Alot of salespeople don’t want to deal with brokers. They do get it. They get that depending on their pay structure dealing with you is probably not worth the time, and they send a quote that makes you go away. Doesn’t mean they don’t get it. My response to brokers is generally no thank you. Most I’ve dealt with end…

I think the ultimate point here is you don’t work in car sales, so whatever you think ought to happen or whatever else is largely anecdotal evidence that applies to you and your personal experience. I will say that it is great that you found a dealer you like and you let them earn your business. That’s excellent, and…

I sold cars for a while and encountered people like your dad. We didn’t use bogus fees but people would still get apoplectic over legitimate expenses like destination charges, and demand that we delete the $70 factory floormats so they could get some cheap rubber ones at Walmart for their $30,000 sedan. 10 out of 10…

A lot of buyers still expect to get the best deal when paying cash, but many dealers will actually work with you more if you finance because that’s another chance for them to make a few bucks.

I’m with you, front loading seems like it would do more harm then good. In some more secluded markets, dealers probably do this because they don’t really have competition.

No it isn’t. Like I just told you, it’s evidence that customers only care about which dealer will whore out a car for less than nothing. They largely do not give a shit about service, quality of presentation, friendliness, or anything else. They’ll go to their preferred dealer and be treated amazingly well, letting…

I agree they are shady for including all that mark-up off the start, but what consumers aren’t aware of are the legal compliance steps a dealer must follow to ensure no customer buys something without signing off on it. If a dealer skips these steps, they can be taken to court and will lose every damn time. For…

That $240K probably pays for the entire back office staff at a small dealer, especially if it is in a rural community.

There is a difference buying a premium brand. The prices provide the dealer a potentially larger profit margin and people are more likely to utilize the dealer to perform maintenance services (we do), so they have more margin to provide a better customer experience.

“I told him I had no money and didn’t need a car”

Yeah- I like Tom’s articles, but I don’t understand the need for a personal shopper when it comes to buying new cars. In this day and age anyone can just email a bunch of dealers and get price quotes.

Yeah, rather hilarious (and ironic) they pay a guy more than the salesman make to get a ‘good deal’. A deal that any decent dealer would give someone with virtually no hesitation in the first place.

Wrong. People want to pay less than cost, and then bitch about a fee. A car dealership isn’t a free service for the good of the community. If you are going to shop 20 different dealers on price then you can’t whine about the “game” we have to play in order to still function as a business. There has to be money…

Most leases have GAP built into the lease for a very simple reason: The lending institution is covering their losses against excessive depreciation.

Snake oil, I mean, car salesperson here. GAP insurance CAN be a good thing, but, it depends on the situation.

Doc fees aren’t only for loan docs. Any time you purchase a car, there are documents to be prepared, even in a cash deal. Laws regarding doc fees vary by state. Some states set a maximum, while other states leave it to the dealers. Some states require that the dealership charge all customers the same doc fee.

Did you google the stock # too? lol

The dealer still has to go to the DMV and get the title transferred to you and your lienholder, so there’s still work they’re doing to prep documents.

OMG such a great idea. Why hasn’t anyone asked this question yet? ;p

Meanwhile, over at Subaru, you can get actual performance upgrades with the Performance Package.