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Smart Shopper Stories from the Sales Frontlines
48046 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 10:40 AM
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So my financially strapped brother is in need of a replacement vehicle. He will be 40 years old next month and has never had a car loan. I was pretty sure his credit was completely in the crapper, so we brought our mother along with us as a co-signer (as much as I try to help my brother, I will not co-sign anything for him). I had done some research and dug up a few candidates near home that I believed we could finance for 2-3 years within his target of $150/mo with about $1k down and some that we could arrange a cash deal on. First stop was to see a Chevy minivan at a megachain dealer. Well, to make a long story shorter, it became apparent that not everyone has heard of the credit crunch. We showed up to try on a $3500 minivan (they "just sold") and wound up entertaining a numbers pitch on a $10k PT Cruiser. Geee... 75 month loan on a 3-year-old car? Where do I sign?! After wasting about 3 hours at that place, I took him to a couple of private lots to browse the goods before ultimately ending up at the type of store I saved till last ... the dreaded Buy Here Pay Here lot. I gotta be honest, this particular owner has completely changed my view of the BHPH business. He was very up front about everything. Basically took my brother by the hand and led him through his first [dealer] car buying experience. He even sat down at the computer with my brother, pulled up his credit score and report, and went through it with him! I was really amazed. Even more amazing was the fact that his score came back MUCH higher than any of us anticipated. He was actually kind of sort of financible .... welll.... he WOULD have been financible a year ago, anyway. Not so much these days. But the man tried anyway. He explained that there is no way my brother should be looking to finance very long. He said 2 years is really where you want to be. Now, of course, this wasn't news to me ... hence the $3500 minivan at the top of my list ... but it was so nice to hear it coming from the mouth of a salesman! Anyhoo... we wound up driving and choosing a '99 Subaru Legacy Wagon. Very clean and well kept for the year. BUT ... unfortunately, my brother is in dire need of wheels pronto and the seller is not able to arrange financing so quickly. My father has now intervened with a checkbook. *sigh* So much for my 40-year-old brother finally financing his first car and getting on the road back to credit recovery. But I guess at least he's back on the asphalt road. In the end, I believe the Subaru was the type of vehicle the seller doesn't typically deal with. Just about everything else there was an overpriced, high-mile, late-model vehicle. Pretty much what you expect at BHPH. And I believe he let it go for a relatively small profit. I just hope it holds up to my brother's abuse until he can pay back my parents.
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Replying to: jimbres (Jan 03, 2009 8:32 am) Thank you for reminding me of the difference. I remember the salesman taking us on a test drive in a BMW in 1999. He got it up to 70 mph and then put 2 wheels onto the gravel - headed for a telephone pole. By the way, he was steering with 2 fingers. There was no sliding, no swerving, no crashing into the pole......he just turned the wheel and got it back on the road like nothing happened. So I agree that stability control is an absolute necessity. Car makers should respect their customers enough that it should be on every model produced. |
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jan 03, 2009 10:04 am) GG - see above. It might not save you but might save a less skilled family member. Even the best driver can misjudge, temporarily lose control, or have to go off the road to avoid an accident. Stability control is a must....on todays roads you need all the extra protection you can get. |
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Replying to: qbrozen (Jan 03, 2009 11:06 am) Generally speaking, BHPH lots don't report to the credit bureaus. So, your brothers credit wouldn't have gotten better anyway.
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Replying to: otto8 (Jan 03, 2009 10:45 am) the new ones are waiting for the manufacturer to pick them up.
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Replying to: driver100 (Jan 03, 2009 11:24 am) bmw's suck in the snow. i will have to admit i came to this conclusion after driving around them in snow storms. can't imagine a GM being any worse. |
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Replying to: graphicguy (Jan 03, 2009 10:04 am) I've even driven cars that had one of those items missing. When you drive some of the old clunkers I have you learn to do without that fancy stuff. In my younger, wilder days we couldn't wait for a nice snow storm to clear the weenies off the road so we could take our rear-wheel, no air bag, no traction control, no seat belt Detroit cars out and spin them around. Looking back it was some pretty foolish stuff but it developed the skill to make it back alive in the worst weather. Years later, when all those about me are afraid to venture out, I have no problems. |
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I was extremely pleasant on the phone no matter what a poster here is trying to imply. And guess what, got the paper today and how many '08 Elantra's do you think they are advertising now...3 days later? 10 in stock...called the store today, sqame guy answers, says they have 10 and doesn't call me back...again! Unbelievable, but I'm not surprised at all. This guy sounds like he's not real happy to pick up a phone. His loss. Called a Nissan store where I bought 2 cars before. The internet guy was very nice and straightforward and answered all my questions with a couple of phone calls. Bottom line...we 're going in on Monday morning to hopefully buy a Versa hatch for my oldest girl. If the numbers he gave me on the phone are what he shows me in his office, I'm buying another car! He obviously wants to sell cars and takes phone calls and internet inquires' seriously. I had e-mailed him earlier with what I wanted and he had the information for me when I called the next day. Gave me a pretty decent price to. I'll post back how it all went down after we buy her car. Wish me luck! The Sandman 
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Replying to: sandman46 (Jan 03, 2009 1:58 pm) Also, the tires on the Versa are too narrow to handle well, IMO. But, if you live in a dry climate, this might not be an issue for you. At any rate, good luck with your daughter's car purchase! |
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Replying to: sandman46 (Jan 03, 2009 1:58 pm) Make sure you drive through the lot of the salesman that gave you the bad service and thank his boss for him putting you into a competitors vehicle. I'm sure he will appreciate it. 
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Smart Shopper Stories from the Sales Frontlines
