OOooooh...these car salesmen BOIL MY BLOOD!

You think that's bad?
When my salesman presented my best & final offer to the sales manager- the salesman came back with my figure and a "+ $1000" in red with a circle around it. He told me the sales manager said that's what they'd be selling that same car for in a month when gas hits $5/gallon. I got up and promptly walked out of that dealership.

 

Why shouldn't the salesmen try to make some extra cash? They aren't having any trouble selling the cars, so where is their incentive to sell for less? It's a free market, as it should be. Hot sellers demand premium prices. It's really just simple economics.

Shawn

 

I have never seen an honest car salesman, and I used to be in the business....

 

I walked away from a Prius in 2007 due to the same sales attitude of my local dealer and bought my wife a Honda Accord. I walked away again in 2009 for the same sales attitude and took my business to a dealer 100 miles away.

It was simply amazing the difference in "sales culture" between the two dealerships.

 

I guess I don't see any proof of lying in the OP. Do you know that that dealer has been selling Prii for < MSRP to other buyers recently?

 

I bought a 2012 Prius Three about 2 weeks ago for under the invoice price. The way to do it - email several dealerships and tell them you are on the market for "such-and-such" vehicle and ask them for the best price. Tell them you will purchase the vehicle "...on Saturday" or something from the dealership with the best offer. Once you get some offers, start negotiating with them by email. Don't call them! Chances are you will have one person to deal with (per dealership) and you will have time to response the way you like. Once you are close, call the chosen dealership and talk directly to the person you've been emailing with for a while - that way you already have some kind of "history". Tell them what are you ready to pay "right now" and see what happens. Definitely do all that during the last week of the month, when dealerships (and salespeople) need their quota. Don't wait the last day of the month cause they might already got the quota and would not care as much. 2012 Prius Three (navigation, apps, etc...) with illuminated door seals, lower door molding, mats - $26K out-the-door (everything included). With 2.6% interest on 72 months, payment under $400. I've added heated leather seats so it's a little more but that's about it... Good luck!...

 

There's 2 Toyota dealerships near me. Both are owned by the same people, but different management. The sales culture is also completely different. I will only take my business to the one because of it.

 

It's worth driving 100+ miles to get a good deal on the Prius AND to get respect and treatment you deserve as a buyer!... Remember, this would be the last time you will over-pay for your gas haha... Just make sure you agree on everything before you drive 2-3 hours to the dealership. Some dealerships still want our business...

 

Simple way to get what you want and not get upset at the salesmen,

Just buy the car, be happy.

The stress that everyone goes thru to save a penny....not worth it in my book.
My time, energy, heart and stress level is worth more than a lousy $100 or $1000 in savings.

Buy them now, and you can save over the life of the car.

The dealership I went to dont make commission, they get paid salary.
This may have helped, but I bought what i wanted no, questions.
And I walked away happy.

Just dont deal with ugly people, period

 

The saleswoman we bought from was phenomenal. No hassle, no pressure, and knew her stuff. We're 'friends' on FB and keep up w/ each other. The entire sales team was so great. Got exactly what we wanted for our trade, with the APR we wanted, and the car w/ all the features we wanted.

Now, the other dealership we visited, well...it totally sucked. 18 year old salesperson with the attention span of a gerbil. When we went for our 5 minute test drive, he cranked up the radio and SANG to the songs. Loudly. Then, we he tried to shove paperwork at us, we did those ridiculous 'worksheets' (I HATE THOSE) and when he had to fill out another one for a different model, he said, in front of our kids: "Well, I guess I have to fill this CRAP out again." Nice. I showed my saleswoman the sheet and she laughed out loud and told me some acronym that they called them in the business. Just a total BS move, she said. Games, games, games. Gotta go speak to my manager. Yeah, right!

It pays to shop around. I was so disgusted by a few dealerships I went to that we almost just called off the whole thing.

 

I agree with No Idle, its been a war for me this week & I've played this game quite often over the past 10 years (I like to keep my wife in a fairly new car), hate it. I decided to go to the local dealers to test drive 1st & get prices. I did my homework before I got there. The local dealers were not too flexible until I got much better deals via the e-mail route. They used the same old lines with the 'adjusted market' cost, higher gas prices and limited supply. The dealer I'm leaning towards is almost two hours away, but she gave me the best price right out of the gate via e-mail. She even lowered it tonight when I presented her with one last minute offer that was $400 under her's. That dealer had it in stock so might have more room to move, but she matched it anyway. I would love to name the 'stealers' in my area. They have big advertisements, but can't walk the walk. One dealer who was asking $3K above MSRP said I'd be back to buy the one silver one they had, because the other in my area are $5K above MSRP! LOL!

 

I haven't been in a situation where i NEEDED to purchase a vehicle immediately in a LONG time. So I've learned to do my research ahead of time, and figure out the exact specifics of what I want. No "dealing", "haggling", or "negotiating" necessary. I find a sales associate that appears pleasant and tell them right up front, "I know what I intend to buy, and I know what I intend to pay for it. If you can meet those 2 requirements, you'll have a sale today. If not, I'll look elsewhere or put off my purchase until sometime in the future."

Then I lay it all out for them. The exact year, model, color, trim package, etc that I want. Then I tell them the exact amount of cash I'm willing to spend that day as well as the exact amount if any that I'm willing to finance. If I'm financing I tell them the interest rate I'm willing to accept, and the number of payments I'm willing to make.

At that point the ball is in their court. They can play any games they like with their manager or any paperwork, but either I walk out with the exact vehicle I've come for at the exact price I've stated, or they don't get a sale. If they try to add an additional $1 into the equation at all, I explain that I was very straight forward in the beginning. I can guarantee them a sale if they can meet my requirements. If they can't they can just say so, and I'll leave.

When they try to say things like "Are you really going to walk away from this for just $10?" (or $100, or $300) I just turn it around on them. Are they really going to loose this sale over just $10?

Puts all the stress on them to meet my requirements and none on me at all.

I have what they need ($$$), they only have what I want (a car). I'm not negotiating with them to to get a car, they are negotiating with their finance guy, and their manager to get them to release the car so they can meet their sales quotas, or contests, or whatever other sales incentives the dealership dangles in front of them.

 

That is really interesting because the two Toyota dealerships that I dealt with are owned by the same people Isn't it amazing that the same owner management group would allow such different sales cultures? When I told the sales manager at the dealer 100 miles away he told me that he hears this all of the time and has reported it to his bosses.

 

There are always 3 deals when you buy a car: The new car, the trade-in, and the financing. If they think you are going to use them for all three, they will practically "give" you the car, thinking they can make the money back on the trade or in financing. Or they will pitch a low monthly payment - that is the favorite, when someone goes for that, cause they will soak you all 3 ways with that deal.

I just go to CarMax Laurel Toyota (new car dealer). The car prices are online, they tell you how much more or less they are selling over or under bottom sticker (MSRP), and you can buy it or not. They will shop financing, or you can bring your own, and they don't care if you sell them your car or not - to the CarMax used car dealer across the street.

I have purchased several cars from them over the past 10 years, and wouldn't go anywhere else. Having sold cars and worked at dealers in the past, I know the sales people at other dealers have the same amount of respect for you that you have for them. Consider, they buy and sell cars all day long, and you might do it once every 5 years. So they are a little more experienced at it.

 

All I can say is don't take a knife to a Gun Show. Go in knowing it's a lying cheating business and that they will work you on ALL levels. Sale person - Sales Manager- Finance Person. They all play a roll in getting the most possiable. Carefull when then start talking monthly payments, they will never mention what the price of the car is. The INVOICE is well below MSRP so they have profit built in from the start. Best thing to do is walk out and play them off other dealers. And yes you will never get the 5 hours it takes to by your car back. Good Luck. DO YOUR HOMEWORK before you go near them!

 

Hey Ralleia, sorry about your experience. Sometimes dealerships especially sales guys have a knack for bad customer service. For a car like this that's in demand, I would do what another member recommended by emailing dealerships, although it's pretty easy to not find a price you like since it's all done behind a computer. If you're fired up I would call other dealerships, tell them you want the car, and vent to them what happened. You may find how much more accommodating someone is when they hear of a person's bad day. I'd also speak directly with a sales manager, no sales guys. Btw I sold Audi's and Volkswagens before I turned 21, had perfect ratings on my surveys, and went through 4 sales managers in 1 year. If you really want to get around the whole dealership game though, I'd go through Carintelligent.com- they found me a Mini cooper way lower than I thought possible or go through Costco if you have a costco membership- they can do 500 over invoice.

Keep in mind to there's about $378 in dealer holdback meaning anything around invoice is a GREAT price.

 

i'm still trying to figure out what the 'lie' was.