re: Your Most Insulting Car Salesman Story?

Had two try to gang up on me to pressure me into paying 41k for a Ram Rebel in 2016, which for the those unaware was a ram 1500 with a few interior upgrades. Tried to stop me from leaving, bumped me here and there, but wouldn't budge on the price. Luckily for me half my job is dealing with large unhappy crowds. So I told them to pound sand and paid 37 for a loaded f-150.

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Story 2. I was looking at a 4x4 and only holdup was I wanted a receiver hitch added. I told the salesman I’d gladly pay dealer cost for it. They sent my to parts and I saw it cost $220. When the papers were brought out to sign I see the added hitch and its added cost is $700. I said I told you I’d pay cost. At which point the salesman said it was installation cost. I stood up and threw $220 in twenties across the table and said “put that sunnuvabitch in the bed I will do it myself”. All of the other customers saw what was transpiring. Needless to say the installed hitch only cost $220.

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Wait a second.. $220 for a receiver or for a trailer hitch?

I wanted to look at a RAV-4, walked in. Salesman said “there’s one over there, I think it’s open”. Then went back to yakking with some other salespeople.

So I drove to the lot next door, bought a new CRV, drove back by, honked and waived.

I used to work for Ford, handled the repos from Ford Credit. Back in the day, 80s, 90s & some into the 2000s, you could make damn good money on preowned vehicles. They would be marked up $8k-15k, sometimes more, but now, not so much. I’d always knock off 50% of the markup right out of the gate & tell them that is the best I can do. I sold a lot of cars that way, no haggling, & made a lot of money.

I was honest and told them everything I knew about the car, & what I didn’t. I never gave a “pitch”, just provided them with the best info I could to help educate them. I developed a good rep, made alot of people happy, & had a ton of repeat business. Never was too eager.

Nothing better than a first time buyer, getting a great deal, loving the vehicle they chose, very satisfied, with a big smile on their faces. That made me feel better than making a ton of money.

We were pretty close on a deal at a dealership and all I needed was to bring my car in to see what they’d give us in trade. We already had financing lined up.

I meet my wife at the dealership, they make an acceptable offer on my trade and we go to the salesman’s cube. We are sitting there with his boss when his boss pulls out the four square worksheet (strike one). He writes the price of the new car, the amount of the trade, and the extra BS like tax and tags down in the boxes. Then he writes a number outside the boxes and wants us to agree to the number “right here”. That verbiage just didn’t smell right (strike two). Plus, I felt the eyes of two suits in the elevated area next to us watching everything. .

I pull out my BlackBerry, loom at the sheet, and start typing numbers. The salesman stutters “w-w-what are you doing?” I said something like, just checking these numbers. The number they wanted us to agree to was about $2500 more than the price of the new car plus tax less trade. I stood up, looked at the suits and pointed that out to them. They made up some bullshite answer. I said no way would I do business with them and walked out.

We took the original agreed upon numbers to a dealership across town and told them we’d buy instantly if they accepted them, which they did.

A good story i guess

Bought a sorrento last February after a wreck from one of the Hood dealers in Hammond
When we got there to test a couple of possibilities they only had 2 sales guys and they were both with customers. One of them broke away for a second to see what i needed. Showed him the 3 I wanted to drive. Went inside got the 3 keys and said go ahead and take them on a drive and see what you like.

Didnt ask for my license of any kind of info, just handed me 3 keys and i drove them all. Luckily im not a thief.

Right before COVID I went to buy a Tundra. After haggling with the salesman (who I was already annoyed by) he told me I had to fill out the offer sheet before his manager would approve the terms I gave them. I left my SSN off because I wasn't going to let them run my credit until they agreed. He said they wouldn't until it was completely filled out.

Like a dumbass I went ahead and did it, but I explicitly told him DO NOT run the sheet until I say they can. He promised and walked to the office. 30 seconds later I got the alert that my credit had just been ran. I immediately got up and walked out. He bugged me for days until I eventually just had my phone recognize his number as spam.

We put a $500 deposit down on an Odyssey back when they were all the rage. The sales weasel said it would be delivered two weeks before Christmas. We told him that this was important because were going to leave two days after it came in on a 700-mile trip. With the van, we could do it in one vehicle, without it, it would take two.

We talked with every Honda dealership in metro Atlanta and told them all the same criteria. While searching for the van, I talked to another salesman at another dealership who I liked much better and who seemed far more honest. He couldn't get the color we wanted on the date we needed it -- and also warned us that their deposits were non-refundable.

On the day it was supposed to come in, while driving to work, I saw a car carrier get on the ramp to 400 N and on it was the van we ordered. At lunch time, I called to confirm that it had come in and make arrangements to pick it up. The sale weasel said it had not come in, but was due in any day now. I thought maybe he just hadn't been advised that it was in.

I called that evening, and heard the same story. So I called the other salesman and asked if he had a way to check to see if it had come it. He said sure and came back in a bit to say that a van in the color we ordered had been delivered to that dealership that morning. He said they probably found someone who would pay more than we did and would make all sorts of excuses, acting like it was on the way.

The next morning, I drove over there. The sales weasel saw me coming in and rushed to the door to tell me it wasn't in yet but was due in any day now and he would call me. I shook my head and said I was only there to collect my deposit. He stalled, bullshitted, and made up several excuses. I told him I knew the van had come in. He grabbed the folder that had my deposit check and opened the folder on his desk.

I waited for him to hand it to me, but it became obvious he was not going to. I just shook my head and said, "Yes, I will reach over your desk to get my check. Have a merry Christmas," grabbed the check, crumpled it, stuck it in my pocket, and walked out.

Maybe he was pissed that he was going to lose any hope of a commission from me for that month, or maybe he was just a lying a-hole. Don't know, don't care. Never darkened the door of that dealership (which is one of the big ones in Atlanta, with multiple locations and lines) since.

We had a good Christmas and later bought a Volvo wagon instead of a van and loved that car. So, it worked out in the end.

Prevost?

Had a finance manager get all pissy even though I’d already told them I was financing through my own bank when we agreed upon the sales price. He purposely stretched out the process. Told him I had bought new cars out of town using my own financing and the process never took more than 30 minutes. I’m a vindictive person so I “accidentally” knocked over my full soda can on his desk.