Crazy salesman/car purchase story
 

This weekend I was shopping for my FR-S. I went to 6 dealers who all gave me the same pure price Scion BS. At one of the dealerships the car sales man gave me ridiculous reasons listed below.

-Get the car because it has a black interior. Why? For when you pickup women and if they are on their period you won't get any stains.
-Tells me how many bitches I can pick up at boba/coffee shops if I get this car.
-Tells me I can put a stage 7 turbo in the car because of all the room in the engine bay.
-When I sat in the car he kept pressuring me to give him my phone so he can take a picture of me inside the car.
-I was torn between a white or red for the FR-S, he then went to explain why I should choose white and the theory behind women being attracted white things like iphones...

The last straw was when he challenged my knowledge of the car with his manager which tried to talk down on me. Made a big scene and left. Fuck that shit.

Next day went to another dealership had them pull the car from that dealer and got almost $3000 off the MSRP. As I was signing the papers, the creepy car salesman called to see if I wanted to come by again for the car. Told him I just bought one and got $3000 off the MSRP and that they missed their chance because they weren't willing to budge a cent. He said we can give you $5000 off if you come right now. He starts explaining how the sales manager is new and didn't know anything. I said right... that's why I've seen him there both times my dad was looking to buy a Toyota over the coarse of 20+ years. He hung up lol.

Sales people are a completely different breed. I work at a dealership and we see all kinds. You can be the biggest whackjob/weirdo but as long as you sell cars and don't get any complaints you stay.

Hate to break it to you but that applies to all jobs not just salespeople. Just insert "does a good job" in place of "sell cars and it could be anything.

Everything he said was indeed stupid. However, that first one has forever put him in the creepy column. Who in their right mind would even think about that while they are trying to sell a car. I hope you wore gloves with your initial handshake.

Hey man we're just nice people who have an unconditional love for In-N-Out, avocados, & surfing. Hahah

Or "I'm a people person". :bellyroll:

Salesguy sounds like a total loser. I wonder how he has managed to survive in sales.

The $3000 discount boggles my mind if it is a Scion unless they have quietly lifted that pure price policy now that Scion is ending. Even so, they don't have that much margin in the car itself.

Having to visit 6 dealerships sounds very extreme, mind you that discount is huge.

Pure Price had nothing at all to do with charging MSRP. Nothing.
There was nothing ever saying that dealers were tied to that or any other price. All Pire Price meant was they had to have the same price on all forms of advertising for each individual car. If they wanted to sell black ones for $25K and white ones for $30K they could.


You are correct though that there is not much margin so $3K under MRSP would have probably cost them money.

2017's Toyotas are out(or out this week). 3k off msrp off last years model....

Pure Policy policy states that they must sell for the advertised price. No secret one time deals. I have NEVER seen a Scion advertised with a discount.

I am guessing the markup at retail on these cars (except accessories) is around 9% tops (or less). So in the US a $25K car has just over $2K markup.

Dealers often get money back in lieu of interest carrying cost if the car doesn't stay in inventory long. There can be other internal manufacturer incentives to move product as well.

So, $3K sounds like bullshit. I am in sales and I have never shopped for the holy grail deal where there isn't a dime of profit left. My dad used to joke that I would probably offer them more money out of sympathy for the salesperson. LOL

Some people are just better or more determined to get the lowest possible price. Good for them. I just don't want to find out I payed more than most everybody else for the same thing. In a sense the Pure Price is supposed to prevent that.

I can't stand to deal with dealerships. I always do my research before inquiring about a car. Then I send out emails to all the dealerships. Basically how I buy most of my cars.

Once I narrow it down to one dealership. Financial details are mostly done. I try to get in and out.

i'm inclined to call shens.

https://i.imgur.com/OgU2g.jpg

I've had 2 experiences with scion dealer, one was cool and let me test drive the car by myself. I went in to the dealer to look at the FRS when it was new and they only had automatics and the salesman said "u can take it for a test drive if you want, just leave the keys with the lady at the front desk when you come back" because they were almost closing. No pressure to buy there or anything.

Second time was a different dealer the salesman was a typical bad frs salesman. He didn't know much about the car, told me how tricky the clutch was and be careful. I dont really remember the test drive because he didn't let me push it and only took me on a highway during rush hour. After the test drive I was late to get home so I was in a hurry, the guy kept trying to show me videos of a stock frs drifting and was like look what it can do stock!! It wasn't a terrible experience but it was clear he was desperate for a sale, even though I stated I was there only to look

But I test drove a BRZ last weekend with my dad, the salesman was in the back seat lol. He knew a surprising amount about the car despite it being at a BMW dealer. We got back to the dealer and I thanked him and told him I have a couple more cars to look at, he brought the sales manager over to talk to me. And this was a younger guy but he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Told me "if youre looking for a car to drive year round this one would be best because of the AWD". Even if this car was AWD the ground clearance would be a limiting factor..but they gave me an info sheet for the car and in bold letters at top it said "BRZ RWD COUPE". I saw the original salesman awkwardly look at the manager and gave him a "you just fucked up my sale look..."

Was he 14 years old or what?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL That was my very first thought as well!

@mirin_gains one thing I have noticed myself was echoed in your post, where you mention the BMW dealer's sales person knew more about the car than Subie/Yota salespeople. I personally think that if these cars were sold alongside 1/3 Series coupes, Porsches, and such they would actually SELL. Toyobaru sales just don't have a clue how to market a vehicle that doesn't fit the bulk of their target demographic...
It's fun having a car that's like a guarded secret society thing, but in the long run I think we know what happens to "niche" vehicles.

So rude and they don't warm you about having a white dog at home before buying.

The salesman might have had a bad experience early in life.

http://new1.fjcdn.com/comments/Lt+lt...b6d4ffb0b7.jpg

Please tell me you've actually watched "The Californians" skit on SNL!!!

Every one of them. Many twice.

subscribed to this thread, this seems like a very interesting thread http://juragan.club/1/g.png

I have bought all of my new cars without test driving them. I do all my own research then when I have made my decision I will go into the nearest car yard and tell the salesman the car, colour, engine and trim level I want and ask if he has it or can get it. then let him know how much I'm willing to pay.

obviously they want to squeeze every penny out of customers but if you are realistic with your price and realise the margins they are making on that particular vehicle it makes the process easier for everyone.

the contract is signed and paid for usually within half an hour and everyone is happy. I get the car I want at the price I want and the salesman gets his commission for only 30 minutes of work.

I can see the frustration of dealing with tyre kickers and window shoppers all day so I try to be the type of customer that I would like to sell to if I were a salesman

I tried that and no dice, it was like pulling teeth. I didn't even try to haggle I even said upfront "I'll put down a deposit and wait for it to get here, I'll pay MSRP" and I just got shrugs or excuses.

:iono:

All my local salesmen imo seem to have a one item agenda: get them in a car today. "How about a TC?" "Oh I can give you a discount on our overpriced clear bra automatic car you don't want!" "Oh no, you can't have that car without leather, all our cars get leather seats (read: seat covers) installed! What a bargain for you! Why wouldn't you want overpriced fake leather seat (covers)?" "What you have a problem with this touchscreen head unit we're saying is worth $4k that you just found on Amazon for $499?"

Sorry, still bitter.

:cheers:

It's true though, bitches love white cars.

San Jose to Chicago holler!



My sales experience at Northside Toyota/Scion in Chicago was so incredibly bad, I stopped calling the dealer and started calling NA, and then the dealer stopped responding to NA.


demerits:

delivered car that was damaged
attempted fix - didn't fix
second attempt at fix - successful paint repair
hand car back to me missing wheel cap - claim that it is not their fault - car had 394 miles on it.


Honestly, the way I was treated has turned me off from the brand entirely. I am only here as I love the CAR - I despise the brand's treatment so much that once the lease is up, I am gone. I was told that I was not used to the car yet. That I had to learn the car.

I am not asking to be treated like royalty. Do not speak down to me more than three times....

LOL, no. Pure Price is not about leveling the playing field. It has the same purpose as the "no haggle pricing" at Carmax. It's an easy marketing ploy to pull more money out of the vast number of people who are uncomfortable with the traditional negotiation process. People are willing to pay more money (while believing the nonsense claims that the car is already advertised at the lowest price possible) in order to avoid the perceived stress and uncertainty of negotiating.

People are so afraid of getting screwed that they'll simply choose to believe a car dealer that says, "Just trust us. We won't screw you."

When I bought my car, the BRZ had a higher MSRP than the FR-S, yet Edmunds and KBB showed that the average price actually being paid was significantly less for the BRZ. That was because of Pure Price. People who didn't want to negotiate for a better price would just go into the Scion dealer and accept what they were fed. It made for weird conversations about how I was driving a "more expensive" version of the car that I actually paid less for.

I don't blame them. Haggling about price feels medieval.

I've always had good friendly from the service departments when I bring my car in to different dealerships, but recently while I was bringing the car in for service at a local dealership (not the dealership I bought from) the salesmen seemed rude towards my presence.

However as far as my buying experience for my BRZ was super easy, I called the dealership, arranged to check out the car that day, they had the car sitting outside ready for a test drive. My salesman at the dealership in Clarksville TN was fun and direct and didn't give me any BS.

That's why I don't haggle. I negotiate. Haggling is just quarreling over price, whereas negotiating is a science and an art. The reason haggling is stressful is that it involves no clear goals. You're just arguing with no sense of when or whether you have received a good deal. Negotiating involves setting a goal, identifying a range of acceptable outcomes and then working toward them. You know when you've gotten what you wanted, and you also know when you should walk away. Haggling is emotional, whereas negotiating is cerebral.

Several years ago I was introduced to two great books on negotiating:

You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen - This book explains negotiation strategies and tactics. When you read it, you'll start to notice tactics explained in the books being used around you all the time in everyday interactions. Although it's not specific to buying cars, you'll recognize every single tactic car salesmen use. Once you realize what they're doing, many of the tactics lose a lot of their effectiveness, and you also learn how to prepare to neutralize the others.

Winning Through Intimidation by Robert Ringer - Contrary to the title, this book is actually about avoiding being intimidated by other people. Here again, once you read the book, you'll notice people doing little stupid things to intimidate each other on a daily basis. There are a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle intimidation tactics used by car salesmen. As with the negotiation tactics, recognizing them for what they are can take away their power. In fact, sometimes recognizing that someone is trying to intimidate you actually shifts the power to you instead, because it can reveal things they don't want you to know.

I would strongly suggest both of those books to anybody about to buy a car. Knowing what's in them will take 99% of the stress out of the process and, for some people, will add a lot of fun to the whole experience.

When I bought my car, it wasn't stressful at all. I did my research on the supply in the area and went in knowing what I expected to pay. I didn't have a trade. I already had financing in place. So their regular schemes weren't available to them.

When I made it clear I wanted to buy a car (and after we had dispensed with the trade and financing nonsense), the salesman made an offer. I countered. Then we agreed. I was willing to pay more. I think I could have actually gotten it for less. But the final result was in my acceptable range with no drama or stress at all.

Or I could have gone across town and paid $1700 more for an FR-S, knowing full well I had been cheated but pretending that I got the "best price" because the dealership told me I did. To me, that would have been more stressful, always suspecting that I got screwed.

When is a deal not a deal?
 

February this year I went and had a look at a mid 2015 GT grey (stripped down FRS style but without interior padding and silver accents) ex demo with 2+ks, I was just looking at the colour and spec really but a portly salesman guaranteed me they would finance me it for under 29k aud (GT is new around 33k).
My interest was of course piqued, as it was closing time when I looked I gave them my number to call me the next day.
Next day I get the call from a douchey sounding salesman telling me the lowest they can do is 32k.
I told him good luck finding someone else to ripoff.

I last checked out of interest in may, still there with over 10ks on it.

You can't make this stuff up...
 

When I was shopping for my car, I test drove a used BRZ Limited at my local Toyota/Scion dealer...

He helpfully explained that the Subaru BRZ was different than the FRS because in the Subaru the engine spins the opposite direction for more power.:rolleyes:

Last January, I went to a few local subaru dealers (Canada) to get some information on the BRZ Hyperblue availability.
"The Hyperwhat? Huh no it's not coming to Canada..." was the message.

Ended up buying a barely used whiteout FR-S Monogram a few weeks later.

Guess what Subaru Canada announced 3 months after I bought the car? The Hikari edition. (Hyperblue + STi strut brace).

Not a crazy story, but an annoying one.

I usually stop at one dealership for test drive. then negotiate price through e-mail but most of them asking me to see in person to give price i want. i go then they say oh we cant do that and this because blah blah blah....lol hate dealership..

That is only true in the Southern Hemisphere!

when i went shopping for the fr-s ..i told the sales straight up saying i spoke to other dealerships already and they promised me they would beat your price so give me your best numbers

sales rep was like oh sh!t man we can't compete with that and i said well just give me your best numbers and if i like we will proceed...they ended up giving me ridiculous numbers and i left and went to the other dealerships

it's a game you need to play with them

Question...DID you actually talk to other dealers first?
When I was in retail I found that to be the most despicable buyers technique. I have no problem with anyone doing the rounds, but lying is ridiculous at any time.
If someone said that to me, I would just tell them rrp and leave it at that, not caring if the person was for real because "any price will be beaten" anyway so why care?
If someone said "hey I'm just looking for the best price and I'm going to do the rounds or I've done the rounds" then I would give them what I could, and then tell them if they found a better price to let me know and I'd see if I could match.
But the way I see it, is if I'm happy with a price presented to me, I'll take it. Simple as that.

I am a car salesperson and I take pride in not playing "games" with customers. I build rapport on honesty and knowledge. If I say something about the price...it's the truth. If I say something as a fact for the car/engine/power/availability...it's a fact.

And people love it.

Not “Twins” specific but salesman related.
Last summer the wife decided she wanted to trade her 2011 STi Sport Tech hatch in on a left over 2015 STi Sport Tech sedan. Her reasoning being that she’d get a discount on the “soon to be one model year old” sedan plus better trade-in value for her hatch.

We went to our dealer on a Saturday in August. They had a 2015 WRB STi sitting out front. However, the store was closed. No signs, no notice of why just nobody around. So we left.
The following Tuesday I stopped in and learned they are closed every Saturday in August. Nice to let the public know, eh? Also, the STi was sitting around the side of the building waiting to be picked up having just been dealer traded. The wife didn’t find another 2015 STi’s close so she decided to wait for a 2016.
In the mean time she had done her own appraisal on her trade. A little back story needed here. The wife has been in the business for over 30 years. She’s worked in the shop, sold on the floor, been a sales manager, a Finance and Insurance (Business) manager, comptroller and service rep. Suffice it to say, she knows her shit. Still, she had the used car manager at her dealership (Ford) go over her car top to bottom. His numbers were spot on to hers.
Armed with this she made an appointment to meet with the salesman who sold her the STi hatch. He knows her, knows she’s in the business and that she has access to the same knowledge bank, black book value sites and recondition cost stats as he does. All she asked was that he give her a fair trade-in value and she’d sign the papers.
Well, he didn’t. He called her car average when it was clean to extra clean with below average mileage. He wanted to do a full brake job; including rotors when all it needed was front pads and so on it went. Plus, he deducting full price and full labour rates for what he claimed the car needed for reconditioning.
But the kicker, the real deal breaker was when he also deducted the cost of the 96k service from her trade value. He explained he didn’t think it was fair to sell a used car to a person whose first service would be such a big expense. Mind you, the car only had 87k and she had just had a service done three days prior so, it wouldn’t need another for at least 6K. She let him know that she was not happy and would buy elsewhere then stomp out.
When we got home he’d left a message on the machine plus sent an email. The phone calls and the emails went back and forth all afternoon. In the end they dropped $2000 off the 2016 MSRP and the wife agreed to have the brakes done. BUT, they refused to change the value they first gave for her trade-in. Instead they kept dropping the MRSP $500 at a time. That’s just playing with numbers. Neither the salesman nor the owner would admit they messed up on the trade value. BUT THEN! The salesman screwed it totally demanding that we bring the car back in so they could measure the rotors. They still maintained the rotors had to be changed.
The next morning we drove to the first dealer west of us. I had the name of a salesman who was supposed to be trustworthy. She told him what she wanted and how much she was willing to pay including her trade. His used car salesman was blown away by her trade and gave her the price she know it was worth. It took four weeks to locate and deliver her new 2016 STi. They didn’t even wash her trade-in; just put it on the lot as driven in. They asked $2000 more than I thought they would and it sold within 5 days.
Local dealer lost out on a new car sale, a used car sale any referral business we might have sent them as well as our service business.
Like Julia Roberts said in Pretty Woman, “You wouldn't serve me. You work on commission right? Big mistake. Big. Huge!”