No reason other than it would be nice for her to be there.  After all,
she's paying for it as much as I am, even if she doesn't care that
much about cars.

Marco

Not at all, its happened, seen it more than once !, fortunately not so
much in recent times (<5 yrs). But I still hear of situations where dealers
try it on for one reason or another but these days seem quicker to back off
if there is indication the customer is better informed. Also some dealers
about to go belly up will try anything and yes they can be real stupid,
lets hope the dealer in question is one of the larger ones less likely to
face transient commercial difficulty :)

Thats good, did Marco get the VIN on the original paperwork and hope he checks
it when he gets the car and the odometer reading :)

Though it is nice to believe our choices as to options, colour etc are
fully unique - strange things happen, like a smallish number of people in one
room the chance is 50% they share the same birthdate. Odd probabilities crop
up all the time and the more so if a dealer has a sizable turnover, a full
on stats mathematician could well work out the relative probabilities based
on range of options and how this can intersect with colour for regional
demographic - truth is often stranger than friction ;)

I heard one case of a jag dealer in and around Carlisle who ordered a rather
unique vehicle then dumped it because the customer died, yet it was bought
by a cousin of the original customer who wanted the same colour yet didnt
know their cousin had died or that they liked jags - they hadnt been in touch
for 9 years or so and only recently had he moved to WA to eventually catch
up, yet the intersection of the probability was the jag dealer - <cough> weird.

The stunts pulled by third party warranty groups in the late 80's and
early 90's appeared like downright theft, good to see most of that has gone
but a dealer will try anything within reason and bordering on taste, esp
so if they are low on turnover, to squeeze out as much donero as possible...!

Yeah - I think it'd be pretty unlikely that someone else who lives
more or less where I do had ordered a manual SS in the same colour as
mine with the same options, at roughly the same time :)

Marco

Yeah, I remember that form from last time but didn't know the dealer
actually got penalised for a poor write up.  That's good to know.

Marc

Well has got a reason. A good car salesmen will cause you to do that.
(grin!)

you nominate, I'll second, then put it to the vote.

Do you get a $1k discount for no show?

Gawd, that is a bit much!  I'm just hoping mine is parked out the
front, washed, and has number plates attached.  That'll do :)

Marco

D said...

Similar to us, but no light and sound show. Just signing the various
papers then shown to another office where the after market accessories
woman tried to get us to purchase the usual worthless crap.

Oh, during the negotiating process we were introduced to the head of the
sales dept by the salesman when negotiating the price (it had to be
escalated to management level because we were exceeding the salesman's
authority level with our negotiations - you know, usual bullshit).

It's funny. They use all the same lines - family business, implying that
they're honest, hardworking folk who simply want to make a living to
feed and clothe their kids, but so do the Sopranos, or the Gattos or the
Mokbels, or having the boss intercede, trying to force us to sign
waivers, etc.

If anyone hasn't read it, look for "Car Hunting" by Jeff Anderson. He
wrote book on the trade about 15 years ago. While the cited examples,
models, figures, etc. are outdated, tbe principles aren't.

He goes through all the tricks, traps etc. that we all are subjected to
when buying or selling a car, whether new or used (in the latter case).
The book was published by Australian Consumers Association. The guy was
an ex-Holden dealer and used car yard owner.

Every car that I've bought or traded since reading that book has seen
msot of the tricks or ruses or ploys applied to us. It's funny to
recognise what they're doing to you or trying to do, depending on the
circumstances.

Bottom line though, you'll never, ever get the better of a salesman. He
does this for a living. We buy cars, on average every 3 or 4 years. He
knows exactly what he can sell a car for, what the min. price is and
what his commission, which he depends on for his salary, is for any car
on the lot.

If, when negotiating, he says that this is the lowest that he can go and
when you get up to walk away and he lets you then you know that you've
hit his bottom price.

Ah....yes, I did miss the point.  And a fair point it is too.

Marco