[kristieboyd]

Ugh....(big long rant coming......you've been warned!)

So, most of you know that I'm PG with our 3rd child which means that my current car (2000 BMW sedan, which we got for a steal from my dad, but still owe on) isn't the best choice for a family of 5. It's doable, but not ideal. We don't all go places together that often and when we did the 3 kids could fit in the back, even with 2 car seats, but it would be a little cozy.

So we're thinking about trading it in on a mini van or something bigger that would get us lower payments. We find one Sat that we like, are told that it was 8,000 or 9,000 (should have been the first red flag....OWNER didn't know exact price). DH was very up front with him with what we needed to get out of the BMW..basically payoff plus 3,000 to put towards the van. Owner said he thought he could make it work.

We go back yesterday and owner has to leave for a family emergency with his kids but says his brother can handle it all. Brother takes all of our info, drives the BMW, then tells us "it looks good". We ask for numbers....exact price of van, amount they'll give for BMW, etc....he then says he has to give it all to owner to work out and he'll call us tomorrow. WTH!?! We only drove the 30 mi because we thought it could get handled....we would have never come in if he'dtold us this when we called! I was ticked.

Then he calls DH today......says the price he gave us on the van was "wholesale" not retail......if we go wholesale he can only give us x on the BMW (6,000 less than what we want!!) Retail on the van is 13,000..... I would have NEVEr been interested if he'd told us this Sat! If we go retail then he can "give" us payoff on the BMW,but that's all. I just had to laugh when DH told me this. What else can you do??

DH is a push over and would never tell this guy off appropriately, so I get the job of calling him back and telling himhow full of it he is. His numbers are WAY off what I'm getting from Kelly Blue Book online and he has done nothing but waster our time and gas. He knew from the get-go what we were looking for and it peeves me off that he strung us along knowing he couldn't really "make it happen"

OK....rant over. I need to calm down a little before I call.

[Sullygirl]

Just remember, people are trying to unload the gas guzzling SUVs and minivans right now. You should be getting a deal right now!

I'm sorry you had to deal with this clown.

[lifeworthliving]

Kristie I can help you a little. First of all, Don't deal with those people! Period!

Now go to Edmonds.com New Car Prices, Used Car Pricing, Car Reviews by Edmunds Car Buying Guide You will find what you need to know here. Not only what your BMW is worth but what a van or other vehicle you may look at is worth as well.

Go to a reputable Dealer. This will not happen. I promise. I have worked the car bus. for that last 20+ years.

If they can't tell you right up front what the car $ are, and the amount of your trade, they are trying to cheat you. Don't fall for all that after market crap either.

Let me know if you have any questions. I can find the real answer if I don't already know it!

[kristieboyd]

Originally Posted by lifeworthliving

Kristie I can help you a little. First of all, Don't deal with those people! Period!

Now go to Edmonds.com New Car Prices, Used Car Pricing, Car Reviews by Edmunds Car Buying Guide You will find what you need to know here. Not only what your BMW is worth but what a van or other vehicle you may look at is worth as well.

Go to a reputable Dealer. This will not happen. I promise. I have worked the car bus. for that last 20+ years.

If they can't tell you right up front what the car $ are, and the amount of your trade, they are trying to cheat you. Don't fall for all that after market crap either.

Let me know if you have any questions. I can find the real answer if I don't already know it!

Thanks.....I knew I should have stuck to my guns in the first place. I told DH we weren't going to give them ANY of our personal info unless they told us prices, etc. FIRST and then backed down when it came down to it. No more of these little car lots, even though DH insists they have the best prices. We're going to a well known reputable dealership tonight.

Thanks again!!

[Lynda1811]

That's horrible, most dealers know every detail about the cars on thier lots. Being wishy washy on price and trade in isn't a good sign.

I think since so many people are choosing to get the smaller cars, that the lots have an over abundunce (sp) of vans, trucks and SUVs.

I don't think that you should be passed around like an old pair of pants. I would go to a differert dealer.

If you lived in MN I would recomend the place we got our car from. It was our first purchase from a dealer, and the most pleasent experience I've ever had. With in 5 minutes the guy knew what we wanted and our price range, with out telling him. We got there at 2 pm and at 5:30pm were driving our car home. (we had to wait a while because the storm knocked out the computers)

Lynda

[lifeworthliving]

You know the 'Junk in a box' places are the worst. Let me tell you why! Every week we send 30+ cars to the auction. These are the cars that won't pass inspection to our standards. So we send them to the auction that the little car dealers buy up. We call them wholesalers! They take these junk cars to there lots, wash them do what ever they just have to! Then put them out for sale.

I don't work for Carmax, but we send alot of people to them when they just can't 'fit in here'. Not everyone can buy a Lexus. (including me). Carmax will give you a fair price on your trade! You can also shop around yourself. If you find a dealer (Carmax or Bmw) that will give you a better price for your trade than the dealer you are buying from, you can do a 'BUY BID'. That's where the dealer that wants your trade gives you a $$ on your BMW. You take that knowledge with you to the dealer you are buying from. If they won't match the BUY BID then that dealer takes the bmw in as a trade, so there is tax credits for you, and sells it to the other dealer for you, basically.

Win Win. You get $$ knocked off in Tax's charged, and a better price for the trade in. I hope this all makes cents!

[queenbear]

A dealer will never give you what your car is worth. They have to fix what ever if anything is wrong detail the vehicle and then of course make some $$. You are definatley better off trying to sell it privatley if you can clean the title first. Also if you decide to trade to tjhis guy or any other dealer, I assume its all states your trade in comes off the purchase price which knocks down your tax
But this guy sounds like a real shmo..DH always knows the price of every car on the lot and the mileage..

If you go here it will tell you after you fill in the used car info what your car is worth at Trade in value..make sure to put in your zip...

Blue Book Values, Trade-in, Sell or Buy Used Cars - Official Kelley Blue Book Site

[lifeworthliving]

Blue book is a great site, but they are a bit high on there quotes. Dealers won't pay top dollar for a trade most of the time, for the reasons you mentioned above.

And I can tell you that the closer to the end of the month you go, the better deal you get! First of the month is when we make big$$. Middle of the month is where we push to get the most sales. But the end of the month is where we work for numbers, not always $$.

We have to sell X amount of cars each month to make our quota. Anything over the x amount goes towards the managers and salesconsultant bonus $$. The last few days of the month we sell cars so cheap, some of them anyway, that we loose money. At the very best we recoop what we have in it.

Also tell them that you want a copy of the carfax on the vehicle you are looking at! If they won't give it to you, then they have something to hide.

[kristieboyd]

OK.....went to carmax today and was totally insulted by their offer. Are we being unreasonable to think that $4500 for a fully loaded, leather interior, sports package, nav system, 6-disc CD changer, rear spoiler (ALL the bells and whistles) 2000 BMW 740i with 100,500 miles is ridiculous (sp)??? I mean, honestly, are we crazy to want 9-10k out of it? The only thing carmax found "wrong" was that the rear quarter panel had been repainted (from a minor accident a few years ago). Everything else was found to be in good to excellent condition, according to the printout they gave me.

I think we're done trying to trade it in. A bigger car would be nice, but I'm not about to get screwed on the BMW for it. I guess we'll keep trying to sell it privately and keep throwing all of our extra money towards the payments to hopefully get it paid off early.

[sherilynne]

I am heartbroken... MY dh and I are CAR DEALERS..... "YOU HATE CAR DEALERS"

This profession is just like any other there are good and bad.. We sell used cars. We fix anything our customers find wrong.. We have 2 full time mechanics and it keeps our customers loyal

I am sorry that you had such a horrid time.. A friend of mine told me a joke maybe it will give you something to laugh about the next time you deal with a car dealer..

Two men died and went to heaven ..St Peter meets them at the gate and escorts them to there homes...One man is a preacher The other is a car dealer. He takes the car dealer to a huge mansion on the hill. He takes the preacher to a small house at the end of the lane. The preacher ask"why did he get a huge mansion and all I got was this small house ? St Peter replies , with a smile on his face " We dont get many Car Dealer up here. " LOL WE found this insanely funny...

Sorry.. Hope things get better'



Just for the record that wholesale versus retail IS A LOAD of crap.... If he is quoting you retail on the van he should also quote you retail on your car...What you will find is he is asking retail on the van and trying to give you loan value on your car which is considerably lower... HE just reeled you in , got your hopes up and
wanted you to llke the van enough to say. OKay... Walk no RUN as fast as you can away..... I would be happy to give you NADA value on your car.. I can look it up tomorrow Please email me ...

[kristieboyd]

Originally Posted by sherilynne

I am heartbroken... MY dh and I are CAR DEALERS..... "YOU HATE CAR DEALERS"

This profession is just like any other there are good and bad.. .

I know.....I used to run one of my dad's insurance agencies several years ago and would always hear how much people hated insurance agencies and how insurance was such a scam. It's true that a few shady people can ruin the perception of the entire field. Sorry.....didn't mean to generalize so much....I was just truly frustrated!

I'd love the NADA value....I'll PM you. Let me know what info you need.

[BStroh]

If I were you, I would try to sell the BMW on your own. Then you could use the money to buy a van or the vehicle you want. At this point, since you are still pregnant, you have a little bit of time to wait for the right deal. You always lose money when trading a car. This way you can decrease the amount of your new loan.
Good luck! Let us know what you buy!