Car Buying Stories

[wickll]

Years ago, had an old timer from my town go to a dealer to by a truck . He wore old overalls and looked pretty back woods. When he went to finish the deal he asked if they’d take a check. They told him they’d have to call the bank to see if it was good. They called the bank. Bank officer told the dealer if he wanted to buy the dang Dealership, take the check.!!! Don’t judge a book by its cover.


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I am originally from Hallettsville and I heard that story as well. But the way I heard it, he and his wife actually started arguing over which color truck to get . So he said hell, he would buy both. That's when they decided to call the bank. Great story, and I remember seeing that old timer at the sale barn on occasion. I know who you are talking about.

[mdb]

I am originally from Hallettsville and I heard that story as well. But the way I heard it, he and his wife actually started arguing over which color truck to get . So he said hell, he would buy both. That's when they decided to call the bank. Great story, and I remember seeing that old timer at the sale barn on occasion. I know who you are talking about.

Lol. I bet you’re right.


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[Huntindad]

There use to be a dealer in Victoria that would throw your keys on the roof of the dealership.

My neighbor bought a new truck last year and the dealer ask what do you owe on your trade-in. He said 38. Dang don't know if we can get that much for your truck. You have to understand he farms and builds fence for a living and never cleans out or washes his truck. He found a truck he wanted and they started working the deal. The salesman and manager did their bs stuff finally gave him 38 for his trade in and this is the final price. My neighbor said he'll take the deal and is paying cash and thanks for the good trade in. The salesman said we had to really work to get your payoff. My neighbor laughed and he said his payoff was only $38 dollars not $38,000. He said this was the best deal he ever got.

Good for him.

[Burnadell]

The Saturn was my very first car to buy myself. Sure I was dumb LOL

Again if you don't know the holdback you don't know if you're getting a great deal, average deal, or completely ripped off.

What if they doubled or tripled their holdback since the last time you bought a car?

It's been said on this thread.. I don't mind them making money off me but we all know they try and rape everyone the max they can.... So why wouldn't or shouldn't we try to get the best deal we can?

I'm going to try and get their invoice on a Tacoma tomorrow. See if they show it to me.

I don't know the exact amount of the holdback, but I know it is enough for a dealer to make a reasonable gross profit margin on a new car. Not many small businesses can operate on as thin GROSS profit margins, and I understand enough about their business models to know that they have to sell enough vehicles with larger margins to offset those sales that are much thinner. They have tremendous overheads with have to be paid from the gross selling margins. The floorplan interest expense on millions of dollars in inventory can eat up their profits if they keep the vehicle too long, and if the manufacturer finances their floorplan, the holdback can be eaten up with interest expense. At least it used to be that way, and I don't think it has changed much.

[ctom87]

I’m shocked at how many people are willing to sit around for 45 minutes or more. I value my time way more than that!

Interesting.

In my story, I mentioned it took me 45 minutes to save an additional $1,500 off the sticker. The whole process took me 2 hours, ultimately saving me $4,500.

Breaking that down, the 45 minutes is a savings of $2,000 per hour of my time, and the 2 hours it took to get everything done saved me $2,225 per hour.

That is absolutely, 100%, worth my time every time! I'd rather do the research myself, find the vehicle I want myself, know the value of the truck I want because of the research I've done, walk in and say "I won't pay more than X". If they say no, walk out.

I don't like dealing with salesmen. This cuts all the crap out. And I know there are some on here, and there are some that are honest. Unforunately, they're in a business that they are the minority, so I'd rather do everything myself.

Edit: Interesting fact...The day that I bought the truck I looked up KBB and I could have sold it private party for $3,000 more than I paid.

[trophy8]

The most important thing is know what you are willing to spend and don’t spend a dime extra. Shop every dealer in the area over the internet. Play them against each other. It helps to know what the vehicle cost is and what they are selling for in the market. Don’t be afraid to check out of state dealers also.

If you don’t have the time or desire to go through all of that because it is a pain in the ***, call Tony Gutierrez at Jerry’s Chevrolet in Weatherford. He is the ONLY sales person I spoke to that I felt shot me a fair price the first time.


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Yep. Bought my 2018 Silverado from Tony when he was at Moritz in November 2018. Sticker was $49k. No haggling. Paid $33,400 plus TT&L. Added a 100k bumper to bumper warranty for $1200. I don’t think I’ll buy another warranty but I plan on keeping the truck a long time so I did it. Smoking deal. Easy transaction all over the phone. Tony is great.

[R.W.T]

How do I get local dealers to complete ? I want a new 2019 Chevrolet 2500 work truck. I probably have to order it since it’s 2020

[Mike]

Years ago, had an old timer from my town go to a dealer to by a truck . He wore old overalls and looked pretty back woods. When he went to finish the deal he asked if they’d take a check. They told him they’d have to call the bank to see if it was good. They called the bank. Bank officer told the dealer if he wanted to buy the dang Dealership, take the check.!!! Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Same story in Southeast Texas and I know the fellow. Wore overalls with no shirt when he wasn't working. Looked like Phil Robertson, huge beard, tall and backwoods. He was a plant hand that probably has most every penny he earned and very stockmarket savvy. He rolled into a dealership, wanted a truck and car for the wife and the salesman just blew him off. Told them I am writing a check and they just laughed.

He purchased down the road and drove right back up there with the 2 new vehicles to show off to the GM and salesman.

[RascalArms]

I buy a new truck at least every year:

Shop online... trust me...

First and foremost, pick out exactly what you want. You may need to go in for a drive to figure this part out.

Once you have what you want, shop online. Find several dealers that have what you want. Make the compete.

^^^This^^^
Way too easy of a process with the internet nowadays. Know what you want, research pricing and just cut to the chase. Make sure you address the hidden fees right up front....the ones with the dealer add-ons, destination charges, documentation fees, etc. That’s all just fluff BS!
Once they run your credit report and it’s solid.....you are in the driver’s seat. No pun intended. You’d be surprised how much dealerships have to deal with a customers that can’t afford the vehicle they are looking at. Once they have one they know has the income and credit to purchase they want to close you. My biggest advice is be willing and prepared TO WALK....then walk!

The only other issue is dealing with a trade-in if applicable. I try to avoid that by selling my vehicle to a private buyer beforehand and avoid that nut-kick process if at all possible.

[BigCohiba]

Start at invoice and work your way up - not sticker and work your way down. I also make a point of walking out at least once. I’ve done it a few times on occasion. Just helped my son buy his first financed vehicle. We actually drove off the lot. A mile down the road the sales manager called. Turned around and went back. Beat them down a bit more for making us have to leave the lot. It’s a game.

[locolobo]

Back in '08 the wife needed a new car. I had a subscription to Consumer Report @ the time and they had a service where they would help you understand pricing, actual dealer cost in your area and give you a negotiation starting price on the vehicle you were looking to buy.
Went to dealer, looked @ a few cars and told salesman if he's not the man to negotiate with then let me talk to the man who can, no middle man.. He said he will negotiate.
He told me his price and I told him mine, which was $1000 below what CR suggested as a starting negotiating price. Salesman said "Done". My first thought was " I Coulda gotten it cheaper"

[tdbduckhunter]

What is your best advise for used cars or trucks?

[Roy Munson]

Give me your best stories on someone going into a dealer and getting an awesome price for a vehicle!

Been looking at getting a new silverado, ive watched videos on how to negotiate with dealers and how to watch for bogus fees, etc. Hearing some of the stories online was really interesting. Post up your story.

And specifically if you bought a 19 or 20 silverado send me a pm if you think you made a good deal. I dont want to get ripped off and I dont want to rip anyone else off either.

Read this guys stuff

james bragg fighting chance

Car dealers have inflated invoice price to a point that it’s meaningless. If you pay invoice you are getting raped. It’s a false number. As an example, in 2002 I paid 34k for a car whose sticker price was 45k. Invoice was 34k. If you look at invoice prices now they are complete bull****. Invoice is listed at 2 thousand less than MSRP. It’s all a lie. True Car is a farce as well.

[DOUBLE-Z]

any new stories from the last year?

[Johnny Dangerr]

We paid 9K over sticker June. Whee...