What car - older female edition Part 3

Wednesday was the semi-final round of the car shopping. Objective was another test drive and get some prices. Car had been narrowed down to Subaru Legacy, Kia Optima, and Hyundai Sonata.

First went to the Subaru dealer. Took the test drive. Told the saleman "I want your best out-the door price. We are not going to buy today but will by Friday. Got the price and left.

Went to the Hyundai dealer and went thru the same routine. Got a little pressure to buy that day but was given the price and left.

Next went to the Kia dealer. Where we were subjected to every sleasy car dealer trick I have ever read about.

First, they needed to make copies of our drivers licenses before we could do a test drive. Didn't have to do that the first time we were there! Then I had to ask him to give them back before we took the drive.

After test drive we go inside to get the price. Pricing was some numbers scribbled on a sheet of paper instead of a nice printout like the other dealers.

Took the paper and asked for the keys to our car which they checked out for trade-in. Response was "Let me see if I can get you a better price" and off he goes some where.

Comes back with another sheet of paper and no keys. I reminded him that I had asked for his best price to start with and asked for the keys. Response was "The sales manager has them, he is trying to get you a better price".

At this point I got rather loud and profane(so everyone in the place could hear me), told him what I thought of his tactics and demanded the keys. His response was more gibberish about "better price".

So I march back to the sales managers office, took the keys off his desk and told him what I thought about their tactics.

On the way home the wife wasn't speaking to me. So when we got home I went straight to my office to hide and let things cool down.

After 10 minutes I hear some loud, angry language coming from the wife out in the family room. She had been looking at the pricing we got. She discovered that the tax, tilte and fees from the Kia dealer was $2K more than the others on comparably priced cars!!

So Thursday was spent waiting to see if the Subaru dealer could find a car like we wanted. When he couldn't we went out Friday an ordered a Subaru Legacy in the colors she wanted with all the "bell and whistles".

Sleazy dealers come from all brands...

The universe was doing you a favor. She wanted the Subaru anyways. ;)

amg_rx7 wrote: Sleazy dealers come from all brands...

But we did not expect it. The first time we went there we had a different salesman (wasn't there Wednesday) who was very nice. If we had gotten that type of tratment the first time around we would never had gone back.

Thought she would like a scooby! My mother is very happy with hers.

Some dealers really suck.

let the owner/manager know why you walked out .. might not change anything there ...but then again ....

After decades and decades of dealing with it, I have come to expect the run-around when buying a new car. The best approach I've found - if you can afford to do it - is to zero in on which one you want to buy first. Easy for me as price is rarely the deciding factor for me -- I usually know what I want/can afford. It's just a matter then of getting the best price I can. And nothing has been more effective than walking in sitting down, telling them what I want and writing them a check for the amount I'm willing to spend. They HATE walking away from real money on the table. Oh - and I NEVER trade in. I lose too much money on the car which means they make too much. Plus it just obfuscates the whole transaction. And I don't even know what that word means.

I have had the exact same experience with Kia dealers. Good honest dealers are few and far between but the Kia dealers represent a new low.