Buying a new car 1773

Actually, you are wrong on that. It depends on the dealer, but most dealers will NOT sell a vehicle at a "fair" or "minimal" profit. They would rather have the vehicle sit on the lot an extra day or two until some sucker pays them thousands of dollars more than what the vehicle is actually worth. I know this for a fact, as I was told this by a regional (car) sales manager.

Several years ago, I did my research VERY carefully, and knew the exact model of car I wanted to buy, and how much I should have to pay for it, to the penny. I didn't need financing, it was going to be a cash sale. I didn't have a car to trade, as I intended to keep my current car for a while. It was a simple transaction, Car X for Y number of dollars. I went to several dealers, all within a 2 hour drive of where I live. I made sure they had the car I wanted with the options I wanted. I made my offer. Most flatly refused to even consider it. One salesman wrote up the paperwork as if the car was going to be sold, spent an hour or so going over details of the sale, and then claimed that the sales manager rejected the sale. They made a counter-offer for several hundred more than I was willing to pay. I walked out, no sale.

I was just about ready to give up when I arrived at the SIXTH car dealer (having had my offer rejected by five other dealers). I walked in, talked to a very nice salesman. Told him I'd already been to several dealers and had been rejected by all of them, but that I really WANTED to buy a car TODAY. I explained that the car I wanted was on the lot, we walked over to it so that he could see the one I wanted. I then told him how much I was willing to pay for it. He said he'd gladly sell it to me, at the price I wanted to pay. The catch? He was a regional sales manager FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY who just happened to be at the dealership that day. He couldn't sell me a car from the local lot, but if I paid to have an identical one shipped from California . . .

Anyway, when I found out who he was, I asked him why I couldn't buy a car from a local dealer. He informed me that my offer was fair, that HE would have accepted it at his home dealership in California, but that some dealers (apparently all in the New England area) would not sell a car for such a small profit. So he CONFIRMED that car dealers are (on the whole) crooks who will not sell a car unless they can RIP YOU OFF. A car won't be sold at a "profit", it will only be sold if the dealership makes a killing.

Later, I found a similar car (different make) selling for several thousands under MSRP as it was a year-end leftover. So I ended up spending less than I had planned to, but I did not get the car I really wanted, and there's no doubt in my mind that I was still ripped off, even though I paid several thousands below MSRP. -Dave