re: Car Dealership baws - are videos like this true?

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That being said, you know there is an intermediate level between driving a 260k mile POS worth $800 and buying a brand new Tahoe for $80k, right?

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A 2019ish Tundra with 100k miles is mid-30s.

Not sure it’s a better option than buying a new one.

I agree, we can afford a new one, but we cannot get past the cost of a new/used vehicle. I have been holding out for 2-3 years now.

I bought at the end of 2021

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Can you name any reputable ones? How am I supposed to do the footwork on figuring out if they are not crooks.

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Read reviews, filter by sales if you can. You'll get a decent idea of how a place is.

If you're in the city, I would recommend Paretti. That's where I worked last. Solid people all the way up to Mr. Paretti, excellent customer service and you will be taken care of. They run a tight ship there and really care about reputation and doing the right thing. No markups or bullshite, just ~$600 in dealer fees and that's it. Get a Mazda CX-5 and you'll get a good solid reliable car too.

I've only been here since last June, so I don't know too much about other places, but based on what I've heard I would advise against any of the Benson-owned dealers, as well as the Matt Bowers outfits. Heard horror stories about Crown GMC/Buick from a former coworker that worked there as well.

Royal Honda and Bryan Subaru seemed to have positive reputations, and the guy who owns Banner Ford on the Northshore is a family friend and he's a great guy.

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windows down

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Yep. My first vehicle (late 80's) had that exclusive 2-50 air conditioning: roll both windows down and drive 50 mph...


But the little heater it had would burn the hair off your fingers. It was legit.

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I own a crappy 2011 CRV - 260k miles on it, no ac/heat, no working audio (but I own nothing on it). At this point it feels like golden handcuffs.

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A car with no AC/heat and working audio doesn't seem "golden" to me.

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$600 in dealer fees

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aka Additional dealer profit.

I have no problem with them making money, however the "dealer fees" angle is a joke.

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aka Additional dealer profit.

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Correct.

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I have no problem with them making money, however the "dealer fees" angle is a joke

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Then buy a car from Craigslist, or just employ the Will Cover method of physically walking away from the desk anytime something doesn't go exactly the way you want it to.

I have it on good authority that most dealerships in Florida have a minimum of $1000 in dealer fees AND a multi-thousand-dollar markup of some description on just about any new car they've got. Buying a car in any large metro area in FL is fricking bananas.

Point is, if you think $600 in fees and zero markup on the car is bad...

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Even wealthy people are scared to spend

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The wealthy are spending like crazy. WSJ just reported that:

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The top 10% of earners—households making about $250,000 a year or more—are splurging on everything from vacations to designer handbags, buoyed by big gains in stocks, real estate and other assets.

Those consumers now account for 49.7% of all spending, a record in data going back to 1989, according to an analysis by Moody’s Analytics. Three decades ago, they accounted for about 36%.

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Some of you just make shite up,

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Sounds like some bullshite to me

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It's the car business. It's unfortunate, but the bullshite is implied and inherent. I don't make apologies for it. It's the consumer's job to choose to do business with a place that cuts it back to the absolute minimum.