Dealer's Tricks - bait & switch, etc.

stickguy · March 2005

My pet peeve, and this is usually more with used cars, is advertising a price, and a tiny * leading to a disclaimer about "after xxx$ down cash or trade" basically, the price is bogus.

Saw one today (in the local freebie auto shopper) that set a record. Cheaper cars, with posted prices assuming $3,500 down! Some of the balances were only about 1K after that.

maybe it's becasue I can't read the fine print anymore that this bugs me..

steine13 · March 2005

Those ads are stupid, but are OK by me.

The WORST THING is (*)

(*) when there simply is no second asterisk with an explanation.

That drives me nuts, on any kind of ad, pamphlet, sticker, whatever...

Glad I got that out of my system.
-Mathias

cadillacmike · March 2005

BOAT:
Break
Out
Another
Thousand (as in dollars) Which I saw on a fellow club member's wife's T-shirt on a weekend cruise once!

cadillacmike · March 2005

"You have 20 Honda dealers in a 50 mile radius, more than half of which were willing to email you a quote. Isn't it a little presumptuous to assume that your method is going to work for everyone, or even most people?"

Yes but how many CADILLAC dealers are in a 50 mile radius from his house ;-)

mikefm58 · March 2005

I heard a new one this morning on the radio. "We'll beat any dealer's advertised price by $1000 or we'll give you a new 2005 Corvette". Of course the ad "screamed" it about 10 times during the commercial. Then at the end some fast talker says all the disclaimers, one of which was "dealer reserves the right to purchase other dealer's advertised vehicle".

chuminthewater · March 2005

Why would anyone care?

But since you asked, there are 5 - and they are all within 25 miles or less.
Lindsey
Capitol
Moore
Coleman
Dixon

12 more within 60 miles (and 9 of those are within 50).

Point is with such competition, I can easily make it work.

And so too can anyone else who is willing to try (assuming a moderately competitive market).

Then 6 more from 60 to 80 miles away.

SO that is 21 in 80 miles (about 1+ hours drive).

driftracer · March 2005

so who cares? If I wanted a living room to commute in, I can work from home in my La-Z-Boy recliner...

imidazol97 · March 2005

Is an STS or CTS a living room? I guess I'm ready...

>"dealer reserves the right to purchase other dealer's advertised vehicle".
If they purchased the other dealer's vehicle, would they still be out $1000 selling to you at $1K below the other price?
Too I'll bet they'll add on required fees, $500 dealer fee, $300 doc fee, $100 prep fee, etc.

Is that the trick!!!

driftracer · March 2005

are cool - just giving Cadillacmike a hard time - other than a V product, I've never had any interest in Cadillacs - doesn't fit my lifestyle and driving needs.

"dealer reserves the right to purchase other dealer's advertised vehicle"

I assume that in substitution of whatever model they're advertising, they have the right to buy a base model with no Z51 and glass roof and offer you THAT one instead of the loaded up version on their lot..

mikefm58 · March 2005

" If they purchased the other dealer's vehicle, would they still be out $1000 selling to you at $1K below the other price?
Too I'll bet they'll add on required fees, $500 dealer fee, $300 doc fee, $100 prep fee, etc.

Is that the trick!!! "

It is if you read the first part about giving away a new Corvette.

You don't think that's a trick???

imidazol97 · March 2005

>
You don't think that's a trick??

Yes indeed.

I'm wondering how many others there are possible here in that ad. If it sounds too good to be true, it isn't true.

cadillacmike · March 2005

Are the primary reason that car radios have preset buttons so you can change the station!

The problem is that they sometimes get their ads all "synched" so that it appears that EVERY station is blaring out car dealer ads at the same time!

Which is why we have CD players now ;-)

My CTS is not a V model by the way, too expensive for my poor butt (and my wife can't drive a manual trans) but my Fleetwood does have the corvette LT1 in it!

But I prefer the NorthStar in my Eldorado to either of the other two, because it's a convertible!

Now an STS-V - with a NorthStar, that sounds nice (if and when I can afford one - would have to sell the boat too).

cadillacmike · March 2005

"are cool - just giving Cadillacmike a hard time - other than a V product, I've never had any interest in Cadillacs - doesn't fit my lifestyle and driving needs. "

FYI I sent my 1968 convertible in for a complete overhaul, It's coming out with ported heads, oversized stainless steel valves, dual exhaust, comp cam, etc. It should smoke most cars out there when it's finished.

driftracer · March 2005

it's still a 5500 lb boat....let's go do a corner, shall we?

isellhondas · March 2005

It's smoke a lot of cars while getting 7 MPG.

Kirstie_H · March 2005

and all ensuing posts.

cadillacmike · March 2005

drift,

4,600 pounds to be more precise.

I'll leave the cornering to my wife's CTS...

cadillacmike · March 2005

hondas:
10-20 MPG depending on use.

And that's still better than all the SUVs out there

SUV:
Surburban
Uhttack
Vehicle

driftracer · March 2005

Not to sound naive, but what's a shill?

Kirstie_H · March 2005

From dictionary.com:
One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.
OR
decoy who acts as an enthusiastic customer in order to stimulate the participation of others.

The latter applies - Prez of the company posing as a satisfied customer, directing traffic to his site.

I love vocabulary & grammar, so any time

isellhondas · March 2005

Who make phony bids to encourage competition from the other bidders.

Pretty common in collector car auctions and usually fairly easy to spot.

driftracer · March 2005

never heard the term before - cool.

cadillacmike · March 2005

Shills are also very common in online trading forums, they hype up a company's stock, all the while plotting to dump and run so to speak.

dbauer · March 2005

i missed the whole thing again! any chance you can email the deleted posts to me? ;-)

Kirstie_H · March 2005

Speaking of e-mail, you need to update the address in your profile. I got a bounce-back from that address - our membership agreement states you've gotta have a valid addy. Thanks!

dbauer · March 2005

sorry...been a long time since i used that for actual mail. try it again.

Kirstie_H · April 2005

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/list/top10/104930/article.html

bobst · April 2005

Well, if Phil Reed gets all upset "when a big scary guy suddenly comes in and sits down across from you", then he should let his mommy do his car buying for him while he sits safely at home hugging a stuffed animal.

The situations he describes are just par for the course and there is no reason to get upset when a car dealer does these things. When we grow up we have to learn how to deal with the real world and stop whining.

Just to show you how tough I am, my wife is out of town for a week and I managed to start the washing machine ALL BY MYSELF!

thenebean · April 2005

way to go bobst! what a man ;-)

bobst · April 2005

Women are so easily impressed by a macho guy. You know, I also iron my own shirts.

rroyce10 · April 2005

...... You guys aren't "really" paying Philip Reed for his advice, are you ..? ... maybe a bag of chocolate chips here and there, but not real money.? .. I bet he's great at Bingo games ................

Terry.

driftracer · April 2005

30 years old....cobbled up from folks who've failed out of the car business and have written books - we're up to 96-97 of these "gurus" by now, aren't we?

Kirstie_H · April 2005

I don't pay anyone for any advice. I'm married, so it comes free and unsolicited :surprise:

Remember, people have different levels of expectations, fear, and experiences, so something that may not be a problem for most of us *might* cause an inexperienced buyer to be anxious.

bobst · April 2005

The worst was Burke Leon, who had some advice about car buying on this website several years ago.

As far as I could tell, his advice was to make the salesman more miserable than you are, and then he will give you a good price.

I didn't like that approach. I want to enjoy car buying, not make people miserable.

Car buying should not be a confrontation. It is chance to purchase something that, in my opinion, is the most wonderful product every created in the history of mankind, and it should be a happy occasion.

eswau · April 2005

We were at out local Hyundai dealer last night and I noticed that they have added an $895 Blue Coral Exterior & Interior Sealant Protection Package to all of their autos I'm assuming that this is almost pure profit for the dealer. Can anyone tell me where I can get information to take to them showing I know how much this really cost them to apply.

It reminds me of the Scotchguard applications in years past. Though I don't know much about the Blue Coral process, I wouldn't be surprised to find out it is applied via spray cans.

Thanks for any help or tips.
Eswau

jhs70 · April 2005

Esawu, here's what you do. Tell me where you live, and I'll come wax your car for a mere $400. That's less than half of what that Hyundai is charging you for the same work!

In all seriousness, tell the dealer you don't need that "extra" and to have it removed from the price of the car. If they insist that it's already been done to the car and there's nothing they can do about it, offer him what it's worth -- maybe $10 for the can of wax and $20 for the labor to wax it (all very generous numbers). Let the dealer know you won't fall for this silliness, unless you want it. Or leave. He'd be a fool to lose your deal over this. Personally I'd have him remove the entire charge, or no deal. I like to wax my new car myself -- it's just something I enjoy.

Also, if they try to pull this stunt, make sure you check the paperwork closely to make sure you're not paying for something else you don't want or need. Make sure you understand and agree to everything on the paperwork.

Good luck.

mikefm58 · April 2005

Good advice jhs, both about "just say NO" and checking the paperwork. I couldn't tell you how many times when I've double checked the contract and see something "extra" in there. When I bring it up, I usually get something like "gee, how'd that get in there"......duh.

In regards to the "mop & glow" paint protection, that's the first thing I "politely ask" them to drop. If they won't or they persist, I leave. I never even get in to the 10 or 20 dollars of cost.

cadillacmike · April 2005

Yeah, my wife came with the same feature set your husband came with. I think it's automatically installed when they sign the marraige license!

cadillacmike · April 2005

A high quality hand wax / protectant job will cost $30.00 - $75.00 depending on where you live and how big the car is.

I've seen dealerships where EVERY car, including ones that are still on the trucks that bring them in from the railhead and still have the white plastic coverings on them all have a "supplemental" sitcker showing the $995.00 "paint protectant" charge.

I wonder how they got the paint protectant on under the plastic covering??? :confuse:

kyfdx · April 2005

That sounds like a Toyota, cadillacmike.... Toyota has an antiquated distributor network, and the one in the Southeast region is notorious for having "packs" on all of their cars.. So, even though it hasn't been installed or applied yet, I'm sure it is on all of the invoices and stickers...

cadillacmike · April 2005

Good guess! (and I always get in hot water with Kirstie when I spell it TOYota - Hi Kirstie!)

But is was actually Brandon ford on RT 60 and US 301. It was was several years ago when I first noticed it (drove me to go get a Miata!) but when I went there last fall to look at an advertised Cadillac (what else), they were STILL doing it.

But to be fair, I did see an overpriced Cadillac STS (an overpriced STS - oh, come now) with a similar mop 'n glo sticker, but it was the only one so marked, not like it was on every car.

I still would like to know how they get the mop n glo applied under those plastic protection covers. Maybe we should just keep the plastic on the cars! :P

guitarzan · April 2005

Here is what you do Eswau: Go to one of these new cars in the sunlight. Find the swirl marks in the paint (they WILL be there.) Tell the dealer you know these swirl marks do not come from the factory paint job, because that is baked on nowadays. Tell them you want an extra $500 off the price so that you can repair this, to cover up the marks, and because scratches can never be removed from the paint, only filled in.

Let them know you are fully aware that unless one uses a pure cotton fiber applicator, drying towel, etc., damage will be done to the finish. Most towels and applicator pads have some sort of polyester, or man made fiber, and this is what did the damage to these brand new cars.

Let me know if I am at all wrong in what you will see!

imidazol97 · April 2005

Better yet threaten to describe what they're doing to people's new cars damaging the paint like that with an extra fee on top to the local TV station's "Help the Consumer" cuts. They llike stories about car dealers with live people standing and pointing at problems.

Here they're called Turn to 2 (channel 2). On slow news days they love those people stories. They do the ones that are partially canned from some other source and try to insert enough local views to make it look like they did the whole story.

mikefm58 · April 2005

" and the one in the Southeast region is notorious for having "packs" on all of their cars "

The call it Toyogaurd. But I had no problem getting a Highlander and a Tacoma last year without it.

lhess · April 2005

"Better hurry, someone else is looking at that car!" The last time a salesman pulled that one on me, I: Put on this worried face "REALLY? Let me talk to my boyfriend a minute." I pull him aside and talk to him for a few frantic minutes and go back to my salesman. "I've decided that the only decent thing I can do is back down and let the other people have it. After all, it's not the only one that was ever made and the other folks may not have time to shop for another one. I have plenty of time!!" And i walked away never to return.

thenebean · April 2005

on a new car, that doesnt make any sense to use that line. On a used car however, I can see it happening. I only use it if it is true, and I know I have someone really interested in the car. I let them know that another customer is on the car, and if they are interested, they can leave a deposit, or take the chance it doesnt sell to the other guy. I don't push - but it happened once that i didn't tell someone that another person was on the car, and they called later to leave a deposit, and the car had been sold to someone else. they were pissed for me NOT telling them. i guess it depends on the situation :-)

-thene

isellhondas · April 2005

People look at a used car and leave to "go think about it" or to go look at others.

I don't push either but I will tell them..." At the risk of sounding like a pushy salesperson, I have to tell you that this is a great car that's hard to find in this condition...miles...color...price...whatever...there's a good chance it's going to sell quickly"

Sometimes, people will roll their eyes and say..." Well...if it's meant to be, it's meant to be" and leave.

I have zero fear of loss, and my customers quickly learn this.

I can't tell you how often, people shop and shop to death only to realize the car I showed them was the best one out there only to return to find it gone.

I've had people get mad, shrug their shoulders, cry and everything in between.

Hopefully, I'm the salesperson who sold "their" car to someone else!

Some cars are pretty unique and VERY hard to find another!

isellhondas · April 2005

I'm surprised your store takes deposits on used cars. We won't do this. Some people will leave a deposit to tie a car up and then go shopping trying to find a better deal. Meanwhile, the car is off the market and unavailable to a serious buyer.

kyfdx · April 2005

Yeah.. me too.. that keeps me from jumping in on bad deals...

For a late model used car (like an '03 or '04 Accord), I look at it just like a new one.. there are plenty of them out there..

That said, I did miss out on an RX-7 convertible once.. Small independent.. the guy's wife sold it while I was test driving it!! I consoled myself by purchasing a 911...

bobst · April 2005

Well, in a job like yours, I guess all you can do is be honest with people. Then your conscience is clear.

If the customers don't like your honesty, too bad. That's their problem.

Dealer's Tricks - bait & switch, etc.

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