Never had this happen before - auto dealer

[Green43]

I personally go with the rule that anyone I dont know goes out of their way to talk to me wants money. I have yet to be wrong.

I got one of those "your truck is exactly what we are looking for at our dealership, if you want more that blue book for it bring it in and we will give you a great offer"... I was bored, it was winter, so I took it in on my day off (after looking up a bluebook price). Their first offer was insulting, I took the time to show them the flyer and remind them THEY CALLED ME. By the time I wasted an hour of my day off and the drive over the "best" they would offer me was bottom dollar blue book, I guess they werent so anxious to get my truck after all, I drove it home.

They are not going to give anyone a great deal on anything at a dealership, they are in it to make money not give it away. JM $.02

[disneysteve]

My friend used to sell cars. There is no money in selling new cars. The salesman gets a flat rate for selling a new car. The bigger money is in selling used cars.

I wouldn't say "no money" but certainly the profit margin is higher on used cars. Where they really make their money is on financing and on service. Oh, and on extended warranties. Those things are just like printing money for the dealerships.

[bjl584]

I wouldn't say "no money" but certainly the profit margin is higher on used cars. Where they really make their money is on financing and on service. Oh, and on extended warranties. Those things are just like printing money for the dealerships.

The dealership owners make their money on financing and service.

The individual salesman only see paychecks from selling cars.

It's a somewhat confusing tiered bonus scale that they use, but new car sales are basically flat rate. For the salespeople, the bigger money is in used cars.

The new salespeople stuck in new car sales have to push cars, cause the only way to earn a living is volume. That's probably the root of OP's experience. Someone was trying to hit a number to get to the next bonus tier.

[disneysteve]

The dealership owners make their money on financing and service.

The individual salesman only see paychecks from selling cars.

Maybe that explains why, when you are negotiating to buy a new car, the salesmen has to keep going back to talk to his manager. Perhaps he isn't empowered to haggle on the price.

[rennigade]

Dealerships nail it out of the park when it comes to servicing cars.

I took my 2009 toyota corolla in for recall work the other week. There was a strange sound coming from the alternator area. They diagnosed it...turns out it was a faulty water pump. Ok great...how much? They wanted to charge $450 to replace the water pump and $115 for the fan belt...grand total of $565. I said no thanks and they only charged me $40 to diagnose the issue.

I went online, bought a water pump and fan belt from advance auto for $65...this was after a $40 off $100 coupon. Watched a 2 minute clip on youtube on how to replace the water pump...and changed it myself along with the fan belt. It took me about 45 min since im not a car expert and was probably being over cautious.

When the dealership told me how much it will cost they quoted me 2 hours labor at ($85/hr) for something I did in less than 1 hour with very little car repair experience.

I understand that being a mechanic is really specialized but the fact that these places up charge this much is gross. Id encourage everyone to steer clear of dealership service and find smaller garages to do the repair work. The work isnt going to be free but it will be a deep discount compared to what the chain dealerships are charging.

[disneysteve]

Id encourage everyone to steer clear of dealership service and find smaller garages to do the repair work.

I have mixed feelings on this. I totally agree that the dealership service departments overcharge. For a while, we had shifted to using an independent shop that a couple of friends had recommended. They were nice and they sent out all kinds of coupons and specials, but in the end, they weren't really all that much cheaper. Plus, they were far less convenient primarily because when I took my car there, I had to go through the hassle and cost of getting a rental car from Enterprise. At the dealership, they give me a loaner at no additional cost. Adding the cost of renting a car for 2 or more days generally erased any savings from using the cheaper shop, plus it added a huge hassle factor.

[ua_guy]

I have mixed feelings on this. I totally agree that the dealership service departments overcharge. For a while, we had shifted to using an independent shop that a couple of friends had recommended. They were nice and they sent out all kinds of coupons and specials, but in the end, they weren't really all that much cheaper. Plus, they were far less convenient primarily because when I took my car there, I had to go through the hassle and cost of getting a rental car from Enterprise. At the dealership, they give me a loaner at no additional cost. Adding the cost of renting a car for 2 or more days generally erased any savings from using the cheaper shop, plus it added a huge hassle factor.

Knowledge/skill is an important factor too. If we're talking about a 20 year old pickup with a pushrod V8 that just needs a new water pump and some ball joints, I'm happy to take it to an indie shop where they might be flexible on "book hours" for a job, or if there's a friendly discount if you are a repeat customer. If I've got something that's pretty complex, say, an Audi DSG 7-speed auto transmission that needs a rebuild, I'm happier taking it to a dealer/factory authorized service outfit. They're not necessarily cheaper, but specialized knowledge and manufacturer training are worth their weight in gold if it means the job gets done quickly and it's done right, the first time.

[bjl584]

Knowledge/skill is an important factor too. If we're talking about a 20 year old pickup with a pushrod V8 that just needs a new water pump and some ball joints, I'm happy to take it to an indie shop where they might be flexible on "book hours" for a job, or if there's a friendly discount if you are a repeat customer. If I've got something that's pretty complex, say, an Audi DSG 7-speed auto transmission that needs a rebuild, I'm happier taking it to a dealer/factory authorized service outfit. They're not necessarily cheaper, but specialized knowledge and manufacturer training are worth their weight in gold if it means the job gets done quickly and it's done right, the first time.

I do most of my car repairs and maintenance myself, but there are advantages and dis advantages to using a small garage vs. a dealer.

Complexity of the job is a big one. Another thing to consider is if something should happen after the work is done. If something isn't fixed properly or inferior parts were used leading to failure or an accident, then legally, you'd probably fare a lot better dealing with General Motors than you would Joe's Auto Service.

[jasminecox]

I did not get this.

[GoodSteward]

I have done several smaller jobs like changing out sensors, brakes, and a radiator. However, I did get burned once with a couple cam shalf sensors that the local Nissan place wanted a lot for. I bought the sensors myself, and while putting them back on I put the wrong bolt in to put it back. A friend came along and was helping so he started cranking down on it. It broke. This attaches to the block. I was horrified. It was seized in the hole, and I couldn't back it out. I even bought a special bit to do it. I ended up having it towed to a lcoal small mechanic, and he happened to notice another bolt hole right around it, that was sunk in a little. Using some nuts and washers, he was able to keep it in place. I still have no idea how that worked out outside of a miracle. Needless to say, it didn't save me any money but cost me a lot of pain and suffering. lol I'm leery of doing too much now because of this. It's a gamble I may lose.

However, I can't stomach the idea of how much money service people get. I tried to fix my own appliances and hosue items. I have very little experience with appliances, construction, etc. But to save money, I replaced the engine in my washer a few months ago, and I finished the office building outside my house doing the vinyl siding, insulation, wiring, sheetrock, and finish work. I hate paying someone what I make in a month to do a 1 week job.

[LuckyRobin]

Dealerships like 5 year old vehicles with low miles, especially popular ones. They can still slap a pricey extended warranty on them and sell them as pre-certified up to 5 years old. Both of those things are pure money makers for them. Because of the low miles, they rarely have to pay out for anything on the extended warranty, and because of the pre-certification they've corrected any big issues already. Add to that their kickback on a nice financing package and of course they want those cars.

They've been after my 2011 Toyota Sienna for 3 years now, both at the dealership and in mailers from several other dealerships (not even Toyota). It only just hit 30,000 miles. And is long since paid for. It's not going anywhere. But if it was, I could get a lot more for it from a private sale, because in my case, the demand is actually much higher than the supply. People want used Toyotas because they are so reliable, but most Toyota drivers drive them for a long, long time for exactly that same reason. I imagine Subaru is similar based on its reputation.