General Grim

Good afternoon everyone. Just wanted to let off some steam about my realization. Back in 2014, I made a huge mistake by leasing a BMW 3 series because the company I work for moved to a different city. I was willing to commute, but the location that my company moved to was pretty far away and I was bound to go over the mileage of the leased car. A friend of mine who worked as a sales agent for an Infiniti dealership suggested me to trade in my leased car for a pre-owned g37 which was similar to the 3 series. Now, let me start off by saying that purchasing cars and cars in general are not my forte. I trusted my friend that he would get me the best deal possible. I ended up trading in the BMW for a 2013 G37 Journey with 31k miles for 25k. That "friend" of mine claimed that Infiniti would pay for the rest of the lease which was about 4k and the G37 Journey was the best and sportiest trim. Months later I pulled out the paper work for the purchase and noticed I was still charged for the remaining amount on the lease. It was added to the 25k of the car and into my monthly payments. I eventually realized that there was a sport package available for the G37 and I could have gotten an S for the price I payed for the Journey. What upsets me too is that a lot of G37 Sedans are on sale now for under 17k in my area with very low miles. Now I know that some of you might laugh at me, but I just wanted to rant. One thing I truly learned is that there is no room for friendship when it comes to business! Thanks for reading.

General Grim

If you guys have had a terrible experience with car salesmen or dealerships, please share them!

Ricio1991

In my opinion yes some of them are but most fault here is yours for not looking over the paperwork of what was being financed/charged until later. When buying a car you have to be very careful what you are signing up for and making sure everything is written in contract. I have dealt with very rude scumbags and also very helpful and polite sales men in my years of buying and looking into prices at dealers

saywat?

iTrader: (3)

i didnt even kno a leased car could be traded in. wat the hell kind of thing is that? so wat happens to a leased car when its traded in?

stealthee

You failed to do your own research so the entirety of the fault lies on you. Are there scumbag salesmen out there? Sure, but they just don't sell cars. When it comes to cars the world is your oyster with all of the information available on the internet.

Back in December the transmission went out on my Grand Prix I was driving. I needed a car quick and I went to a local Nissan dealer and found a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS on the used car lot. I looked it over and took it for a ride and told the salesman to see what we could work out.

I had literally done almost no research on the Lancers up to that point because I was looking more at Altima coupes and Maximas, as well as G's, but they didn't have any used ones on the lot in my price range. I literally researched the car on my phone while we wheeled and dealed.

Just by telling him I wasn't going to pay what he came back with because I knew what the car was worth, I got the out the door price dropped by almost $2000.

The salesman is always going to try to get the most out of a car that they can get because it makes their commission more. It is your job as a consumer to get your best deal possible and most of all is to READ ALL THE PAPERWORK.

General Grim

I believe my leased car was put on sale at the dealership. I know the majority of the error is my fault, but what bugs me is the salesman was actually a friend of mine. I understand salesman wants to make money, but to pull sleezy moves on a friend is down right low. I ended up owing 37k all in all and have 72 months to pay. I am currently at 2 years in. I would not mind if he at least got me in a Sport model with lower mileage. I feel bad missing out on sportier and better seats, sports suspension, LSD, and a quicker car. Hopefully my thread will serve as a lesson to someone out there! this for me is a valuable lesson.

saywat?

iTrader: (3)

So that would mean they paid some almost full price for the BMW to BMW? And now trying to sell it

ezbme

I had some crazy experienced buying my current car. I was driving 75 miles to go pick up a car. I told myself that I was going to buy this car. I wanted to negotiate a bit, but it was a good deal. If I remember right, it was a 2008 Lexus IS350 with around 80k for 10,600. It was fully equipped. I probably should have gone up there right away, but it had been raining and I wanted to wait for it to get over. I called the place to make sure it was there. On the way there, I called again and they said it was still there. I got there and met with the salesman. They claimed it was sold about 15mins before I got there. I was pissed. They told me they would give me a deal on something else, I glanced for a minute and left. On the way back, it started to rain and the traffic was so bad, it took me over 2 hours to get home.

Soon after that, I was thinking that my local Audi Dealer had some good cars. I went on and there was a G37s, which was priced well. I went to see it and it was very clean with new tires. Two hours later it was mine.

I know people in the car business, one time my sister wanted to pick up a Subaru Forester, she had gotten a price. I asked a friend who was a manager at a Subaru dealer. He told me that he couldn't beat the price. So I arrived at my sisters. The dealership my sister spoke to was trying to cancel the deal. I got on the phone and after a few words, they told her that she could have the deal, but don't bring me. We went there and in 30 mins, we had the test drive and picked up the car.

You have to be pretty informed when you buy a car. My last experience buying from a private party was pretty crazy.

A lot of people expecting way too much for their cars. This one guy had a 2011 IS350 with 90k and it was salvaged, but he wanted 15k. I told him I found one with clean title that was around 1000 miles away for the same price. He had lost his license and couldn't even drive the car. When I suggested that his car should be around 12k, he got offended. If he hadn't lived so far away, I wouldn't have even made such suggestions on the phone.

Then there were a couple of crazy women. This one, kept changing her price on CL, it actually went down to 14k and then came back up. I would call her and she wouldn't answer, then she would call me back and ask me if I could be there in like 30 mins and meet at a Target. I had already told her I lived at least 50 miles away. She never seemed to have time to show her car.

Another woman kept changing meeting times and places, I finally met her, the car had a plastic plate like from a used car dealer. She claimed that her bf worked for the government and she didn't have the plate on because of it. She was upset that I brought my dog. I explained that she kept changing her plans. She wanted me to leave my dog in the parking lot on a hot day. I wanted to bring my dog. She finally acquiesced and I was trying to see what kind of deal I could get. Her daughter, who was there with her got incensed and started yelling at me.

I found most of the time, the dealer wanted less, they could provide carfax reports, most had repair records. I had time to look. Before the G, I think one of the cars was a 2015 or 2016 Mazda 6 Touring, with 80k on it, brand new they were 30k, but this was 12.9k. used. Another car was a 2011-2012 Audi S4 with around 90k for 16,900 at an audi dealer. I don't know why it was such a good deal, both were better deals than any Private Party. The dealers buy cars at a lower prices and have no emotional ties.

I find that sales people usually don't know that much about the cars they sell. There are exceptions. The guy who sold me the G, said that he owned a 370z. He never mentioned that my car had the LSD or DVD player. I found out through the internet after I bought it.

crookncastle

of all the years working at different dealers i haven't met a salesperson that wasn't a lowlife piece of s that i wouldn't mind taking a scalding iron and cutting their lying face off with. that being said, it sounds like your buddy or supposed buddy was just a weasel f piece of s. but then again there's always the saying "a sucker is born every minute" and i guess your buddy spotted you coming with a bulleye on your forehead. consider it a learning experience and hopefully you don't get f d the next time.

stealthee

Friend or not you still have to check a car over and do your own research.

Daddy Fat Sacs

iTrader: (15)

What does your ****ty friend have to do with "most car salesman are scum". Has nothing to do with salesman and has EVERYTHING to do with your friend.

As mentioned before, you didnt do any research but the biggest question is how the hell did you buy a car and not look over the paperwork and MOST importantly THE PRICE!!!???

So how are you just now realizing this 3 years later is what I want to know

RMB5190

iTrader: (2)

You have to remember a lot of them work on commission...sometimes it's total number of sales and other times it's the amount that they are in the "black". They receive rewards and bonuses for making sales that earn the dealership money. If they know you paying an extra 2-3K over MSRP is going to earn them a bonus check that covers their mortgage for the month you can bet your a** they'll try to slide it by you.

In my experience, salesman have a general knowledge about what they are selling but do not know the specifics of the product they are selling. When we got my fiance's Mazda, the salesman was very honest but relatively useless in regards to finding out more about the vehicle trim and levels. I was in the market at the time and spotted a Speed6 they had for sale for what seemed like a steal and he actually deterred me from the purchase because they had rebuilt the motor so many times and there's a chance the diff was going; the dealership had sunk so much money into it - that was the reason they were giving it away. My next purchase was the G

The dealership I got the G from was terrific. The owner swore by them, was super knowledgeable and really worked with me so I could get rid of my Lancer. Stayed until 8 PM on a Saturday and let me take the car home, 80+ miles away, before I was approved for the loan. Our credit is great so no doubt we'd have qualified but that was risky on his part. They are the only two salesman I'll even deal with. They're like mechanics, if you find one you can trust they're worth their weight in gold. That said, you still arm yourself with information and never go in unprepared.

To add to the discussion, when I was getting quotes for the Lancer, I did come across some super shady salesman at two Chevy dealerships. Stalled the quote process and tried to entertain Chargers that were overpriced by at least $5,000.

r2dmax

I would have to agree most with this statement. Your so-called "friend" is definitely not that, but how can you be so gullible so as not to look at anything?! You didn't question why the pmt on a $25k car was so high? What was your interest rate? Were there no others on the lot? Did you just say ok and sign? Many sales people will do/say whatever to get the sale. But that ONLY works on someone who CHOOSES not to educate themselves.

You should change the title of this thread to
"I Need to Choose Better Friends" or "I Bet I'll Do My Due Diligence Next Time"

Lego_Maniac

iTrader: (3)

There is a lot of anger in this thread

Car salesman are just doing their job--facilitating a car purchase.

I review everything I sign and break out the calculator app to check every calculation. It's your responsibility, not theirs, to understand the terms you're agreeing to.

RMB5190

iTrader: (2)

I agree with you entirely and under normal circumstances this is what should be done but in OP's case this was someone they considered a friend. You don't expect someone that you considered yourself to be close with to betray you while facilitating something you aren't familiar with. He let his guard down and got bit. Hard lesson learned but recoverable.

Edit: I happen to like the guys I've made the last two purchases from. I can't express enough how having a salesman you can trust is worth their weight in gold. In my experience, you can tell within the first sentence whether or not they're trustworthy.