Shady dealers

[fp115]

Must all GM dealers be shady? And I don't just say that because I am looking to flame dealers. I am legitimately serious. I saw over 10 dealers in the past 2 weeks to get into a 2014 and sell my 2010.

The difference in price on my 2010 was huge. Some offered as low as $14k on my car. Ended up selling it for $20.5k, lower than the $22k I was expecting. I was ok with accepting that. How can some of the dealers be offering $14k and say that it is market value? I tell them I was offered north of $20k and their reply was "the ones offering you more are boosting the price on your new car".

I have employee pricing on my car. My dad is a retiree. He was partly responsible for pricing 2013 and 2014 models. So he knew the prices well. Even then, there was a price difference of $2k between the highest and lowest price. How can the price difference be so great when the car with the same options and everything? Especially given that they should all have dealer invoice (option 1 employee pricing).

Then when I chose a dealer who gave me the best deal on my current 2010. He started adding a bunch of hidden fees. Charged me $100 more on freight. Charged me $200 for a PDI (which is free). Charged me $400 for rust protection. Then changed the price on my car removing about 10% of my employee discount.

I call him out on these charges, which amount to nearly $1500. He has since then fixed a few of the issues, though still hasn't fixed all of them. The one I am awaiting for is the car price, since he is now saying he doesn't have the car's invoice, since he doesn't have the car.

Sad thing is, the dealer I chose was the least shady of all the others I visited. Is this a normal experience? If my dad wasn't there to look over many of those extra costs, I would have been burned $1500. How many more have paid these fees without knowing?

No wonder people refuse to buy GM cars here in Canada.

[sene]

You are the one with cash in your hand and the one responsible to down all the silly add ons. I negotiated my price by email and they tried to push low jack on me last minute saying it was mandatory. I politely declined and they insisted it was already installed on the car. Went to walk from the deal and it magically was no longer installed. You hold the cards here.

[fp115]

Originally Posted by sene

You are the one with cash in your hand and the one responsible to down all the silly add ons. I negotiated my price by email and they tried to push low jack on me last minute saying it was mandatory. I politely declined and they insisted it was already installed on the car. Went to walk from the deal and it magically was no longer installed. You hold the cards here.

Of course. I walked out when I saw the $400 rust protection. Was then told to come back in, that they don't usually remove it but will for me.

I may not have expressed my question properly. Does buying a car really have to be this much of a hassle? What about the less savvy car buyer that thinks the extra $100 on freight is normal or that you should be paying $200 for a PDI when GM already covers it?

[Paladinjc]

Dude, all dealers are shady! They all want one thing, as much of your money as they can get.

Good rule of thumb:

Preacher, Politicians and Salesmen are all cut from the same cloth. You can always tell when they are lying to you, they will be smiling.

[fp115]

Originally Posted by Paladinjc

Dude, all dealers are shady! They all want one thing, as much of your money as they can get.

Good rule of thumb:

Preacher, Politicians and Salesmen are all cut from the same cloth. You can always tell when they are lying to you, they will be smiling.

I like that quote!

[URBAN LEGEND]

It's not people's favorite to do thing.

[SubSonic]

My car came with stuff I didn't pay for... (Like a goofy flashing third brake light, and wheel locks-those I'm OK with)

My dealer was decent. Never did get a window sticker, though. And their service department sucks.

But they didn't tack anything on to the price. Ended up a few K below invoice.

If you can, try to buy through the fleet salesmen... it tends to seriously cut down on the BS.

[sene]

Originally Posted by fp115

What about the less savvy car buyer that thinks the extra $100 on freight is normal or that you should be paying $200 for a PDI when GM already covers it?

They are ill prepared buyers who are strictly profit for dealer which are businesses after all.

[fp115]

Originally Posted by SubSonic

My car came with stuff I didn't pay for... (Like a goofy flashing third brake light, and wheel locks-those I'm OK with)

My dealer was decent. Never did get a window sticker, though. And their service department sucks.

But they didn't tack anything on to the price. Ended up a few K below invoice.

If you can, try to buy through the fleet salesmen... it tends to seriously cut down on the BS.

I have the luxury of having a parent that prices cars for GM Canada. I didn't like to drop that name, but once I did I started to get the price I should get. In my case is dealer invoice, about $6k below MSRP. Otherwise, when I said I want employee pricing, I never got it. One gave me barely below MSRP, not the full $6k.

I ended up with a few extras on mine as well. Though that was by chance, since I refused them initially but they had already done it.

[Homer2]

Where did you end up dealing?

[LStick]

Tell them your entitled to Employee Pricing and as quickly as they appeared, they'll disappear........like a fart in a windstorm.

[baum]

i would say not all dealers are bad... lol

the one i purchased my camaro through the entire deal was done via email and phone even though the dealer is like 20 minutes from my house. i even traded in a motorcycle and they appraised it via pics. now when i tried to get other dealers to match their deal i got thrown out of a dealer for that. I asked a dealer to match that price and i will buy right now and they told me to leave.

[fp115]

Originally Posted by LStick

Tell them your entitled to Employee Pricing and as quickly as they appeared, they'll disappear........like a fart in a windstorm.

I ended up buying from Addison in Mississauga, Ontario. Once everything was said and done the price was great and exactly as I expected.

Originally Posted by baum

i would say not all dealers are bad... lol

the one i purchased my camaro through the entire deal was done via email and phone even though the dealer is like 20 minutes from my house. i even traded in a motorcycle and they appraised it via pics. now when i tried to get other dealers to match their deal i got thrown out of a dealer for that. I asked a dealer to match that price and i will buy right now and they told me to leave.

I had the very same process, the pricing on the "addons" is what got after I had finally found a dealer not trying to screw me as badly.

I still cannot believe the dealer I've been seeing for 5 years offered $7k lower than all the other dealers, refusing to budge even though the next lowest dealer was $5k over what they were offering.

[xnuyokr]

Many dealers are just as shady, not just GM. It's the nature of the bussiness.
Always separate your trade in negotiations from the new car negotiations, meaning get your best deal on the car you're buying before talking about your trade in value. This is because they might give you more for your trade in, but charge you more for your purchase.
Never talk "monthly payments". Discuss the selling price and take it from there.
ACCEPT NO ADD ONS. Its the first thing I tell them after a deal has been reached. No window etching, no undercoating, NOTHING. Also watch for getting raped on things like tag transfer. It's another money maker for them.