters, I actually am a serious buyer and was/am looking to buy within a matter of days. But when I tried to follow up on the two best quotes offered via email (I needed to hammer out details, since their responses are vague (intentially, I imagine). But then I hit an obstacle.
One of the dealers I tried to follow up with provided no phone number, nor even a name, for me to call and have a conversation about it and has not responded to my follow up. They just gave a quote and left it at that.
The other dealer left a name and phone number; but when I called to try to speak to her, she had left early for the day and then took the next day (today) off. She left the name and extension of another person at the dealership to talk to, but he hasn't answered the phone, either.
So at this point, I'm stymied. My options seem to be either a) Try going through carsdirect; b) Try one of the "let us negotiate for you" services offered through costco, through my job, through my credit union, etc.; or c) Go the traditional route and see how I do.
Ah well,
Aedh
Just have the receptionist transfer you to any other salesperson and just tell them you're working with so-and-so and mention the quote. Let the dealership work out the compensation details. If your initial contact is not there for a few days, there's no reason to have to wait.
The last car I bought was through a fleet manager. I was wondering if this time I would try the Internet manager.
Thanks for any info.
:confuse:
Probably one of the best questions ever asked at Edmunds......!
This is the most "misunderstood", the most misconstrued and "definately" reported to the public incorrectly more than any other position in the industry ....
"Internet Managers" were created 2/3 years ago with the advent of the coming high tech market ... depending on the store, usually the top producers were offered the position first, some took it, some were afraid of it, some kinda did it and some passed ...
Now, after the onslot of folks dropping 30 emails a day and most not even leaving the basics like a full name, a phone number and what other vehicles they might be looking for, dealers just get a: "I want a 05 Honda 4dr Accord, silver, with moon, no more than 3 miles, I'm buying in 2 days, I'm willing to pay $125 over invoice and I'm shopping 12 other dealers - Bob."
At first, most dealers thought: "Wow, were missing all of this new business"! ... after a little time, a bunch of no shows and finally figuring out that most of these people were anywhere from 50 to 350 miles away and they were only shopping price to keep the dealer 9 miles away "honest", then the good salesman (and lady's) said: "forget this" and have walked away from it .... depending on the area and the store, most dealers and managers nowadays, relinquish this bold "title" to a rookie or at least someone down the sales line .. all prices are checked and approved by the managers, all inventory is approved by the dealer and/or the sales manager -- it isn't a Mad Hatter or some Vigilante punching keys and having free reign with the owners money (No matter what they tell ya!) .. it's a business, not a lottery ....
Fleet Managers.? .. it depends on the store and the product .. some Ford and Chevy stores do 2000/4000/6000 units a year .. it could be Hewlett Packard, maybe Enterprise, it could be TRW, perhaps Thrifty is on board this time .. it all depends. That said, fleet guys have to report every move on a fleet sale, the profit is too slim to make even a 1 hour mistake - at $25 a day in floorplan on 1,500 vehicles, that's about $37,5 and maybe they were looking at $30 a unit profit .... thats like a bad day at the Mirage in Vegas with one small throw of the dice ...
The point is .. find yourself a salesperson you feel comfortable with, because no matter what has been written and what these crazy info sources tell ya, it all comes from the manager of the store, probably a GM .. "it's all misinfromation" almost an "Urban Legend" about these special deals and fraternity handshakers ..... Know what your looking for, be informed, find a price and salesperson you feel comfortable with, and go on .. the prices are the same ...
If Bobst can buy cars and leave with a good taste in his mouth, anyone can ..................
Terry.
Anyhow, I told the dealership I ultimately ended up buying from the quotes I had gotten online and they matched it. Ended up paying $19,517 + tax, title, and their $125 doc fee (bs fee, I know... but whatever). OTD price was $21,020.44, with the financing done through my credit union @ a rate of 5% (but since I'll be paying every 2 weeks directly from my payroll, instead of monthly, it ends up being a little lower).
Not the best deal anyone's ever gotten, I'm sure... but good enough.
Just figured I'd post an update,
Aedh
Don't worry, I don't serve lemonade. But I can promise that you will enjoy car buying from now on.
buying in 3 days or less and already preapproved for loan; I listed exact car I wanted, including model, options (using dealer's abbreviations); will travel an hour to save a hundred bucks; i know rebate is 1250 cash back and I want the cash; please disclose any additional dealer fees; have test drove so no need to come in; have had this brand for 25 years and it is reliable so no need to tell me about your 6 star service department; please give me price quote below/above invoice so I know I am comparing apples to apples; name (first name as a nickname "Jay" instead of "john" so I knew each call was from a salesperson; prefer an email response; included my cell phone number and said it was my cell phone.
even when I was filling in a quote form, I cut and pasted the above type info in the comment section.
This worked rather well.
The car world is full of cheapskates, champagne tastes on a beer budget. Those people make Edmund's "Get a Quote" screen worthless...they dilute the leads with garbage inquiries.
A car is the 2nd most expensive consumer good you will ever buy. If you truly want information, you use the telephone and speak to somebody.
We were looking for a Honda Accord in March, so I sent emails to 5 local dealers asking for a specific type of car and an OTD price. Three dealers had the car we wanted. We went to one of the dealers and bought the car.
I don't like dealing over the phone because I can't think well on the spur of the moment. In our emails, we asked to only be contacted via email, so I hung up on the dealers who called us on the phone.
Would you like some cheese with that whine? It goes both ways. I sent emails out to several local Dodge dealers asking if they had a specific model of a Dodge Dakota with certain options in stock or if they could get one and I would stop in if they had it. I never even asked for a price.
.
All I got back was either the automated generated email or an email from an assistant internet sales person who clearly didn't read what I was working for as they sent me vehicle details that weren't even close to what I asked for.
Once we hear back from somebody in an email we know they are to be treated seriously. But to be honest, most email leads are garbage and we never expect anything from them. I would say perhaps 1 in 10 emails is from a serious consumer.
Personally I like the email methods because I can consider my options before responding and think matters through. This is more useful in the early stages of the process to be sure as once my mind is made up things tend to move along quickly.
JR
It's a: "lets drop 200 emails off on 15 different stores and lets get prices on Bimmers, Dodges, Nissan's and Pontiacs (even though we won't be buying a car until 2009) thing - besides I'm bored and my boss is out of town and she won't know I'm using her computer for non-business use" ..l.o.l..
The internet does some wonderful things, but it has turned alot of dealers very jaded on the results and the responses .....
I have a close friend in Charlotte and he's also a dealer with 12 different stores, and while waiting for him to cut loose and play some golf I sat with his internet guy and scanned 712 emails (briefly) that they received in 2 weeks ... 60% of those were of the: "I have 5 prices already, I want to be at $34,000 or less, any other costs you must incur even if you have to find it and I want $12,000 for my 99 Miata "per NADA" - you must email me only -" J ....
Who the heck is J.? .. what kind of Miata, how many miles.? (plus they can't see it) .. and if they already have a price of $34, why aren't they at that store and buying it, because it's a $500 loser - who needs it.? .. when they finally get an address they find the "buyer" is 400 miles away .. 400 miles.???? -- or, of the: "After my research, you have a $2,000 rebate and destination fee's are a fake, so I'm willing to pay xxxxxx" -- great, what rebates.? you can't keep M35's on the ground .....
Probably what is most frustrating, is when they check the email address you have the same folks shopping $18,000 Mazda's and $58,000 Infiniti's and that accounts for another 30% -- so the there is a huuuuuge credibility issue on "consumer" emails ....l.o.l..... so basically your paying for the bad consumers - and depending on the store and their experience, they almost have to pay someone to be a "Internet Manager" and they are usually (not always) the lowest guy on the totum pole ....
Terry
But remember, I said maybe 1 in 10 emailers will actually respond to the email. This doesn't mean they're going to buy, it means that they're just not farting around on the computer at work and are actually somewhat serious about purchasing a vehicle.
I love the Internet and if I had my druthers, I would use it to conduct ALL my business. But the Internet is impersonal and easy so you have a lot of jokers taking advantage of it and ruining it for everybody. It's just like spam mail.
I specifically asked (in the comments section) for the Employee discount price and if I would be eligible for the Conquest $1000.00 incentive (since I do have title to a non-GM vehicle and what additional charges they have other than tax and tags.
I then replied to him that he already has the full info and vin# of the car I am interested in purchasing and would he please give me his price and what "additional fees" he charges (other than tax and tags).
I am now awaiting an answer, as the dealer is 70 miles from my home and do not want to make the trip without the price.
I, personally, don't think that is too much to ask??? O.K. Start the flames.
Well, obviously you are wrong. It was too much to ask of that dealer.
I guess you gotta find another way to buy a car.
Me, personally, I used to not respond to email quotes that I requested. Don't know why. I'm not a rude person. Anyway, a dealer poster here kind of opened my eyes to the courtesy factor, and now when I get quotes, I acknowledge them, and sometimes comment on them. I'm usually up front in saying that the quote is way too high, or whatever. It doesn't hurt to hit the reply button.
Ken