Posted on 08/22/2018 4:58:52 PM PDT by eastexsteve
After what my wife had to endure Monday in a Fort Worth Mitsubishi dealership, I thought it might be wise to reinforce the notion that pond scum still exists in the new car buying market. Thank God I was only a phone call away. To make a long story short, they started by offering her dirt for her trade, which I already prepared her for. (NADA trade-in value is one thing, but they weren't even in the ball park.) They next tried to sell her the car for over a thousand dollars ABOVE what they were offering it on their website, and weren't going to credit her with the appropriate rebates. Then, they told her they were going to get her ready to go in the new car immediately, and she could just leave her old car there and pick it up later. When they had her ready to sign on the dotted line, that's when she called me. I then discovered they were trying to pass off a car to her that was NOT new, but had 3,700 miles on it. When I pointed out to them that they advertised that car on their website as being new with only 13 miles on it, they replied that was some sort of mistake. No wonder they wanted her out the door with that car as soon as they could get her in it!
A word to the wise from someone who has bought MANY new cars over a lifetime. Read the buyers order and full quote carefully, and use your calculator. If something doesn't look right, question it! If you don't like the answer, take a written quote and have someone else look at it. If the deal is good, it can wait until tomorrow. If the dealer is trying to get you into that car and off the lot ASAP, there is something wrong with that deal. Never be afraid to walk away!
I look for a few basic things on that quote/buyers order. The sales price of the car, the rebates, tax title and license fees, modest documentation fees, and credit for the trade (if any). Any other unknown charge is suspect! A charge for "make ready" or a stand-alone "destination charge" is highly suspect.
I did steer my wife to a reputable dealership where I had previously called and located a few cars for her to look at, and she did by a NEW car at a helluva good price. This time, she new what the car should cost, and it took her less that 30 minutes to test-drive and secure the deal. And, the dealer actually got under my bottom dollar!
Ladies, I'm not trying to be a chauvinist here, but unless you have a great deal of experience dealing with car salesmen, take your husband, or someone who does know how to deal with them. My wife is a kind-hearted and somewhat gullible woman in this arena, and they were ready to take her to the cleaners. Frankly, I don't know how they sleep at night.
We have two vehicles with push button start. I love it.
The local dealer gave us $10,000 for our 2012 Ford Fusion with 60 thousand miles. It was a AWD sedan.
The Acadia gets better gas mileage.
The trade in value plus end of the season incentives took almost $16,000 off the sticker.
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