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Post by mcscrapper on Aug 31, 2015 5:40:26 GMT
I am SO right there with you right now. I am dreading going back and forth with the sales guys. My dd turns 16 in November and was planning to give her my 2003 Acura MDX which has been an awesome car for all of these years. I am also in grad school and really would like to not have a car payment until i am finished with school. ::sigh::
I know what I want but I just hate the thought of haggling and having gather car payment! I just cannot bring myself to pull the trigger on buying the car!!!
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Post by Patter on Aug 31, 2015 10:08:40 GMT
CarolinaGirl71, for pricing we do several things. First, we figure out what we expect for our trade-in and what the least is we will expect for it. Second, we figure out what we want to spend at most on the entire deal. We also find out if there are discounts available for vets, hubby's company, etc. My husband got a vet discount for my other daughter's car we purchased. You don't know if you don't ask, and they don't always tell you. They required copies of his DD214 but that's easy. Also, is it cheaper to build or buy from the lot. Sometimes that's a factor. Look online around the country. What is being charged for the same car around the country. I believe there is a price comparison website but I can't remember what it is. And lastly, look at purchasing a loaner car. There are usually less than 1,000 miles on the car and you can usually get a better warranty. There really is a lot to look at but we always know what the most is we will spend of course. And beaglemom, I always have to drive a car too but I do a lot of investigating on the web first. Start your fun list of 7-9 seaters then whittle down from there and begin test driving. Fun times.
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Post by elaine on Aug 31, 2015 15:42:31 GMT
How do you know what kind of car you want? We talked about getting a specific car. I sat in it and felt like I was sitting in a fish bowl. So that ruled that one out. Another car was super comfortable, but had the worst blind spot I have ever encountered in a car. So, nixed that one. Part of the problem is, previously, we had a specific salesperson, at the Ford dealership, we liked and always purchased from. We have 5 Fords. But, I refuse to give Ford anymore business, because of the manner in which the company (Ford, not the dealership) has handled an issue with the last vehicle. So we are rather lost as to what kind of vehicle to buy. Plus, we can't agree on a vehicle for anything. Honestly, if someone told us they were buying us a vehicle, we could not pick one out. Also, if you want to talk bad sales person...about two years ago, we looked at a car that I was rather obsessed with. I swear I sat in the driver's seat, looked at my son and told him I wanted it. The salesman was talking to my husband while this was going on. The guy refused to allow us to test drive the car. We had to agree to buy the vehicle first. This was not a high priced car, either. We walked. How are you supposed to make a decision without driving the vehicle? Past experience, driving a vehicle has told me the car was not for me. In terms of deciding which car, I narrowed it down to three different models and then test drove. I have large teenage boys one of which will never drive and the other is questionable. So, basically, I need a car that fits four adults comfortably. I also wanted captains chairs for the second row, and a third row. Didn't have to be a large comfy third row, but need the ability to have more than 4 people in the car. So, I had narrowed down to Honda Pilot 2016, Chevy Tahoe, and Buick Enclave. The Tahoe was too big for me - so much hood/engine in front of the driver. The Honda Pilot was great - very similar to my Honda Odyssey, but not as deluxe. When I sat down in the Buick and test drove it with the family, we decided it was the car we wanted. Now, the stupid issue with Buicks is that to move the 2015s off the lot - the 2016s are out - Buick headquarters picks 1-2 Enclaves per dealership and gives them a 15% rebate on that VIN number, that the dealer has to pass on to customer to move the car(dealers call it a lottery car). On a $48K car that is a LOT of money. The problem is that we would find the "lottery" car in their online inventory, call to see if the dealer had it, they'd say "yes," but it ended up being sold when we arrived. And they weren't willing to negotiate much on similar models. If I could get the car I want, with the features I want, for $38K, as advertised on your site, I am not going to pay $45K for the same exact car. I don't car about the lottery car thing - it is up to the dealer to work it out with Buick to offer me that car for the lottery price. I'd be a fool to pay more just because. If they can sell the car for $38k and still make money, they can sell any of them with the same features for that price. Anyhow, after walking out on Saturday from one dealer, and then two dealers yesterday (I live in Metro DC area with a half-dozen dealers relatively close). I was certain it wasn't going to happen when I went to bed last night, when we hadn't heard back from the dealer that we had spent hours with in Alexandria. This morning my saleswoman called and they are giving me the price I wrote down that I would be willing to pay for the car with the features I wanted (they would have to bring it in from another dealer on a trade) plus $100 ("her manager had to feel like he was getting something in the deal"). So, we will see. Maybe tonight I'll have my Enclave with leather and navigation. And also blind spot notification, and a sensor if you cross a lane line without signaling. Until I'm driving it home, I won't count on it. The bonus was that we had a nice evening stroll through old town Alexandria with the family and have dinner down there, trying to recover from 3 hours at the dealer.
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Post by Patter on Aug 31, 2015 15:58:09 GMT
Enjoy elaine. Hope you get your "baby" this evening.
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Post by elaine on Sept 1, 2015 2:34:29 GMT
Well, I'm finally home with my baby, but the story is so bizarre/outrageous that I wouldn't believe it if I read it someplace like here.
So, the original plan for the day involved taking the boys to lunch at the Shake Shack at Tyson's Corner and then to look at the last dealership I was going to try - located in Tysons/Vienna - because they had a number of "lottery" Enclaves listed on the Internet. But, since I thought everything was moving along with the Alexandria, I took the boys to lunch as promised and then we were walking around the mall, leisurely shopping.
While my boys were seated in a real life Tesla at the Tesla store, my salesperson from Alexandria calls me to ask if it is okay if the car is coming from New Jersey and that it will have 200 miles on it from driving it back from Jersey. A driver left the dealership this morning and is on route to New Jersey. Um, "okay," I say. "By the way, can you give me the VIN so my husband can start the loan application from Navy Federal." She gives me the VIN number.
Something didn't feel right, so after I hung up, I got my kids out of the Tesla and found a bench. I entered the VIN into google and lo and behold, that particular Enclave was listed as being on the lot in the Tysons Corner dealership! Seriously! One mile away and for $1K less than the Alexandria dealership was going to charge me. I call my husband, so angry I was crying - I cry when I get angry. He calms me down.
I herd the boys out of the mall and we drove over to the Koons Tysons Dealership. I asked to speak to the salesperson I had spoken with on the phone a couple of days ago. I explain to him what the other dealership told me and that they were going to charge me an extra thousand. I asked if he could get the car back. He leaves and about 10 minutes later comes back with a set of keys. The set of keys. The set of keys to that particular enclave - the other dealership hadn't even come by to claim it, so he halted the process.
It took another 3 hours to appraise my car, get the credit run, move my plates, etc. And then another hour for my husband to make it there from work to sign his half of the paperwork. But, I have my new baby. Complete with second row USB charging outlets, so the kids are really happy. And they have their own A/C controls and a second row moonroof. Hubby is happy because Navy Federal offered us a loan .75% below the dealership, and then the dealership countered another .5% below that. So, our final financing was 1.25% below the initial offer.
I am floored that the Alexandria Dealership actually called with the whole stupid New Jersey story. Especially when it is so simple to look up VIN numbers. They would have had the sale if I hadn't thought something was off and checked.
That said, you blatantly lie to me and you will NEVER get my business.
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Post by Patter on Sept 1, 2015 10:10:10 GMT
Wow, glad you have your new baby but that is a terrible story. So thankful you were able to look up that VIN and that you thought to do it! Looks like in the end you did great with the financing too. Awesome! Enjoy!
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