Years and years ago I went to Tom Peacock Cadillac because they had a 4 year old Mercedes listed online for a price that looked reasonable. Called the day before, said I was coming down to see it. Called in the morning to say I was on my way, 20 minutes later I'm at the dealership. Not 5 minutes after I'm there they say the car was sold but they had lots of others to choose from. Wasted my time driving a Dodge Mangum (god what a POS car) and then went down the street and dropped $14,000 on a nice sedan. Sad thing is there were other cars at the dealership I'd have been interested in, but they weren't getting my money after that bait and switch. Dumbasses.
I find autonation to be pretty decent, but yes dealerships in general are horse ****. I don't understand why in this age of tech, that cars just aren't sold online for cheaper by the actual brands. Why do they still charge MSRP if you order directly online when it's known you get it well under that at a dealership which takes a large middle man cut.
That bait and switch happened to me @ Helfman ford. I drove down from 3 hrs away to see this truck they said they had....which they didn't ofcourse. My last car was bought @ Texas Direct Auto aka VROOM. It was a good experience, and I've been very happy with the car. I highly recommend vroom. 7 days money back guarantee to make sure you're happy with the car. Free delivery. They'll buy your car site unseen.
It's been a while since I've read about it so I don't remember any details, but in Texas there are some laws in place to protect the profits of car dealerships. They are apparently very generous donors to political campaigns. I think if manufacturers could do what you are suggesting then they would. That sucks. I remember when I test drove at a Helfman some years ago that the salesman told me, "we only sell to good citizens." I hated that line so much that I decided then and there that I wouldn't be buying from them.
Go find a book called 'Don't Get Taken Every Time', by Remar Sutton. I found this book after I had bought a few cars in my life, and after reading the book, I recognized like three of the typical scams had been done on me and I didn't even know. Definitely the best book to start with, to understand the car-selling business. And what scumbags they are.
I read that before buying my truck. It was good. Could stand to be shorter and updated, but I would recommend it as well.
Remember than car salesmen earn by commission. the worse the deal the better the commission. so it helps to spend time in research and some elementary math. One thing that is hard and takes time to learn is automotive. So if you're not into this, buy brand new or CPO - less mileage. the money you save with used cars will be spent on repairs in the near future.
Anybody have advice for me trying to buy my first car with no credit? Is it possible and how can I be sure not to get ripped off?
Carmax buys most of their inventory from Enteprise. You’re better off buying from an enteprise dealership to avoid the middleman pricing.
Just do a lot of research. Find the car you want, figure out the options you want, learn how much dealers in your area are paying for the car, learn how much the options are. With no credit, they will certainly try to **** you with interest. Go to some banks and see what they would finance it to you For, pick the best option, dealer can choose to beat it or let you go through your bank. If you could find a 0% financing sale/deal going on that would be ideal.
Best sale prices will be in late summer/early fall when they're clearancing out old inventory to make room for the next year's models. You'll usually find the low interest rates then, too. Find the model of car you want and the options. Then search online with truecar, KBB, and forums (each car model probably has their own independent forum) for prices that people have paid for the same package. Use that to get an idea of what's a good offer.
Enterprise I work there. We sell the best at our own delearship and some back to local dealerships and places like car max. Anything in an accident, we send to be auctioned off. No comapny in the world buys more cars than Enterprise.
Exaggerated numbers to make a point. Point being, unless you put a bunch of money down, you're going to be underwater as soon as you drive off the lot. Sweet, you work at The Machine. I worked there for a while after college. Our happy hours...er, uh, I mean... "sales meetings" are still the stuff of legend....
This is the industry begging for Bazos to grab by the balls. I have been so hesitant to by a car for the last 10 years because of it. I haven't paid more than $4,000 for a car since paying off a $25K mistake I made fresh out of high school.
Like most, I dislike dealerships. I want to agree to a price, pay for it, and take it home. Not spend hours upon hours at the dealership. After a handful of car purchases, I've been able to make it less painful. Two cars ago, my experience wasn't too bad. Got my financing done before I showed up, and had a price I was willing to pay. If they meet it, let's rock. If not, peace out. It was relatively short. This last car was the easiest. It was a Tesla, and since they can't sell directly to consumers in Texas, I had to order it online. I don't get to haggle on price, but you pick what you want, take care of a little paperwork, wait for it to be done, and take delivery. It is a super easy buying experience. It really is how it should be. Shameless plug for me: If anyone is in the market for a model S or X, I have a referral code. If you order before the end of this month, you get free supercharging as long as you own the car, and I get a wall charger or something like that.
Don't accuse the dealer of committing a lemon law, but phrase it with that in their publicly. IG, Twitter, FB. SIL
