re: I hate the car buying process!

Helped my son work a deal on a Bronco last year, but we were desperate because his car died, he was starting a new job, and Broncos were scarce. Among other things, they added a pinstripe for a couple hundred bucks as part of some package and they were putting it on the next day. Told them we didn’t want a pinstripe. Got as far as telling them, “ I’ll pay you the extra $200 anyway, just DON’T PUT THE PINSTRIPE ON. We don’t want it!” They said the best they could do was to put it on then let him bring it back the next day to remove it. The idiocy is unreal.

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The reason I haven't pulled the trigger and bought a new car is the car buying process. I sometimes think it's worse than buying a home.

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It’s absolutely worse. Buying a house is just research, leg work and paper work. Buying a car is that plus mind games with serpents.

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2) you're financing because you don't have $60,000 to invest

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You completely missed the point.

One of the great thing about the internet is that it has made vehicle shopping much easier.

Recently I was in the market for a new truck. Found exactly what I wanted in the DFW area for about $5,000 less than what the local dealerships were offering. Reached out to a few local Baton Rouge dealerships that had exactly what I wanted as well and asked if they could even come close to the sale price I found in TX. The best they could do was knock $500 off their listed sale price.

So I started negotiating with this particular dealership in the DFW area. After some back and forth they were trying to sell me on all of the add-ons - truck bed liner, tinted windows, Environmental Protection, etc. I basically told them to go kick rocks.

Found another dealership in the DFW area with exactly what I wanted, they didn't try to play any of those games. We came to an agreement on a final sale price. I flew up there early one morning, purchased the vehicle, and drove it home to Baton Rouge. I figured it was worth one day of my time to save approximately $5,000 compared to buying locally.

So my advice would be to keep looking, there's more than one dealership that sells exactly what you're looking for

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Ascension Honda

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I went there once. Walked out like 45 minutes later. frick that place.

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Then I have to sign some written offer sheet with them to get the sale process going. TWICE those assholes fudged the written offer sheet and explained it to me incorrectly on purpose and rushed me to sign it, when it would have had me buying the car for way more than we agreed to. On the second time I told them I’d walk, they’d lose their deal, I’d make a big fuss to the other people buying on the way out, and I’d lodge a complaint with the BBB. That lit a fire under their arse and they finally came out with the real paperwork.

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This is the kind of thing that burns my arse.

I was shopping for a new truck several years ago, and found what I was looking for at Gerry Lane in BR (which happened to be where I had bought my previous truck as well). Got a quote from their internet guy that I felt was reasonable, just needed to go in and negotiate my trade-in.

So I go down to Gerry Lane and the salesman quotes me a horrendously low-ball offer on my trade. To the point that it was actually insulting. He goes round and round, tries to obfuscate everything, and eventually I get fed up and walk.

Then, later that evening, the salesman calls me. He says “Hey man, we really want to make this deal. What if I can do $X on your trade-in?” I thought about it for a second and said “you know what, I think that’ll work. I’ll be back in the morning to finalize everything.”

So the next morning I go in expecting to sign the paperwork and move on with my life. Except.. the salesman says he still needs to get the trade-in offer approved. I said “what do you mean? You said you could do $X last night.”

He says, with a straight face, “Oh no, I didn’t say we could do $X. I asked what if we could do $X. I still have to run it by by manager.”

He brings it to his manager, who rejects the deal on the trade-in that his sales rep had already offered and says “sorry, this is the best we can do.” I’m still pissed about it to this day. Will never buy so much as a fricking floor mat from Gerry Lane again.

If its accessories that the dealer already added its a cost they cant take off. Go look at a cheaper car with your broke arse.

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If its accessories that the dealer already added its a cost they cant take off.

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True, but the exorbitant amount Dollar Wise of the add-on accessories is something they have full control over.

When I was in this situation with a particular dealership I asked them to send me a cost breakdown of all the add-on accessories.

For example it didn't take a genius to figure out that charging $1,000 for a spray-in bed liner was a tad inflated...

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lostinbr

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I’ve also had that EXACT same thing happen to me. It must be their strategy. Loop someone in with a good deal on the purchase price online, then low ball the frick out of them on the trade in. But all that does is piss people off instead