Gang,

Need some expert advice from all of you. You may remember that last week I posted a thread on test driving the 40th AE RX-8. I was kicking around trading my 04 MT GT with 18K miles and you all talked me off the ledge! I ended up spending $1000 on new tires for it.

Anyway, I just got a Voicemail from the dealer stating they were 11 cars short of their dealership bonus program and that I'm in the rare position where I can basically write my own lease. ...So, now they have me thinking again. Only 'catch' is I need to close it all out and sign by the close of business today.

Any recommendations on how I should approach this?

Thanks!
KF

 

This sounds like the usual dealer shennanigans since I've seen car salesmans fudge the dates of transactions more than once so that they could have their "monthly bonus" even tho the car was sold a few days later. I actually had some warranty issues on my Neon because they dated the sale a full month in the past.

The one-day deadline/custom lease is a best a deal that will probably not do much more than remove a handful of dollars on your monthly payments, and at worst it'll turn out to be a "quick quick the deadline is in 20 min!" pressure game at the dealer and you'll end up with a deal that you'll regret a few days later when you do the maths without all the "omg I'm getting good deal quick quick quick gotta decide!!!".

The decisions I regretted most regarding money where always those I took in a hurry.

My 2 cents.

 

^ i agree with Mendossa, don't fall for dealership tricks, impulsive buying most the time turn out in regrets.

 

It's a dealer trick , trying to rush people into a dumb decision ....... Don't let them rush you into anything .

 

Some details about the lease would be helpful. I also wouldn't settle for anything less than current KBB trade-invalue for your car which is around $16,000. Before you ' Write your own lease' Get a good trade in amount from the dealer. Now if you still owe money on the 8 and your upside down on the loan you shouldn't even be getting a new car.

 

Agreed and understood. I'm thinking about offering something completely ridiculous like $16K on my trade and car for $25k

 

Dealer trick, walk away

 

Don't bother with them. Complete scam to get you in to spend more money with them.

 

Well, the guy called me again. I said car (2008 40th AE) needs to be $25,000 and 16k for my trade. He said he'll go check and call back. He did mention that they are selling vehicles at a loss to hit this dealer bonus program.. I agree it seems bogus.

So are you suggesting that if they give on the $25K sale prices and $16k trade I should still walk?

Thanks!
KF

 

The deal will probably change once you get there

The person filling out the details on the sales form when I got my 8 managed to OOPSEE-DOOPSEE! fill it wrong and add 20$ to my monthly payment... a few minutes righ after agreeing to a 1000$ discount. It was a 60 month thing so 60 x 20$ = 1200$. They argued that I was wrong and that it was the monthly payment we had calculated together and agreed upon. I dropped the pen and walked away. Then they realized it was "a simple typo, an error on our part, we're terribly sorry".

When I traded-in my Dodge Stealth... agreed upon a price a week before, when I showed up to drop the Stealth and pickup the new car they were giving me a 1000$ less than agreed, saying it was only "an estimate" they had given me. I was young and stupid and took it...

NEVER trust them. They're out to get your money and have no morals problems scamming you.

 

If there is a "great deal" at the end of this month there will be a great deal at the end of next month too. I would take the month to think about it and tell them your deal $16/$25 stands if they want it.

 

As a dealership finance guy, I see this all the time.


Do dealerships get quarterly bonus for units? - - -YES.
Do manufacturers give specialty bonus' for certain cars? - - - YES
Does the dealership pass that $$ on to the customer? - - - -- rarely
Should you trust your salesman? - - -- - - Never
Does it work in the customers favor - -- -- - rarely

Is it possible they are telling the truth - -- - - - maybe


I bought my car from a dealership that was being sold. The current owner needed 3 more units for the bonus. I know for a fact that they lost money on my car to get that bonus. But that is beyond rare.
But hey . . sometimes things DO work out in your favor

If they are gonna give you a super duper nice deal . . go for it.
But never trust a dealership. Shoot . . .you shouldn't even trust me.

 

^ Can't argue with that. The dealers can get great bonus money based on preset marks, and will gladly lose a few grand on a few cars to get several times that loss in bonus cash. So on very rare occasions a few customers can get a great deal. But most times it's just a scam that you'll regret.

If they agree to your numbers and the paperwork doesn't have a bunch of BS add-ons (or questionable math) then go for it.

 

no call back yet I'll report back in when/if he calls.

 

If they don't call at least you know how trustworthy they are for future reference.

 

my buddy just got an 08 gt with a sticker of 31800 to 25800 so if that is what you are looking at then it could be close.....the 40th anni was only $300 more than his GT but he wanted black.......his trade in was a wash so that didnt matter.....but as for your trade in i wouldnt expect 16k out of it unless you got more than i do....my car is an 04 GT with everything but Navi and I have 28k miles.....the Galves book in perfect condition is $12,300 but my car would get maybe $11,700....the dealers do not look at KBB cuz that is over-inflated.....these are realistic figures that you can take with you

 

Chrism,

Thanks for the reply. I read your earlier threads concerning your buddies 8 (Klepto?). That's where I came up with the $25K number. (Proof that searching first really helps! )

As for my trade, they were originally at $14K for my trade before my brand new tires. My trade is same as yours: GT loaded, no navi, but new tires and only 18k miles. Mint condition - garaged... So realistically, with the tires my trade should go up to $14,800 or so. I paid $1000 for tires installed, but figured since they can get them cheaper it would drop. I asked for $16k since I'm really not desperate to buy. Figured what the hell and let's see what they say!

Thanks
KF

 

if you can get what you want more power to you but they will need to get something from somewhere to make sense on the deal....they wont lose on both the trade and sale.....if they said 14 on the trade with 25 or 26 on the anni then i would be all over it because that is a great deal

 

Well, sales manager (different guy) called me back. He's willing to go down as low as $27,692 on the car which he said is his true dealer cost:

Invoice: 29292
- 2 different holdbacks @ $600 each: 28,092
- 400 for something called pilot = $27,692

Sticker on the car is $32,005

For trade, he was willing to go up to $15K (said Avg Black book is $12,700; clean Black book is $14,300)

So, objectively, the prices seem fair, it's just that I'm not desperate for a new car.

 

Sounds like they are suddenly NOT losing money on this car to hit their bonus, nor are they letting you "write your own lease."

But there's still plenty of time left in the day for them to hit your initial offer.

I'd say no thanks and wait for the phone to ring again in an hour. If they are honestly looking for a sales bonus they'll give you the deal you want.

 

Oops, there was another $1500 off ...so it's $27,692-1500 = 26,392

 

26,192

 

He called back again! This is crazy. Anyway, he said it's the best he can do. I said I understood, but I'll need to walk away. I said keep me in mind if it looks like they're up against the wire at end of day. Net, he understands the terms and we'll see where this goes.

 

ugh! math 101 - yes, I meant 26,192.

KF

 

I almost posted exactly that - tell them to call you at the end of the day if they need to move one more! Great move, as you basically can't lose. If they are being straight about the situation they'll call and eat a grand or 3 to get what is probably 10 times that as a bonus.