After deciding on a carto buy, the next step was to talk to car salespersons. I visited a dealership on the first day of its advertised two-day sale (Friday, July 24). This was near the end of the month, when salespersons are said to be trying to meet monthly quotas. After a drive around the block in a Corolla, I submitted an offer.
The salesperson wrote it up to take in to the manager. Good thing I brought in my Build and Price sheet as a reference. She made a calculation error and the price came out over a hundred dollars higher than it should have been (so it looked like I was asking for a lower discount).
Another surprise was a $299 registration fee (plus tax) charged by the dealer. This was not disclosed in the Build and Price tool. When I complained, she answered that all the others dealers in the area were charging it (implying there was no avoiding it).
As she got up to take the offer in to the manager, she asked for my credit card. What for, I thought to myself. I havent agreed to buy the car yet. So I replied: I’d rather not. She left without it.
The managers counteroffer was $550 off (with the 0% financing). And the colour was not on the lot so there would be an undefined period of time waiting for delivery. The latter was a concern (a friend had waited over two months to have his car delivered). I left, saying I would get back to them after talking to my wife.
That same day, I phoned another dealership with a two-day sale over the same period. They said they could do better because they were smaller and had lower overhead — offering $800 off. And yes, they had the preferred colour on site.
To be continued …
Blogs & Comment
Buying a new car (III)
By Larry MacDonald
After deciding on a carto buy, the next step was to talk to car salespersons. I visited a dealership on the first day of its advertised two-day sale (Friday, July 24). This was near the end of the month, when salespersons are said to be trying to meet monthly quotas. After a drive around the block in a Corolla, I submitted an offer.
The salesperson wrote it up to take in to the manager. Good thing I brought in my Build and Price sheet as a reference. She made a calculation error and the price came out over a hundred dollars higher than it should have been (so it looked like I was asking for a lower discount).
Another surprise was a $299 registration fee (plus tax) charged by the dealer. This was not disclosed in the Build and Price tool. When I complained, she answered that all the others dealers in the area were charging it (implying there was no avoiding it).
As she got up to take the offer in to the manager, she asked for my credit card. What for, I thought to myself. I havent agreed to buy the car yet. So I replied: I’d rather not. She left without it.
The managers counteroffer was $550 off (with the 0% financing). And the colour was not on the lot so there would be an undefined period of time waiting for delivery. The latter was a concern (a friend had waited over two months to have his car delivered). I left, saying I would get back to them after talking to my wife.
That same day, I phoned another dealership with a two-day sale over the same period. They said they could do better because they were smaller and had lower overhead — offering $800 off. And yes, they had the preferred colour on site.
To be continued …