From: mack on

"Joe Lauton" <JL(a)Lauton2000.com> wrote in message
news:2r5rv25vt5u34c6jt9mgn1vf9vdqfn1mu5(a)4ax.com...
> What you experienced is exactly the standard tactic form West to East
> in the US. You left too much room and you assumed you were dealing
> with decent honest people whose word you could rely upon.
> I have previously posted how I bought my 06 Sienna for 18,888. (Today
> it 06 sells for 20,800 at a different dealer)
> Here are the rules IMHO:
> 1 be the first call of the day! There may be early birds.
> 2 Get them to send you a fax or email with the 'actual amount' of the
> check they need.
> 3 Get there at once - and be prepared to 'force the scum' to honor the
> 'written' contract. (This took me about three hours)
> 4 Anything other than cash or cashiers ck (dealer option) will likely
> be required. You can be sure that they want exactly what you don't
> have.
> Good luck next time.
>
> jl
>

Unfortunately, this is the case with the majority of new car dealers.
Beware of shaking hands with them, or you may have to count your fingers
afterward.
I haven't dealt with a new car dealer (even for buying a used car) for a
decade and a half, and if I can avoid them forever I'll be just as happy.
Visiting a dealer is like playing three card monte or a shell game with a
streetcorner "gambler"....there's no winning involved.
And, if you trust the salesman to "fill in the numbers later" and just "sign
the order in blank" you'll have only yourself to blame when the additional
money comes due.
Car dealers are so very cocky that they are the first (and only, so far as I
know) people to actually charge the customer to write up the sales slip!
(The Doc. fee!)


From: mrv on
On Mar 18, 4:30 pm, "surf" <surfunb...(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
> I'm looking at the ad right now, there is no mention of $500 rebate
> that he took off (added to the price), nor a destination fee. The ad
> says the price does not include optional equipment. Is A/C and a CD
> player optional equipment ? That's all I would care about. If I
> thought I could figure out what the price of the car is, I might be
> tempted to buy it if it sounded like a good deal, but at this point
> I'm not sure I trust them and am not experienced enough to know what I
> might expect from dishonest salemen. I don't want to go through a big
> hassle and a bunch of games to get a car.

http://www.toyota.com/corolla/models.html
AC and a CD is standard on the 2007 Corolla CE.

Use the link on the left to "Build and Price your Corolla" for your
ZIP code (to get you the correct region), and you can see what the
MSRP and available options are in your region.


You can also get some more pricing/option information at:
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2007/toyota/corolla/index.html
http://www.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp?section=summary&makeid=47&modelid=426&year=2007&myid=&bg=t

You may also do better by using the online dealer price quotes (email
the dealerships, so you have a written record of the offer that you
can use to play against other dealerships...)

and yes, you have to read those print ads very carefully... Here's
some from the Boston Globe for some Mazdas (a $21k car for $9.5k!):
http://www.mouseprint.org/?p=109
A dealer will list every available discount/rebate (even if someone
wouldn't be able to get all of them), and then also lists an expected
large cash down payment or trade in, and subtract these from the price
of the car to advertise the car as available at some really cheap
price.

From: Hachiroku ハチロク on
On Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:26:52 -0700, mrv(a)kluge.net wrote:

> A dealer will list every available discount/rebate (even if someone
> wouldn't be able to get all of them), and then also lists an expected
> large cash down payment or trade in, and subtract these from the price of
> the car to advertise the car as available at some really cheap price.


Yup, that too. For instance, as the OP said, it had a "Recent College
Grad" rebate listed. A lot of time, if you push them, they'll give you the
discount.

I don't play games. I give the salesman about 10 minutes to 'feel him
out', then I know if I'm dealing with someone playing games. If I am, I
say, "Look, I don't want to play games. What 'rebates and discounts' are
available, can I get them, and if not, why not? And, I want a bottom line,
out the door price for this car."

By this time they know I'm not playing and usually give me the numbers.
And, if he says, "I have to talk to my manager", I tell, them, then get
the best price NOW! We're not running a revolving door here.

After having a salesman shout across the room for the ADMU on a '91 MR2, I
told him, That wasn't necessary...I don't PAY ADMUs. I'll go the sticker.
He said, OK...

I didn't buy the car, couldn't get the monthly payment, but I told him I
will pay the manufacturer's price on the car, nothing else.

From: Art on
Don't deal with crooks but also read the fine print.



"surf" <surfunbear(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1174210177.926999.239830(a)y66g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>
> here is my recent experience at Boch Toyota. I was not aware of what
> the MSR was on a corolla as I recently started thinking of getting
> one. I saw Boch advertised $9988 on a new 2007 Corolla CE. Just below
> where it listed the price it says 40 corolla's available, I called a
> salesman there and he said there was 40 available as well. I called at
> 8:30 in the morning and the ad had just come out that morning. He said
> if I got there before noon I should be good to go. I was there by
> about 9:40 that same morning. They set me up with a different
> salesman than who I had talked to on the phone. The first thing he
> said was that car was no longer available, someone had bought it
> before the doors had even opened (there had been 2 cars at that price
> he claimed). I told him I was told there was 40, he said there are 40
> corollas, but not at that price ading that they can't give away the
> store. After more talking he went away, came back and said that one of
> the cars was available as the person who bought it had changed their
> mind. He then wrote down some numbers adding $400 onto the price as
> well as $500 for a rebate that I don't understand at all. Then there
> was another $300 added for additional equipment which he acted like he
> was not sure about. The $400 I did understand as it was for recent
> college graduate and the guy on the phone actually did mention that
> but nothing else. At that point the car was now around 11K which was
> different but I was still prepared to buy it at that price. It had
> recently snowed 9 inches the night before and rained, he went outside
> and came back saying the car was in a big puddle in the back and I
> couldn't look at it right now, then he proceeded to ask if I was
> prepared to buy it. Feeling hesitant I said I had never bought a car
> without looking at it, then I said, ok well what's the price ? Then he
> wrote down the numbers from before and added another $650 for a
> destination cost. The car price was now almost 12K. I sort of
> complained that everything keeps changing and that when I bought my
> tundra (different dealer) the car was advertised at a price and when I
> got there that was the price. He claimed it was a great deal based on
> the MSR and the other stuff was fine print at the bottom of the ad. I
> should have said something like, "so I need a lawyer to buy a car
> here ?" because it seems if I buy a car there is allways going to be
> small print. At that point I felt very apprehensive and no longer in
> the mood to even look at any cars, I was ready to just go home. What
> was going through my mind was if I go through with this deal, I may
> find more hidden costs or they might tell me something like I have to
> wait two months before I can get the car or who knows what sort of
> "fine print" they could come up with. My mother thinks I should
> consider complaining to the Attourney General.
>


From: Ray O on

"Ed" <nospam(a)nospam.nospam> wrote in message
news:180320071541548531%nospam(a)nospam.nospam...
> In article <99026$45fd7367$47c2b532$13165(a)msgid.meganewsservers.com>,
> Ray O wrote:
>
>
>> There are a couple of dealerships on the Cape that are highly rated in
>> terms
>> of customer satisfaction.
>
>
> And those are?

Falmouth Toyota in Bourne used to be the highest rated dealership in the
country for customer satisfaction, and I see from their web site that it is
still owned by the same dealer. I don't know if they are still the highest
rated, but knowing the owner, they will not rip off their customers or
mistreat them, and they come by their high customer satisfaction scores by
actually trying to satisfy their customers.

Hyannis Toyota is owned by one of my former co-workers, and he operates the
same way as the dealer in Falmouth because he is honest by nature.

You may be able to negotiate a better deal elsewhere if you're willing to
put up with all the shenanigans, but if you want a fair deal without
loopholes, you won't go wrong at these places. There are several other very
good dealerships, but those two rise to the top in the honesty department.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)