Posted on 08/22/2018 4:58:52 PM PDT by eastexsteve
After what my wife had to endure Monday in a Fort Worth Mitsubishi dealership, I thought it might be wise to reinforce the notion that pond scum still exists in the new car buying market. Thank God I was only a phone call away. To make a long story short, they started by offering her dirt for her trade, which I already prepared her for. (NADA trade-in value is one thing, but they weren't even in the ball park.) They next tried to sell her the car for over a thousand dollars ABOVE what they were offering it on their website, and weren't going to credit her with the appropriate rebates. Then, they told her they were going to get her ready to go in the new car immediately, and she could just leave her old car there and pick it up later. When they had her ready to sign on the dotted line, that's when she called me. I then discovered they were trying to pass off a car to her that was NOT new, but had 3,700 miles on it. When I pointed out to them that they advertised that car on their website as being new with only 13 miles on it, they replied that was some sort of mistake. No wonder they wanted her out the door with that car as soon as they could get her in it!
A word to the wise from someone who has bought MANY new cars over a lifetime. Read the buyers order and full quote carefully, and use your calculator. If something doesn't look right, question it! If you don't like the answer, take a written quote and have someone else look at it. If the deal is good, it can wait until tomorrow. If the dealer is trying to get you into that car and off the lot ASAP, there is something wrong with that deal. Never be afraid to walk away!
I look for a few basic things on that quote/buyers order. The sales price of the car, the rebates, tax title and license fees, modest documentation fees, and credit for the trade (if any). Any other unknown charge is suspect! A charge for "make ready" or a stand-alone "destination charge" is highly suspect.
I did steer my wife to a reputable dealership where I had previously called and located a few cars for her to look at, and she did by a NEW car at a helluva good price. This time, she new what the car should cost, and it took her less that 30 minutes to test-drive and secure the deal. And, the dealer actually got under my bottom dollar!
Ladies, I'm not trying to be a chauvinist here, but unless you have a great deal of experience dealing with car salesmen, take your husband, or someone who does know how to deal with them. My wife is a kind-hearted and somewhat gullible woman in this arena, and they were ready to take her to the cleaners. Frankly, I don't know how they sleep at night.
Your first mistake - going to a Mitsu dealership. Mitsu is a dying brand in the US and they have a long history of poor customer service and not policing their dealerships. Worse, their products are low quality.
My wife bought a new car in April. You bet I was there for the entire process. When I went to check up on it on the day we were to take possession, I found they had installed the wrong remote start. My wife would never have caught that. I will give them the benefit of the doubt because they have a good reputation and the remotes were both priced the same.
Banks use NADA, but I’ve found Kelly Blue Book to be the most accurate determination of wholesale/trade-in value.
That has not been my experience. The Mitsu we have now has over 200k miles on it, and has never given us a bit of trouble beyond standard maintenance issues, and EVERYTHING still functions like it should (unlike my two American -made vehicles.) It’s far from being a “dying breed.” It’s one of the few cars still 100 percent made in Japan. Maybe that’s why it’s still running great LOL!
i make it a point to not purchase vehicles my wife can’t pronounce...
Talk with this guy. Former car dealer in the DFW area.
He’s a really nice guy and can steer you in a good direction.
My Nephew got taken like no one I have ever seen get taken. This was by a Honda dealer I guess in Gainesville, FL.
They offered him $3500 trade for a 2 year old, like new Toyota 4wd pickup. I looked them up in the blue book and the Toyota was actually worth a little but more than the Honda. That is using the wholesale value on the pickup.
I phoned him and told him they were making about an $8000 profit on him. The idiot went ahead and did it.
Their cars may be crap but sales in the US have gone up every year since the low in 2009.
“Just a warning - unscrupulous car dealerships are still alive and well.”
No shit.
William Macy deserved an Oscar for that movie.
my 1st thought too.
plus do couples go out and by new cars not as a couple?
If so than the wives are soft targets. Yup I said it . In 2018 unaccompanied wives are soft targets for scum bag car salesmen...Not news
So I don't go for that nickel and diming "let me speak to my manager up in the tower" nonsense. I go in there knowing exactly what I want (including options) and what I expect to pay. I already have my money up front as I get pre-approved for a car loan from my credit union ahead of time. I never finance through the dealership so I don't have to get caught up in that four square "what would you like your monthly payment to be" crap.
With the trade-in, I have my car detailed ahead of time and have a full history of all the maintenance that was done to it. So I expect pretty close to blue book or I'm taking my business elsewhere. I let them know this up front so there's no hassle.
Most important thing is I let them know up front I want no hassle. Here's the model I want, here's the options I want, here's what I expect to get for trade-in and here's the price I expect to pay.
I probably overpay for my cars a little. I don't worry too much about that. I just don't want the hassle and the back and forth and the "let me speak to my manager" routine. Some people enjoy that. I don't.
The only Mitsubishis I care about are restored A6M Zeros.
What!? They didn’t try to substitute metallic pea-green Family Truckster, and *only* messed up on the remote starter?
True.
:-)
“You think you hate it now...”
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