Oh, The Pain of Buying a New Car
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (86950)
United States
August 20, 2015 12:38pm CST
My car is eight years old and has nearly 200,000 miles on it. It's still in great shape (that's a Honda for you), but I'm starting to think about a new (or, as this car is, a certified used [or "pre-owned"]) car.
I hate buying a new car, mainly because of the secrecy involved. Can you imagine if Kroger or Meijer sold groceries the way cars are sold? "Well, the manufacture's price for that gallon of milk is $5.99. Let me go talk to my manager about what kind of deal we can cut you. Oh, are you trading in some milk for this milk?"
Worse, most of the dealers treat women like idiots in the process. I have to say I've never bought two cars from the same place, if that's any indication of how I've been treated.
Or is this anxiety just me?
2 people like this
4 responses
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
20 Aug 15
That treatment from a dealership is the reason that I'll never buy from a local Honda dealer.
I walked in ready to pay for a brand-new car in full. The guy looked at me and decided I wasn't worth his time. I was really interested in the Civic at the time, so I insisted on getting a test drive. When we got back, I asked about the price, and he said that it was "well out of my budget."
I went across the street to the Toyota dealer and bought a Corolla from them. The salesman that approached me asked what brought me in, so I told him I wanted to buy a car and what had happened at the Honda dealer. He spotted the guy out in the lot when we took the car out for a test drive and rolled down his window to yell "Thanks for the referral!" at him. 
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86950)
• United States
21 Aug 15
Well, it happened today. They wasted two and a half hours of my time. They turned out to want over $100 a month more than what I'd worked up on their web site said the payments would be. The thing that made me walk away from a dealer with a slogan of "nobody walks away" was when they told me, in direct contradiction to their web site, that I didn't qualify for the veterans incentive. Later a service manager asked if I had my DD-214. I pointed to my veterans license plate and said, "You have to show a DD-214 to get those plates."
1 person likes this
@yukimori (10192)
• United States
21 Aug 15
@FourWalls That sounds like such a pain in the neck! I would have walked away, too.
Did you directly ask them why the payments would be that much higher than what you worked up on their site? I'd be curious what their explanation was if I was told something similar!
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
20 Aug 15
I am a woman and I've purchased many cars and never had a problem. I have gotten good deals and good cars and no flack from salesmen.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
25 Aug 15
It would be great if avoiding rude dealers was possible. Some online sites let you buy w/o going into the dealer! Wonder what that would be like?
