do car dealerships provide ANY benefit? beyond the obvious vile parasitic cancerous treacherous bull**** that is their day-to-day evil?

[Fergasun]

Similar experience to @The Evil Genius.  I have bought 2 cars over a span of 15 years. 

 

We knew exactly what we wanted in late 2008.  This is Southern California.  The closest dealership wanted 20% more for a used car, of the same make and model.  Ended up driving to a different SoCal dealer, 100 miles away, to get the new one.  Did all the price research and we bought it at the price I was looking for. Minimal haggling and no surprises. 

 

Mrs. Fergasun totalled that one about 15 years later.  This time we used CarMax for test drives.  I was surprised with the make my family wanted.  I also had to drive 100 or so miles to buy the price I wanted.  Heavy internet shopping.  I found a newer and lower mileage car, same make/model as CarMax.  I had preapproval from my bank, but they were able to give a lower interest rate (and I didn't add anything on).  

[Renegade7]

2 hours ago, Corcaigh said:

TradetheBeal and Krystal Koons are the same person?

 

Doubt it, Krystal Koons is a White Walker.

[TradeTheBeal!]

 

 

 

[Captain Wiggles]

7 minutes ago, TradeTheBeal! said:

 

 

 

 

It wasn't last minute. It was part of the original deal. 🤣

 

$1500 in trade wasn't a big ask kid.

[PleaseBlitz]

Last 3 cars have been CarMax (bought), CarMax (bought), dealership (leased).

 

CarMax is very straightforward and I feel like the process was simple and very honest both times.  I brough by own financing (always LightStream).  

 

The Jeep dealership gave me a not-great offer on a lease until I said I was going to leave and "think about it" (and I also may have mentioned that I lived almost an hour away and was unlikely to come back, which was true).  So the manager came out and was basically like (and this is pretty much verbatim) "you better have awesome ****ing credit" but gave me a much better deal, which I took. 

[LadySkinsFan]

The last new car I bought was my Camry in 1994, 1995 model. Every other car I've bought was used. I gave the Camry to my daughter when they moved to Texas in 2006. I've had two Honda Del Sols, one automatic that I sold when I bought my friend's Del Sol that I knew from when she bought it, stick. I bought my SIL's Olds Bravada, really liked that car. Then I bought my current Tahoe when I needed a bigger car to tow my camper. Sold the Bravada, sold the Del Sol to my nephew after my stroke. I rarely drive anymore, the Tahoe is a great car, 1998, real metal. I put Michelin tires on it that still have good tread. It passes inspection every year. I doubt I ever buy a new car again unless I win the lottery.

[Chump Bailey]

6 hours ago, mcsluggo said:

processing fee: $895

 

These are absolute BS. It's like anything else in Murica IMO health care, insurance - everybody is trying to fleece you and these industries lobby hard in order to do just that. The joys of unfettered capitalism. 

[TradeTheBeal!]

1 hour ago, LadySkinsFan said:

The last new car I bought was my Camry in 1994, 1995 model. Every other car I've bought was used. I gave the Camry to my daughter when they moved to Texas in 2006. I've had two Honda Del Sols, one automatic that I sold when I bought my friend's Del Sol that I knew from when she bought it, stick. I bought my SIL's Olds Bravada, really liked that car. Then I bought my current Tahoe when I needed a bigger car to tow my camper. Sold the Bravada, sold the Del Sol to my nephew after my stroke. I rarely drive anymore, the Tahoe is a great car, 1998, real metal. I put Michelin tires on it that still have good tread. It passes inspection every year. I doubt I ever buy a new car again unless I win the lottery.

Don’t let those tires get too old now.  Tread or not, they’ll dry out and get slick eventually.

 

Also, I had a Del Sol back in the 90s.  Such a great little car!

[Dan T.]

I’ve bought from CarMax also. If you’re not sure what model you want they have a wide range to look at and test drive. And I’ll pay a little more for the no-hassle pricing - what’s on the sticker is the price (what a novel concept) and not have to go through the hours-long Kabuki Theater of “negotiating” and still not knowing whether or not you got ****ed on the price. The cars have always been in tip-top shape from there as well. 

[PokerPacker]

4 hours ago, TradeTheBeal! said:

It’s been 20 years since I crossed paths with KK.  She was a very sweet young lady back in those days and always very kind to me.

I don't believe you. She got them crazy eyes.

[LadySkinsFan]

22 minutes ago, TradeTheBeal! said:

Don’t let those tires get too old now.  Tread or not, they’ll dry out and get slick eventually.

 

Also, I had a Del Sol back in the 90s.  Such a great little car!

 

I had a metallic green auto and red stick. Really enjoyed the stick, it was fabulous!

[mcsluggo]

As an economist, this marketplace is just plain weird.  it is highly regulated to throw in constraints that by all the evidence i see do nothing but harm the consumer, for the sole purpose of protecting the dealership franchises from competition. 

 

i have never bought a new car in my entire life.   every 15 years or so i try, but hate the experience so much i eventually go back to Carmax and just buy something used.   not because i want a used car, but because the experience is so much better.  I probably end up with a  worse deal -- i am taking on more risk with a used car (Akerlof and Yellen's paper "the market for lemons" was the single greatest paper ever written in the field of economics), but the price still remains high.     However, with Carmax you go to a single showroom that has many choices available with the price clearly laid out in front of you.   It is pretty close to the standard market experience we have for all other purchases.... and there is no fundamental reason that the new car experience has to be so much worse....   it is a clear market failure rooted exclusively in regulations that dealers have aggressively lobbied for to protect their local monopolistic power.    

[TradeTheBeal!]

Live look at Carmax guy living his best life on the broken backs of folks too nervy to negotiate.

 

 

[bearrock]

5 minutes ago, TradeTheBeal! said:

Live look at Carmax guy living his best life on the broken backs of folks too nervy to negotiate.

 

 

 

Definitely don't want to lump all car dealers into the same group, but in my car buying experience when I was younger, many dealers just waste so much time trying to squeeze every last dime from me as the buyer with some tactics bordering on insulting to my intelligence, that I would've preferred if the person just said hey can you do me a favor and help me pad my margin on this sale and save my time in the process.  Things may have changed now, but as I got older and my time is more valuable, I have very little interest in sitting in a dealership going through one shenanigan after another.  Like come on, I understand basic math, stop thinking I can't put 2 and 2 together and figure out what this change means to the overall cost.  

[Captain Wiggles]

I'm going to derail this thread again by waxing nostalgiclly about Volvos. 🤪

 

My best experience at a dealership was at Winchester Wheels in uh yinz guessed it Winchester Virginia. Traded a 240 DL station wagon for a Chevy G20 Mark III conversion van when I was eighteen. Ah April 10th 1998 was a good day. 

 

The days before carfax were a gamble. That volvo musta been in half a dozen accidents. I still can't believe they took it. Top speed might have been 45 mph downhill n wind assisted. 🤣

[PleaseBlitz]

CarMax just had the cars I wanted since their inventory in the DMV between 6 or 7 massive lots is really good.  

[The Evil Genius]

3 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

CarMax just had the cars I wanted since their inventory in the DMV between 6 or 7 massive lots is really good.  

 

So what Beamer does PB drive? 🤔

[PleaseBlitz]

1 minute ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

So what Beamer does PB drive? 🤔

 

LOL.  Currently leasing a Wrangler (my fifth one).  

 

Both CarMax cars where used Benz's, largely because at that point I had infants, and my wife wouldn't let me put infants in a car with no doors. 

[TradeTheBeal!]

3 minutes ago, The Evil Genius said:

 

So what Beamer does PB drive? 🤔

The really obnoxious alien jellybean looking model?

11 minutes ago, Captain Wiggles said:

I'm going to derail this thread again by waxing nostalgiclly about Volvos. 🤪

 

My best experience at a dealership was at Winchester Wheels in uh yinz guessed it Winchester Virginia. Traded a 240 DL station wagon for a Chevy G20 Mark III conversion van when I was eighteen. Ah April 10th 1998 was a good day. 

 

The days before carfax were a gamble. That volvo musta been in half a dozen accidents. I still can't believe they took it. Top speed might have been 45 mph downhill n wind assisted. 🤣

I knew it!!

 

Damn sneaky hippies!

[redskinss]

I've always hated car dealerships but my last experience was so bad that I truly despise them now.

 

My wife's car needed an oil change and was leaking a little oil from somewhere. 

 

Now normally I wouldn't take my car to a dealership for anything ever under any circumstance but since her car was under warranty and I figured I had to go to the dealer to get the oil leak fixed under warranty I'd just have them change the oil too.

 

Got a call, it was all done and the total came to 365 dollars.

 

I said 365 dollars for an oil change!!!!!!!

 

And where was the leak coming from?

 

They replied that a rock had punctured the oil filter and that's where the leak was, the oil change was 165 bucks and the 200 was to diagnose the leak.

 

At this point I asked to see a manager and said, 200 dollars to find a leak in the filter you were paid to replace already is ridiculous but that notwithstanding had I just brought you the car and said change the oil, i could have gotten it fixed for 200 less and if it was from somewhere else you would have either fixed it under warranty or called me to tell me what the problem was, either way there would have been no 200 dollar diagnostic fee, so you're telling me I'm being charged 200 dollars because I accidentally told you there was an oil leak?

 

As God as my witness this was his reply "yes because that's what we do"

 

I ****in hate car dealerships!

 

[mcsluggo]

34 minutes ago, TradeTheBeal! said:

Live look at Carmax guy living his best life on the broken backs of folks too nervy to negotiate.

 

 

 

ahh for the days when you would have to   (sorry,  "get to") haggle for ****.  I can hardly wait to argue at safeway over whether eggs should be $1.99/dozen or $2.15  

life just keeps getting better and better.

 

 

i REALLY look forward to when safeway is more like car dealerships and when you are finally done agreeing on the $2.27 for the $1.99 advertised eggs they add $0.90 more at the checkout, and then you have to count the ****ing eggs (sorry, "get to"), because they say you hadn't actually been haggling for a dozen eggs but for a "dealer adjusted dozen", which is actually three.   

 

good ****ing times. 

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

[mcsluggo]

i love minivans.    I also looked at the Toyota highlander-hybrid  which is supposed to be the 3 row SUV equivalent... i literally laughed out loud picturing my 5'11 daughter trying to squeeze into that "third row" for a drive to in-laws in kentucky.     

 

[Captain Wiggles]

29 minutes ago, TradeTheBeal! said:

I knew it!!

 

Damn sneaky hippies!

 

It wasn't even my car. It was my brother's and that dude has at least crashed four Volvos into something. Ah but those are tales for another day.

 

Oh what's that? Yall want more lame stories from the days of yore? No? Too damn bad.

 

My worst dealership story is also from when I was eighteen. Bout two weeks into freshman year at school in New Orleans my, that right you ****ing guessed it. Volvo 740 GL wouldn't start. I knew what the issue was right away. Alternator was deads.

 

I have AAA. So no big whoop I get it towed out to a Volvo dealership in Metairie. I tell them what's wrong n it needs a new alternator. "Oh sure Mr Captain Wiggles we'll get that all taken care of no problem" they says. So I get a call laters about how it aint the alternator it's the starter relay. It's like $400ish and takes maybe a week or so to get done. 

 

I get it back to the parking deck on campus and all seems right. Later that evening I go to start it. It won't start. Well back to Metairie it gets towed. They look it overs n I get another call. "Turns out your problem is the alternator and it's gonna run about $400ish to repairs." "Oh, the alternator, you mean like I originally told y'all?" I says.

 

At this point about a month has passed. I talk to my folks about it in our weekly phone discussions. My dad says he'll be in New Orleans for a conference in the next week so I kinda luck out getting some backup. Anyways we show up to the dealership and it's us, the mechanic, and his manager. I explain the situation again to all party's. The mechanic was not happy. Manager asks what he can do to make it right and my dad says "tear up that $400 bill and we'll be done here." Thankfully that was the ends of that ordeal. 

 

I still remember that dudes name. Last name was Carr. Tough to remember after a situation involving a motorized vehicle. 🤣

 

And no it wasn't David or Derek. 

[mcsluggo]

5 hours ago, Captain Wiggles said:

 

It wasn't even my car. It was my brother's and that dude has at least crashed four Volvos into something. Ah but those are tales for another day.

 

Oh what's that? Yall want more lame stories from the days of yore? No? Too damn bad.

 

My worst dealership story is also from when I was eighteen. Bout two weeks into freshman year at school in New Orleans my, that right you ****ing guessed it. Volvo 740 GL wouldn't start. I knew what the issue was right away. Alternator was deads.

 

I have AAA. So no big whoop I get it towed out to a Volvo dealership in Metairie. I tell them what's wrong n it needs a new alternator. "Oh sure Mr Captain Wiggles we'll get that all taken care of no problem" they says. So I get a call laters about how it aint the alternator it's the starter relay. It's like $400ish and takes maybe a week or so to get done. 

 

I get it back to the parking deck on campus and all seems right. Later that evening I go to start it. It won't start. Well back to Metairie it gets towed. They look it overs n I get another call. "Turns out your problem is the alternator and it's gonna run about $400ish to repairs." "Oh, the alternator, you mean like I originally told y'all?" I says.

 

At this point about a month has passed. I talk to my folks about it in our weekly phone discussions. My dad says he'll be in New Orleans for a conference in the next week so I kinda luck out getting some backup. Anyways we show up to the dealership and it's us, the mechanic, and his manager. I explain the situation again to all party's. The mechanic was not happy. Manager asks what he can do to make it right and my dad says "tear up that $400 bill and we'll be done here." Thankfully that was the ends of that ordeal. 

 

I still remember that dudes name. Last name was Carr. Tough to remember after a situation involving a motorized vehicle. 🤣

 

And no it wasn't David or Derek.