Cash for Clockers (yes a bit different take)

Hmm...my salesman can't even be contacted.

On the 2nd day of CFC he quoted me a price and said he is getting the car (3rd and 4th day he said the same thing)...now I see the car is available immediately on their website, but for the last 3 days he has avoided my calls and not returned my messages. I believe what has happened is that with the success of CFC, he no longer wants to sell the car for the price ($200 off MSRP) we originally agreed on. Just for the heck of it, I talked to another salesman at the same place and he came back with a price around $1500 higher....I asked him about the price given by my original salesman and he said "that's not realistic." It's a shame that someone would treat a customer like this. The least he could do is call back and say they can no longer honor that price.

 

screw the dealers, especially toyota. they treat you like king and queens when times are tough. yet when demand comes back, they treat you like a piece of meat like we owe them

 

I might be in the exception, but I don't agree with the undervalued and under compensated floor salespeople comment.

I myself don't really need them. Maybe some people do? I bought my Prius from a person who knew much less about the car than I did, couldn't follow simple instructions (don't call my phone unless its an emergency; I work 3rd shift and sleep during the day), so I get multiple stupid calls while I'm trying to sleep, then after the deal is done the salesperson requires that I drive her around the parking lot so I can prove I know how to work the shifter. She then used this time to try and corner me and tell me why she deserves a 100 on the evaluation and I explained I just wanted her out of my car so I could go home and go to sleep.

one of there mechanics told me that you will never have to jump the Prius, it will start off its traction battery if the regular battery is dead. But after insisting showed me how to hook the jumper cables up tot he 12V battery, after I asked him if there was a jump point under the hood, he said no. Toyota certified, you betcha!

I wish Walmat sold cars so I could simply research what I want, go in see the price and buy it off the rack.

 

Not all dealers/salespersons are bad by any means - there are many who earn our business. And they deserve to make a decent living.

But some certainly are. The dealer closest to me now has, for the second time, the exact car that I wanted (online inventory). But they haven't even bothered to call me. We were $400 apart the first time and they were so offended that I didn't accept their offer that they told me to take my business elsewhere a few days later. I can guarantee I was not confrontational with them at all (I know there is no way to get the best deal that way).

 

Selling cars is a tough way to make a living. You can lose a deal over $100 even after spending many hours on it.The salespeople have zero say in what the vehicle can be sold for.

I suspect that actual on the lot salespeople will become obsolete.It is cheaper for a dealer to have a few online salespeople then to have 20 salespeople on the lot. Of course dealers probably tell their salespeople this,and use this to drive down their pay and benefits.Yes, folks will say,"let them get another job" but that isn't so easy in this economy.

Tough job
Charlie

 

I did a c4c deal on Thursday (also paying cash-well a personal check) for a prius that had just come in and was sitting on the lot but not prepped for delivery yet. They told me to pick up the car Friday (yesterday). After all the hoopla Thursday night I was very afraid they wouldn't release the car to me on Friday, until after things with c4c had sorted out. But it was no problem. I now have the car and they have a personal check from me which hasn't been cashed and an IOU of sorts from the government. I guess I was lucky, but I really liked this dealer in Costa Mesa, Ca. I got straight MSRP.

 

I completely agree with Cossie and WaterbedWarrior regarding dealers, their attitudes and their usefulness in the buying process. I would prefer a Walmart approach where I could research the vehicles myself and just pay the Invoice price + shipping direct to the manufacturer.
I also agree with Midpack that not all dealers/salespeople are scumsuckers, but I have run into enough bad ones in my lifetime that I have no plans to purchase from a dealer (used or new) again. Cash for Clunkers lured me back into the new car showroom, but the dealer wasn't interested in working to earn my business, so I won't be participating. On a brighter note, a whole flood of economical cars will be hitting the used car market in a few years.

 

I have purchased enough cars and owned enough cars to know what the drills are, so I get really pissed when they tried to play games with me. I thought I did well this time, but I still ended up getting screwed with a $168 VIN itch fee and $100 for scrap value.

 

I think so too. Some people may have bought a car they really wont like in order to get the full $4500 credit. Also, after this is over, around 1 million people will have taken on additional debt - in this economy, many of those people may end up needing to sell. In another year, I bet there will be some very good deals on slightly used Prii.

 

I don't believe that because most people traded in their giant SUVs for a $15-20K car. Most didn't go back and get another $30-35K SUV.

Also most banks tighten up their lending policy, you are not buying a $30K car when you are making $15/hr

 

mine was held a week for me while I was on vacation. When I got back, the deal took 90 minutes, and I drove away with my car. No problems. Go to Dan Cava's Toyota World in Fairmont, WV!