Car buying advice
 

I know two senior villages that were grossly taken advantage of at a local chain of car dealers. I won't mention names as this also may apply to other dealers. It does begin with a "J". In both instances the dealers sold them a new car for several thousand dollars above the MSRP or Government Monroney Label. These dealers add a second sticker to the window with options they added or will add that are unnecessary and overpriced. When you go to a dealer do your homework. Get and estimate of your trade in value at Kelley Blue Book | New and Used Car Price Values, Expert Car Reviews, Carvana.com or a Carmax. Only negotiate from the Manufacturer Label. If the dealer won't, find one that will. When shopping for a used car check Kelley Blue Book | New and Used Car Price Values, Expert Car Reviews, Autotrader.com or Car Gurus.com

Eight out of ten new cars purchased are from a dealer that added additional cost that should not have been added. Car dealers are not working for you but for the dealership. Where they get you is the sales person closes the deal at a particular final price and then when you sit down with the financial guy to sign the papers he takes you to the cleaners with additional cost. He is well trained, smarter than most buyers.

We had a discussion about this topic.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...g-tips-310793/

Some of us have learned to truly enjoy the car buying experience.

Car sales people are not your friends.

Some of us like going to the dentist too!

Buy used, there are so many beautiful low mileage used cars available in a 55+ community that have never seen northern snow and the associated road salt and potholes. Cars primarily depreciate because of age, so there are great deals older low mileage vehicles.

Wrong, once you get to know a salesman and he understands what you want and what you know, they will generally see it your way rather than let you walk out the door. I just bought a new car yesterday, I studied for several days what was available and what the prices were, I received a cash offer value of my trade from Carnova so I knew exactly what it was worth to them. I went in with a price in mind, made my offer, they came back with a $2,300 higher price which included county tax, various fees, and the awesome $900 dealer fee, there were also about $900 in dealer added items. I explained that my offer was a "Out the Door" offer and that is all I was willing to pay for the car and they accepted it. I did not pay the extra fees nor did I pay for the dealer added items. They just went back and fudged the numbers to cover those items on their end but it did not affect the final out the door price that I paid. That being said I did the same thing with the "J" dealer that the OP is referring to 3 years ago, that one took 4 hours but I got the same results as i got up and left and they chased me down in the parking lot to come back and sign the papers. You can't blame them for trying, you have to be prepared for it and don't fall for all those extra charges.

About two years ago I remember sitting in the Leesburg Jenkins Hyundai show room after having just taken a test drive of a new 2018 Kona Limited. I was on the Hyundai of Central Florida of Clermont website earlier and they advertised the Kona Limited (turbo & leather) for $24,200 with NO dealer fees or any other extras, the floor mats are even included.

The Jenkins sales manager comes over and said we'll give you $24,500 for your trade and a $500 veteran discount, so I'm thinking they're going to give me money back. Then he said, it's just your car and $3600 and we have a deal. As I sat there I saw an older couple being lead by a smiling friendly salesman to another desk, it reminded me of leading the lambs to slaughter. I said to the manager, write that down and I'll think about it and left.

I went right over to HOCF in Clermont, drove a Kona and went inside while they test drove my car. They came back and said, we'll give you $24,000 for your trade. At first you think, wow, Jenkins will give me $500 more for my car. I said, what the bottom line. They said the car is $24,200, so it's your car and $200. Don't be fooled by what they give for your trade, just compare the out the door prices. For one thing, since there was only $200 difference in the sales price and trade in price, my sales tax was only $14.00, with title and tag it was only $200 in extras, everything else in the car was included in the price.

Everytime I see a Jenkins plate on the back of a Hyundai, I think to myself, that person paid too much for convenience. In 2013 I bought a Hyundai Veloster Turbo in Winter Haven because they gave me the KBB price for the car and for my trade, they were $3,000 cheaper than Jenkins. I never drove the 90 minutes each way to Winter Haven to get the car serviced, took it to the nice new Jenkins dealer in Ocala and let them do the maintenance, I got a great price and convenience of a local dealership. Jenkins doesn't care where you bought the care when they service the car.

Hyundai of Central Florida is about a beautiful newer dealer in Clermont, about a 45 minute drive on Hwy 50 just a few miles east of Hwy 27 towards Orlando. It's next to the Toyota and Chevy dealers.

https://scontent-mia3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...94&oe=60349B81

https://www.hyundaicfl.com/?utm_term...caAtQcEALw_wcB

I agree, except I would never spend 4 hours at a dealership. If you do your research and know how much the car is worth, most dealers will accept the price. I give them about 15 minutes and then I am gone. The trick is to convince them that you will not negotiate, but you will buy the car immediately or you will be leaving and never come back. And, do not sit in their little office. Stay in the lounge and drink their free coffee.

Before you go car shopping you best do your homework first. Research to know what your trade value is by using Edmunds, NADA vehicle value or Kelly Blue Book. Know what new vehicles you may be interested in purchasing then look up what dealer cost is on those vehicles based on what model level you want to buy.
Going car shopping unprepared is just asking for yourself to be taken advantage of.
Do not shop at dealers that have any type of added profit on the vehicle window sticker.
Jenkins Dealers are notorious for this practice.
Look over the dealers internet site for the vehicle you may want. I have found that dealing only with the internet manager at a dealer will get you your best pricing and this all starts with a phone call.
This process will save you time, money and brain damage.

Guess we will have to agree to disagree.

They work for someone who wants to maximize profitability.

You go in and they want to sell a car but they do have ways to squeeze extra dollars out of you and if they see a sucker let the buyer beware.

Just another great statement Oh thanks stu

You cannot even talk about price in 15 minutes. I was there on a Saturday and staff was short because of a car show in Daytona, I watched the salesman wait in line to talk with one of the managers, he had to wait his turn just like everyone else that was there and it was packed. It was well worth the wait to get the price I wanted and all the dealer add ons free. I realized several hundred dollars per hour so not a big deal.

These salesman are real people, they do what they are told and hope for the best trying to feed their families and most of them don't last more than a few months. On any larger purchase the buyer should always be aware and if they didn't do their homework they are not suckers, simply ill-informed and they paid the price for not doing their homework. Everyone that owns a business wants to maximize their profits.

I'm glad you got a good price. The last car I bought, I selected the car I wanted, took a test drive, allowed the dealer to inspect my trade-in, got the dealer's price in writing and a copy of the window sticker, and went home. Two days later, I retuned with an appointment, handed the salesman my out-the-door price on a piece of paper, showed him my checkbook, and trade-in title. I told him that I would wait in the lounge and that he had 15 minutes to accept the price and start the paperwork, or I was leaving. Within 10 minutes, the sales manager came out, and said the he would be losing 200 dollars if he accepted my price. I thanked him and told him that I didn't want him to lose money, so I would just buy the car from another dealer. When I turned and started to walk away, he immediately shook my hand and said we had a deal. It was a Thursday morning, not a Saturday.