When buying a vehicle- what is the deal breaker?

Tdbo said:
Never got floormats, but once after an especially ugly encounter in the business office that almost ended in a fist fight, I got a complementary bed liner.
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If you're a Lexus customer you stipulate "Weathertech formats. " That really ticks off the sales manager and financial people as they are expensive.
 
dfarr67 said:
Heard a new GMC 1500 pass me by- with the I4/turbo, love the turbo whistle- but no manufacturer has ever had a I4 that I could stomach the sound unless it's muffled to oblivion which this one wasn't. Spec's aside- I don't see the 1500/4 banger combo a success (maybe in a Colorado sized truck). That being said- Toyota I6 or phord v6 turbo's I can get behind. Why couldn't GM build on there 80's Buick turbo tech,,,,,,30 years later I would assume one hell of a engine would be in service.
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You have a point. I do think turbo 4s have a place but like you I don't see why a full size truck would be a good spot for it, not to mention they aren't getting better economy than the V8. Apparently it takes a lot of fuel to push a giant brick through the air, no matter what the powerplant is. With gasoline vehicles I place a sound of what sounds normal to me when a vehicle goes buy. I still haven't gotten used to the Ecoboost 3.5 to be honest. Great engine, still doesn't sound like a truck to me though. If it's going to cost roughly the same in gas though too I'll take the bigger powertrain option.

For me though it's killing off cars. If a company doesn't make a legitimate car I'm out. I just don't want or need a big vehicle.
 
Nothing is a deal breaker except maybe a title problem. Everything else is a point of negotiation for lowering the price. Missmatched brands of tires or new noname Chinese rubber. Dirty engine compartment. Universal coolant in a late model car. $2 Jiffy Lube oil filter. etc.
 
A car smoked in, corrosion from being in salt, any repaint. I can see wrong date codes on glass, not matching undercoating under a fender, lots.of pedal wear for too low miles. Dozens of things to look for. When I want a no salt no repaint car, and its all bs. I leave now
 
A car must handle well, be comfortable to drive, lots of head room as I'm tall, no rattles or clunks, sales person who has a sense of humor, don't try to get me to finance i buy cars with certified cheque.
 
For me its cost. If cost werent a factor, I would have owned a Tacoma instead of my Ranger and a Tundra instead of my F-150. I love Toyotas and theyre awesome, well-made vehicles that are worth every penny but if you dont have the money, it doesnt really matter.
 
demarpaint said:
I sold cars, I like to say I learned from the best, and I'm certain I did. I know all the tricks and then some. To make it simple an educated consumer is a salesman's worst nightmare. I've negotiated many deals over the years for family and friends. Every person I negotiated for was happy with the outcome and they saved money. As you said it requires due diligence. It just takes a bit of time and patience. Getting up and walking away from a bad deal or a salesman making an attempt to insult my intelligence is a no brainer.
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Can you share some of the more common tactics/tricks dealers use ?
 
StumblingElk said:
Can you share some of the more common tactics/tricks dealers use ?
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To name a few: Packing deals, hidden fees, and playing games with finance, especially with people who plan on financing and don't know their credit score, or people with bad credit. Know your credit score and have rates to finance before buying, and negotiate off the out the door price, not invoice or MSRP. The only price that matters is the out the door price. People who brag about getting 5% off invoice or better often get banged with fees, and conveniently leave them out of the conversation when talking price with friends and family. Do your homework, be patient.
 
demarpaint said:
To name a few: Packing deals, hidden fees, and playing games with finance, especially with people who plan on financing
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My youtube feed suddenly got a former(?) sales guy and his son (grandson?) talking about car buying. I don't watch much of it but I did click on a few of them... so win for them.

They mentioned, if financing through the dealer, to ask what the buy rate is. The dealer is going to get an APR from the banks they work with, but they can then raise the APR and pass that along to you. Adding 0.25% so you don't have to deal with the bank may be worth it to you, but they could be adding 1% or even 2% on top of a 5% APR, and now I suspect you are talking about real money going into the dealers hands. Money that, like all other aspects of the deal, should be negotiated.
 
97prizm said:
If you're a Lexus customer you stipulate "Weathertech formats. " That really ticks off the sales manager and financial people as they are expensive.
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When I got my '06 LS in 2016, oddly, all over the web were factory carpeted gray mats, for $14. I bought 3 sets even though my car is beige or cashmere. Everyone was scooping them up on the forum. I still have 2/3 sets in bags but at $14 it's ok....also the dealer forgot to charge me for the mats lol I just remembered, puzzling, as if on my parts order it showed not in stock but came in the delivery
 
Dealbreaker, some fee that shows up out of nowhere in the hundreds of dollars range, I'm ok with walking out the door. This happened with the BMW over the phone over a week later, come back in to sign new paperwork. That was silly. Forgot to add Training and MACO fees.
 
supton said:
My youtube feed suddenly got a former(?) sales guy and his son (grandson?) talking about car buying. I don't watch much of it but I did click on a few of them... so win for them.

They mentioned, if financing through the dealer, to ask what the buy rate is. The dealer is going to get an APR from the banks they work with, but they can then raise the APR and pass that along to you. Adding 0.25% so you don't have to deal with the bank may be worth it to you, but they could be adding 1% or even 2% on top of a 5% APR, and now I suspect you are talking about real money going into the dealers hands. Money that, like all other aspects of the deal, should be negotiated.
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Yep, and for subprime deals they can belt it out of the park. Lets face it, the dealer is in business to make money, the salesman's job is to sell the car for as much as he can, and the finance manager tries to make money with finance, warranties, etc. The buyers job is to get the best price he can, the only way to do that is to do your homework. Unfortunately people with bad credit and who need a car can be easy prey.
 
Price out the door is the important issue.

From a mechanical point of view, I shop for the stuff I like. Most choices were good. The 3.5 Ecoboost still annoys me, as it sounds like a UPS truck, groaning at low RPM and is not smooth on highway trips like my other truck with the V8.

The Jag F-Type has a V6 engine which is just a V8 with 2 cylinders blanked off. That really bothered me. So I hesitated to purchase for years. Yet it turned out to be epic good.
 
Cujet said:
Price out the door is the important issue.
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This is the nail on the head.

Hidden fees, are not on invoice, nor on list price. That's why dealers love it when people walk in and say they want x off list, or x below invoice. They give them what the buyer wanted, and add the surprise fee.

Surprise and hidden fees raise the out the door price.
 
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