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Post by Lord Newport on Sept 6, 2020 15:38:04 GMT
I haven't bought a new car in almost 20 years. The process apparently hasn't changed much here in Southern California...I suspect its because the industry still attracts many of the same kinds of people/personality types, all of whom seemed a bit "dodgy" still. Too many forced smiles, petty tactics and "showmen". I went to pay cash and did not want to haggle price and the process still left me feeling...dirty...lol
It was clear at both dealerships I went to that the mantra is to NOT let a potential customer leave without buying a car.. even it is not the exact car they are looking for and the use of subtle "pressure tactics" and people I suspect are character actors... lol. Maybe I was away from it too long and forgot what to expect... Maybe its a top down attitude from ownership/management but it certainly seemed like just more of the same 20 years later.
I am curious.. it it the same in other parts of the world? I would think it would depend on how the sales staff are compensated but....
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Sept 6, 2020 16:03:34 GMT
My family and I know a good car service station and shop for over 40 years and buy our cars there. So no drama or semprini.
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Post by RufusScorpius on Sept 6, 2020 16:18:28 GMT
I bought a new car a year and a half ago and it was a delightful process. The dealership walked me through every detail and patiently answered all my questions to my satisfaction. They assigned a person to me to assist in selecting options and so forth. When I went to pickup the car, they were johnny on the spot. Post sale support was impressive and as professional as the purchasing.
No problems whatsoever and I'll go back when it's time for another.
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Post by Lord Newport on Sept 6, 2020 16:26:06 GMT
My family and I know a good car service station and shop for over 40 years and buy our cars there. So no drama or semprini. I have a excellent repair shop that I have been using for almost 20 years for all my cars (and I have a few... ) that I trust implicitly. Once a car comes off warranty it only goes there. I bought a new car a year and a half ago and it was a delightful process. The dealership walked me through every detail and patiently answered all my questions to my satisfaction. They assigned a person to me to assist in selecting options and so forth. When I went to pickup the car, they were johnny on the spot. Post sale support was impressive and as professional as the purchasing. No problems whatsoever and I'll go back when it's time for another. I do all my research ahead of time and know exactly what I want before I walk into the the dealership. Maybe that was the problem...I wanted to short circuit that process... However I did sense a slightly different culture between the two dealers I visited that had the exact car I wanted in inventory. The dealers will see the car for service until the warranty is up...and then to my independent shop.
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Post by RufusScorpius on Sept 6, 2020 17:25:49 GMT
I had to order my car, so looking at options at the dealership was worthwhile. I got everything I wanted except for the color. The SWMBO said "no" to both the color and the extra cost- so I went with a simple shade of black. Otherwise it was fun playing with the simulation at the dealership.
There are so many variables in buying a car that it's hard to give anyone definitive advice on the process. Dealership reputation is probably the number one and best indicator of what you will experience. The brand of car and cost also matters.
We can only share our personal experiences and let others make up their own minds about what to expect.
So, what car did you get?
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Post by Lord Newport on Sept 6, 2020 21:38:35 GMT
I had to order my car, so looking at options at the dealership was worthwhile. I got everything I wanted except for the color. The SWMBO said "no" to both the color and the extra cost- so I went with a simple shade of black. Otherwise it was fun playing with the simulation at the dealership. There are so many variables in buying a car that it's hard to give anyone definitive advice on the process. Dealership reputation is probably the number one and best indicator of what you will experience. The brand of car and cost also matters. We can only share our personal experiences and let others make up their own minds about what to expect. So, what car did you get? I bought a Certified Mercedes S 550. The plain basic sedan. When the first, local dealer didn't have the exact color I wanted, they tried shamelessly to up-sell me into an AMG model costing twice as much in that color.. LMAO. Seems its against the rules to let a consumer leave without buying a car. They just didn't hear every time I said it, that I wanted a nice but basic sedan...that I would keep 20 years like the last one. I had to explain that to every new sales person up the chain who came in to see what they could do to get me into a car that day. They also weren't pleased I didn't want to finance it either... Haha... are you a Rumpole of the Bailey fan too? I loved that series...
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Post by RufusScorpius on Sept 6, 2020 22:07:33 GMT
I think you are the only person outside of the Triumph motorcycle forum that I visit who identified SWMBO's origin. Well played, sir.
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Post by treeslicer on Sept 6, 2020 22:52:37 GMT
I had to order my car, so looking at options at the dealership was worthwhile. I got everything I wanted except for the color. The SWMBO said "no" to both the color and the extra cost- so I went with a simple shade of black. Otherwise it was fun playing with the simulation at the dealership. There are so many variables in buying a car that it's hard to give anyone definitive advice on the process. Dealership reputation is probably the number one and best indicator of what you will experience. The brand of car and cost also matters. We can only share our personal experiences and let others make up their own minds about what to expect. So, what car did you get? I bought a Certified Mercedes S 550. The plain basic sedan. When the first, local dealer didn't have the exact color I wanted, they tried shamelessly to up-sell me into a car costing twice as much in that color.. LMAO. Seems its against the rules to let a consumer leave without buying a car. They just didn't hear every time I said it, that I wanted a nice but basic sedan...that I would keep 20 years like the last one. I had to explain that to every new sales person up the chain who came in to see what they could do to get me into a car that day. They also weren't pleased I didn't want to finance it either... Haha... are you a Rumpole of the Bailey fan too? I loved that series... I think you are the only person outside of the Triumph motorcycle forum that I visit who identified SWMBO's origin. Well played, sir. Actually, Rumpole's writers got it from H. Rider Haggard, who used "She Who Must Be Obeyed" as a title of Ayesha in the novel, She. If neither of you have read it, you really should.
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Post by RufusScorpius on Sept 7, 2020 0:01:43 GMT
Love to, treeslicer, but you know I can't read.
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Post by Lord Newport on Sept 7, 2020 0:12:23 GMT
Love to, treeslicer, but you know I can't read. I am happy to just watch reruns of Rumpole...with a glass of single malt in hand.
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Post by treeslicer on Sept 7, 2020 0:16:03 GMT
Love to, treeslicer, but you know I can't read. Sorry, I'd forgotten you've advanced into management.
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Post by legacyofthesword on Sept 7, 2020 0:31:48 GMT
I bought a Certified Mercedes S 550. The plain basic sedan. When the first, local dealer didn't have the exact color I wanted, they tried shamelessly to up-sell me into a car costing twice as much in that color.. LMAO. Seems its against the rules to let a consumer leave without buying a car. They just didn't hear every time I said it, that I wanted a nice but basic sedan...that I would keep 20 years like the last one. I had to explain that to every new sales person up the chain who came in to see what they could do to get me into a car that day. They also weren't pleased I didn't want to finance it either... Haha... are you a Rumpole of the Bailey fan too? I loved that series... I think you are the only person outside of the Triumph motorcycle forum that I visit who identified SWMBO's origin. Well played, sir. Actually, Rumpole's writers got it from H. Rider Haggard, who used "She Who Must Be Obeyed" as a title of Ayesha in the novel, She. If neither of you have read it, you really should. Definitely an interesting book! I may have to go re-read that some time, actually.
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Post by RufusScorpius on Sept 7, 2020 11:49:37 GMT
Love to, treeslicer, but you know I can't read. Sorry, I'd forgotten you've advanced into management. Yes. Every day I feel my mind getting dimmer. I'm even thinking about improving the experience of the work force by giving myself a reserved parking spot.
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Post by Lord Newport on Sept 7, 2020 14:59:59 GMT
Sorry, I'd forgotten you've advanced into management. Yes. Every day I feel my mind getting dimmer. I'm even thinking about improving the experience of the work force by giving myself a reserved parking spot. Without a reserved parking space, aren't you are really just supervisory staff???
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Post by RufusScorpius on Sept 7, 2020 15:35:11 GMT
Yes. Every day I feel my mind getting dimmer. I'm even thinking about improving the experience of the work force by giving myself a reserved parking spot. Without a reserved parking space, aren't you are really just supervisory staff??? Indeed. If I had a reserved spot then the workers would look upon that in admiration and be inspired to work harder for the company
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Post by Lord Newport on Sept 7, 2020 15:55:29 GMT
Without a reserved parking space, aren't you are really just supervisory staff??? Indeed. If I had a reserved spot then the workers would look upon that in admiration and be inspired to work harder for the company You have missed it entirely; seeing your reserved spot, with your name and TITLE (if you are really important) boldly emblazoned over/on it, allows you to see your name every morning as you arrive at work, reinforcing your knowledge and reminding everyone else of your vital importance to the continued existence and success of the organization in everything you do throughout the workday. Workers who fail to work harder for the company with that knowledge are to be terminated immediately!
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Post by zabazagobo on Sept 9, 2020 9:30:11 GMT
Man, that is always infuriating.
I find the "have money, will buy" mentality somehow leads to car dealers being total ***** or **********, depending on day of the week.
To be fair...2020 sucks. Maybe they're just wanting a commission, eh?
Still, it's always nice finding a dealer that is straight and honest. >sigh< with cars, as with katana, no?
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Post by Lord Newport on Sept 9, 2020 13:22:19 GMT
Man, that is always infuriating. I find the "have money, will buy" mentality somehow leads to car dealers being total ***** or **********, depending on day of the week. To be fair...2020 sucks. Maybe they're just wanting a commission, eh? Still, it's always nice finding a dealer that is straight and honest. >sigh< with cars, as with katana, no? Its nice finding anyone who is honest anymore...even a barber is these interesting times... At least the car is nice and I found exactly what I wanted, that was an accomplishment all by itself.
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Post by bradc on Sept 11, 2020 4:07:04 GMT
I had to order my car, so looking at options at the dealership was worthwhile. I got everything I wanted except for the color. The SWMBO said "no" to both the color and the extra cost- so I went with a simple shade of black. Otherwise it was fun playing with the simulation at the dealership. There are so many variables in buying a car that it's hard to give anyone definitive advice on the process. Dealership reputation is probably the number one and best indicator of what you will experience. The brand of car and cost also matters. We can only share our personal experiences and let others make up their own minds about what to expect. So, what car did you get? I bought a Certified Mercedes S 550. The plain basic sedan. When the first, local dealer didn't have the exact color I wanted, they tried shamelessly to up-sell me into an AMG model costing twice as much in that color.. LMAO. Seems its against the rules to let a consumer leave without buying a car. They just didn't hear every time I said it, that I wanted a nice but basic sedan...that I would keep 20 years like the last one. I had to explain that to every new sales person up the chain who came in to see what they could do to get me into a car that day. They also weren't pleased I didn't want to finance it either... Haha... are you a Rumpole of the Bailey fan too? I loved that series... Mercedes is a particularly high pressure upselling dealer in my experience. I have never had a great experience with any of the dealers or repair shops (had to have an emissions repair done once at the dealer due to local laws that was terrible) However, their parts department is amazing! Even rarely replaced older parts are usually in within a couple days and pricing is better than you would think. A new hinge for my 1990 500SL soft top mechanism was in next day... They even have a special shop in Germany that will make discontinued parts for anything (not cheap). In contrast my recent Mitsubishi buying experience was quite pleasant, so it does seem to vary drastically by dealer...
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Post by RufusScorpius on Sept 11, 2020 14:08:07 GMT
Cosmic fate? I find myself needing to by a new car now. The Chevy the kids used for going to school was rear ended last week and it was totaled. Nobody was hurt, it's just the cost of repairs is over 75% of the value, so off it goes to the junk yard. Shame really, even though it was milk toast plain, it was rock solid reliable.
After the pay off with the car note, I get $300 in hand. Not exactly a fair trade since now I'm down a car.
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