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.
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.
“Just a warning - unscrupulous car dealerships are still alive and well.”
No shit.
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.
Had a salesman at a Kia dealer in Plano try to do a job on me. The fact that he was so blatantly trying to screw me indicates that they were used to screwing their customers.
Now, I expect to end up the loser on any car deal. But I was offended that he didn’t even try to fast talk me or scramble the numbers - he was going to let me have the car at the full sticker price with no markups (this was near the end of the model year and near the end of the month). And he handed me the written offer with a straight face.
I tell women all the time to take a man along any time you are buying a car or having one worked on because the men won’t take you seriously. The guy doesn’t have to say anything. He just has to scowl and grunt occasionally. If he can look like he can beat up the dealer rep, even better.
The little lady can still do all the talking and make the deal she wants but they won’t try most of their tricks as long as he looks ready to punch them out if they don’t offer their best deal.
Chauvinism is a great thing if you know how to take advantage of it. :)
When I go into his place I tell him I want financing that I can pay off at any time (after a reasonable time) with no penalty. Then I tell him that we can save a lot of time since I don't want any of their add-ons, so don't even ask because I will say no to everything. Some get prickly since they are losing money but others say, "I understand, we can do that."
Years ago the guy at another dealer ran me through the whole list and I gave him "no" at every item and he put on the hard sell but I have him the "no." When he printed up the total bill, there was window "ID etching" security numbers for some crazy high price. I said, "I never gave you the OK on that. Take it off." "I thought you wanted it! OK, but I'm going to have to print out the whole thing all over again," he said in a whiny but irritated voice. I said, "You've got a computer. Just hit Print." He was so ticked, but it was fun.
Another trick is to leave you sitting for a while at some step in the sale process. That's when I get up and do to the first person I see and tell them to tell the guy I'm waiting on that he has a few seconds to lose the deal. That gets action. I ask him then, "Why were you letting me sit? Was something more important that this sale?" Then they get real nice for a couple minutes.
My question is “Why weren’t you there WITH her?”
The ads for Sewell dealerships are absolutely TRUE! We won’t go anywhere else! They always give free loaners when our car is in for service - don’t worry about the gas OR tolls. They treat you right!
Two words....Cal Worthington. Look him up.
All their salesmen were high-pressure. They tried to railroad me when I was in the military. I walked out of the deal.
My trick is to always say Im in town to look at another dealer and was driving by and stopped here. I always say Im going to the other dealer and look at th eother car and ask whats the best you can do. I then leave. I always get their lowest price
Why in the world did you let her go without you? Especially since you know she “is a kind-hearted and somewhat gullible woman in this arena”?
I learned about purchasing cars from my grandfather, who was a manager at Chase Manhattan Bank corporate in New York City. When he was ready for a new car, he put out the word that he was looking for a three year old car that was well maintained. Through the years, he bought like new cars from his customers at about 40% less than the new price, and paid cash.