frustrated with the scion FRS/BRZ
 

Ok i really am very frustrated how the dealers in my town are treating potential buyers for the FRS/BRZ. walked in into a couple of them and they offer black book value for my car as soon as i start arguing about that this isn't exactly what my car is worth to me they tell me oh we cant do anything about it and have a nice day. very shitty attitude that makes me not want to buy this car, i mean i understand the hype about this car by why dealers are acting up so much about it. i was really offended today by my local subaru dealer on how rude and ignorant he was about the whole situation can i write to subaru of north america or toyota to them?

i live in canada btw.

I could be totally off base but I'll tell you the first thought that came to my mind. In your third line you use the word "arguing". That isn't the right way to negotiate.

Is you car modded and that's why you don't agree with their price?

Not sure you understand how a dealership works when it comes to trade in value. Sell it privately and then go back with some cash in hand.

Be glad they're offering the black book value. When I was searching for mine, 5 out of 6 dealerships I visited were offering way below the minimum CBB value for my trade in. And yes, if you don't buy it, the next guy will. Nothing you can do about it. Not even Subaru/Scion corporate can tell their dealers to willingly lose money by offering you a high value for your trade.

NEVER expect a fair shake on your trade. You give them a profit (assuming they resell for their target) in exchange for the convenience of not having to sell it yourself. I'd suggest you run an Auto Trader ad online and see what response you get.

Don't "expect" anything from a dealer.

Also in AB in general I'd say you are in the maximum seller's market for new goods. In my company (prefab buildings) our guys here who deal out west have made 3-4x what I make for the past several years. It sucks when you're 48 with a family and some 28 yr old is raking it in while I hear crickets in my territory. That is a typical example of how the economy of AB differs so much from the industrial centre (Ontario). Therefore there are fewer "deals" there. Our salespeople routinely gouge Albertans since they seem to be far less price sensitive.

Sorry for drifting off topic. My point is you have other options, private sale, other dealers etc.

For a car model in demand, there is somebody right behind you with cash in hand or wanting financing: both easier and more profitable to the dealer. Also, they will want to make money on a trade, and if it is modded a dealer will have a hard time selling.
As mentioned before, sell it first, then go and negotiate. Works way better. Or trade in on a car that is not selling so well.

Jay

Welcome to the real world of the free market economy. All the posts above are spot on. Economics 101: supply vs demand.

I had a similar experience with the dealers in my area (same city as OP). They quoted me $1500 for my trade in and I ended up selling it on kijiji for $4000. The assistant manager is who I dealt with at sherwood park toyota, and he said straight up "just sell it privately, its not worth it".

Maybe it is all about expectations, about 5 months before I started seriously shopping for my FR-S I had gone to the Toronto Auto Show and Auto Trader had a display and they were offering swag just for me to value my car through a new App they were introducing. They were ballparking my car at about $9000.

When my Scion dealership valued my car at $12000, I was stoked. The reality probably was that my car was worth a little more than the run of the mill Corolla because it was an XRS and most people don't know what that means, so, Auto Trader probably under valued my car (plus I had virtually new rubber on it).

So, in the end - I probably didn't get a phenomenal offer for my trade, but, because my expectations were low, I felt better about the transaction.

Selling your car to a dealer is fast and easy, but, you will probably make more in a private sale if you have time and are willing to do a little leg work. Unfortunately, with this car it is easy to become enamoured with it and want to do fast and easy. Not only that, but, with how rare they are, a person doesn't want to miss an opportunity to get your hands on one.

Maybe they were just sick of your attitude. You talk like they should be thankful to get your car on trade, at the price you want. Believe me, if they thought it was worth more they wouldn't have let you walk away. They need to make a profit on your trade, and the numbers obviously didn't line up for them. Don't take it personally, it's just business.

It's already been said, but if they offered you the book value for your car on a trade in you should've jumped at it and thanked them for it! Typically you get far less on a trade in than you can sell for privately, simply because the dealership has to clean up the car and then sell it.

It's also been said, if you want a deal on a car go shop elsewhere. Some dealerships are still working with 30+ person wait lists while they get blocks of 4-5 cars at a time. They're in no rush to sell for less since there's at least half a dozen buyers after you that are willing to pay full price and not negotiate (argue) at all.

If you're after a good buy for a similar car, go pick up a 2012 Genesis coupe, they're practically giving them away!

Dealerships make much more money selling used cars than the new cars on the lot

Its always been like that. Dealerships will always give less than you can get privately for the convenience of not having to deal with morons on kijiji. I'm buying my FR-S without a trade in because there's no point trying to barter and get a reasonable amount as a trade in.

When the summer comes I'll look at selling my RX7 FD and see what interest there is in it.

Did you buy one at SP Toyota? When / What lead time did they give you?