... a little bit of a lie. ;)

[Wellardmac]

Okay, I'll share a moment that made me smile this week.

I've been looking for a new daily driver and decided upon a new Acura.

I took a test drive at my local dealership. As we pulled out onto 309N a nice red 993 cab drove by - obviously enjoying the last beautiful sunny day. The salesman was drooling all over it. He raved about the car and said that when he retired he was hoping his wife would allow him to buy one. I commented that they had a beautiful sound and could really move. Obviously, while in the middle of negotiations for a new car I couldn't tell him that I had a 996 and my "little summer sports car" temporarily became a Miata for the purposes of the conversation. While it made me sad to have to not reveal our shared passion I was able to secretly smile inside. hock:

... I saved the story until after I'd purchased a car... just in case on the very remote chance that he might somehow read the story.

... I ended up buying from another dealership (in NJ). ...and as as a result ended up driving to Jersey this morning in the aftermath of the icestorm to pick up the car. Fun!

...but I am considering going back to take him for a ride, afterall, the new car will be going to his dealership for service.

[STEVEMCMORN]

What type of Acura? like the ones that started racing in ALMS today?

[Wellardmac]

I wish!

[michael lang]

Well congratulations on the new car. Whenever I go someplace like that I also don't show my hand. Well done!

 

[Wellardmac]

Yeah, it was hard. I'm a very open, honest and direct person, so negotiations are typically hard for me at the best of times. Revealing that my summer car was a Porsche would have killed the conversation.

I found the best way to get the best deal was to cast the net wide, i.e. talk to any dealer within 70 miles and tell them that you're looking for the lowest price on the identical car at other dealers. I started the conversation by email, then as the time to buy got closer, then I juggled 3 dealers on the phone, visited 2 dealers and bought from Elite Acura in Maple Shade, NJ. I was quite impressed, as I didn't think that I'd get the best price from them - in the end they came down by 15%.

[ccm911]

I have to disagree.  I would have come right out and said I had a 911.  I mean, the guy knows you are going to shop anyhow, so it's not like he is going to bump the price.  And he probably would have really enjoyed a ride in yours when the weather got better.

[APXD 30]

ccm911 wrote:

I have to disagree. I would have come right out and said I had a 911. I mean, the guy knows you are going to shop anyhow, so it's not like he is going to bump the price. And he probably would have really enjoyed a ride in yours when the weather got better.

Better yet, offer to let him drive the P-car if he gets you the best deal. You'd gain an ally assuming he has authority to deal himself (they usually don't let on if they do so they can give the TO to another salesman posing as the "mananger").

This does prove the old carsaleman's adage....a buyer is a liar.

Congrats on the new car.

[michael lang]

Actually the saying in the car business goes "you can always tell when a customer is lying because he opens his mouth" Anyway, I still would not have let on. When someone makes a comment about a P-car I usually just smile and agree "yeah, they're very nice cars" meanwhile in the back of my mind I'm thinking that lucky is bastard driving his car and I'm not driving mine.

[Wellardmac]

michael lang wrote:

Actually the saying in the car business goes "you can always tell when a customer is lying because he opens his mouth" Anyway, I still would not have let on. When someone makes a comment about a P-car I usually just smile and agree "yeah, they're very nice cars" meanwhile in the back of my mind I'm thinking that lucky is bastard driving his car and I'm not driving mine.

Yup, pretty silly to tell them that you have a Porsche. May as well lay a wad of bills in front of them, then tell them that you're not giving them any. One of the rules of buying a car is not to show signs of wealth. I don't know a bigger sign of wealth then pulling up to the dealership in a Porsche, or telling them that you have one.

As for the customers lying conversation. I was actually quite shocked to learn this. I had a similar conversation with the salesman that did sell me the car and I'd never realized that there's a problem with customers lying - never even occurred to me. The subject came up when he complimented me about being so honest about the condition of my trade-in. I would never even consider soing such a thing.

It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the customer doesn't trust the salesperson and vice versa.

One of the reasons I did all of my negotiations by phone and email was because I didn't want to go through the grinder. The saleperson got 1 opportunity to give me their best price. I was honest that if they didn't give me the price I wanted, then I'd go on to another dealership until I got the price I wanted.

The lack trust really bugs me. I'd much prefer them to give me their best price with a reasonable profit built in and not have to go through haggling, etc. To me a car is just another purchase, like an iPod - it should be fixed price. There's a natural assumption that they're gouging and that the customer is lying. Not good for either party, but the sad truth is that both sides are correct in their perception and it continues the problem.

The first place that I went to (the one I mentioned in my first post) - I caught the salesman in 2 lies. He blew it and I moved on. The place I bought from was pretty good.... they overinflated their profit margins (like the "extended warranty" with the price that was cut in half when I declined it twice), but we fixed that in the final deal.

Overall not a bad experience.

[ccm911]

Well, good points, but I must stand on my original judgement.  With the internet so widely used, nobody in their right mind would try to jam you for a few more bucks.  It is just too easy to go on to the next guy.  The car business is not what it once was.

The only time I refrain from mentioning my Porsche is when I feel it would make the other person feel bad.

Which brings up a good point.  Having a nice car makes you no better than the next guy.  But the best way to alleviate any misunderstanding(at least if you drive a 20 year old 911) is to mention that it actually cost less than the Hondas everyone seems to be driving these days.