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Chevrolet Equinox: Prices Paid & Buying Experience

490 messages,  Last post on Mar 09, 2012 at 4:45 PM

You are in the Chevrolet Equinox Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Equinox, SUV

    

Messages Page 48 of 50

#467 of 490 Re: Information to know before you buy [klrss] by roho1

Jan 10, 2011 (9:00 am)

Replying to: klrss (Jan 10, 2011 8:11 am)
So the Chevy dealer never checked the catalytic converter? The whole scenario seems odd to me.

#468 of 490 Re: Information to know before you buy [roho1] by klrss

Jan 10, 2011 (4:40 pm)

Replying to: roho1 (Jan 10, 2011 9:00 am)
No unfortunatley they didnt. The dealer really didnt want to look at it in the first place. They asked me if I had a check engine light, and I told him no, and so he tells me " then there isnt anything wrong..if it isnt running right it will throw a code". The first time I brought it in, they ran it on the " machine" and it came out fine. The must have smelled it, since they told me it was bad gas...but I was smelling the smell when I still was running the first tank of gas from the dealer about a week or so after I had it. It IS an odd senario..and I cant understand why they wont look at it. I bet I could go out and find a new car on the lot that does NOT smell...but they insist is isnt the car and if it smells then it is bad fuel. Just crazy! I just loved how they show me the TSB, and in the TSB it tells the tech NOT to change out the cat. So, because of that, they wont even try. He told me, " we cant just start replacing perfectly good parts to see if one is not working". Nice.. And I know this is not an Impala Forum, but the TSB applied to cars and light trucks, so wanted to pass it on.

#469 of 490 2011 V6 Purchased by colt_hero

Jan 11, 2011 (5:51 pm)

MSRP $26815 (V6 with Pioneer system and 18" wheels - neither of which I wanted but they ream it down your throat). Dealer discount to $25500. Loyalty rebate of $1000, GM "points" of $4200. Tax of $300 (flat in this state). Out the door $20,700+ (including tax, tag, title). By my standards this is a lousy deal, but I think it's the best I could do on an Equinox right now. By comparison, my '02 Impala was purchased for $12,200 (from a $22,040 MSRP). Granted, $1000 more in GM dollars that time, but the dealer discount was also bigger and so was the rebate. I think it's only a matter of time before the rebates start showing up on these Equinoxes. The inventories are more plentiful now (than in 2010) and the sales will start slowing down (I think they already have). So if you don't need to buy right now, I'd sit back and wait a while. The pricing is going to soften up with better rebates and dealer pricing going forward.

#470 of 490 Owner Loyalty Cash by krisdriessen

Jan 18, 2011 (2:44 pm)

On the Chevy website, it says that if you own a 99 GM car or newer, you are eligible for $1000 loyalty cash. Supposedly Saturns are included as a GM car. But a local dealer is saying no, full MSRP or nothing. Am I wrong?

#471 of 490 Re: Owner Loyalty Cash [krisdriessen] by ray80

Jan 18, 2011 (2:59 pm)

Replying to: krisdriessen (Jan 18, 2011 2:44 pm)
Well 99 or newer Saturn does qualify for loyalty cash per the loyalty website. If its a salesperson saying that, go in in ask for a more knowledgeable salesperson.

#472 of 490 Re: Owner Loyalty Cash [krisdriessen] by wallyuwl

Jan 18, 2011 (3:19 pm)

Replying to: krisdriessen (Jan 18, 2011 2:44 pm)
Find another dealer. They are trying to squeeze you. And it isn't even them, it is GM, who takes the hit on incentives like that. But to ask for full MSRP is theft at this point in time considering the supply of Equinoxes has increased drastically. You should be able to get one for at least $1000 off MSRP, PLUS any incentives right now.

#473 of 490 Re: Owner Loyalty Cash [krisdriessen] by colt_hero

Jan 18, 2011 (3:50 pm)

Replying to: krisdriessen (Jan 18, 2011 2:44 pm)
It's a '99 or new GM vehicle that qualifies. Saturn is a GM vehicle, so it qualifies. But dealerships will do anything to squeeze money out of you. When I bought my 2011, I knew I qualified for the $1000 Loyalty Rebate. But I let the salesman play his game asking me if I owned a '99 or newer GM car, then looking excited like I was going to get a great deal. The "deal" was $1000 off MSRP!
 
Nice try.
 
When making your offer, all you can do is use those bogus Edmunds numbers. I say they're bogus because they come from GM (they HAVE to), and why would GM be honest about what it really costs them to build their cars? What they WANT is for you to THINK you're getting a great deal. But the reality is those numbers HAVE to be padded and even if you nail a deal at invoice, the dealerships are STILL laughing all the way to the bank!
 
So go to Edmunds and build your car and calculate the invoice price including destination charge. It'll probably be around $1300 below MSRP. Make an offer BELOW this number (a few hundred bucks) and work UP to it. THEN deduct the $1000 Loyalty rebate from that (plus any other discounts you might have like GM 'dollars'). If you qualify for multiple discounts, say the USAA rebate (if it's still on), call GM first to find out which rebates can be used together. You don't want to be caught flat-footed at the dealership with a salesman giving you bad information (always in their favor, by the way).
 
As for the dealer you're dealing with ... try another salesman. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater just yet. And if you're a woman, I'd bring a man in with you. Just a guess, but I think women making deals by themselves end up with bad deals. You have to be nice with these people (a woman's strongpoint), but you can't let them run the show. And don't be afraid to walk out if you feel you're being pressured. The car you want is probably sitting at multiple dealerships. Get a price from all of 'em. It doesn't matter where you buy the vehicle, you can get it serviced at any dealership.
 
OH - forgot to mention .... make sure you ask UP FRONT what the dealership's stupid "doc fee" or "admin fee" is. This is a scam that dealerships started about 20 years ago. It's a way to tell you the vehicle costs $X, but then write you up for $X + fee. It's very common for these fees to be as much as $300 - $500 !!! And it's all legal. All the dealership has to do is charge everybody the same fee. But if you KNOW about it and factor it into the offer so you know what the ACTUAL cost of the vehicle is, it's no problem. If you can buy a $20,000 for $15,000, the "fee" can be $14,999 as long as the vehicle only costs $1.

#474 of 490 We bought an Equinox! by krisdriessen

Jan 19, 2011 (4:46 pm)

Well, at least we wrote up the paperwork for it. Now the dealer has to look for one already built to our specifications. We *did* qualify for the GM loyalty cash for the 99 Saturn, did not qualify for the special financing (ALLY) for people with credit scores under 580. We also bought the extra protection for both the exterior and interior as we expect to keep the car for at least 7 years and, here in the great Northeast, winter road salt is a real concern.
 
I'll let y'all know how it works out.

#475 of 490 Re: We bought an Equinox! [krisdriessen] by colt_hero

Jan 20, 2011 (11:10 am)

Replying to: krisdriessen (Jan 19, 2011 4:46 pm)
Why don't you look for the car yourself? Personally, I think it's a lousy website, but you can go to Chevrolet.com, build your car, and search for it right there. The problem with this poorly-designed search engine is you specify EXACTLY the vehicle you want, and then it shows you stuff you didn't ask for (and tells you it's EXACTLY what you want)! The list ends up being longer than it should be, but it's better than nothing I guess. The other way to go is to search the dealer websites themselves (which is what I do). You can search for dealers within X miles from where you live then build yourself a list of hyperlinks to these dealers' websites that you can continuously search waiting for the car you want. I like going to the dealership where the vehicle is and buying it myself. When the dealer locates the car for you and transfers it to your local dealership, there's a cost involved for that and your car gets taken on a "joyride" by a salesperson. I like odometers with less than 20 miles on them. "Transferred" vehicles with hundreds of miles on them make me cringe.
 
Also, I lived in New England until the age of 29. Winter road salt causing cars to rust up there is a thing of the past. I would say it's been a non-issue for at least 20 years now. And keeping a car for 7 years is nothing. Even at 20,000 miles per year, that's only 140,000 total miles. Any car today can do that with little or no trouble if it is maintained correctly (and honestly) ... the latter being the difficult one ...

#476 of 490 We didn't buy an Equinox... by krisdriessen

Jan 21, 2011 (11:33 am)

Well, the dealer just called and said they can't find one for our price. I did go on Chevy's site as you suggested and ran into the same problem you did. I didn't find one either, but it gave me a place to start. I will start going through individual dealer sites now.
 
Of course, I *could* take the upgrade for $1000 more, or wait for a new one to be built and delivered...

Messages Page 48 of 50

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