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Smart Shopper Internet vs. Traditional Car Buying
3011 messages, Last post on Aug 27, 2009 at 10:23 AM
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Replying to: traindriver (Jan 12, 2009 2:53 pm) I agree with most of what you say traindriver. But I can also understand boomchek. I am in the Chicago market. And there are an easy 10 dealers within a 30-40 minute drive from me. When I leased my last car....I sent out an email to the local dealers with my info, the car (and color) I was looking for and the price I wanted. I had all types of responses. Some detailed and some with the "c'mon down pitch". I narrowed it down, spoke to the sales man a couple of time to confirm everything and then made the appointment. I was hoping to get there, kick the tires and go right into F&I. But there was some surprises and it took me about 2.5 hours to get it down. Most of that time either waiting for the salesman and then discovering things were not what I was told. Almost got to the point of getting up and saying goodbye. My lease is up next month. I am trying to gear down on price and then will send out my 2-3 emails to my local dealers. And for boomcheck - I do send a RFQ, with the exact make, model, color and options and i do include my full name, email, and phone number. I am hoping this lease goes smother than the last one.
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Replying to: traindriver (Jan 12, 2009 2:53 pm) For the buyer: get the dealer to send detailed photos of the cars if they're not on their website already, plus fax an inspection report, carfax is possible. For the sellers: leave your full name, number, email and address. Inquiries that have minimal info usually get minimal responses. Yes, I may be losing out on business by ignoring the "childish emails" but if you're a mature adult who wants to conduct a business transaction, the least you can do is introduce yourself properly. How am I going to sell you a car if we can't even get past the stage of introducing each other and exchanging our phone numbers? I get tons of inquiries that go like this from start to finish: Interested in your best deal on a Jeep Wrangler 4 door, full load, trading in a 96 Cherokee. Send pix and price of what u got. EMAIL ONLY JT  That's gonna get a "come on in email" cause I'm not even going to waste my digital camera batteries on someone who is too lazy or stubborn to even leave a name.
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Replying to: golic (Jan 12, 2009 3:17 pm) See my response above. Minimal info gets minimal response. If I get an email from someone who actually does leave their info, they'll not only get a priority response but also I'll go out of my way to provide a competitive price to earn their business. |
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Replying to: boomchek (Jan 12, 2009 4:20 pm)
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Replying to: golic (Jan 12, 2009 4:38 pm) Not complaining, just answering an earlier post of why we just don't shoot prices into cyberspace hoping to catch a deal. 
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Replying to: boomchek (Jan 12, 2009 4:20 pm) JT That's gonna get a "come on in email" cause I'm not even going to waste my digital camera batteries on someone who is too lazy or stubborn to even leave a name If that is what the typical request amounts to then I don't blame you. I wouldn't waste 30 minutes, even on a slow day, to run around the lot snapping a bunch of photos and creating price lists if someone can't be more specific with the details and personal info. than that. As far as paid inspection services go, are the inspectors generally qualified and thorough enough to base a purchase on? What's the typical resume like? retired used car manager, body shop, mechanic, etc. Is the report worth the paper its printed on? I realize nothing is a 100% guarantee but would they be able to separate the gems from the turds? Thanks for your thoughts. |
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Replying to: traindriver (Jan 12, 2009 2:53 pm) You sound like a good guy just trying to get a great deal while being upfront and fair. I have no problem with that. Unless you have been in this business you really have no idea how downright cheap some people can be. Sometimes I'm embarrassed for them. I wouldn't have believed it either.
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Replying to: golic (Jan 12, 2009 3:17 pm) What kind of "surprises" if I may ask? If the understanding has been confirmed over and over, I wouldn't call it a surprise I'd call it a lie or a deliberate trick. If I could hold my temper I might play along by coming up with a few "surprises" of my own. The original agreed to price would start dropping like a rock. I might try to play their game until I got bored. Seriously, I doubt I could buy there if I was treated that way. I don't know if I would get greater satisfaction by walking out or by pushing back hard, letting them "win" and then trashing the survey. Revenge can be therapeutic.
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Replying to: isellhondas (Jan 12, 2009 6:56 pm) Hopefully that's what comes across in my posts. Live and let live. Play fair. Do what you say you are going to do. (dang, I'm naive.)   Unless you have been in this business you really have no idea how downright cheap some people can be. Sometimes I'm embarrassed for them. I can only imagine. My wife is a teacher and I know from her that dealing with the public is not for me! |
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Replying to: boomchek (Jan 12, 2009 12:33 pm) No, but we did drive about 3-4 hours round trip to save $700-1000, when local dealer would not lower their price. Another case was only 15 minutes further away for similar price difference. If it had been $200, I'd have gone with the closer one in both cases. |
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