I Hate Car Shopping!

[Cindy B]

Guess what I did last night!

I can't stand working with dealers. I have to turn in my Saturn (A POS) next month, and am looking for a car/van/SUV. Im not a big fan of the mini van , but it does meet our needs. My DH has an Explorer which is nice.

The thing is that I want to pay cash for this second car, so I am looking into a used car.

Dealers just treat the women like crap.. at least where I went.

They gave us a great deal on a car, since it was the last day of the month, but it wasn't great enough to deal with.

 

[RNMOM]

I understand just what you mean. That is why I walk up to a youngish salesman and say...

" I will be the driver of the car we want to buy, I know what I want and my husband will let me get whatever I want. I don't need his permission or approval so if you would like to sell me a car, lets do it."

It works for me.

 

[Trish Bessette]

So sorry to hear of your news. I just bought a used Ford Explorer (2003) and the guys were great! Never did I feel slighted because I am a woman (maybe it's because I TOLD them how the deal will go )

Good luck

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

Congrats on getting rid of the Saturn! I had one too and I'm now President of the Saturn Haters Fan Club. I ended up buying a Honda CRV. Let me tell you...once you have an SUV, you will never go back to a small car again!

 

[RNMOM]

Oh yeah, the reason I started doing that was...I went to a dealership and bought a car by myself. DH stayed home with the kids who were like 2 and 3. I had a woman sales person.

When we arrived to pick up the car two days later, the title was in DH's name. Mine was not even on it at all. Well, let me tell you, neither of us was happy about that at all. Then they kept us about 2 hours trying to sell us the extended warrenty. DH told the guy, "if your cars need extended warrenties, we don't want it" and got up to leave. We got the keys in a matter of minutes.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

We just bought a new 2004 Explorer. I had no problem dealing with the salesman because he figured out pretty quick that I was making the decisions. Sure DH was there, but this was my vehicle.

Our Salesman was probably in his early 30's. He was really great and worked really hard to get me what I wanted at the price I wanted. So I left happy and we will probably go back to him to buy DH's truck in a couple of years.

Cindy-we looked at mini vans, but I couldn't bring myself to get one. We only have one child so we opted for the Explorer with the third row seat. I told DH I can't drive a mini van while I am in my 20's.

 

[mickeyboat]

I hate car shopping too. Salespeople always putt shady maneuvers on you. Every time we buy a car I feel like I've been taken to the cleaners.

The last time wasn't too bad. We walked in knowing exacty which car we wanted. They didn't get us great financing (even though our credit is stellar) but they increased the price of our trade-in (doing us a great favor - yeah right) so our payments were within our limits. Still don't think we got any sort of deal.

It stinks!

Denae

 

[AirForceRocks]

I'm the car buyer in our family - we decide together what kind of vehicle we want, and then I go out, find the vehicle and make the deal. Like RNMOM, I've found that the best approach is to lay it on the line to start with. "I'm the one that will be driving it, I'm the one with the checkbook, and if you can't deal with me in a professional and respectful manner, please let me know now."

 

[Cindy B]

I'm not crazy about mini vans. I've had them before, so it would work., but the trunk space is non existant.

We have 2 kids and 2 dogs. So it would work, but I'm still not fond of them.

I just hated the fact that they sneered at you when you told them you wanted to pay cash. (We've saved up little by little and with Ebay sales to buy a car)

I sure don't want car payments, and high insurance.

I just feel like we've been taken to the cleaners everytime I go to the dealers. I just feel slimy afterwards.

 

[lsyorke]

I just bought a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox. I'm a research nut, so when I finally called the dealership that had the car I wanted he KNEW who was making the decisions. I told him I wanted the strut bearing checked before I bought the car(there was an early noise problem with the first ones off the line). The salesman was hysterical laughing and said "So do you want a job?".

Love the car!! Roomy interior,smooth ride, car chassis so I don't have to get a step ladder to get in.

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by lsyorke
I just bought a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox. I'm a research nut, so when I finally called the dealership that had the car I wanted he KNEW who was making the decisions. I told him I wanted the strut bearing checked before I bought the car(there was an early noise problem with the first ones off the line). The salesman was hysterical laughing and said "So do you want a job?".

Love the car!! Roomy interior,smooth ride, car chassis so I don't have to get a step ladder to get in.

Great job! I do the research as well. I kept asking the salesman rapid fire questions, like what type of engine, single or DOHC, and how many engine sensors it had/record of repair.

He had to get a 2nd/3rd salesman! We still passed on it. Even during the test drive I was taking notes, and asking him questions.

 

[4greatboys]

I was the car buyer for my suburban. I researched the papers to see what the sale adds had them listed it and found a great price. I then visited a couple of dealers and called others. I told them I can get the vehicle for $xx,xxx. Can you match it or beat it? I finally found the vehicle I wantedat a price I was willing to pay. But you need to go in knowing the best bottom line for the vehilce, otherwise they will try to screw you over.
Though I never had a salesman not talk to me because I was a woman, I did have a couple just try to screw around dh and I just because they think its part of the game. I wasted no time in telling the guy I wasnt putting up with any bs and we left the dealership.

 

[m&m's mom]

I feel your pain. I spent 5 hours yesterday at car dealerships.
I am buying a Camry. I had settled in my mind on a SE model but after 2 dealerships realized it does not exist in Super White w/ other options I wanted.
I did not have any problem w/ any sales person not dealing w/ me directly even though I brought DH. The problem I had was trying to figure out what the heck I should pay for the car I found I want.
I got all printouts from Edmunds.com, Autobytel.com, cars.com and bought ConsumerReports.com re: Camry's and I am still confused.
Apparantly in this area, maybe everywhere, they add so much at the port and at the dealerships you don't even feel like you are talking about the same car. They had $3-6,000 added to the car after it left Toyota. I know how much leather seats should add if they come from factory but not when they are aftermarket. UGH!
I think I found a good deal w/ a loaded XLE Camry in the color I want w/ leather etc. for $22,400.00 so I will probably go back today and try to finalize. Maybe/hopefully get a few more $ off.
Good Luck to you!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

m&m's mom-Have you looked at the option of having one made for you with what you want in it? We were very specific with the options we wanted, color, etc. They had to find one for us in another state. After all that the Salesman said it would be cheaper for us to have one made for us. Saved us over $500 and I got exactly what I wanted.

 

[HollyJoy]

I've only bought one car all by myself (before I was married), and it was a horrible experience! In the end, I got what I wanted, but it was not fun getting there. My DH negotiates for a living, so I let him do all the talking now! Needless to say, the car dealers don't end up making much money on us! LOL

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Wow I am dreading this too. We did it 10 years ago together and I felt like dh would have agreed to anything. I stood my ground. Now we have to do it again, but I am so out of the loop. Has anyone e mailed a couple of dealers, asked what you wanted specifically and waited for a response. I figure that might cut down some of the headache. We will buy the stow and go caravan for all cash. We have saved up years for this. So I want the best deal possible.

 

[Steffi]

We bought our last car from CarMax. It was by far the best car-buying experience that we've had.

We looked on their website and picked out the car we wanted. We drove to CarMax. No salespeople descended upon us in the parking lot...we were surprised...maybe it's a holiday? Nope, definitely not. We went inside and informed the hostess that we were interested in a car. She put our name on a list and said we could go outsite & have a look around...there'd be a salesperson with us soon.

We were actually able to look around the lot without any "help" from a salesperson! There was no asking "How much is this one?" "Well, how much ya got?" The prices were clearly marked. We located the car that we'd picked out on the website, went back inside to speak with our saleslady, and bought the car. No haggling, no pressure, perfectly painless.

I'm almost looking forward to buying our next car. If there is a CarMax anywhere near you, I highly recommend a visit! Good luck.

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by luvmarypoppins
We will buy the stow and go caravan for all cash. We have saved up years for this. So I want the best deal possible.

Yep, I know that feeling. We are paying all cash as well, and i don't want to see my hard earned/hard saved cash to be gone in an instant.

 

[palmtreegirl]

http://www.iihs.org/

That's a great site for crash test results. Seems everytime I find a car I like I go there and find out it practically explodes on impact.

 

[The Princess]

My DH just bought ours on Monday. It was great I didn't have to do the dealing with the car salesman My Dh did it all and got a great price.