[Target70]

Originally Posted by keithr

That's also where the real fleecing often occurs. Upsells, warranties, service plans, etc. It's where the strongest persuader and psychological combatant sits behind a desk and commands you to comply. When I bought my BRZ, the finance guy was literally trying to tack nearly $10k worth of bullshit onto my deal, and he was getting visibly irritated that I wasn't biting on a penny of it. His anger may have worked on a lot of people, but when I told him that he could either calm down and complete the paperwork for the agreed-upon deal, no more, no less, or he could toss the pile of papers in the trash and I'd be on my way, he acted like I just kicked his puppy and peed in his gas tank simultaneously. The funny thing is, the only reason I was even financing was because I was able to negotiate a better value on the trade if I agreed to finance rather than pay cash + trade (go ahead, tell me about how financing kickbacks don't happen ), and at 0.9% it was almost free money. I came out ahead after letting the loan ride for 6 months and then paying it off vs. paying cash up front.

I went through this scenario almost exactly. Used car 7,000 miles and driven for 3 months by the previous owner. The salesman talked me into agreeing to finance instead of cash in exchange for coming down to my asking price, of course that's after being stopped in the parking lot getting back in to my car to leave. Then the young/hip/friendly salesman takes me into a small room to sit the opposite side of a desk from a large somber man in a business suit. Only in hindsight do I realize how laughably similar the room is to an interrogation room from law and order. He starts explaining the 3 different payment options of $X per month for the basic, +$ for silver, +$$ for gold. I take the basic as it's the lowest price option he has given me. He glares down on me while I waste his time, by slowly reading everything I am supposed to sign and only then do I realize the total price has been inflated by $8,000. WTF? After some discussion I realize that those were extra service/warranty plans and he tried to pass off the "basic plan" as the original agreement, and when I tell him that's not what I want he grumpily replies that I asked for the basic plan, and It would be dumb for me to buy a car with no warranty. (car still has factory warranty). He isn't as angry as you describe yours, but It was definitely designed to give a high pressure, don't think, just agree and sign feel. I got him to drop the service plan, and reprint up the contract with him glaring the whole time as I reread everything. It felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders just getting out of that room. Like I said he didn't get as mad or argue as hard as you describe your experience, but the intimidation was set to high.