Crappy Car Dealers
We didn't have too many plans Saturday and Joshua went to his grandparent's house for a sleepover, so Mike and Melanie and I decided to go check out some mini vans. We're already a little cramped in my Chevy Malibu and when we have a new baby, we're definitely going to need the space. My car is starting to have little problems here and there, so we thought it was best to trade it in before its value begins the sharp decline that tends to happen after 100,000 miles.
We went to three different places and started to get a feel for what we wanted and what we didn't want. By the third dealership, we could just walk on the lot and say that we wanted a 2005 - 2007 mini van with third row seating, trunk space in the back, and good gas mileage. This last place had four vehicles that fit that description. So we checked them all out.
I really loved this blue 2005 Town and Country. It had a dvd player, navigational system, plenty of space, with seats that fold down easily (I tried it!), a moon roof, and extra storage space in the floor! The guy quoted us $21,000 (before taxes) and said my car might trade in for about a thousand dollars. "Okay, thanks for your time. We'll go home and talk about it." The truth was, we're not exactly ready to buy, but we did want to get an idea of what's out there.
I go home and look up this particular vehicle online to get an idea of pricing and this exact van at the exact dealer we went to is listed for $18,885! Are you kidding me? And my car's trade in value on Kelly Blue Book? $2800! So I'm now super-pissed at this jerk who seems to think that because I'm casual and funny and asked lots of questions and admitted that I don't know a lot about cars, he figures that I'm an idiot who will take any price he throws at me! He quoted me two thousand more than the van was selling for and two thousand less than what my car was worth for trade in!
Mike tries to explain to me (as I rant for a while) that this is their job. They're supposed to start high so that I can go low and then they can go high and we can negotiate a deal somewhere in the middle. I don't care. Screw him! If I DO buy that car and I DO buy it at that dealer, I will go in with the price that I WANT and not pay a penny more and I'll make sure that THAT GUY is not the one who gets the commission. You are a sneaky man, Dave O'Brien of Springfield Conicelli. And you can "do your job" with some other sucker. Geez.
We went to three different places and started to get a feel for what we wanted and what we didn't want. By the third dealership, we could just walk on the lot and say that we wanted a 2005 - 2007 mini van with third row seating, trunk space in the back, and good gas mileage. This last place had four vehicles that fit that description. So we checked them all out.
I really loved this blue 2005 Town and Country. It had a dvd player, navigational system, plenty of space, with seats that fold down easily (I tried it!), a moon roof, and extra storage space in the floor! The guy quoted us $21,000 (before taxes) and said my car might trade in for about a thousand dollars. "Okay, thanks for your time. We'll go home and talk about it." The truth was, we're not exactly ready to buy, but we did want to get an idea of what's out there.
I go home and look up this particular vehicle online to get an idea of pricing and this exact van at the exact dealer we went to is listed for $18,885! Are you kidding me? And my car's trade in value on Kelly Blue Book? $2800! So I'm now super-pissed at this jerk who seems to think that because I'm casual and funny and asked lots of questions and admitted that I don't know a lot about cars, he figures that I'm an idiot who will take any price he throws at me! He quoted me two thousand more than the van was selling for and two thousand less than what my car was worth for trade in!
Mike tries to explain to me (as I rant for a while) that this is their job. They're supposed to start high so that I can go low and then they can go high and we can negotiate a deal somewhere in the middle. I don't care. Screw him! If I DO buy that car and I DO buy it at that dealer, I will go in with the price that I WANT and not pay a penny more and I'll make sure that THAT GUY is not the one who gets the commission. You are a sneaky man, Dave O'Brien of Springfield Conicelli. And you can "do your job" with some other sucker. Geez.