Strange call from dealer offering me a new 2016 FRS for my old 2014 one??!

[Veloist]

If you got a loan with a high interest rate then this is where the difference could be made up.

They say that you "could" have the same payments then when you get to the dealership they tell you it's on approval of credit.

If you lacked certain credit history when you first signed for the car, you probably have better borrowing power since you've payments and what not. Thus they know they can get you approved for a lower interest rate. This is why they can pull up a lower monthly payment, and the deal doesn't sound so bad if the terms are the same or shorter but that almost never happens.

The people who actually go for these kinds of deals are people who have a previous generation model car and find that the new one has better features. On the FR-S the only difference from a 2013 to 2016 model is the rear-view camera. But on a car like the Subaru Forester, that car gained a bunch of safety and convenience feature in the past 4 years so people who are payment-conscious actually consider deals like these.

[PNW FRS]

Sorry for the IMHO "rant" - but I'm not sure how a discussion like this promotes or helps the 86 community. And "No," I don't own or work at a dealership...

We live in a country built on capitalism and the opportunity to turn a profit if one works real hard. People (or companies) that own dealerships are just trying to turn a buck (ok, maybe lots of bucks) and "keep the lights on."

They employ people... they provide a "local" place to test drive vehicles... and for the most part (YES, there will be exceptions... so no "stealer" comments please....) supply a place to get solid and reasonably-priced services.

If you don't like getting marketing (sales) promotional pieces, calls, etc. from dealerships, simply ask them to remove your contact info from their "prospect lists." IF they won't do that.. then THAT's a reasonable complaint -- and relative to everyone on this Forum.

First world problem folks... there are far more important things in life to worry about than whether a company that you support directly (dealer purchase) or indirectly (private party)) is trying to get some revenue from you based on the fact that your rig is a rolling billboard for the brand/model.

End of mini-rant.... thanks for reading.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by cdq85

i don't understand why everyone jumps on the dealers nuts about getting those kind of offers. it doesn't say you will retain the same exact loan you currently have, it just says you will keep your payments around the same as it is now which it usually does. how is that a scam?

The only part of the thing that is "scam" like is the claim that they are sending the notice because "your car is in great demand on the used market" or something along that line. Most of the dozen or so notices I have ever received for this don't even bother to say what "your car" is and it is just a generic letter sent to every customer.
Hell, when my wife got sucked in by this they didn't even sell her trade in on the lot but sent it to auction because they already had too many in stock.

[ndsleep612]

The never ending story of car payments. That's the trick.

Just remember this, in life there is no such thing as a "free lunch". Always strings attached to everything in one way or another.

[stevesnj]

[NOHOME]

Nobody gets out of bed in the morning with the intention of saving somebody $$$.

I tend to approach all great deals offered with this point of view.

[YamahaR86]

Classic scam by stealerships. My coworker got a letter in her mail saying her SUV is limited and they want it! So they'll offer to trade for it with no change in her monthly payments for a different car.

[go_a_way1]

Well I will throw my 2 cents into the pot. I used to sell cars for a bit and did this all the time to people. I would clearly explain to people what I was doing and most people really appreciated my honesty and said thanks for explaining and went on there way. However that being said I did have a number of people understand what was happening but they cared so much about payment and not the long term cost they agreed to buy the latest and greatest model from me. There were also a few people who had bad credit when they bought their car so I could actually put them in new cars with lower payments and just reset the loan to 7-8 years or so.

[fumanchu1]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Or go to "just look at" that interesting Tc you saw visiting at the cottage next door the prior weekend just because you were waiting for your Lancer to be serviced at the dealer right next to the Toyota one and you had an hour to kill.
Sometimes you end up with a FRS.
Not that this very specific scenario has ever happened to me or anything like that.

I can imagine it went like this: Oh What an interesting little car (the TC), I'll take that one /points to an FRS

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by cdq85

i don't understand why everyone jumps on the dealers nuts about getting those kind of offers. it doesn't say you will retain the same exact loan you currently have, it just says you will keep your payments around the same as it is now which it usually does. how is that a scam?

It's a scam because the language is misleading to people who don't clearly understand financing, which includes a huge portion of the country. They say things like, "You can trade your car at no additional cost." When they say that, they know what the people they're after will hear is that they can make an even trade of their used vehicle for a new vehicle without owing any additional money, when that's not even close to being true. Then they focus on monthly payment instead of total cost.

Have they lied? Not technically. They just omitted some details and allowed the customer to fill in the blanks. But the fact that they are intentionally misleading the customer makes it a scam.

Originally Posted by PNW FRS

If you don't like getting marketing (sales) promotional pieces, calls, etc. from dealerships, simply ask them to remove your contact info from their "prospect lists."

I don't think that's the problem. The problem is that they call up with bullshit sales bait trying to catch a sucker. That's the point where just trying to make a living becomes greasy.

[8R6]

all the different brands do this. im still getting letters for my a4, s2k, 4runner, tc, and 328i and i havent had the a4 or s2k for almost 10yrs LOL

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by fumanchu1

I can imagine it went like this: Oh What an interesting little car (the TC), I'll take that one /points to an FRS

Never made it to the Tc. My very car was the one in the showroom and I never even got past it.


I am probably a very rare fish on this forum in that I never even really knew the cars existed before I stumbled on it at the dealership that day. I remember seeing something about the development way back in 2010 or so but being a die hard Mitsu fan at that point in time thought "Oh Subie is involved? Will be crap". Since they are rare here I never saw one even after release and somehow I never again came across any references to make me notice they even really had hit production. There was no anticipation, following development or any other kind of foreknowledge for me. I literally went from finding out the car was being made to starting the buying process in 1/2 an hour. I did however go home and do some very extensive research before signing the documents (that is how I ended up on here).

[MuseChaser]

Originally Posted by PNW FRS

Sorry for the IMHO "rant" - but I'm not sure how a discussion like this promotes or helps the 86 community. And "No," I don't own or work at a dealership...

We live in a country built on capitalism and the opportunity to turn a profit if one works real hard. People (or companies) that own dealerships are just trying to turn a buck (ok, maybe lots of bucks) and "keep the lights on."

They employ people... they provide a "local" place to test drive vehicles... and for the most part (YES, there will be exceptions... so no "stealer" comments please....) supply a place to get solid and reasonably-priced services.

If you don't like getting marketing (sales) promotional pieces, calls, etc. from dealerships, simply ask them to remove your contact info from their "prospect lists." IF they won't do that.. then THAT's a reasonable complaint -- and relative to everyone on this Forum.

First world problem folks... there are far more important things in life to worry about than whether a company that you support directly (dealer purchase) or indirectly (private party)) is trying to get some revenue from you based on the fact that your rig is a rolling billboard for the brand/model.

End of mini-rant.... thanks for reading.

A worthwhile rant in defense of capitalism, and I am a BIG supporter of capitalism and the U.S. Constitution, baby. Color me conservative.

Having said that, you can be a good businessman and turn a nice profit w/out abandoning ethics, taking advantage of people's ignorance, or being loose with the truth. I absolutely DESPISE buying cars because the majority of car dealerships are very high pressure and are ALL about the sale, not all about serving their customers' best interest. They should be trying to put you in the best car FOR YOU, at a price that is right FOR YOU w/out bankrupting you or putting your family in financial hardship for many years, just because you're ignorant of what the terms really mean. I know, it would seem that they'd make less profit that way, right, and it's all about the profit? Nope. Can you imagine if a dealership really operated the way I suggest? EVERYONE would buy cars there, and EVERY time they needed another car they'd go back. NO one would shop anywhere else. They'd make a killing. Of course, no one looks at the long game and, instead, they focus on the immediate sale. Sigh.

The car you can afford is the car you can pay cash for. That's THE best policy, period. The car you WANT may very well not fit that policy. Been there, got the loans in the past... but not in the past 20 years. If you can get a 1.99% or lower interest rate, it may be better to take the loan and leave your own money in good investments, but other than that, save your money until you have what you need to buy the car you want. If it's an emergency, all bets are off, of course.. sometimes you need a car. Get the cheapest one that'll fill the bill and pay off that loan AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.

As far as reasonably-priced and quality service from dealerships, that runs the gamut. There are three Toyota/Scion dealerships w/in 15 miles of my house. The service at one is ATROCIOUS and overpriced, one is OK and overpriced, and one is very good and reasonable. I've never hesitated to take my Toyotas to the latter one. It's the furthest, but still close. The other two got two shots each over the years, and I won't go back to either (nor name them publicly, but I live near Syracuse, NY.. you can figure it out). The good one, and it's VERY good, is NYE Toyota/Scion in Oneida, NY.

You're assertions regarding the ease of getting off dealer contact lists sure doesn't jibe w/ my experiences. When I was shopping around for my FR-S, I contacted four dealerships; two in Syracuse, one in Rochester, and one in NJ. The one in Rochester was particularly annoying; they kept calling me, weeks and WEEKS after I had already bought my car elsewhere, and during every phone call I made them explicitly aware that I had already bought a car and did not wish to be contacted further. That happened no less than five times via phone, and about seven times via email w/ this dealership. I answered every email, too, requesting to be removed from all contact lists. I was polite the first three phone calls and the first three emails, then I got progressively more insistent. The calls finally stopped when I told them my next call was to the FCC. Two other dealerships were also guilty of repeat calls, but at least stopped after two or three. EVEN THE PLACE I bought the car from called me to see if I was still interested in purchasing an FR-S. Sigh. Yeah... just ask to be removed from their contact list.. right... sure. Just that easy.

Car sales is a VERY high pressure and typically borderline unethical business. Good companies should fulfill needs and offer appropriate solutions to clients; they serve their customers. Poor companies target their OWN needs and wants, with little regard for the effect on their customers. Come to think of it, sounds a lot like I'm describing the ideal government vs. the poor excuse for a "of the people, by the people, and for the people" government we've been saddled with lately. Go figure.

Love,

Your Resident Ethical Conservative Capitalist,

Barry

[PNW FRS]

@MuseChaser....

Good comments. To be clear, I did not assert that it was easy to get off a prospect list. I simply stated to try and get off the list... and if -- as you point out, that is a nightmare -- then THAT is something newsworthy for the forum community.

I agree with your comments about buying with cash, low interest rates, etc., but in short, profit from Financing is what helps keep a lot of manufacturers in biz.

Ours is a "give me credit..." society... so collectively we all live with the artifacts of that kind of mentality. Not saying it's bad or good... but it is what it is... and it breeds some of the things that started this original post, so I'm not sure why all the complaining.