Car dealer rant

Well the Ford Escape is a goner. I have been shopping for a replacement vehicle for daughter. I wanted to get her something decent without breaking the bank. I wanted some of the latest safety features and with the targeted vehicle being a 4-5 year old compact SUV the choices were pretty much limited to the higher end models. She has a month on the rental so I should have put off my search but I found the perfect vehicle for her. It is a white Rav4 Limited and just a few miles from the house. I told her since she does not wash and wax a vehicle like she should then there is no choice of colors. Internet price is $15k so I offer $14k. Now I know of the tricks that some dealers pull these days and I even mentioned some to the sales guy. What does he do but come back with $16.2k which includes dealer prep $598, air in tires (a.k.a. nitrogen)- $299, & windshield coverage - $299 (new one on me). I told the dude that we have other choices and reminded him that the vehicle has been on his lot for a month+. After some haggling I got him close to my price. Now comes finances turn. We will give you x rate if you buy our 2 year warranty. Once the dude got the message that I want the rate but not the warranty the contract goes in to the printer. I get it and start checking it. Well the purchase price has been jacked up by $255. I felt like telling the dude that I did not fall of the turnip wagon yesterday. After some discussions centered on the merits of dealer add ons he figured out that someone had added paint protection. I just sat there thinking about how many people these places rape every day.

You can’t blame them for trying

I agree but I also know how it works. That's the only way these guys can make any money. If they don't add anything on at all they make $100 tops.

So I they sell 20 cars a day 5 days a week, they make $10 K a week ?

Maybe at Ford dealerships!

I don't think that an average car salesman closes 20 car deals a day. Or do you mean the dealership as a whole?

Stump, I worked as a car salesman many moons ago and quit because of the practices you describe. There were days that I could've sold 2 or 3 cars and gotten a $100 to $200 commission on each one. But the sales manager wanted to add on all these things, and most of the customers would leave. Lemme do the math here ... no sale, times commission rate, plus zero ...

I didn’t know that.

I mistakenly thought sneaking and adding additional charges onto the financial paperwork (that had never been approved by the buyer), hoping that the buyer wouldn’t catch it was unethical. Now knowing that this is what must be done to turn a business profitable - I will now re-consider my stance.

the National car average sold is 8 cars a month by a person. when i was in the car business at a Ford dealership i typically averaged 15 cars a month and the least we made on a car deal was 150.00. not counting the countless hours we worked and being away from are family cause all we did was work. the Money was good but i took a huge pay cut to take a mon-fri job 8-5 so i can spend time with my family cause it seemed the only family i had was the dealership. great job if you are single and want to make some money

I have a novel idea. Price the vehicle where you need to be to make a profit and skip the BS add ons. I feel for car sales people. Always working Saturdays (probably 12+ hours). Lots of down time during week and then dealing with GP. Also dealing with people like me who fight them tooth and nail on every stupid add on. They know I am right when I call the add ons worthless but they have to lie, smile, and swear they have value. Do you really expect me to come to the dealer for nitrogen I I need a little air in my tire?\

Dealer has to be making money in the repair shop with what they charge.

I sold cars for 3 months in the internet era and when I saw the top guys paycheck I decided to quit. He sold like 30 new cars a month and made 45K a year. Worked 6 days a week.

He should have padded more sales invoices with charges the buyers didn’t know about.

They wear you down because they think you want the car.
Go back and restart the process at $13,000 + TT&L.
Bring your daughter with you so she can see and experience the car buying process. She needs a couple of print outs of similar vehicles at other dealerships in hand so the salesman can see them. When it is not going well, she is allowed to say "Come on Dad, let's go to ________ and look at the red one."

When they bring up the add-ons:
1) Tell them to suck the nitrogen out of the tires and put air in there. It should only take 10 minutes and they can do it while you are in the finance office closing.
2) Tell them you are willing to risk going without windshield warranty because your daughter drives a safe distance behind all vehicles.
3) Tell them you are willing to risk going without interior fabric warranty because your daughter and her friends never eat or drink in a moving vehicle.
4) Explain to them what TT&L is (sales Tax paid to the state, Title fee paid to state and License fee paid to state. Then tell them $13,000 covers their dealer preparation fee, the dealer inventory tax and the dealer documentation fee.

I have found it helps to eat a small meal just before walking into the dealership. I can put up with more BS if my stomach is full. If I am hungry, I won't last 30 minutes and will walk out on them.

I like this. A power move from a Power Lizard.

Yes, you can and I do. It’s a ridiculous practice.

I agree with Stump Jumper.

Lawyers > car salesmen

Not from my perspective these days...

Nitrogen has to be the biggest scam foisted on the public since the tulip mania. $299.00 for air? My daughter bought a Honda a while back and every car at the dealer had the same add ons. They were pinstriping and window tint, and molded mud flaps on each wheel.

Tony at Moritz is the most honest salesman I've ever worked with buying a car. Upfront and honest while being crystal clear on the price he can sell it for so you get a deal while giving the company a fair profit.

I tried selling cars when I was between jobs back in the late 80s, and was pretty good at it. Was salesman of the month for seven straight months after I had been there for 3-4 months.

They promoted me to finance manager and that's where I really found out how shady and unethical the car business was. Hiding charges from the customer in the paperwork. Lying to them about the finance charges, buying warranties and insurance.

I did it for about three months, walked into the owner's office on a Saturday morning, tossed the keys to my demo on his desk and quit.

If I remember correctly Costco will install nitrogen in your tires for $8.00 per tire.