The most honest salesman in my area works at that dealership, I think most of the people there are honest and aren't pushy. The guy I was dealing with was just a kid (much younger than me even) and I think he was trying to beat a whole bunch of sales recorders or something. I think the dumb kid was told the sales manager that I was playing around with him, and if he would yell at me so I would buy the car. I have talked to the sales manager a few times (he is a friend of a friend), and he is actually a nice guy...

Theres two sides to every story. I worked as a car salesman and I can tell you that people are idiots. First of all people treat you like ***** from the moment you meet them. Then they like to tell you what the car is worth. Even when faced with the actual invoice for the car they will insist that so-and-so paid less therefore I am lying. Often the salesman is under great pressure from the sales manager who is often a really big *********. They get paid based on volume, the salesmen get paid a percentage of each car. So the managers want to SELL SELL SELL and don't care to much about margin, especially at the end of the month when if the make their sales quota, they get a fat bonus. I have also had customers drive every car on the lot and not buy anything just leaving more confused and wasting my time. Then there are the customers that think their car is made out of gold. People don't seem to realize that it doesn't really matter how nice your car is when you trade it in. All trades are based on ACV-actual cash value. Now occasionally there are really nice clean trades and they are worth more money. Trouble is no dealer wants to pay any more than book trade value and the reason is that sometime in the past he was burned paying more than he should for a trade that was misrepresented by the customer. I have seen it. A Taurus with supposedly low miles with about a case of motor honey in it to keep it from smoking. Car looked great but needed a motor. No way to really tell by looking at it and driving it. Only when the oil was changed the problem became obvious. So slimey people on both ends of the deals have ruined it for the rest of us honest folk. My advice? Sell privately, never trade. Don't be an idiot about what your car is really worth. Buy either privately or at the dealer but ALWAYS do, or pay to have done, a thorough pre-purchase inspection. Always negotiate price first and talk payments later. Announce your intentions to the seller, and if they don't like it, go elsewhere. To many good cars out there to reward poor behavior on either side. Remember, most people are idiots. Lets try to not fit in with the crowd. RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

It doesn't matter what you are buying.

Every seller is trying to get the greatest price for his product.

Every consumer is trying to pay the least for that product.

If you have done your research, you will know what is a fair price, and by that you can make an informed decision.

Will you get burned? Sometimes, but more often then not you will meet some nice honest people along the way.

And yes, you will meet some jerks. I don't let them ruin my day.

Joe.

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www.jerseyplanning.com
1987 300TD 440K - My car
2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 107K - Tim's car
2000 - CLK320 100K - Deb's car
1994 C230 150K - Josh's Car

I bought my first Benz- a 58 180D- from an authorized dealer in 1967. A week later I found it had a cracked head. Maybe I lugged it too hard. Never choose 'best way' for shipping on a replacement part- took four months for ahead to travel by ship from Germany.
Since then I have never bought a car from a dealer, and I'm happy with the results.
In my latest buy- an 85 190e 2.3- I asked the seller if "everything worked". He said yes and we both knew that I didn't care if he was lying. He drove 60 miles to deliver the car to me and since then it has done everything I wanted and more.
In regard to trade-ins I always remember something my father said to me- "Never let a used-car salesman testdrive your trade-in vehicle- they 'do things' to cars."
Maybe I don't get great deals on used cars, but I still have low blood-presssure.....