Read this before you buy a car

This comment is to the so called general contractor that built four homes for automobile dealers. Be thankful they had the ability to hire your services to maintain your revenue base. And I have no doubt that you made a hefty profit on them. Talk about ripping people off. Builders have all kinds of ways to take advantage of the customer. Maybe there should be more articles about the home building industry and additional regulations. And if you are such a saint, just refuse to accept a job from the next automobile dealer that wants to hire your services. You sound like the person or industry we should be leary of. I mean look at the state of the housing indutry now!

4 months ago I purchased a new Dodge Charger, I am happy with the car. The other day I was in the service dept. waiting for my car. There were people coming in with warranty repair, The write person told the people the cost would be $98.00 for the diagnotis. so they can see what is wrong with the car. Did I miss something isn't finding the problem part of thhe warranty?. They did something wrong and you have to pay to find out what they screwed up.

AOL, YOU ARE THE RIP OFF. I WAS TOLD THAT YOU OFFER YOUR SERVICE FOR FREE JUST BY ASKING....IS IT TRUE???? IT IS PRETTY SAD WHEN THE SALES TAX ON A CAR PURCHASE IS MORE THAN THE PROFIT ON THE SAME TRANSACTION. IF THE AUTO MANUFACTURERS HAD ANY BRAINS, THEY WOULD STOP ADVERTISING WITH AOL BECAUSE ALL YOU DO IS UNDERMINE THEIR BUSINESS. ONE THING THAT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT IN THE CAR BUSINESS, THE MANUFACTURER IS THE RETAILER, AND THE DEALER IS THE WHOLESALER........THE MANUFACTURER GETS PAID FULL PRICE FOR EVERY VEHICLE THEY SELL TO THEIR DEALERS, THEN, THE DEALER WHOLESALES THE VEHICLES TO THE CONSUMER....SO WHO MAKES THE MONEY???

I think your article is accurate for someone buying a car with little experience. I myself, am a highly qualified automobile technician with over 20 years of experience.
The sales end of automobiles is only part, of the scrupulous ways that dealers make money. I don't blame the salesman, but I do blame the owners of the dealers not paying them enough.
There is no more compassion at any dealership. They have all seem to have focused on how to raise their costumer satisfaction index and profits. You could still find some heroes out there, but most of the time, they're family.

I think your article is accurate for someone buying a car with little experience. I myself, am a highly qualified automobile technician with over 20 years of experience.
The sales end of automobiles is only part, of the scrupulous ways that dealers make money. I don't blame the salesman, but I do blame the owners of the dealers not paying them enough.
There is no more compassion at any dealership. They have all seem to have focused on how to raise their costumer satisfaction index and profits. You could still find some heroes out there, but most of the time, they're family.

I think your article is accurate for someone buying a car with little experience. I myself, am a highly qualified automobile technician with over 20 years of experience.
The sales end of automobiles is only part, of the scrupulous ways that dealers make money. I don't blame the salesman, but I do blame the owners of the dealers not paying them enough.
There is no more compassion at any dealership. They have all seem to have focused on how to raise their costumer satisfaction index and profits. You could still find some heroes out there, but most of the time, they're family.

I think your article is accurate for someone buying a car with little experience. I myself, am a highly qualified automobile technician with over 20 years of experience.
The sales end of automobiles is only part, of the scrupulous ways that dealers make money. I don't blame the salesman, but I do blame the owners of the dealers not paying them enough.
There is no more compassion at any dealership. They have all seem to have focused on how to raise their costumer satisfaction index and profits. You could still find some heroes out there, but most of the time, they're family.

No matter how much information you gather about car buying, the dealer will win pure profits if you elect to buy a car with options. Options on a car depriciate so fast in a blink of the eye. If you really want that feature, it is better to buy the next model up that has in offered as a standard. The value will hold up better when you sell the car if it is a standard feature and not as a option.

what ever you do dont buy a ford .the car salesman in the picter looks like a pimp. i just purchased a new 2007 lexus 460L .from tempe az i leave in tucson az .the dealer in tucson whant,s to give me 43.000 for my bmw and 83.500.00 for the new car .that was a ripp off i called tempe and two other dealers got 46.500.00 for bmw and 79.300.00 for lexus the point is call other dealers and let them now you are calling other lexus dealers. that if they can beat other dealers price if they can call the other dealer.... back and fourth dealers love to take business from other dealer even if they dont make money and yes we are liars so are salesman

I purchased a demo from the largest dealership in East Texas.. One week later found out the dealership had actually sold me a Lemon or what they call a buy back. They forged state title documentation, but since they have you sign arbatration agreements. You will never get a dime back without spending thousands of dollars and still ending up with the same piece of junk they originally sold you for what you could have bought a new truck for. So lesson for me was it does not matter who you deal with in the car business large or small they are the largest thieves in town.

Aside from being a greasemonkey with a family member who does bodywork and restoration, I think there are three best ways to buy a car. Three ways of making a "clean easy deal."
First, if you know someone with a dealer license, buy a car at auction coming back off dealer lease. Throw your friend a few bucks for the favor. With all the requirements and mileage restrictions, a three-to four-year-old lease car is often sold near half its original MSRP at auction. You get an almost new, within warranty car for about half its original retail price.
Second, as for new, go in understanding there is something called "holdback." Its a kickback from some factories after the car is sold. Also, there are often incentive plans for dealers. Inside the business its called money in the trunk. If the car is on the lot, unless the dealer paid the factory upfront, he bought on credit. The factory or an underwriter finances the time when the dealer holds the car in inventory called floorplanning. Often factories allow a period of time called free floorplan, but when that expires the dealer becomes responsible for any interest on the cost of the vehicle. If you see a car you like sitting on the lot for weeks on end, remember, that car is costing the dealer income. Admit to the sales manager you want them to make a profit, and that there is a price below which they cannot go. Then add to that fair profit of at the least $500-$1000. Dealers often have other overhead expenses like dealer organization member advertising, etc. Showing a little respect can get you a sweet deal
Third, if you do your best homework, like I do, get a hold of an insider who will help you with ordering codes and relevant dealer costs. This only applies to cars you order. This only works if you approach the dealer principal or non-commisioned manager. Going in with a proposal containing all the ordering codes, saves them administration time. Commit to picking up the car as soon as possible after its off the truck with full payment on delivery. Then ask the dealer for a number! Again, remember the dealer has extra costs relevant to the franchise responsibilities. Now, this means you arrange your own financing so you have the check to hand over at delivery. How sweet a win-win situation can it get? Of course, the last scenario depends on what kind of rapport you create with the dealer. Good luck.

Response to 16: There are lots of framing contractors like myself and our jobs are by competive bid with sometimes incomplete plans. Try to get a bottom line quote from a car dealer by fax or phone. They know their price/profit but live for the opportunity to get "the closer" in the room to BS; ask about jobs, kids, anything but how much the car will cost. All "what kind of monthly payment" crap. I've been fooled by the lying sacks of brown. I'm an honest business man which is more than I can say about the car salemen I've come to know personally. One said, "There's an ass for every seat." He loved to tell the stories working the jokers. The reality is, if Wal-Mart sold cars, would you go through the dog and pony of a glad-handing dealer?

I've been in the car industry for the last 20 years. the wholesale part of it and always hear from retail customers on how much they were ripped off by trading in there car and were given not enough money . but they never say how much they abuse their cars wreck their cars destroyem then they want full value for them when they trade them in. most of them are so bad they shoulg go to the wrecking yard over the years ive have found roaches and rats,mice and trash that would fill 3 trhash cans so boohoo quit whining you"re adults nobody forces u to do anything u dont want to do!!!!!

unbelievable. the fact that aol would allow this scum filled trashy segment on car dealers is riciculous. how about i just switch to msn and quit paying the riculous 3x the value price on this worthless way to connect to the internet. aol should try being more like the new york times and less like the national enquirer........

Maybe we bash carsalesmen so much because most of them are liers. They will tell you anything to sell a car, most of them anyway. I am sure there are a couple honest ones but not many I have ran across. Especially in the used car salesmen.

Or maybe its because we know full well it doesn't cost 30K to make a car so someone is making one hell of a markup. Maybe we understand the dealerships are owned by the car manufacturers so the dealers "invoice" is what retail should be since the manufacturere already added their profit in.

Maybe we're pissed off American cars cost twice as much, perform worse and break down more often than foriegn made cars. I mean really, what the hells the deal with American cars. It can't be lack of cheap labor, most foreign cars sold here are made here. We need new American car companies to loose the old crap.

I read the entire article, and I believe it was very informative and fair - not only to consumers but also to dealerships and their employees. It's a no-brainer that every business needs to make a profit to stay in business and there will always be some "bad apples" so we all need to be aware of that no matter what we are buying. We can only benefit as consumers to be aware of what to look out for and to get a fair deal in every single thing that we buy!!

You can dress them up however you want.....sleezy like the picture above, or in a white shirt and tie. Car sales people are ego maniacs who care about one thing....taking as much bread as they can off your table to put on thiers. The ego's get bigger as you go up the promotion line and the "bosses" turn the screws to the sales people to be like them. So read the posts by the "car professionals" and know that they are BS ing you because they hate thier covers being blown.

As long as people continue to treat cars as needs rather than wants, they are going to feel hard done by after buying a car. I don't NEED a car, and I haven't had one for close to 10 years now. When I decide I WANT a new car, I'll have enough saved to pay cash for that car. I plan to negotiate the way I always negotiate for anything I don't NEED. I'll decide on what features I want and what I'm willing to pay. If a dealership (or several) can't or won't meet my terms, I'll just keep riding the bus.

This is the same strategy my mom uses to good effect, and the strategy I've used in the past. Either I like a given car for a given price or I don't. I don't think my price target is unreasonable, either. I'm willing to pay MSRP--not a penny more, and okay with not paying a penny less. I am NOT willing to pay destination fees, because if the car wasn't on the lot for me to buy, the dealer couldn't make a sale to me at all. I am NOT willing to pay dealer prep fees, because that's work I'm perfectly willing to do myself, should the need arise. Besides, a dealer can't sell a car that can't be driven (as in bumpers not attached), so again, that should be included in the MSRP, not added on to it.

You would be amazed how differently things go when you no longer NEED a car...