Jeep Incapable Of Selling To Man With $24,000 In Cash
It's amazing the hassle Bruce went through trying to buy a Jeep with $24,000 cash. Even though he's ready to buy the car outright, the car salesman almost convinces him to finance because that way you get $1,500 back. Total cost of the loan: $31,732...they wanted him to spend an extra $7,132 to "save" $1500. Luckily his mom steps in and saves him from getting taken for a ride. His journey doesn't stop there, nor does it end with a successful Jeep purchase. They can't even sell a car to a guy who shows up with cash in hand ready to buy... no wonder they needed a bailout. Full story inside...
As the economy suffers, I am extremely lucky and grateful to have a job. Many friends and colleagues have been fired or laid off and watching the news or reading the daily paper leads me to believe that doomsday is approaching. America is a country with an amazing history and home to people of great pride and resiliency. We will overcome, no doubt. Now that my optimism and I are on the same page I am ready to partake in one of the greatest American luxuries… buying my first new car!
I began the search for my first new car in late 2008 and I became serious about making the purchase this past weekend. I, a responsible consumer, really did my homework and surveyed dozens of makes and models, choosing a car based on four key criteria: American, under thirty thousand dollars, four wheel drive and room for my hockey equipment. The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited satisfied my requirements and I had heard good things about the quality of Jeep vehicles. I was at peace with my decision and now onto the easy part; spending my money.
My first step was going to www.jeep.com and using the "Build My Own" feature that is prominently displayed on their website. I went through the checklist and chose the most basic features and was surprised to see that this vehicle would only cost about $24,000. Chrysler is offering employee pricing this month along with many other incentives. The stars were aligning and I was very excited and ready to make my purchase. I printed a copy of the Wrangler Unlimited that I just "built" and set out for a dealership.
My normal work schedule is 9-5:30, Monday through Friday. I wanted to visit my first dealership on a Thursday night to lay the groundwork for completing a purchase by the coming weekend. I searched the Greater New York area and the first dealership I targeted was a Chrysler Jeep Dodge located in the Bronx. I arrived at the dealership at about 7 o'clock, and it was empty. I approached the doors, with $2,500 in cash, like I was Captain America, ready to do my part in resurrecting this great country. I was instantly approached by a man who identified himself as the manager and he started talking business. He asked what I was looking for, I explained my situation and he was anxious to get the ball rolling. He sat me down with one of his sales associates, from this point on he will be known as Dr. Doom (for all you non-comic book fans, Dr. Doom is an arch nemesis to Captain America, me), and we began discussing what I was looking for. After 15 minutes of small talk and feature choosing, we were ready. I explained to Dr. Doom that I was prepared to write a check for the full price of the car I "built", which was $24,000. Or so says www.jeep.com. My loving mother was kind enough to lend me the money…you see, I come from a long line of people who believe in resurrecting the economy; crazy, I know. So here I am thinking, cue the rose petals, pop the champagne…we have a young man ready to fork over $24,000 up front. Have the Gods sent him to us in our time of need? Maybe there's hope in this dang economy yet! But nay, there would be no rose petals, no bubbly…a glass of lukewarm water would have been a stretch. After 20 minutes of car-salesman-lingo-slinging, Dr. Doom had convinced me that financing the vehicle would be my best option. Huh? You…you don't WANT me to just give you the whole thing right now and call it a day? Hold on a second, you're telling me that I don't get any incentives if I put a guaranteed $24,000 in your pocket? I didn't know that car salesmen were so humorous…or is he serious? You've captured my attention, Dr. Doom…please proceed. Apparently, Chrysler financial only offers the $1,500 cash back on the car if I finance. I found this odd but nevertheless I agreed. After going through the subsequent paperwork (giving him my social security number, monthly income, age and place of residence) we were ready to go. Next, Dr. Doom uttered a phrase that I would come to know well over the next three days, "Let's get you into YOUR car."
Dr. Doom ran my credit and explained that my score would not allow me to get 0% financing. Let me take a moment to advise all of you college-aged readers; credit cards do not equal free money, but I digress. Regardless of this small setback, Dr. Doom still encouraged me to pursue the financing route. I still didn't understand why. If I could pay the car in full, Chrysler would have a guaranteed $24,000 in their pocket and I would have a car, isn't that what we both want at the end of the day? Nevertheless I trusted Dr. Doom and decided to ask my mother to co-sign a loan with me; at least this would "guarantee" the car I wanted with 0% financing. Dr. Doom's finance manager/ evil henchmen, let's call him Flag-Smasher, said I could get the loan and pay it off in full after 2 months. I thought that was great, now I can get the car I want for even cheaper then I had thought. I left the dealership with a semi-positive attitude and was prepared to bring my mother back on Friday night to complete the purchase. I got back into my 1991 Volvo wagon, affectionately named Steve, and sputtered up Boston Post Road towards my house and then it hit me: I was never given a price on the car. Oh but that's right, I "built my own" Wrangler straight off of the Jeep website. Whew, that was a close one.
I left work a few minutes early on Friday so I could pick up my mother and get to the dealership before they closed. Steve, my mother and I pull into the parking lot of the dealership at 6:45 pm and upon opening my car door I was met by Dr. Doom. Had he been waiting outside for me all day? Did he propel off of the roof to greet me? You are a wily one Dr. Doom. Regardless of his method of appearance, he escorted us in and offered us bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches. An odd but intriguing selling tool Dr. Doom, however we politely declined. He proceeded to run my mother's credit with such enthusiasm all the while asking if I wanted to take home the car tonight. "Wow, this is really going to happen and I get to take it home tonight," I thought to myself as we were invited into the finance office. Wait a tick, Dr. Doom didn't even ask what color I wanted, and he still didn't say how much he was charging me for this transaction. I suppose Flag-Smasher would explain everything to me. The three of us talked for a few minutes and finally Dr. Doom presented us with a sheet of paper documenting my new vehicle. Flag-Smasher readily appeared, picked up the phone and wished us luck as he began dialing Chrysler financial; the call was abruptly cut short by my mother. Dr. Doom must have sprayed me with some kind of mind fog (new car scent, if I had to wager a guess); I was applying for a loan, the amount unknown. My mother, utilizing the common sense that I had been robbed of, asked the most simple of questions: "how much of a loan are we applying for?" The disappointment on the face of Flag-Smasher was unmistakable. Was I so anxious to get a car that I never asked for a price? Was the price of the car I so caringly "built" on the Jeep website nothing but a phony ploy to get me in the door? And then I remembered something, something I had heard many times before: Car salesmen are liars. I had simply forgotten that the website is nothing but an electronic car salesman, an e-liar. The number on that sheet of paper in Flag-Smasher's greedy little hand, displayed in minuscule font, destroyed all faith I had in the rejuvenation of American car companies. $31,732! Didn't the government just give Chrysler 4 billion dollars? This number shattered my dream of owning a car. I felt betrayed by Dr. Doom and decided to leave on the spot.
I was awoken at 8:43 am on Saturday morning by Flag-Smasher calling my cell phone and asking me to come in for a test drive. I was perplexed, I thought that walking out the night before was an adequate signal of my disinterest. Apparently they were looking at the wrong car and gave us the wrong price, honest mistake. Re-energized and reassured I picked up some cappuccino and Steve, my mother and I headed back to the dealership to seal the deal. Dr. Doom was so happy to see me, I had made his day. After a few minutes of small talk we took the Wrangler for a test drive. Great ride, by the way…I really loved the car. Anyway, we were back at the bargaining table and ready to finalize the deal. Flag-Smasher sat us down and gave us the new number, 29,970. Unbelievable, I politely explained that he had just wasted our time and stormed out of his office. I was so eager to get that car, MY car, that I probably would have considered $28,000 even though www.jeep.com had told me that I could buy the car for less. However, on principle, I gave up and decided that they would certainly not get my business.
Stupidly or optimistically, I dragged my girlfriend and her brother to a Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Westchester County. Her brother had purchased a Jeep Cherokee a few months ago. Talk about having the upper hand; $25,000 (I added $1,000 for good measure) in cash and someone who just bought a car at that dealership. Done deal, I couldn't wait to drive my car home. We were greeted by the same salesmen that had sold my girlfriend's bother his car. He'll be Grim Reaper in my little saga, another enemy of Captain America characterized as one who must suck the life out of a human every 24 hours in order to survive. Grim Reaper was with a fellow sucker, I mean consumer, and had us wait for 45 minutes. Just the hospitality and attention my $25,000 demands. Grim Reaper finally came over and told us that he would need an extra fifteen minutes and introduced us to a man that I swear was the old guy from The Mighty Ducks movies, Hans. Anyway, Hans didn't really know anything about cars but he was assigned the task of showing us the Wranglers that were currently in stock. I was finally reunited with the car that I had fallen in love with on my four and half minute test drive. Hans awkwardly stumbled through a few questions supplied by my girlfriend and then shuffled us back inside.
Hans walked us back into the dealership to meet with Grim Reaper again. He was just finishing up his last meal, I mean deal. He sat us down and offered us coffee and made small talk. Next came business, Grim Reaper said "let's get you into YOUR car." It had the same effect as when Dr. Doom said it, my exuberance was undeniable. Jeep, take my money, please. We ironed out some details: hard top, power windows and four wheel drive. I had to endure yet another 20 minutes of Grim Reaper trying to persuade me to finance the car. Oh, remember what I said earlier – about why they want me to finance? Turns out that since the big bail out Chrysler Jeep no longer "needs the money". I kid you not; this is what I'm being told as I'm trying to force $25,000 onto this man. Regardless, I politely declined financing, explained that this option was not appealing and assured him that I had $25,000 ready to go. Grim Reaper was disappointed but continued to talk business. Again, just like Dr. Doom he shied away from getting into details about the final price until we hammered out all of the "features".
Initially I was set on purchasing the vehicle in Red Rock Crystal, a nice rugged maroon color. He explained that the only color he had in stock was black, but for an extra fee he could find the color I was looking for. I cringed and accepted black; after all it would get me the deal I was looking for. I wanted Sirius satellite radio; alas the in-stock car was without said feature…but then again for an extra fee…Ok, so no Sirius. I was barely able to squeeze power locks and windows into the deal and then finally, the moment of truth arrived. Grim Reaper had spoken to his superior and the price had been laid out, $28,300. Again, I was crushed. To reiterate, I began my search with $24,000, I knew the exact color and features that I wanted, I priced everything out online at the Jeep website and thought it would be nothing more than walking into the dealership and ordering up my car. Reality: I came up with an extra thousand dollars, accepted a color I didn't want and just barely escaped a lifelong affliction of carpal tunnel from hand-cranking non-power windows. There must be room for negotiation, right?
After privately meeting with my girlfriend ( she explained that she could no longer handle being lied to and would sit out the remainder of the negotiations) and her brother we decided that I would pay as much as $27,000 for the car. I stormed into Grim Reaper's office like former President Bush into Iraq (was my persistence as foolish as his?) We battled for another 10 minutes and Grim Reaper got the price down to $27,770 with a remote starter "included" – don't mistake my words and assume he included it for free; he included it in the price. I was so worn down and prepared to take the offer and run. I called my mother and she knocked some sense into me, "Bruce, you realize that you're almost $4,000 over the price Jeep themselves quoted you, not getting the car that you want and are paying extra for basic features?" Well when you put it like that…I left with $25,000 burning a hole in my pocket, without a car and with feelings that can only be described as a mixture of defeat (you may have won this round Grim Reaper!) and the disappointment of a kid on Christmas waiting for his parents to surprise him with that puppy he so badly wants.
This has easily been the single worst buying experiences of my life. America, I assure you I am trying to do my part to stimulate the economy. Jeep, I desperately want to give you my money. Did I mention that my 2500 dollars was a tax refund from Uncle Sam?! Jeep, feel free to e-mail me at brucebrucek@gmail.com. Only e-mail me if you want $25,000 though. I can have a check ready as early as this Wednesday.
By the way, Grim Reaper called yesterday and offered me $94 off of the price, I respectfully declined.
Please take my money [My Efforts to Stimulate the Economy] (Photo: Ben Popken)
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Comments:
Maybe if he were the federal government they'd be more than happy to take his money!
I've had experiences like this. If I knew I wouldn't get screwed with a car with tons of problems, I'd totally buy one off ebay to save the hassle of going to a dealer.
That was a cute story and two bad dealerships. Kid needs to get some skeptism before he tries to go car shopping again...If he'd actually purchased the car online, it would have been the 24k, right?
If Richard shows up with a suitcase full of cash, maybe the dealer thought he was a drug dealer or something. Anybody would be suspicious of that much cash.
So he was willing to pay full MRSP(which is what the web site spits out, I assum) and they wouldn't go for it? Many, Chrysler has some crappy (and stupid) dealers.
When I bought out the lease of my Mazda with cash last year, I got a good 10 minutes of salespeople trying to tell me how purchasing a car is a bad investment, since it depreciates in value, and I should just lease a newer Mazda. After repeatedly saying no, the buyout process was a huge pain in the rear.
The best part was, when I checked my credit reports months later, I found out the dealer did a credit check against all 3 agencies when I paid the balance in full, in cash, with absolutely no credit required. Thanks, guys.
He sat me down with one of his sales associates, from this point on he will be known as Dr. Doom (for all you non-comic book fans, Dr. Doom is an arch nemesis to Captain America, me)
Dr. Doom isn't Captain Americas arch nemesis, that's the Red Skull.
I thought he did a great job on his story, and I was particularly pleased with his candor about finding himself falling for various sales tactics amid the excitement. It happens more often than people like to admit.
@cabjf: dealerships can tack on an additional 1-3% on the loan, depending on the state and finance company most dealerships will increase your rate from what the finance company offered and keep the difference.
I bought a new car last month and the financing of it was definitely one of the highest points of interest (After actually making the sale). They got me to my desired monthly payment with 72 months (4.9%) and would have been "close" with a 60 month (2.9%). They were definitely under the assumption I was going with the 72 month-er. When I went to sign the paperwork, they didn't even write up one for 60 months and when I asked for the 60, there was a visible disappointing sigh from the finance guy.
That extra 12 months and 2%/month would have absolutely reemed me on interest costs.
True I paid 2.9% in the land of 0% American cars... but who really wants an American car when you can get something better for nearly the same price
a couple months back my parents moved across the country, so over the holidays i went car shopping with them... one of the dealers we went to refused to tell us the price till we went for a test drive and started filling out paper work... once they finally told us the price of the USED car we were looking at, i couldn't help but laugh. anoter dealership in a different part of town was selling a NEW car of the same model for about $500 more...
The dealers may appear to be moronic, but if their oily methodology works, as it clearly would have on this dude except for an outside agent (his mom), why should they change?
I am curious to know - did Jeep seriously offer a rebate only on financed cars? I note the dude seemed to have no clue on this point. How could he not? I normally do not like comments that blame the OP, but in this case, he was practically begging to be swindled.
Is it a snake's fault if you allow him to bite you?
@cabjf: They probably lose money selling the cars up front. Their financing arm is apparently where they get the bulk of their revenue. It's a stupid business model, but they're pretty much stuck with their cost structure (inflexible dealer contracts, inflexible supplier contracts, inflexible union wages, and inflexible and inefficient union work rules).
Dealers have a one-script mind.
I have tons of family in the auto industry so I get the A-plan employee pricing on almost any model car. The pricing is the factory price plus any factory incentives (not the dealer's) that they offer. The last time I bought a new car, the salesman started to haggle with me and actually told me that I wouldn't get a better deal than his.
I had to explain to him that I could walk into any dealership and get the car for the same price as his -- his "negotiating" skills had nothing to do with it. After another half hour of him trying to sell me on a car I had already speced out and was ready to order, I left and went to another dealer.
I can't imagine why companies who spend so much money on marketing leave the closing up to idiots who think they sell on their sparkling personalities. For my next new car, I might find a way to order it online.
I have one simple question. Why the hell is this the only way to buy a car in America? is buying cars like this in Europe? Why do I have to feel like i'm getting ripped off whenever I make this purchase, which is the largest purchase I make after my house? Why can't I just buy a stupid car?
That's more than one question, but I get angry when I think about it.
No "Buy It Now" button on the Jeep website?
When I bought my used 2000 Mustang from Carmax, I went through some similar issues. I had found the car online- exactly the way I wanted it. I liked the price. I went down to my local CarMax to pay the refundable transfer fee (if you buy it), to have the car moved to Atlanta from Tennessee. A salesman wanted me to try driving one of the ones on the lot. I asked if he had a blue one with a gray interior, 5 speed and 6 cylinder. We drove one that was green, black interior, automatic, 8 cylinder. Yeah it drove great, now can we get the one I like shipped down. Finally they did.
Four days later I drove it and was ready to buy. I had already set up financing and had a check. Well, they wanted to try and match my financing. 90 minutes later they had an offer for one more percentage point than mine, from the same company I was using. I declined. I declined anything they tried to add on. Finally I bought my car for the original price.
I love the car and it has been a very good vehicle. It was a battle to get it, however. The sad thing is that the "salesman" could have sold me the car in 10 minutes and gone on to try and sell another one, but we went through hours of crap. Just stupid.
I'm sorry but "I had heard good things about the quality of Jeep vehicles." Really? Where?
The quality of Jeep vehicles is about as good as the quality of their dealerships.
I know that wasn't the point of the article but I just couldn't get past that statement.
This reminds me of my last car buying experience.
Car salesmen, mortgage bankers, Walmart, Ticketmaster, RIAA... I feel they're all connected in some way. They are the middlemen (leeches) that are sucking the life out of our economy. They begin as a legitimate service, effeciently connecting people to what they need, then inevitably become corrupt and eventually obsolete.
I this case, I like how Jeep's "build your own" feature on their website mimics something actually useful and forward thinking, but feeds macierich to the leeches in the end.
For the automobile makers to survive they have to dump their dealerships and all the asinine state laws that require we buy cars through dealerships. We should be able to order the car we want directly and have it delivered. All the rude and condescending lies and upselling from the dealer has to come to and end.
The last car I bought was paid for with cash. I first negotiated a price which I loved. I left to go "talk to my wife for a few minutes." In reality I went to get a cashier's check. I came back and they started talking about financing. I said I didn't need it and stated I wanted it for the price we agreed upon. I gave them the check, and despite the detection of some annoyance on their part, they accepted it and I drove off with my truck at an awesome price.
The dealerships didn't have his exact spec in stock so they were trying to sell him the next closest thing. He can always custom order it from Jeep for the exact quoted price on the website, but it will take a very long time. When looking for goods like cars which are each unique, you cannot expect your exact configuration to be available. I used to sell Chevrolets and saw this all the time - the builders on the sites give people the idea that they can get a base with bells and whistles but the fact of the matter is the OEM doesn't build things exactly like that, so you either have to take fewer features or a higher trim level, which results in a higher price.
Its ridiculous-
I should be able to build a car online, spit out a FINAL PRICE w/no extra fees for CASH and a seperate FINAL PRICE w/no extra fees for financing, ALL ONLINE, and I should be able to bop by the dealer, sign a few pieces of paper and get the car.
By the way... try CARMAX- I had a great experience there- I'm sure I didn't get a GREAT deal, but I got a good deal without serious harrassment.
In reading his article, I can't be certain, but it sounds as if he wasn't aware that there are things like taxes and title fees that you have to pay when you buy a car.
He wanted to just show up and pay MSRP, but that's not how it works, regardless. Yes you can usually negotiate down the price, but at the same time, the final price you start negotiating at is way higher than the MSRP.
That is the kind of crap that makes people think car salesmen are the scum of the earth. @willdude- I love it when they say you need the extended warranty or buying a car is such a bad investment. It really makes you think that you are buying a piece of junk. It makes me want to tell them that if it needs XYZ then why would I want it?
I once purchased a mustang convertible for $18K out the door, middle of the summer when they were trying to move them for $25K. I wrote the check and handed it to them, and said make it happen.
Typical dealership nonsense.
Dealers want you to finance because they get a kickback for 'referring' you.
Consider the 2 options for them.
1. Sell the car for $24,000 cash. (Or, a $24,000 check from a loan drawn somewhere else.) The dealer makes a fixed amount of profit on the transaction, and they're done.
2. Sell the car with dealer offered financing for $24,000. The dealer makes their profit on the sale, AND gets a kickback from the financing company.
Put simply, they end up making more money if they can get you to finance.
Kudos to this person and his mom for not caving in and taking their check elsewhere.
@downwithmonstercable: That's a perfect solution, actually. Since he was shopping for a Jeep he certainly wanted a car with tons of problems.
@Gmork:
No kidding - talking about blowing all credibility. I wont blame the consumer for not getting a car, but I *WILL* blame him for not knowing basic comic knowledge.
A fascinating study in the nature of modern finance. You see, the extra cost of the loan is supposed to be to offset the risk taken by the creditor. And the whole point is that the extra money that the dealership would get from agreeing to finance isn't just a bonus for them: the interest rate and payment schedule should be to cover those who default. But here we see that they artificially inflate the amount of risk they believe the customer to be to charge an increased rate. If that's not true, cash would be preferable to credit.
Remind me again why we're handing over billions and billions of taxpayer dollars to these sleaze bags?
Had a similar experience with a Toyota Dealership a few years back... I knew what I wanted to buy, went in on a Saturday, and couldn't get any of the sales folk to acknowledge my presence. I couldn't interest them in talking to me. Every time I saw a salesperson with their thumbs up their bum, I would approach them and they would disappear. I wondered if maybe I looked threatening, or uni-bomberish, but I didn't.
Finally, pissed off, I sat at the receptionists desk, rifled through for a pen and paper, wrote a note, taped it to her terminal screen and walked out. During the hour I was in the showroom no one said anything to me, or acknowledged my existence. This was to be a cash purchase I knew the price I was going to pay, I saw the vehicle I wanted on the lot... Told Toyota Canada of my experience and they suggested they would talk to the dealership... never heard back on it.
Oddly, while driving to the other Toyota dealership, I chanced a stop at VW and bought a vehicle from them. So at least there is a happy ending as I still love driving my New Beatle...
@Trojan69: It seemed like he was very honest about being naive, about being ignorant and emotional about the whole thing. In short -- I think he'd agree with you.
Not to talk down about the OP, really, but something he should have been told is that dealers have on their lot what they have. The vehicles have a window sticker in them with everything already added up, with an appropriate MSRP right there. It's got all the options, features packages, etc. that are included on that specific vehicle.
Generally, they'll have some base models with little or no options, some midrange ones with variations, and then ones that are loaded up.
You can either decide to like one on the lot, or you can have them order you one, wich takes a few months to actually get it, because instead of some arbitrary build sheet made up by the manufacturer, they build it off of your specific build sheet.
Either way, the dealer doesn't have to "add up" the options and features, most of which come standard anyways. You can however purchase some options and have them dealer installed like step rails or a soft top.
It made it seem like he thought they were going to throw in power locks and windows like they had to install them as it came out of their show room assembly line.
Next time he should locate a vehicle via jeep.com that he would be happy with, call the dealer that it is at, say you're coming to look at it so they don't sell it before you get there, and have a printoff of the window sticker with you that you got rfom the website. Then offer thousands below the bottom line on the window sticker and dont budge.
Good luck, because they are all still crooks.
@conquestofbread: Please send any mistakes in articles directly to the author of the post using the links to the left rather than posting them in the comments. They don't always read their comments, but do check their mail quite often. Thank you.
@cabjf: No, they are very smart dealers. My old roomate was a finance guy at a chrylser dealership. The dealership can add up to 3% on the top of your loan rate that they get for you. IE, if their computer says you can get a 5% rate on your loan, they'll try to get it to you at 8%, then make a "special deal" and knock it down to 7%. They make more off of that then they do selling the car nowadays. Sometimes its thousands, especially on the 5-6-7 year financing some people do. The dealership barely makes any money anymore in actually Selling the car, so they don't care if you have cash, or have financing already through your bank. (or will be much less willing to negotiate on the price)
I really don't understand this story - it's not very coherent. What vehicle was $24k? Were the prices there were coming back with for the same vehicle/trim level (i.e. were you talking about the base, and they were quoting the Rubicon)? What was the $31k+? Was that the price of the car, the total of the payments including financing, what?
The OP should head to edmunds.com - lots of useful info on the buying process, and a good indicator of (about) what you should expect to actually pay. With some negotiation, you can probably get a modestly better deal, but not hugely.
He should have got the loan, along with the extra rebates/incentives/discounts for financing with them then 1 month later pay off the loan.
A lot of car dealers offer extra discounts when you finance because they do make money off the financing.
In the end if they wont take cash walk away. Dont waste time haggling, just walk out the door.
@willdude: Since you were planning on buying the car for cash why did you give them you social?
I bought a car 2 years ago and most of the dealerships in my area wanted to run a credit check as I was walking through the cars..I would not give it to them. Once I found the car I wanted I let them run the credit check. Since I went to about 6 dealerships I would have been screwed if they check everytime...
dude's pretty brave to walk around with $25,000 in cash in NYC.
Given the problems I've had with my Dodge Caliber. Trust me, go elsewhere. Ugh.
this happened to me when I bought my car at a Honda dealership 4 years ago. They said i should just put the cash in a savings acct while financing the car and making money off the interest from the savings. i started yelling at the MANAGER for telling me this b/c he obviously doesn't know how to do math.
Then they bring out some salesman, who just happens to be the same race as me, and tried to get him to convince me to finance a more expensive car than what i was asking for.
they are all shysters! :)
My parents tried to buy a Jeep Compass in 2007, and had, in fact, gotten a price they agreed with and paid a down payment. They had a blank check from their employee credit union (they both have stellar credit) to pay off the car, which was supposed to be built to their specs and arrive in 6 weeks. 6 weeks later, the dealer said it would be another 2 weeks before the car would be ready. 2 weeks later, the dealer again said it would be another 2 weeks. My father asked for his down payment back, received it, then went to the Nissan dealer and drove away that day with a brand new XTerra.
No wonder Chrysler needs a bailout. They seem to have an aversion to taking people's money.
@gttim: No "Buy It Now" button on the Jeep website?
When I bought my used 2000 Mustang from Carmax....
Chrysler/Jeep is the manufacturer and only sells the cars through dealers, you cannot buy them "direct".
Carmax is a nationwide chain of Used Cars and CAN link all of them together allowing you to choose from a wider inventory and basically "Buy It Now".
@Irish_Knight: To the contrary, THAT person cares, thus excluding "Nobody" from being valid. Also, I care, so you're 2 outside of "Nobody" now. Stop assuming your opinion is representative of everyone.
He may have better luck, though he's "fallen in love" with the car he test-drove, to buy a car from a company that isn't flushing itself down the toilet.
@snowburnt: Or less, possibly much less.
Anymore the internet is causing a splitting of the markets. There is the price you get when you email your local dealerships, email quotes between them until you get the price you want, and then buy. Then there is the off the street "sucker" price, where the sales tactics are nastier, and they want to get the most money possible. (Of course there is always the sleeper price, that single model in their ad for a great price, which if you camp out you might be able to get).
Because dealerships assume that anyone who isn't using the internet to get prices isn't doing their homework the price paid is likely to continue to diverge, and the scuminess of the tactics likely to increase (after all if you aren't using the internet to hunt you probably aren't going to be writing a complaint.)
First problem, he is buying a new car as his first ride. BIG NO NO. I didnt get my frist new car till I was over 25, and only THEN it was because the deal they gave me ultimately beat my expected hassle and maintenance cost of a used car, especially one I planned to keep for over 10 years.
Second, he is getting a Jeep... Im sorry, if you REALLY want a truck based vehicle like that, the only thing worst than a Jeep is a Hummer. New Jeeps are not the Jeeps of old, they fall apart like crazy and you would actually be better off buying a used model from the 90s when they where better constructed. Not to mention you likely have no need for a Jeep and only like it cause your buddys have em, wait till you pay for gas on it.
Third, MSRP does NOT equal how much your actually going to pay for it. You have Taxes Titles Fees to deal with, some negotiable, many legally required depending on your states emission laws and the like. Being a Jeep you will also likely have to pay a tax for not buying a fuel efficient vehicle.
Lastly, Chrysler doesn't GIVE A SHIT. They sold the car, the deal has to buy them from Chrysler before they themselves sell them. For all Cerberus cares, they sold the car already, its the dealer who sucks.
Salesmen need to feed their families too.
Somebody needs to sit this kid down and teach him the finer points of haggling. Price comes FIRST, not last during the deal. The funny thing is, he had inadvertently followed one of the guidelines from my vehicle price haggling checklist... Never ever ever make the deal done in 1 visit. Always leave and tell the dealers you are concerned about the price, and to call you later on while you shop around for a better deal.
I brought my fiance's 20,000 asking Scion down to 14.5k that way. =)
@JustThatGuy3: From what I can tell, he doesn't understand loan payoff vs overall payoff. If he HAD gotten the loan, paid the money into it, then he probably only had 2-3 grand left after.
Its only 31k if he took the full length of time to pay it off because of incurred interest.
"His journey doesn't stop their"
Grammar Nazi -- please check your homophones. :X