They probably think you're bluffing.

 

Rarely do I see or hear about people getting what they need/want out of their trade. Did they shoot you a number for your trade before you drove up there? I'm betting that knowing you were from out of state, they were banking that you wouldn't have the willpower to walk away from the deal. Good on you for sticking to your position. It does suck to have to make that drive back to SLC empty handed.

 

Sounds normal to me....no dealer will stay in business too long if they discount the heck out of the new truck and pay top dollar for your trade. I think Dave Smith does the best deals anyways.

 

Yeah, if I'm getting a ridiculous deal on a new truck I don't expect to get a ton of money for my trade. They also get incentives when they get you to finance through Chrysler which you also weren't doing. So in the end I'm not surprised that they told you to pound sand, they are a business, not a non-profit. Sell your current vehicle private party and get what you want out of it. There is a price to pay for the convenience of walking up to somebody and handing them your keys...

 

(KBB, Nada, Black book, etc don't take any of that into consideration) Even before all of that the trade value (average of all sites including black book was 23K. So I said 23K minimum.

Thoughts?

Realize none of the places that provided you a value for your trade-in buys vehicles. The only true way to find the value of a trade-in vehicle is to find the current wholesale which is a number dealers get through a pay service. This number is determined by current auction values in your market area.

Every item has three values, what you think it is worth, what the buyer is willing to pay, and the true market value.

 

Try selling your car at CarMax. We just bought a 2012 Jeep Wrangler at the CarMax in Salt Lake. They gave us $2k more on our trade in than KBB said we should get.

 

Hi everyone, so I had been looking at vehicles online with Dennis Dillon, Stampede and Larry Miller all in boise. Dennis Dillon has the overall lowest prices but they didn't have what I wanted. So I started with Larry miller. Their price was close to Dennis Dillon so we drove up from Salt Lake City this morning (350 mikes each way). We got there and the internet sales guy was nice. We did a short test drive and I was sold. I have been test driving and researching for months. So I tell him I want it today for the right deal. We went in and he immediately started with the credit application. I told him no I'm using my credit union and already approved at rates they can't beat (1.74 for oh to 72 months). He said hmm we won't beat that but Chrysler capital $500 and you can refi when you get the payment book etc. I also told him that I manage my credit closely and I DO NOT want anymore inquiries on my credit but they can to confirm my identity. He then confirmed the rams price, I told him excellent and I am good with it and no need to negotiate. Up next trade. I had sent all the details and pics before showing up. They came in at 21K. I was like umm no. This vehicle is a 2012 crossover that is in mint-excellent-clean condition and has 8 grand in added factory stuff plus 2 tone leather. (KBB, Nada, Black book, etc don't take any of that into consideration) Even before all of that the trade value (average of all sites including black book was 23K. So I said 23K minimum. We haggled some more and i said ok 22.250. He went back and forth to the managers office a few times and guess what??! They didn't budge one f#%£ing dollar. Finally he said "guess we can't make a deal have a good day." So my fiancé says let's go to Dennis Dillon. So I grabbed my stuff and left. Haven't received a call from them.

*So now I'm pissed because no dealer has what I want within 350 miles of Salt Lake City. I'm originally from Northern Idaho and checked out dave smiths inventory and wow they have 15 of the exact truck I wanted today but in better colors. We are driving back home now. I am still pissed.

Doesn't it seem odd that they let a deal go so easy?! Thoughts?

You walked out over 750 dollars on the truck you wanted?

You have to understand that dealers don't make most of their money in the showroom, they make it at the parts and service departments. If they had to depend on the showroom to stay in business you would not be getting anything off MSRP.

That dealer also knows they are not going to make any money from you after the sale because you do not live there so they have no benefit to themselves to sell to you and not make any money on the sale. You could get lucky at the end of the month and they might have took a cut from a truck to make a sales goal if they were close and that truck would put over the goal but other then that I doubt it.

As to how your other vehicle is equipped, KBB/NADA ect. takes into account factory options, if you did aftermarket options/upgrades you will rarely if ever get anything in return for them. Just because you like the aftermarket items does not mean another buyer is going to like them making the vehicle harder for them to sell. Part of you getting a good deal on price is they make up part of that price by getting part of that deal back when they sell your trade in.

In the end it is not worth getting all upset about because you have cut the dealer out of some of the things they depend on to make money so your deal is not going to be as sweat as someone who uses the dealers services, i.e. letting them finance for you and buying an extended warranty from them ect.

The only thing I did was finance my truck through Chrysler Finance at the dealer, I turned down the extended service contracts as I have never used any of them on any of the Rams I have owned. In fact I believe even consumer reports says to only buy them if the model you are looking at has a bad reliability rating.

I go in and decide what I will be happy with in price and if we meet that great if not then I move on, but I know what area I am comfortable with before I step foot on the lot. I never make that price a set dollar amount to the penny as you will be hard pressed to ever meet that kind of target price. I know my range and it is not a huge range but it gives me and the dealer a little wiggle room.

My current truck I did not beat up the dealer trying to get every last penny of profit from them and after their discounts and my trade I walked out with a loan of $11,996 dollars and change on a $31,650 dollar truck after tax, tag, title and other paperwork. I was happy with the price and the trade.

My dealer made some money on the new truck and they made some money on my trade which sold the Monday after I traded it in that Friday evening. I watched the man who was buying it test drive my old truck and he had them put it in their shop to check it over that Monday morning when I went back to have them detail the truck I bought that Friday evening. My old truck did not stay on their lot for sale for more than an hour before it was bought.

My deal was a win win for both me and the dealer.

If you have a price down to the penny you are going to leave a lot of dealers pissed off and life is just to short for that.

Now I know most sales people are scum and if given the chance they will bend over a customer but if you are educated as a buyer you can work out a deal that works for both you and the dealer as long as you are willing to work on your end as well. But it sounds like the deal you were offered was not really all that bad, but you have cost yourself now because you just bought two tanks of fuel to walk away over 750 dollars.

 

I purchased a Challenger from LH Miller Dodge in 2010 and had no issues with them and they were actually pretty nice. I drove there from MT and they even paid for a hotel room since I traveled so far. However, when I tried to get my unused extended warranty back, they took forever. But they also have a new sales supervisor and maybe that can be attributed to the poor customer service.

 

Call Adam Gravely at Dave Smith. He's been simple excellent in my deal thus far. my name is Duane, though that won't lead to a discount of any kind.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate it. To the guy who said I walked for $750. That's incorrect. See my original post. It was 2K. The part that pissed me off was their unprofessional demeanor & the method in which they didn't negotiate from their 1st trade offer. Usually dealers low-ball first on trade and then will negotiate up. That is also very typical of Larry H miller dealerships in general. (we have tons in Utah) I grew up up with Dave Smith's kids (Dave passed away many years ago) and I was born in Kellogg. Kellogg and the silver valley is tiny so everyone knows everyone. I didn't have time to go up there for months to do this and figured Boise would work. (I DID NOT MENTIONED DAVE SMITH's when I was at the dealer at all) I'm a nice guy & flexible but the salesman's demeanor was odd from the start. I'm not one of those uniformed shoppers that goes in and wants 5k more for their trade than it's worth, etc. and if we had made the deal a bit closer to what I wanted I would have purchased $1,500 in accessories right then and there . (I didn't get to that part with them. My fiancé said the salesman acted put out from the first minute so hmmm. Who knows. And to those that stated it's not a non-profit, no sh\t. I run a large business so I get the profit thing. I also know when someone is trying to hoodwink me. You live and learn. We are deciding if we're gonna change our Memorial Day vacation from Montana to my parents house and try a deal at Dave Smith's. If we do I think we can get it done. I may even sell the current vehicle to car-max. We shall see. To those that wrote constructive comments thank you.

 

Don't feel bad. I bought a truck and put a deposit on it.
Was waiting for the freight company and I got an email that they were
sorry but they accidentally sold my truck that night yeah!

I wont get into the dealership info but its all true. Could have been a mistake or bait
and switch. At this point they offered others but I said sorry!!!!!!!!!

I never go back for more abuse after this.
They called several times and I asked politely to be put on " the do not call list"
Buyer Beware!

 

I'm sorry... but I don't see where you have any reason to be angry...!?

It's not like they made you a promise on price or trade-in before you drove 350 miles... and then pulled the rug out from under you...

You went there, they gave you a good price on a new vehicle, they didn't give you what you think they should have on a trade, so you're pissed?!

Most dealers play the numbers game between new vehicle price and trade. They massage them to make you feel good. In truth, no dealer is going to give more for a used vehicle than the current wholesale price (which fluctuates) and if the vehicle is not the type or age that they will put on their used car lot, you'll get auction price. That's pretty much a fact, regardless of how they play with the numbers.

It's entirely possible, because they knew you drove 350 miles, that they gave you their best deal on the new vehicle and then their best deal on the trade-in. That would explain why there was no movement.

Could they have discounted more...? I'm sure they made a profit, so there had to be more money on the table, but it's up to them how much they need to make.

They gave you their deal, you walked, why be mad at them...!?

 

I'm with the posters that think you have gotten yourself worked up over them not caring about your trade. Most places actually take money off for 'improvements' unless they are truly factory in which case they are included in the price, 8k worth of factory stuff would make me as a buyer run from it regardless of the deal. Sounds to me like you were trying to screw a dealer because of some familiar relationship another dealer, and the attitude you put across in the post makes me think you approached them already ready for a fight. Your bluff got called and as most have found out, if deal sucks for them not only will they let ya walk, they will hold the door open for you on the way out.

And selling a 2 year old crossover?? Be prepared to get screwed anywhere you are, even new they are getting discounted hard since everyone bought one over the last 4 years.

 

Same here, I am with the other posters - sounds like you had a deal worked out from your perspective and expected the dealer just to shake your hand on it. You might very well be business savvy but they could have had a very good reason for showing you the door. Perhaps the truck had another interested buyer or they figured chances of selling for more profit will be there on another day. I'd be ok if a dealer tells me no-go instead of wasting each others time further. That way I can move on and hunt for the deal I want.

In summary - I don't think your perception of the dealer or this sale is fair.

 

If you "really" wanted the truck, you probably should of taken the deal. The $750 that you're fretting over is probably less than the aggravation, cost off gas, and time that you already have invested in this endeavor. Who knows, they may call you... If so, good for you. If not, maybe you should think about removing those mods to recoup some cost and start the negotiations over...

Edit: I've heavily mod'ed many vehicles- mostly sport cars, and learned a long time ago that you're way better off to remove the items before trade in... You'll make up the $750; and them some... Good luck!

 

My only question is did you take into account any tax benefits on new purchase with a trade and without? There are a few states and here in Ontario where I am where your sales tax is based on the after trade price of the new vehicle.

I had to take that into account on the trade as opposed to a private sale. For me to get the best price for my old vehicle on a private sale I would have had to sell it for $2500.00 more than what the dealer was going to give me, just to break even on the final numbers. That was not taking into account the advertising, the inspection fees (safety and environmental) and any other monies put into the vehicle to make it attractive to a buyer. Incidentally for the 3 months I had it listed while my new truck was being built I had no inquiries on the vehicle.

 

Good Info. That was something that was a bit fishy. I live in Utah and they do the sales tax credit like you describe. New-Trade =taxed amount. They kept saying that Utah doesn't do that if you buy out of state. (They do) They said Idaho to Idaho does. My friends and I have bought out of state for years. I told him this so his first quote was with full tax which I said was wrong. We just moved on and said lets talk about the trade and check on the tax thing later to which everyone was pleased. RCMPVET. Thanks for the constructive message. I appreciate it.

 

Why are some of you bashing me? Again it wasn't $750. And I didn't go in with any attitude nor did I even bring up Dave Smith's. I wasn't pissed the deal didn't go through, it was the way the guy acted. He was rude-unprofessional and odd from the moment he walked over. Within 5 minutes of meeting him and only being outside talking about the trucks (no deal talk) my fiance said "this guy really has a chip on his shoulder or a bug up his ass today." My fiance is one of the kindest hearted people there is. I just said "I want the truck so lets be nice and get it done." There are ways that you treat nice customers and this guy was a jerk. If a customer is a jerk then I get it. Even though some of you are bashing me I am actually quite a pleasant and nice guy. Bottom Line = Even though their website does NOT say "We do not negotiate" like Dennis Dillon's, I said I accepted the price on their truck with no negotiation. He seemed very pleased. and again it was 2K not $750. And yes all the options except the Katzkin (in factory colors 2 tone) were genuine factory options/accessories/adds done by the dealer. No reason to run from it as a buyer. Quite the opposite. Anyways I am not here to debate my factory options choices, etc. I wasn't angry I didn't get a truck but how they acted. It was more of a warning that hey this dealer will not negotiate on ANYTHING and is rude about it. Basically they want you to walk in and say hey I accept the price of your truck with no negotiation and they say ok we will low-ball you on your trade and you must take it because we don't budge from our first trade in offer and we will act like unprofessional aholes during the process. That is not my fault. I like that some dealers say upfront that they don't negotiate on their deals (or parts of deals) There is a reason many car dealers have the reputation that they do. I am not a doormat to be pushed around but I am flexible in negotiations. During these car deals I think everyone involved should be professional and flexible. Now can we stop bashing me? especially when some folks are not even getting the figures right. I want to be happy in the ram forum but this isn't the best start. Thank you.

 

Why are some of you bashing me? Again it wasn't $750. And I didn't go in with any attitude nor did I even bring up Dave Smith's. I wasn't pissed the deal didn't go through, it was the way the guy acted. He was rude-unprofessional and odd from the moment he walked over. Within 5 minutes of meeting him and only being outside talking about the trucks (no deal talk) my fiance said "this guy really has a chip on his shoulder or a bug up his ass today." My fiance is one of the kindest hearted people there is. I just said "I want the truck so lets be nice and get it done." There are ways that you treat nice customers and this guy was a jerk. If a customer is a jerk then I get it. Even though some of you are bashing me I am actually quite a pleasant and nice guy. Bottom Line = Even though their website does NOT say "We do not negotiate" like Dennis Dillon's, I said I accepted the price on their truck with no negotiation. He seemed very pleased. and again it was 2K not $750. And yes all the options except the Katzkin (in factory colors 2 tone) were genuine factory options/accessories/adds done by the dealer. No reason to run from it as a buyer. Quite the opposite. Anyways I am not here to debate my factory options choices, etc. I wasn't angry I didn't get a truck but how they acted. It was more of a warning that hey this dealer will not negotiate on ANYTHING and is rude about it. Basically they want you to walk in and say hey I accept the price of your truck with no negotiation and they say ok we will low-ball you on your trade and you must take it because we don't budge from our first trade in offer and we will act like unprofessional aholes during the process. That is not my fault. I like that some dealers say upfront that they don't negotiate on their deals (or parts of deals) There is a reason many car dealers have the reputation that they do. I am not a doormat to be pushed around but I am flexible in negotiations. During these car deals I think everyone involved should be professional and flexible. Now can we stop bashing me? especially when some folks are not even getting the figures right. I want to be happy in the ram forum but this isn't the best start. Thank you.

I don't think anyone is bashing you. I think everyone feels you went in with expectations that were not reasonable. By the way it is not nice to delete parts of your original post to change its meaning.

 

Anytime I have purchased a new vehicle from a distant dealer I negotiate the price of the trade in BEFORE I get there. I send them multiple photos of the vehicle, VIN etc. Then we agree that this is the price I will get as long as the vehicle arrives in the same condition. That way we are all on the same page and there aren't any surprises. This method has worked great for me every single time.

 

As stated above - take your vehicle to Carmax in SLC. I know there is one S/O SLC in Sandy right off the I15. Get a free appraisal which is good for 7 days and go from there assuming Larry Miller still has the truck you want. Trading in a vehicle at a dealership is rarely good for the seller.

 

If the salesman was rude, then I would have walked away from the deal also. Even if I'm never going to see the person again, good service with a smile will have me more willing to make a compromise.

 

Before you deleted part of your original post you said you were happy with the price of the truck so that was not an issue in your first post that you changed/edited out parts of. You wanted 23,000 for your trade, you said they offered you 21,000 and you declined, then you said they came back with 22,250 which unless my math no longer works is 750 dollars from making the deal and you walked over that 750 dollars.

Your original post is in my fist reply. The fact is you walked over 750 dollars and get mad because they would not give you 23,000 for your trade. According to you they did offer you 22,250 for your trade which was an increase on their part of 1,250 dollars. I think the dealer was very fair with you.

The only reason you left without the truck you said you wanted is because you let 750 dollars get in the way of closing the deal. I believe you also said there was another 500 on the table from the dealer if you let them finance it through Chrysler Finance so that would have dropped the difference from 750 dollars to only 250 dollars.

So either way you look at it you got mad over either 750 dollars or 250 dollars if financed through Chrysler Finance.

I don't see any reason for you to be upset. I am not a big fan sales people either but damn, you cost yourself this deal not the sales man or the dealer. In the end I think you are trying to blame the rude salesman for your refusing to make the deal over 750 dollars or 250 if you were getting another 500 for financing through Chrysler Finance.

 

Racehill- meaning was not changed. Removed un-needed stuff and emotion so we can focus on my actual issue with the experience. Actually no i said i offered my lowest i would take to 22,250. I removed the actual trade prices because people like you kept saying $750. AGAIN, they didnt budge from their first offer of 21K. I budged from my minimum of 23K to 22,250 during negotiations. Those are the facts. I was there. Thanks.

Mucow- thank you for the info in pvt message. Carmax will be a stop after work tomorrow.

Chuff- you are right and in thinking about it, had the saleman been really nice to us i may have ate the 2K and signed. Being nice gets my business.

 

Racehill- meaning was not changed. Removed un-needed stuff and emotion so we can focus on my actual issue with the experience. Actually no i said i offered my lowest i would take to 22,250. I removed the actual trade prices because people like you kept saying $750. AGAIN, they didnt budge from their first offer of 21K. I budged from my minimum of 23K to 22,250 during negotiations. Those are the facts. I was there. Thanks.

Mucow- thank you for the info in pvt message. Carmax will be a stop after work tomorrow.

Chuff- you are right and in thinking about it, had the saleman been really nice to us i may have ate the 2K and signed. Being nice gets my business.

Your right my mistake on the trade amount but still you are demanding they give you a set price and they disagree on that price for your trade.

Maybe they can't sell it for what you wanted for it? It could be in their area your trade just won't bring in that kind of money. Just because KBB/NADA ect. say one thing does not mean the vehicle will actually sell for any where near that price. Sorry you did not get the truck you wanted, but the dealer came down in price on their brand new truck to satisfy you as you said you were satisfied with the price of the truck, but you would not budge on your end for the trade.

I don't know but it sounds like you were upside down or under water on your trade and really are not in a position to be making this deal in the first place if you can't roll what you owe over into the new loan.

The dealer budged downward in price on the new truck, you refused to budge on the trade price of your two year old cross over so a deal could not be reached and you got mad and want to blame the dealer.



You could not make a deal, no reason to get mad, let it go.

 

I have one more thought, you did not like the salesman saying he was rude, so what, you were not going back to that dealer anyway because you don't live there. But did you ever stop to think that maybe the deal you were getting on the truck was eating up the majority of the profit and sales commission and the salesman was not going make much on that sale yet he had to put in all this time with you no matter if you bought the truck or not. In the end that salesman used up one of his slots for a customer because most dealers rotate sales people as customers come onto the lot.

Just something to think about.

 

They came in 2K short of my minimum and 1.5K short of Dennis Dillon. I told him no and explained they were 4-5K short of an average between KBB, Nada, Black book, edmunds and an auction website a friend/used dealer uses) So I said we meet in the middle somewhere. He went back and forth to the managers office a few times and they didn't budge one dollar from the original trade offer. Finally he said "guess we can't make a deal."

The only reason I am mad is because the guy really was unprofessional and rude and plus they truely lowballed me by 4-5K on trade and wouldn't budge.

Doesn't it seem odd that they let a deal go so easy? Thoughts?

Why are some of you bashing me?

I wasn't angry I didn't get a truck but how they acted. It was more of a warning that hey this dealer will not negotiate on ANYTHING and is rude about it.

I am not a doormat to be pushed around but I am flexible in negotiations. During these car deals I think everyone involved should be professional and flexible.

Your original quote that you changed;
"*So now I'm pissed because no dealer has what I want within 350 miles of Salt Lake City. I'm originally from Northern Idaho and checked out dave smiths inventory and wow they have 15 of the exact truck I wanted today but in better colors. We are driving back home now. I am still pissed."

Dude, relax... no one was bashing you.... :doh:

Look at the last line of your first quote... you asked for opinions. Just because some don't agree with you, it doesn't mean they are bashing you... :wow:

Excuse us for thinking you were angry, it's just that you mentioned it several times (see your 3 quotes above). Then went back and changed part of your original post to try to hide your anger. You sure seem angrier than you realize about this.

I can only speak for myself, but I was merely trying to tell you that "my opinion" was that because they didn't "negotiate" the way you thought they should, it is no reason to get mad at them.

So you didn't get the deal you felt you should, and the dealer didn't agree with your analysis of the trade-in, that's the chance you took when you drove 350 miles without so much as a tentative agreement.

Finally, if you post asking for opinions on any forum, you will surely get several that won't agree with your viewpoint. If that is offensive to you, maybe you shouldn't post on a forum..

I truly hope you find the truck, at a deal you will like. These are great trucks in spite of some of the issues you read about on these forums.

Good luck with your truck search.. :smileup:

 

In my limited experiences, every time I've looked into trading-in a vehicle (albeit always an oldish, high mileage vehicle,) the dealer opened their Black Book, looked up the wholesale price and that was all they would/could offer. Period. The only negotiating that took place was for the sales price of the new vehicle.

Jim