Got a Quick Question for a Car Dealer?

marsha7 · October 2013

Many restaurants are the same way...O'Charley's, IHOP and Longhorn are 3 that I frequent and if the server and the restaurant do not get PERFECT marks, they get a zero...I believe that is simply worse than unfair...if the bathroom was out of paper towels and you gave them a 4 (out of 5) on that item only, the other perfect marks for the restaurant (as a whole) and, especially the server, are a zero...

If I had a problem with the management I would speak to the manager, and if I had a problem with a server, I would tip less than my usual 20% and inform the manager of anything she/he did poorly to rate the lower tip...

If I fill out the survey, I will give them the high marks...if I am not pleased, I simply will not fill it out, rather than give them a bad score...I would almost never avoid the restaurant, simply because these are the places I go because the food is (usually) good and the service is also (usually) good...

audia8q · October 2013

Let me give you a real world example....the survey allows the customer to rate the questions 1-10 but the carmaker doesn't tell the consumer that only some questions really carry weight and that anything less than a 94.5 is a failure. 10= truly exceptional 7=outstanding 4=average 1=unacceptable....so based on this if the consumer marked the surved 7=Outstanding across the board the consumer would assume its a pretty good grade. the manufacturer OTOH would send out all kinds of red alerts. The dealer could be penalized by the manufacturer financially and allocation reduced, sales person financially harmed and possibly fired.

The survey is rigged against the dealer, salesperson & service advisor and the consumer is caught in the middle....but the car manufacturer holds all the cards and they make the rules and its rigged like a traveling carnival game.

Michaell · October 2013

The dealer could be penalized by the manufacturer financially and allocation reduced, sales person financially harmed and possibly fired.

The survey is rigged against the dealer, salesperson & service advisor and the consumer is caught in the middle....but the car manufacturer holds all the cards and they make the rules and its rigged like a traveling carnival game.

From the above statements, it seems to me that the manufacturer doesn't really care about honest feedback designed to improve weaknesses in the dealership experience - that the survey is simply the method by which bonuses and inventory are determined.

ohenryx · October 2013

I have a really hard time believing all of this. There seem to be a number of people saying that it is true, and no one contradicting it. But the whole thing sounds so outrageous that I have a very difficult time accepting that it is true. Very difficult.

Kirstie_H · October 2013

It is a HORRIBLE system that poses an ethical conundrum for me each time. I review a fair number of products, places, and name specific individuals who have exceeded expectations or disappointed me. I like to reserve the "all perfect" score for items/places/people who have truly exceeded all expectations. Otherwise, a 10 out of 10 is meaningless.

For example, my last two auto purchase transactions were an 8 out of 10 for me. They met all of my expectations, but there was nothing special - I got in and out quickly and got a decent price. That's what I expect. The transaction before that, however, was a 10 out of 10 - the salesperson told me to go home, go to the manufacturer's website and print out a $500 off certificate, and return with it (this was after we had agreed on a price, so the $500 was an additional discount off that). He didn't have to do that, and risked me never returning or taking the price and shopping it. 10 out of 10 for trusting that his professionalism and courtesy would make me come right back (and I did).

However, I know the system and had to give others the same perfect score. Not really fair at ALL.

audia8q · October 2013

Your right...the mfg. may not care or otoh has no real ability to tell a privately owned buisness what they can or can not do as long as the mfg dealer agreement isn't violated. Also, Some of the largest volume stores have the worst CSI and the mfg often just looks the other way. CSI really matters to the smaller locally owned stores that survive on repeat and referal business. The dealer who has a $2m per month ad budget never runs out of people to screw..

A dealer near my that has the worst reputation openly tells customers they can get a free tank of gas for a perfect survey and bingo, their scores are highest around. On the other side of the coin I have had customers try to hold me hostage for freebees with threats of a bad score. Each time I just tell them answer as honestly as they can.

koctailz · October 2013

Can anyone here run a vehicle history report/carfax real quick for me.....pretty please.

Kirstie_H · October 2013

Hi koctailz,
We can't ask others to do that. It isn't an appropriate use of a purchased history report subscription to run those reports for free for just anyone, as they're a fee-based service.

koctailz · October 2013

ok, thanks....i tried.

koctailz · October 2013

I have been researching CPO BMW 3, Mercedes C, and Infiniti G37. I was looking at the Carfax. I looked at a lot of them. All of the BMW and Mercedes CPO vehicles never went through auction expect for 1. The G37's pretty much all did go through auction. I have heard that certain BMW dealers are required to buy a certain amount of lease returns from BMWFS. I don't know about Mercedes and Infiniti. So are the BMW's at auction just the crap...lemon law buybacks, accidents, etc that they cant sell cpo. is there someone on here who is an actual car dealer who has some real facts on this?

the reason i am asking about auctions is that i know of a couple dealers who go to manheim and adesa and will buy a car for me for a fee/spec. it sounds like a great idea, but not if i am getting the stuff no one else wants.

stickguy · October 2013

sometimes it is cars that don't get snapped up at the BMW dealer sale, so maybe too miled up or old for CPO, but plenty of BMWs get traded in elsewhere and could end up at the auctions.

as long as the buyer knows what they are doing, not really any riskier than getting one at a BMW dealer, probably for a lot more money.

nadia21 · November 2013

Hi all,

So I am looking to purchase a used car and I came across a 96 Honda Accord at a good price. I got the VIN from the seller to run a check, and I get "no records". That has never happened to me before. And I don't mean that the VIN is invalid. It is valid because when I put in an invalid VIN it actually says "invalid". However, in this case the VIN is valid but isn't displaying any records. It literally says "no records". What would cause this? What does this mean?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2013

What's the VIN? Sometimes people put in an O (letter) instead of a 0 (number).

nadia21 · November 2013

The VIN is 1HGCD5615TA144013.

graphicguy · November 2013

nadia....I'll defer to Mr Shiftright because he's much more knowledgeable than I am. But, the brief look I had with your stated VIN looks like it's a '96 Honda with mileage that is stated differently, in two different places.

Unless it's uber cheap (and it should be), it could be a number of things. First thing I thought of was it's a "chop" job...different engine, chassis, body numbers. Could be wrong, but that's the first thing that popped into my mind.

Is this a dealer selling this? Or, is it an individual? Ask the dealer if the title is clean. Is it a salvage title?

No matter, just from the VIN, something seems dicey about it. Plenty of nice, older Hondas out there. I'd pass on this one.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2013

i couldn't make any sense out of it either. I'd ask to see the title.

koctailz · November 2013

i have read online that summer months july and august are best time of year to buy a used car as that is when inventories tend to be the highest. any truth to this?

nadia21 · November 2013

Thanks for tine information guys. It is a private seller but I googled his telephone number and it appears he sells a lot of used cars... I'm going to leave it alone. The car is listed for $1600 but I don't trust it.

Finding a used car has been so nerve wrecking for me. I always ask for the VIN and insist on having a mechanic to take a look at it (I even offer to bring the mechanic there since many sellers refuse to let the car leave their property), but I cant win, lol. Most sellers don't even reply when I simply ask for the VIN. Guess it's a lot more people selling crap than I thought. Thanks again for your help.

koctailz · November 2013

I live in the SF Bay Area..specifically Silicon Valley. The economy is booming here. I am in the market for a luxury used car and the prices in my area are very high. All the fairly priced cars I see are on the east coast/midwest/florida. Is this sort of regional price difference common?

Also, I have read summer months are best months to buy due to inventories being the highest...true or false?

stickguy · November 2013

car prices certainly are seasonal/regional. Not just $ wise (you are in an expensive area of course) but weather (want a convertible in New England in December? Subarus in Florida?

If you don't mind a road trip, widen the net and see if you can find exactly what you want a bit farther away, and go get it. Hey, if you save enough, it might be worthwhile.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2013

It's a crap shoot buying out of Florida. The luxury car might be priced more attractively, but if you intend to fly there and drive back, or hire an inspector to look the car over and then ship it back, that's probably a couple thousand bucks you should add to the price.

Also, any car that has been exposed to East coast winters or to salt air, or to flooding conditions, needs a very close examination.

koctailz · November 2013

yes, most likely the shipping would negate a lot of the savings, but it might be possible for me to still save from the outrageous prices here. even socal is much cheaper than here, i guess just due to the sheer volume of cars down there.

and in regards to winter exposure, yeah if i see a history that has northeastern or upper midwest states i usually shy away. unfortunately one of the cars at top of my list is 08 Audi 2.0t Quattro which you see a lot of in these states. is rust as big an issue with modern cars? i have heard it isn't, but being in CA what the hell do i know??? ha

Mr_Shiftright · November 2013

"Asking prices" are meaningless. You shouldn't be discouraged by the mere bravado of asking prices. Bring cash, grind 'em down.

robr2 · November 2013

is rust as big an issue with modern cars?

Rust isn't really a big issue in the northeast. Better corrosion protection almost ensures no rust for 10+ years.

stickguy · November 2013

well, going from CA to FLA is of course to the extreme. I was thinking more like drawing a circle for a day trip. As he noted, So Cal is certainly easy to do. Maybe north of San Fran?

kyfdx · November 2013

I think you'd be crazy to not buy a car in California... As Shifty mentions, asking prices are just "free speech"...

Out here in the salt belt, we all want California cars..

Mr_Shiftright · November 2013

Exactly. If, in fact, California cars bring a premium price---think about that--there's a reason for it.

My MINI came out of Michigan, and years later, I'm still occasionally bedeviled by rusted bolts during repair work.

ohenryx · November 2013

When I was a kid, it was the "Arizona cars" that everyone wanted / searched for. Especially on the "antiques", which was only 20 years old back then. Today, there are many 20 year old cars still being used as daily drivers. Which was really rare back in 1960.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2013

I think the term "Arizona cars" was all about lack of rust due to the dry climate, but now I think the term "California car" implies not only lack of rust, but better roads, more freeway driving, less harsh climatic damage overall.

koctailz · November 2013

..."Asking prices" are meaningless. You shouldn't be discouraged by the mere bravado of asking prices. Bring cash, grind 'em down...

Agreed, but grinding sellers down from an asking price of $20K here in CA versus $15K elsewhere is still going to leave you with a higher out the door price.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2013

True, true but while every new car is the same, every used car is different, (in terms of condition), so it's hard to say what is the "better buy".

To exaggerate a little---a $15000 car in Maryland that needs tires and a timing belt change, if you include the shipping, is the equivalent of an $18,000 car in California that has good tires and doesn't need a timing belt.

verdugo · November 2013

"well, going from CA to FLA is of course to the extreme. I was thinking more like drawing a circle for a day trip. As he noted, So Cal is certainly easy to do. Maybe north of San Fran? "

Sacramento is a no-brainer. But you should look farther east. Reno is still withi a day's drive.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2013

I think there are bargains to be had in the Sacramento Valley, you know, Modesto, Fresno, that area.

koctailz · November 2013

Yes I agree that prices trend lower in the Sac and San Joaquin vallleys from what I see. They also have CarMax there for increased competition and we don't have CarMax in the Bay Area....yet.

Sandman6472 · November 2013

Have been there a few times lately and yesterday they gave me a trade figure of $7k for a '06 Civic LX with 47k on the clock and a few scrapes on the rear bumper due to the garage door. looked on KBB.com and that price is for a "fair" vehicle though I think it's more of a "good" condition right now...it cleans up real nice actually and the front seats have had covers on them since day 1. They have a price of $7850 for "good" condition. Understand though why Carmax gave me such a low number as the market is flooded with Civics so plan to either sell it privately or just keep it another year or two. Will have to price it there and also look at some other sites to see what to ask for it. Thinking $10k asking and take anyone with cash that offers $9k...don't want to be to greedy here. The car drives perfectly and there's no need to swap vehicles, it's just that I'd love something a bit more lux!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

cmhj2000 · January 2016

Is reporting your SS# still required when buying a car?

stever · January 2016

Depends.

Check out this thread:

Do I have to give my ssn to a car dealership for any reason?

british_rover · February 2016

robr2 said:
is rust as big an issue with modern cars?

Rust isn't really a big issue in the northeast. Better corrosion protection almost ensures no rust for 10+ years.

I have appraised several less than ten year old Mercedes models with significant rust in the past year. I appraised a 1999 BMW 528iT today that had rust around both rear fenders.

andres3 · August 2016

If a low-ball offer I made via e-mail to my salesman got ignored, was it just a lost email or a deliberate negotiation tactic?

I vote the latter. And it was a good move on his part as it got me to show up and make a better offer in person.

I did call to confirm he wasn't on vacation before doing so.

markusss · March 2018

madmanmoo said:
Ya, Jip. Please leave any form of humor at the door before you come in. I hate it when people post funny things. It really ruins the library like atmosphere around here.

Start posting more like Isell.

Thanks.

Go on, tell us more! There must be a story behind that.

RedMagicFTS · August 2019

Hello. I have a 2011 Chevy Cruz that has had its transmisson blow. It is not overall in the best shape and I am wondering if it is worth it to try and sell or scrap?

madonnajess · September 2021

Thanks for these suggestions. All of these are really good and helpful

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