Car/Truck Buying Experiences

[BAJAvol]

I wanted to start a thread on this because, for whatever reason, I love hearing stories about car dealerships. Both good and bad.....but mainly the horror stories. I am currently in the market for a truck, and it's made me remember a lot of my experiences. I don't have a ton of negative ones since I have only bought 2 cars from a dealer, but I have one that happened recently that me and wife are still laughing about and in shock. I'm also going to call the dealer out to you because it's something that needs to be known anyways if you're in the market for a truck.

So I searched for a Toyota Tundra for a couple of weeks. I wanted a newer 17-18 model with a leveling kit and after market wheels. Need the lift to see over my boat while towing. I would've done this myself if I could've found one cheap enough to have the $3,500 wiggle room with. One popped up in Knoxville, and I wanted to drive it, mainly because I have never driven a Tundra. So we had a free Saturday afternoon to go check this one and a few others out. Weather was kind of crappy so all of the dealerships were really slow. We check out the tundra and unfortunately it had not been through pre-inspection yet, so we could not drive it. So we leave. My wife's grandfather retired from Ford Motor Company so she gets the Z-Plan. So as we're leaving the Toyota Dealership, I get the "Babe, you know we get that pretty nice discount on new Fords, so why don't you check them out?" I give in. I thought, what the hell, I haven't driven the new F-150's so I will check one out. We roll into Ted Russell Ford on Parkside as it began to rain and my wife and I are the only customers in the dealership. As I walk in, I see it. One of the most beautiful trucks I have even laid my eyes on. It had everything I wanted. The color, the lift/leveling kit, the wheels, the interior, the matching bed liner, the step rails....EVERYTHING. I fell in love. I am so picky when it comes to vehicles and this was the first time in my life one had everything I wanted. This thing was $61,000. I am pretty financially responsible, and I wanted to explore my other options prior to spending near that.

I noticed they had another lifted F-150 on the lot that was in a much cheaper trim. We get a salesman, who is from India I believe. I could barely understand the guy honestly (I swear i'm not racist. Don't care where you are from as long as I get the deal I want). Anyways, I wanted to drive the truck outside because a Truck can drive a lot different lifted/leveled than a stock one, and this one afforded me the ability to experience that. So we hop in for a quick test drive. Test drive went fine and we get back to the lot. He asked me what I thought about the truck. I responded, "I like it, but I don't like the color scheme." Dude shakes his head and lets out a quick burst of air. I look at my wife, and she gives me the please calm down look. So I asked if I could possibly add that package to a different truck on the lot and he said yes. We go inside to see what the total $ figures on the Z-Plan would be. During this time, his manager is appraising my truck for a trade in. We finish, and I just really wasn't feeling like I was getting the truck I wanted, and the price was a little higher than I wanted. I then tell him that I really want the one on the floor, and that if I could possibly drive it, I would willing to buy today if trade in was appropriate. He responds to me by saying that I needed to put a $2,500 deposit on that truck before I put the keys in the ignition. Really? It's not a f*****g raptor. At this point I know I won't spend my money here. But wait there's more!!!!!

Before we were completely done, he brings me the deal sheet with my trade in on it. $10,000 for my truck. I had ran the numbers prior to going that day. Average Trade on NADA (which I have a sub to) was $14,375 and clean trade was $15,600. They could sell the truck for about $17,900. The sales manager made a fictitious NADA document in excel by snipping out the NADA logo and pasting it in an excel document. I call out the salesman on it. I tell him I worked in lending for 3 years and I know this is a fake document. Dude gets pissed and says no it's not. At this point, I tell my wife lets go. Salesman gets up and exclaims I am his 7th customer today and...."Nobody Buy, Nobody Buy!!" My response to him was, "I don't give a d**n, buddy!" At this point I realize the Sales Manager has my keys hostage. He comes out and keeps saying, Lets work a deal out today. I said hell no and to give me my keys immediately. I go on to let the Sales Manager know that I would have bought the $61,000 truck on his showroom floor if psycho hadn't treated me like I couldn't afford it. His mouth drops.. My wife is about 3 feet away is laughing hysterically because it's so hard to believe. At this point I laugh too, shake my head, finally get my keys after threatening to call the police, and we go have wings and beer. They blew my phone up for a week begging me to come buy that truck. Told them to go to hell.

TL;DR - Had a bad experience at Ted Russell Ford on Parkside Dr. Pretty funny story, you should read.

What experiences do you have?

 

[Guest]

 

[BAJAvol]

Buy used from an individual. End of story

When an individual has what I want, then I may look into it.

 

[Guest]

 

[BAJAvol]

Ok, keep inflecting yourself with the dealership punishment. And stoping winkin at me, Ima dude

that better? So by your logic, buy something you don’t want since it’s from an individual? What I have decided to buy is pretty hard to find. And I’ve yet to find an individual selling one that didn’t want a stupid amount. So I’ll deal with dealship ******** before I overspend by $10,000

 

[VolStrom]

I bought my current F150 from Ted Russell and never again. The price was okay but the management person on duty was an ******* and treated me like sh1t. After I bought the vehicle and before I picked it up they called me and said they had made a mistake on the paper work and I owed them another $400 or so. I told them to keep it and to give me my money back. I got a song and dance from the finance person, even though I paid cash, that this would come out of her paycheck, whhhhaaaa. The bottom line is I would never buy a hotdog from that place again much less a vehicle.

 

[BAJAvol]

I bought my current F150 from Ted Russell and never again. The price was okay but the management person on duty was an ******* and treated me like sh1t. After I bought the vehicle and before I picked it up they called me and said they had made a mistake on the paper work and I owed them another $400 or so. I told them to keep it and to give me my money back. I got a song and dance from the finance person, even though I paid cash, that this would come out of her paycheck, whhhhaaaa. The bottom line is I would never buy a hotdog from that place again much less a vehicle.

After my experience, it doesn't surprise me. I would've reacted the same way you did as well. Bummer, because I really wanted what they had on the floor. I attempted to do a dealer transfer on it, but my guy at another Ford Dealer said they wouldn't send it to them without charging them some fee he had never heard of. typical.

 

[pismonque]

Gotta say, I've bought a couple used cars from Carmax in the past couple years and it was much less obnoxious than other car purchases I've made, except for when I've use a credit union buying service. Sure, I could have probably saved a little money overall by spending more time on legwork and wheeling/dealing but for me any cost difference was worth avoiding the extra damage to my soul.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

My last new purchase, the sales person was a trainee. He was very nice. I was going to buy the vehicle from whomever as long as I liked the test drive. When I went back a couple weeks later to pick up my plate that managed to not be mailed to me , the guy was fired and they told me I was his only sale ever.

 

[BAJAvol]

My last new purchase, the sales person was a trainee. He was very nice. I was going to buy the vehicle from whomever as long as I liked the test drive. When I went back a couple weeks later to pick up my plate that managed to not be mailed to me , the guy was fired and they told me I was his only sale ever.

No way I could do that job. Friend of mine works for a big dealer, and that is his niche. He has made a huge living on car sales. But he is also a straight forward guy. Has a ton of repeat and referral business. It took him a while to get there. But he has told me some crazy stories at other dealers he has worked at in the Knoxville area. And I avoid them no matter how good the deal is.

 

[SaluteToTheHill]

Gotta say, I've bought a couple used cars from Carmax in the past couple years and it was much less obnoxious than other car purchases I've made, except for when I've use a credit union buying service. Sure, I could have probably saved a little money overall by spending more time on legwork and wheeling/dealing but for me any cost difference was worth avoiding the extra damage to my soul.

I've bought 5 vehicles through Carmax and it's always been a great experience. They've fixed any issue I've found. I had an issue after the 30 day warranty and they couldn't find the cause. Ended up swapping the vehicle. They totally didn't have to do that. I always start at Carmax.

 

[YankeeVol]

Back about 10 years ago I though I had bought a brand new "Toyota blue" Tacoma w/ the TRD Off Road package from Savannah Toyota in GA. I was trading in my Z71 Colorado (worst truck ever IMO). They called me the next day and said they had made a mistake on the paperwork and I ended up getting the truck for a good bit less than they intended. Long story short, I gave them the truck back. I don't care if they had the ONLY car I've ever wanted, I would never do business with them.

 

[Pacer92]

Don’t you buy no ugly truck...

 

[DancingOutlaw]

I've bought 5 vehicles through Carmax and it's always been a great experience. They've fixed any issue I've found. I had an issue after the 30 day warranty and they couldn't find the cause. Ended up swapping the vehicle. They totally didn't have to do that. I always start at Carmax.

Bought in January from them. Their price was barely above what I’d seen at other dealerships for what I wanted, and I knew I wouldn’t get into some protracted battle over price and trade in. And no stalker salesman calling three times a day. Although on the test drive the guy praised Toyota’s realiability and then turned around at the desk and tried to sell me an extended warranty. Guy said they average 300 units sold a month in the Chattanooga location.

My wife got a brand new van last year, she handled the entire thing. The price she wound up getting was lower than anything I could find on cars.com or cargurus in the country. The poor guy tried to talk to me at the dealership when giving his last gasp pitch for the extended warranty, I said don’t look at me buddy it’s her car.

 

[NEVolFan]

I wanted to start a thread on this because, for whatever reason, I love hearing stories about car dealerships. Both good and bad.....but mainly the horror stories. I am currently in the market for a truck, and it's made me remember a lot of my experiences. I don't have a ton of negative ones since I have only bought 2 cars from a dealer, but I have one that happened recently that me and wife are still laughing about and in shock. I'm also going to call the dealer out to you because it's something that needs to be known anyways if you're in the market for a truck.

So I searched for a Toyota Tundra for a couple of weeks. I wanted a newer 17-18 model with a leveling kit and after market wheels. Need the lift to see over my boat while towing. I would've done this myself if I could've found one cheap enough to have the $3,500 wiggle room with. One popped up in Knoxville, and I wanted to drive it, mainly because I have never driven a Tundra. So we had a free Saturday afternoon to go check this one and a few others out. Weather was kind of crappy so all of the dealerships were really slow. We check out the tundra and unfortunately it had not been through pre-inspection yet, so we could not drive it. So we leave. My wife's grandfather retired from Ford Motor Company so she gets the Z-Plan. So as we're leaving the Toyota Dealership, I get the "Babe, you know we get that pretty nice discount on new Fords, so why don't you check them out?" I give in. I thought, what the hell, I haven't driven the new F-150's so I will check one out. We roll into Ted Russell Ford on Parkside as it began to rain and my wife and I are the only customers in the dealership. As I walk in, I see it. One of the most beautiful trucks I have even laid my eyes on. It had everything I wanted. The color, the lift/leveling kit, the wheels, the interior, the matching bed liner, the step rails....EVERYTHING. I fell in love. I am so picky when it comes to vehicles and this was the first time in my life one had everything I wanted. This thing was $61,000. I am pretty financially responsible, and I wanted to explore my other options prior to spending near that.

I noticed they had another lifted F-150 on the lot that was in a much cheaper trim. We get a salesman, who is from India I believe. I could barely understand the guy honestly (I swear i'm not racist. Don't care where you are from as long as I get the deal I want). Anyways, I wanted to drive the truck outside because a Truck can drive a lot different lifted/leveled than a stock one, and this one afforded me the ability to experience that. So we hop in for a quick test drive. Test drive went fine and we get back to the lot. He asked me what I thought about the truck. I responded, "I like it, but I don't like the color scheme." Dude shakes his head and lets out a quick burst of air. I look at my wife, and she gives me the please calm down look. So I asked if I could possibly add that package to a different truck on the lot and he said yes. We go inside to see what the total $ figures on the Z-Plan would be. During this time, his manager is appraising my truck for a trade in. We finish, and I just really wasn't feeling like I was getting the truck I wanted, and the price was a little higher than I wanted. I then tell him that I really want the one on the floor, and that if I could possibly drive it, I would willing to buy today if trade in was appropriate. He responds to me by saying that I needed to put a $2,500 deposit on that truck before I put the keys in the ignition. Really? It's not a f*****g raptor. At this point I know I won't spend my money here. But wait there's more!!!!!

Before we were completely done, he brings me the deal sheet with my trade in on it. $10,000 for my truck. I had ran the numbers prior to going that day. Average Trade on NADA (which I have a sub to) was $14,375 and clean trade was $15,600. They could sell the truck for about $17,900. The sales manager made a fictitious NADA document in excel by snipping out the NADA logo and pasting it in an excel document. I call out the salesman on it. I tell him I worked in lending for 3 years and I know this is a fake document. Dude gets pissed and says no it's not. At this point, I tell my wife lets go. Salesman gets up and exclaims I am his 7th customer today and...."Nobody Buy, Nobody Buy!!" My response to him was, "I don't give a d**n, buddy!" At this point I realize the Sales Manager has my keys hostage. He comes out and keeps saying, Lets work a deal out today. I said hell no and to give me my keys immediately. I go on to let the Sales Manager know that I would have bought the $61,000 truck on his showroom floor if psycho hadn't treated me like I couldn't afford it. His mouth drops.. My wife is about 3 feet away is laughing hysterically because it's so hard to believe. At this point I laugh too, shake my head, finally get my keys after threatening to call the police, and we go have wings and beer. They blew my phone up for a week begging me to come buy that truck. Told them to go to hell.

TL;DR - Had a bad experience at Ted Russell Ford on Parkside Dr. Pretty funny story, you should read.

What experiences do you have?

Not too unusual... sad tough.

I have had excellent results with putting my used vehicles in the local Craigs List... sold two recently in a matter of days after placing the ads. And I got the dealer anticipated price minus 1K. That was my sales pitch. Now, going to the lot for a new SUV or Truck turns the table and the deal is all in your favor.

Years ago.... on airport motor mile I had my keys taken as they wanted to check out my car. They kept me waiting for a very long time... close to closing time, so I wold not run across the street to see about a different offer. Pizzed me off.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

I went with a friend who was looking at cars at Carmax in Nashville. Every car she had seen on their website and wanted to look at had either "just sold" or had a 7-day hold on it. Frustrating experience for her. Maybe that's atypical? Sounds like others here have had good experiences there.

 

[SDV]

I bought a 4Runner and Tundra from CarMax last year and it was one of the easiest procedures I’ve ever dealt with when it comes to buying a car. Found what I wanted online. One they even shipped down from another store for free. Rep called me and I told him what I wanted to put down and pay monthly. About 10 mins later says, paperwork is done, come on down a I’ll have everything ready. Did a quick test drive and paperwork in about 15 mins. Out the door. They also have great warranties. Will definitely buy from them again.

 

[Godfatha]

Gotta say, I've bought a couple used cars from Carmax in the past couple years and it was much less obnoxious than other car purchases I've made, except for when I've use a credit union buying service. Sure, I could have probably saved a little money overall by spending more time on legwork and wheeling/dealing but for me any cost difference was worth avoiding the extra damage to my soul.

Bought a truck from them last year and it was the best car dealership experience I've ever had. Car dealerships could learn a lot from them.

 

[BAJAvol]

I bought a 4Runner and Tundra from CarMax last year and it was one of the easiest procedures I’ve ever dealt with when it comes to buying a car. Found what I wanted online. One they even shipped down from another store for free. Rep called me and I told him what I wanted to put down and pay monthly. About 10 mins later says, paperwork is done, come on down a I’ll have everything ready. Did a quick test drive and paperwork in about 15 mins. Out the door. They also have great warranties. Will definitely buy from them again.

I've heard this too. I was hoping they had the edition that I wanted somewhere, but they only have the raptors. They price their stuff to move so that's why I always try and check them out.

 

[SDV]

I've heard this too. I was hoping they had the edition that I wanted somewhere, but they only have the raptors. They price their stuff to move so that's why I always try and check them out.

Don’t limit your search to local. They will pull a vehicle from another part of the country and ship it for a small fee. Sometimes may waive it if you buy the car

 

[SDV]

Bought a truck from them last year and it was the best car dealership experience I've ever had. Car dealerships could learn a lot from them.

Absolutely. Haggling really makes the process go sour. You don’t have to worry about it at CM

 

[hog88]

Other than it's a GMC dealership my BIL is now the GM of a dealership and before that the head of F&I so no hassles when we buy.

 

[TheDeeble]

I haven't had any bad experiences so far. First truck I bought in 01 was from Ford. I found one I liked in the Sunday paper advertised for a good price and my dad and I went down there to look at it. Basic v6 regular cab f-150 XL. Well they didn't have that one anymore. I test drove a similar truck that was an XLT. I liked it well enough and the sales guy said since they didn't have the one I wanted to look at, he'd give me the XLT for that price. Maybe it's cause it was my first purchase or maybe because my dad bought a truck from them the year before, but they made it easy for me. Might even have been the same sales guy my dad worked with. I still remember his name.

Bought a used Infiniti g35 in 2011. It was the exact car I wanted. That took me a couple months. I saw it online and kept my eye on it for 2-3 weeks. Went up there to look at it. Test drove it. Thanked him for his time and went home. Went back a week later, drove it, and talked numbers but at the end we were still a couple thousand off on price. I kept checking on the car and a few weeks later I noticed they dropped their asking price. It wasn't low enough for me to buy, but it was low enough for me to go visit and see if they would come down some more. I came up another 500 from my original first offer. They came down some more, but we were still 300 away from each other. I said thanks, but I'll wait for now. I went home and about 2 hours later the sales manager called and asked if I would split the difference. $150. I thought about it and decided since this was the exact car I wanted...manual, 6 speed, coupe, options, ect and I hadn't seen another one for sale in the past few months I said ok.

Now I'm about ready to go back to driving a truck. Nothing against the car, but I just miss having a truck bed and the versatility trucks have vs cars.

 

[BAJAvol]

Don’t limit your search to local. They will pull a vehicle from another part of the country and ship it for a small fee. Sometimes may waive it if you buy the car

I did a nationwide search. Even when I look on Cars.co,. CarGurus, and AutoTrader, I do nationwide. I happened to come across one in Knoxville, just waiting for them to start dropping the price. Today is day 20 on the lot. It was a trade in on a higher end car. They have it priced reasonable, but I let them know the possibility of it selling for what they have it listed for is probably less than 20% due to being able to buy a new one for $1,600 more.

 

[BAJAvol]

I haven't had any bad experiences so far. First truck I bought in 01 was from Ford. I found one I liked in the Sunday paper advertised for a good price and my dad and I went down there to look at it. Basic v6 regular cab f-150 XL. Well they didn't have that one anymore. I test drove a similar truck that was an XLT. I liked it well enough and the sales guy said since they didn't have the one I wanted to look at, he'd give me the XLT for that price. Maybe it's cause it was my first purchase or maybe because my dad bought a truck from them the year before, but they made it easy for me. Might even have been the same sales guy my dad worked with. I still remember his name.

Bought a used Infiniti g35 in 2011. It was the exact car I wanted. That took me a couple months. I saw it online and kept my eye on it for 2-3 weeks. Went up there to look at it. Test drove it. Thanked him for his time and went home. Went back a week later, drove it, and talked numbers but at the end we were still a couple thousand off on price. I kept checking on the car and a few weeks later I noticed they dropped their asking price. It wasn't low enough for me to buy, but it was low enough for me to go visit and see if they would come down some more. I came up another 500 from my original first offer. They came down some more, but we were still 300 away from each other. I said thanks, but I'll wait for now. I went home and about 2 hours later the sales manager called and asked if I would split the difference. $150. I thought about it and decided since this was the exact car I wanted...manual, 6 speed, coupe, options, ect and I hadn't seen another one for sale in the past few months I said ok.

Now I'm about ready to go back to driving a truck. Nothing against the car, but I just miss having a truck bed and the versatility trucks have vs cars.

I tried a tahoe for awhile. Went back to a truck after 6 months.