In defense of dealerships, even car salesmen gotta make a living. I see
nothing wrong with tacking on a profit for yourself, as long as it's
"reasonable." There is a risk and a cost of business associated with
buying & selling old cars. I agree that some dealers will jack a price
up ridiculously, but most of the ones I've dealt with will negotiate,
too. A lot of times they have ended up with the old car on their lot
because the individual who owned it tried and tried to sell the car, and
finally had to get rid of it because there were no takers. So, in a
sense, they've done everyone a service by taking it off the previous
owner's hands and bringing it to the attention of a larger circle of
buyers.
On the other hand, I've heard plenty of horror stories, too. Like the
little old lady in Arizona who was told by the service dept. of a
dealership that her near-mint '68 Imperial "wasn't worth the cost of
fixing it." That dealer offered the woman $200 (if I remember
correctly) for her '68, and put her in a brand new car (which she really
didn't need). Then they turned around and put a $7000 price tag on the
Imperial. (I can verify all of this story, too!) OUCH!!!
I think people lie on trade-in because they assume the dealer is going
to lie to them. The poor reputation car dealers have can't be blamed
solely on the customer. The car dealer holds some responsibility as
well.
BUT-- I hope this doesn't turn into a big battle. I think you can get
an honest deal from a dealer, you just have to keep your eyes open.
(And private parties will lie about their cars, too, so it works both
ways.)
Mark M
Don Nonnweiler wrote:
> I agree with Ron, there are a few bad apples out which makes the good
> dealers look bad and most want to have the reputation of being honest
> reputable, and reliable businesses in the hobby. I was in the
> business for about 27 years and while there were a few dealers that
> were bad, it usually didn't take long for the state to close them
> down. From my 27 years of experience the biggest deceivers of the
> truth were the customers that wanted to trade in there car. It always
> seemed to me that their mindset was that it was OK to screw the
> dealer. Well let me tell you its never good for either the customer
> or dealer to get screwed. But when it comes down to it no dealer can
> ever force you to buy the car your looking at and if you have any
> questions have your mechanic or bodyman look at the car as any
> reputable dealer will have no problem with this and if he does then
> walk away. I don't want to offend anyone but if I buy a car and its
> not up the car I thought it was its no ones fault but mine and only
> mine!Have a nice dayDon59 Crown55 C30049 NY 1st series40 Plymouth
> coupeplus 19 other mopars
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network