Posted on 08/12/2016 6:28:30 PM PDT by SoFloFreeper
That’s BS. I’d walk away and find another car.
I traded my pickup truck for a new Jeep on a Friday afternoon. On Monday I get a call from the dealer asking me to come in, there was a problem with the paperwork. So I go in after work and they tell me that the finance dept did not approve the loan, they need more down payment. I told them that they weren’t getting another dime from me. I gave them the Jeep key and told them to give me my truck back. I saw it on the lot, all cleaned up and detailed, I figured at least I would get a free wash out of it. After a few minutes of hemming and hawing they gave in. I kept the Jeep.
Don’t ever give that dealer your car keys as “security” for a test drive.
They should not add all those extra charges for a Toyota Certified vehicle.
Very sleazy sales tactics. If they were advertising the car certified for a specific price, it seems like false advertising. I would go to another dealer or push the fraud angle and beat them up (in a negotiating way, not actual physical violence) until you get the price you want without all the sleazy add on fees.
I would go to another dealer. I wouldn’t trust anything they told me. My only experience with Toyota was about 8 years ago and they were take it or leave it for a Camry. I left it, because my husband won’t buy a car unless it’s the deal of the century.
If you buy from craigslist, bring the transaction to your local bank or credit union. Meet in inside and then go out if needed, the banker or credit union person will help you with the paperwork for the transaction, you deposit the money immediately and every moment is on film.
Husband says “scam, nitrogen in the tires is scam as is a lot of what you wrote the dealer wants.
Not a good place to buy.
Sorry but happy you asked the question on Free Republic as you know most truly want to help.
We did this for our last two cars and are ecstatic with them. Saved a ton and got reliable cars we could tweak in good ways (got WeatherTech mats and trunk liners, AMSOIL oil changes, lifetime all-wheel alignments packages at Sears (only $189), etc.).
If you’re going to the dealer you need to use the NADA guide for pricing, not the Kelly Blue book.
this is the book that the dealers use.
I recommend a 4Runner I have had four of them and they are the most well constructed vehicles available.
Just curious, what state do you live in?
Seriously with the Internet you can get a good used car from a private owner.
Deal with people locally or just a few towns away. Avoid big cities.
Look at the car. If the inside is trashed and smells like a dead possum chances are they didnt do good maintain of the engine transmission brakes etc. Check the oil and tranny fluid level. Smell it. If it is dirty and smells burnt they didn’t change it and may be damaged. Look under car for leaks and rust damage.
Any legit seller will let you bring car to a mechanic before buying. If they hesitate or refuse don’t buy the car they are hiding something.
Verify they have a clean title in hand before buying. If they say oh I can get it or any other BS don’t buy the car. Ask them to show you the title.
If they get pushy or obnoxious about the sale don’t buy the car. There are tons of other acceptable cars out there.
If you agree to buy it, do the transaction in a safe place, preferably inside your bank. Especially if you pay cash. You want lots of security cameras there.
Get a Jeep.
Might want to check out TrueCar.com - you don’t need to go through them as I did, but the site does give you a good idea of what the market average for the used car you’re looking at is in your area.
Exactly. Plus you can still put air in a nitrogen tire if that is all that is around and you need it.
We use Carmax for the reasons you give. No haggle, no comission. Price is there and only about 1 car in 10 trades meets their standards to be sold by Carmax. Let them do the cherry picking for you, then let them garantee that car for free for the first “X” days as per policy. Few other dealerships offer that and stand behind that.
The other cheaper (money to risk ratio) is review the car on Consumer Reports for reliability (and I agree, Toyota is amongst the best) and find someone like we did. We found an independent Farmers Insurance salesman that cherry picks and sells 2-3 Lexus cars a month at the Dealer’s auctions and flips them on the side. We got a 2003 ES300 with 85,000 miles and full Lexus service record, no accidents for $8,500 and no rust. Old but low miles. Price couldn’t be beat - so we took the risk and 14 months later we are still giggling about this steal.
Yes, a used car dealer trying to screw the customer is normal. The proper response is a 4 letter vulgarity plus 'you' to the sales manager (not the salesman) on the way out. Or have some fun - I didn't like that car, could you show me some more - eating up as much of the salesman's time as you can before you walk out the door without doing business.
Geez - didn’t they try to hit you up for undercoating - their approach was dishonest - I’d take a walk....
i spend most of my time in south Florida. (soflo)
I take it you’re in South Florida. I’m not surprised you had such an experience. I wish you’d name the dealer so other people can avoid them, too.
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