most you've gotten screwed on a car deal?

[jake2212]

this is to go with what MBS recently posted about cheapest you've paid for cars, i'd really like to see the most people have gotten screwed by dealers. hopefully what we (particularly the younger people such as myself) can take from these stories is lessons so other people don't fall for traps. no trolling please or ripping on others for falling for dealership garbage; everybody is/was young at one point

[90503]

Originally Posted by jake2212

this is to go with what MBS recently posted about cheapest you've paid for cars, i'd really like to see the most people have gotten screwed by dealers. hopefully what we (particularly the younger people such as myself) can take from these stories is lessons so other people don't fall for traps. no trolling please or ripping on others for falling for dealership garbage; everybody is/was young at one point

A very noble cause, indeed. The other recent thread about a broken promise/bad deal thread was really an eye-opener for me...the customer always loses...Too much experience, knowledge of human-nature, all the tricks of the trade, are all stacked in favor of the dealers and salesmen...

Since the beginning of car sales, trying to help "beat the system" has also been tried....and lost....We will never see the end of threads and complaints about such experiences...and nothing ever changes...

[Interlux]

I've alway said it's as simple as this - if you leave with a car - they won.

[GMTool]

Originally Posted by Interlux

I've alway said it's as simple as this - if you leave with a car - they won.

Aint that the truth. In all the years I have been buying cars, I am still no good at being able to walk away. When I see a car I want, Im toast. I have always been terrible at not buying the car I want. I like to buy new and loaded. I have learned to accept it. I have a problem, it's called Car Crazy.

[TJR1952]

Originally Posted by GMTool

Aint that the truth. In all the years I have been buying cars, I am still no good at being able to walk away. When I see a car I want, Im toast. I have always been terrible at not buying the car I want. I like to buy new and loaded. I have learned to accept it. I have a problem, it's called Car Crazy.

I'm also car crazy. Last time i bought used , when i was 19 , 60 now. Have always shopped around for best price. Have always gotten the car i wanted , just maybe not at dealer that didn't have the best price. Have bought 5 special ordered vehicles in my life , got a deal on all of them. (except for this one time) Was coming home from work on a Sunday after partying all night Saturday. Past by a Pontiac dealership and saw the first gray and black 2-tone 75 Grand Prix with electric sun roof. I made the mistake of stopping feeling the way i was feeling. I think i might have bought the car just to make me feel better. Paid over MSRP on a car with 1500 miles on it.

[thepirate]

Originally Posted by GMTool

Aint that the truth. In all the years I have been buying cars, I am still no good at being able to walk away. When I see a car I want, Im toast. I have always been terrible at not buying the car I want. I like to buy new and loaded. I have learned to accept it. I have a problem, it's called Car Crazy.

[Candy_Camaro]

It's usually on the negotiation piece if you have a trade that you are upside down on. We traded a Jeep for our Camaro and were $4000 upside down as we had only had it a year. They wanted to sell us the car so they only rolled $216 into our new loan. That was my good story. I have had probably $8000 rolled over before for negative equity. :-( I should have walked from that one year's ago.

[Angrybird 12]

I had a dealer switch loan papers out on me and changed a 4 year loan to a 5 year loan at the same payment. This was many years ago before I learned what crooks some dealer finance guys are. Always read over the loan papers if you go through the dealer finance department, especially if he walks out of the room with them before you sign them.

[Fiveg56]

Originally Posted by Interlux

I've alway said it's as simple as this - if you leave with a car - they won.

lol

[jd10013]

it's definitlly a learning process. took me awhile, but I finally figured it out. the single most important thing you can do is get an out the door price before you even discuss anything else. that protects you from having them simply play numbers games with the loan term, financing, trade in, warranties, protection plans, and so forth. I think where they get most people is not the salesman, but when you sit down with the finance guy and he stats adding up things the salesman never mentioned, as he's usually just talking car price.

[Grey Ghost]

I didn't always have the Internet when I bought cars. I am 50 years old now and a large part of my life I bought new cars without being able to research prices.

I grew up in the car business. My Dad worked most his life for GM. One thing I learned is that dealers get a lot of options for free based on how many they buy of each model of cars. So you should always be able to get them to come down around 1k off the price they are asking. Unless there is a sale going on. Then it may be hard to get them off their price.

Use the internet to see what other people are paying. Also use the Internet to get prices from dealers within a few hours from you as well. You can pit other dealers against each other and get a good price.

Don't tell a dealer what you want your payment to be. Keep that to yourself and see if the deal that you make will get you close to the payment you want to make on your own.

Biggest thing I can recommend is to not rush into buying a car. Plan your new car purchase ahead of time. Save money for a down payment. Don't tell a dealer upfront how much you are planning on putting down. They sometimes will pad things to absorb your down payment. I recommend saving at least 5k before you buy a new car. Put 3 - 4k down on he car and keep 1k in your savings in case something happens and you need to make a car payment or two from that stash. A car is a crucial item for employment so in case you lose your job, you may need to make a payment or two before finding a new job. The stash will keep you from losing your car in between jobs.

Biggest thing you should do before buying a new car is to go in prepared. Do research on the Internet beforehand, go in knowing what you want and are willing to pay. The 2nd half of the year is a good time for buying. Dealers need to clear out older inventory. Year end is good as well, dealers have to pay tax on cars they still retain during tax time. So after Christmas is a good time to buy.

Make sure you have saved up a good down payment. Going in with zero money down allows some dealers to use this to make you feel like they are doing you a favor selling you a car. Plus most lenders like to see at least a 20% down payment or more. This can give you a better interest rate as well.

Read the contract before you agree to anything. Look at the numbers. Question everything.

I researched, I had a good down payment, I bought a 2012 right before the 2013's were available for ordering and I went in during a sale at the dealer. I got the price down to where I wanted it, I got a few free options, and my monthly payment actually was lower than where I wanted it to be.

[RiCorvette]

I've probably been hosed on all car purchases except the last 3, which I rate 'acceptable' but not 'fantastic', except the Acura TL - I traded in a really low mile Honda Pilot (lease) and was given 'equity' for the low miles; I had a few months left on the lease, which I didn't have to pay, plus I was given a credit for really low miles.
I never new about 'equity' in a leased vehicle.

The worst was probably trading in an 03 Ram 1500 for an 07 - not much $$$ for the trade in.

In ref to the above: "how much do you want your payment to be?" is met with a smirk and a laugh - and "0!", but I'll settle for the
lowest interest rate possible.
Another favorite tactic: "what's it gonna take to get you into a vehicle today?" is countered with:
"oh, you got a 50% off coupon in your pocket, do ya?"


Internet research is a Godsend, even after the fact: I helped my daughter buy a used car. The price seemed reasonable and the deal was struck, but I did ask if a better price could be had for cash and was rejected.
We paid cash anyway and left with the vehicle. Later that day, I was doing some research and came across the SAME car, on the dealer's website for $1000 less! I called to complain and was rewarded with the $1000 refund. Internet research is a Godsend, even after the fact.

[northshore2ss]

Was hosed a couple times when I was a kid(49 now)Last few cars I bought have been 1 or 2 year old used.My '10 2ss had only 5100 miles when I bought in 1/2012,plus original
In service date was 4/11 so I'm covered under bumper to bumper until 4/2014(won't have 36k miles)Paid 28k,so someone else took first year 20-25% depreciation.My main advice is-Never fall in love with one particular car,use autotrader/cars.com ect to search up to 100 miles away,you then usually have several to choose from,don't settle for anything other than exactly what you want.Then do price research using mfg build your own/kbb ect to confirm trim level/ options/orig msrp of what y our interested in.Check the Carfax.Ignore the asking price in the add,go to kbb.com to find out trade value is(most likely dealer paid a lot less,so this should be starting point in price negotiations)Then go to one of he online banks(cap one/pen fed ect) and get per approved for financing, that way you already know what you can afford, and what apr you qualify for.Once I've completed these steps,and have narrowed choices to a couple cars,I call the dealership,ask to speak to an Internet sales manager,and discuss the vehicle with him/her.When discussing vehicle,I reiterate Im a serious buyer,I've researched pricing ,and I'm prequalifed for financing .Usually get best price right then,and have it emailed to me.When you arrive at dealer give car complete go over,and take. Good long test drive .If not exacta lily what you want,don't be afraid to walk.Cars are a dime a dozen.If you want this one,and price is right,you will then sit down with the finance manager.Be very careful,they are going to really bang your head to sell overpriced warrentys,paint protection/interior care ect.Unless it is a factory cpo warranty,you can do much better on our own,plus if vehicle is only a couple years old,your still covered under factory warrentys .Since your already pre approved at an online bank,ask finance manager to beat their rate.Just remember your in control at very step,you can walk at any time.I hope I'm not being long winded, but I've done really wall last 5 times buying cars.I get crazed when I read these horror story's of peeps getting screwed.

[STW]

You paid the right price if you got the car you wanted.

Do people that just bought a Cruze, Altima, Silverado, Impala, Jeep Wrangler, etc....have this problem?

Better go check the Altima forum