So tired of the dealership buying experience

[Cold_Taco]

I don't know if this is the right place but is anyone else sick of the games and tactics some dealerships still play when all you want to do is buy a new vehicle at a fair price? I bought my SR5 from a Toyota dealership stuck in a 70s or 80s time warp. I came in with a price for the exact same truck that I had seen online from a different dealership that just advertises their bottom price. It was exactly 6% off MSRP so I figured that was a fair deal and would save haggling. The first thing my salesman said was we paid more than that for the truck. I told him I saw that price on a competitor's website and felt it was a fair price. This began about 6 trips back and forth from his desk to the sales manager's office. Each time pleading with me to meet them a little higher then trying to confuse matters by including fees in the negotiation. He finally came back with a number $100 higher than mine. I actually said "Really?" out loud. He said can we get this done? So I countered with $50 more just to be a dick so he had to go back to the manager's office one more time. Then from the door of the office he shouts "Are you getting financing?" and I stupidly admitted yeah for half. So he comes back with a purchase and sales agreement. I look at the bottom number for which I am getting financing for and realize it is $500 higher than I expected. So I look at the numbers and it shows we agreed on a sales price $500 higher than we had agreed on. I called it out and he shows me that is because of the $500 Toyota financing rebate. They basically took that rebate i was expecting and added it to the purchase price and hoped I wouldn't notice. At this point I was livid and raising my voice saying we negotiated a price without any talk about financing. He tried to diffuse it by saying we both just had a different understanding of what the price negotiation included. But that was total BS. They were trying to basically rob me of $500. He went back to the sales manager's office and came back with the correct numbers. But while he was gone I thought about just leaving. I should have. But in the end I got my truck for $50 more than I intended. Still had to fight off more add ons from the finance guy. He actually tried to convince me that Toyotas have gone down in quality to sell me an extended warranty. I just had to laugh by that point. Im glad to be in my truck but I left there feeling like I had been in a brawl. It kind of soured the whole experience for what should have been a happy occasion. I think I am done with old school haggling dealerships. The funny thing is that sales guy gets glowing reviews online because he has been there 30+ years.

What was your buying experience like?

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[zekesview]

That sucks @Cold_Taco
I had the complete opposite experience once I found the right dealership.

I bought my truck completely remote. I did all my research prior and knew what I wanted. Using Toyota.com to look at inventory and found the exact truck (TRD Pro - MudBath) in Lancaster, Ca. I live up in northern California so I knew I'd have to fly to get it.

Once I found the truck, I submitted a request to confirm availability and the internet manager called me within 3 minutes. He confirmed it was on the lot and I requested the vspec sheet and confirmed cost -- which was right at MSRP. It had a few extra add-ons that I actually wanted so it was win win. He also texted me about 20 photos of the truck and a video.

I called him back and said I'd take it. He worked up the paperwork, he did a conference call with me, his manager and the finance manager so we could confirm numbers. I had to send a few photos of documents and then I got the contract via email for e-sig. Once I signed, I got instructions for my down payment which I wired. All in all - it was 3 calls, a few emails and I did it all from my house. They over nighted 1 document that the DMV requires a real signature on and they included a return slip to overnight it back.

They then told me that I do have the option to have it shipped. They recommend a transport company that they've used and they came highly recommended. I reached out to them and they quoted me $600. When I was looking at flights + gas and my time to come home, this number made sense. I organized the pickup. which is today (9/26) and it will be here tomorrow.

They got the car detailed for me and sent me a fresh set of photos and a video.

All in all - its by far the best buying experience I've ever had. If I can mirror this process the next time I need to buy a car, I 100% will.

Sucks again about how things went for you @Cold_Taco

 

[evlfred]

NEVER buy a new Tesla, it will ruin you.... It took 5 hours to get the paper work done on my Taco (and I'm a former Finance Manager at a dealership for 17 years) My wife and I drove a new Model Y Juniper for her, and when we were done with test drive, she decided on the spot to get one. Picked up my phone and had it ordered in 2 minutes, did the loan paper work on the phone in less than 5. Picked it up two weeks later, signed one piece of paper and done.

 

[Cold_Taco]

That sucks @Cold_Taco
I had the complete opposite experience once I found the right dealership.

I bought my truck completely remote. I did all my research prior and knew what I wanted. Using Toyota.com to look at inventory and found the exact truck (TRD Pro - MudBath) in Lancaster, Ca. I live up in northern California so I knew I'd have to fly to get it.

Once I found the truck, I submitted a request to confirm availability and the internet manager called me within 3 minutes. He confirmed it was on the lot and I requested the vspec sheet and confirmed cost -- which was right at MSRP. It had a few extra add-ons that I actually wanted so it was win win. He also texted me about 20 photos of the truck and a video.

I called him back and said I'd take it. He worked up the paperwork, he did a conference call with me, his manager and the finance manager so we could confirm numbers. I had to send a few photos of documents and then I got the contract via email for e-sig. Once I signed, I got instructions for my down payment which I wired. All in all - it was 3 calls, a few emails and I did it all from my house. They over nighted 1 document that the DMV requires a real signature on and they included a return slip to overnight it back.

They then told me that I do have the option to have it shipped. They recommend a transport company that they've used and they came highly recommended. I reached out to them and they quoted me $600. When I was looking at flights + gas and my time to come home, this number made sense. I organized the pickup. which is today (9/26) and it will be here tomorrow.

They got the car detailed for me and sent me a fresh set of photos and a video.

All in all - its by far the best buying experience I've ever had. If I can mirror this process the next time I need to buy a car, I 100% will.

Sucks again about how things went for you @Cold_Taco

Man that sounds great. Maybe I am stuck in my own old school mindset trying to support the local dealers. I mean some of them are boosters and sponsors for local youth teams and events. But man I never want to go through that again.

 

[wlmartin86]

I bought my Tacoma through Caldwell Toyota in Conway, AR. I'd dealt with them previously when my mom bought her 21 4Runner, so I had a decent relationship with my salesman. We stopped in and drove a Tacoma on a whim back in November while I was trying to decide what to do. About a month later, we decided to go for it so we went back to the dealership to drive one again. I'm glad we did because this time they had a hybrid in stock and that is what I ended up going with. I finalized the details and they shot me a darn good price up front. It took about 8 weeks for my allocation to come in (apparently Supersonic Red isn't super common). We drove to the lot, signed docs, and 45 minutes later we were on our way. We even got my wife's 4Runner serviced while we were there.

So many dealers are stuck in the past apparently. We're in the market for a new Honda and have a fantastic deal worked out with our local dealer (Orr Honda in Texarkana, TX). They're having to wait for our allocation and it's taking a little longer than expected. I found the exact vehicle my wife wants in Little Rock at Russell Honda and they had this awful "we sell at MSRP, there's no way they are selling you this vehicle at that price" attitude. I simply asked if they could match the price and trade offer we had, if not then that is fine. They came back $2k under on trade and matched the price on the vehicle even though the one we're waiting on has a few add ons that it lacked.

I guess the moral of the story is to do you research so that you know exactly what you want, exactly what you should expect to pay, and exactly which dealers to avoid! I hope you're enjoying your new Tacoma despite your dealership experience. I've certainly enjoyed mine for the last 7 months and 13k miles!

 

[tacorancher]

Houston dealerships are garbage.

 

[trailhunger]

Yea dude that sucks, the key w/these jabronis is patience and do as little in person negotiating as possible. Also it helped (me) to be as optimistic as possible and don’t let them see you get roiled in person. Do a lot of it through email, feed the fine print into an LLM if you need or require that next level clarity. They need your business end of the day..

I bought a Trailhunter this time last year, had to fly into to Vegas, everything was done through 1 phone call and several text messages. My sales guy got me the right color, laid out terms, dealer add-ons, gave me a final price.

I flew in thinking the deal might not* go through, and I had to be okay with that. Kid you not, the uber driver who picked me up at the airport went on a rant about that dealership that they screwed him over, bro was so pissed and I thought they were gonna hoodwink me.

The finance dude did try to layer in a ton of shit which I expected. I said no to a lot of additionals, but ultimately my sales guy knew I was coming into his shop with a $50k money order and the haggling sales pitch was put to bed weeks ago.

Those finance dudes are the true sharks. Hell, I saw some bullshit about tire service coverage for an extra $1400. On those 33 wranglers! WTF! moral of the story is the uber driver got duped into signing for extras he later didn’t need/want…but later chatting it up the staff there said the uber crew were buying up their minivans in spades peak Vegas tourism/they sell every damn minivan that hits the lot and price em at a premium as a result. So while many are butthurt about dealerships, that’s the only way to get a new Toyota and half the story is usually told about these guys & gals.

 

[zekesview]

Yea dude that sucks, the key w/these jabronis is patience and do as little in person negotiating as possible. Also it helped (me) to be as optimistic as possible and don’t let them see you get roiled in person. Do a lot of it through email, feed the fine print into an LLM if you need or require that next level clarity. They need your business end of the day..

I bought a Trailhunter this time last year, had to fly into to Vegas, everything was done through 1 phone call and several text messages. My sales guy got me the right color, laid out terms, dealer add-ons, gave me a final price.

I flew in thinking the deal might not* go through, and I had to be okay with that. Kid you not, the uber driver who picked me up at the airport went on a rant about that dealership that they screwed him over, bro was so pissed and I thought they were gonna hoodwink me.

The finance dude did try to layer in a ton of shit which I expected. I said no to a lot of additionals, but ultimately my sales guy knew I was coming into his shop with $50k money order and the haggling sales pitch was pu to bed weeks ago.

Those finance dudes are the true sharks. Hell, I saw some bullshit about tire service coverage for an extra $1400. On those 33 wranglers! WTF!

They tried to get me on the tire one also and I was like --- Im changing them out the first week.

He tried to tell me that the tire package would cover any after market tire I had on the truck. I called BS.

 

[RutsyBucket]

Well, vote with your wallet dude. Why did you buy a truck from these idiots? You're a part of the problem.

 

[Zigity]

My experience was very similar to yours, OP. I found the specific truck I was looking for online, which had limited availability in my area. (Sport, Premium, Long bed, Wind Chill Pearl). I emailed the dealership and asked for a VSPEC with price. I took that information to my local dealership and they said they could get that same truck specs allocated to them - except their price was $3,500 more than what I brought them from the other dealership, so I walked. Later that day, the salesman called me and said he could bring their price down by $500. I told him I’m just going to buy the other truck tomorrow, it’s farther away but it all comes down to the price for me. He keeps calling be back with insulting counter offers, in $500 increments. The next day, he calls me again and says we can match the price. Great. So I go back to the dealership to put down a deposit. He comes back with a price that is still $500 higher than what I brought them. I was angry because on the phone, we agreed it was a price match. He makes up some BS about dealer packages, pant protection, and registration fees. I told him I am declining all of his specific dealership installed addons, and since the truck is still in production, I know they aren’t already installed. We finally get to a price match again, and then he tell me that they kicalculates registration and it’s going to be $200 over what we agreed to. At this point, I was so done with this guys BS. I said the only way I am giving you $200 over the price is if you throw in blackout badges and a bed mat, and this is the final negotiation I am willing to do - I can literally make a phone call to another dealership right now and get the same truck for $200 less. After the 316th trip to the managers counter, we had a deal. It was exhausting but I got what I wanted - the exact truck specs and my local dealership. (This dealership also has a better warranty at 10 years/200,000 miles). Hopefully this is my first and only time purchasing a new vehicle. This thing better gets to 200k+ miles!

 

[Andrace]

Toyota has perfected the customer 3rd sales model. You just need to remove any and all expectations, go in with a number, and it's a yes or no discussion. You need time and flexibility on your side and will probably need to travel, and ultimately your ability to walk away is your only leverage.

I lucked out on a "used 1,400mi" truck that, aside from color, had the options I was after. Prior to that, trying to buy new from a number of dealers was shockingly unprofessional and as bad as I had heard.

 

[Kyle_Ennis]

@Cold_Taco Right there with you man. Had the worst car buying experience I have ever had at Huntington Beach California Toyota. Found the truck I wanted online, called and told them I would take it at our agreed upon price and I would be down that day to purchase it. When I got there they told me they were about to sell it BUT had another option for me. Right off the bat, bad taste in my mouth. Haggled back and forth for hours to almost walking out and finally got them down to the almost agreed upon price, THEN had to deal with Finance. The guy tried to scam me with add-ons and I declined, then after we left he told me I was locked into the contract, that I didnt sign, just so that he could get paid on his add-ons. He threatened me several times with false accusations and I just couldn't believe it. I ended up calling Toyota directly and they clarified that I was not locked into any contract especially if I didnt sign anything, then dealt with the GM of the dealership and he apologized for their finance guys behavior. The entire process to finally own the truck took almost a month. I was fuming the entire time and needless to say I will NEVER go back to that dealership again.
Purchasing vehicles from dealerships should not be such a hassle and it's a shame that these types of things happen. We just want it to be a good experience so we can get into our Tacomas!

 

[Sagebrush]

Well... I've had great luck with Lithia Toyota in Missoula. Sorry to hear about this.

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