Grumpy man rant

[94touring]

Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode about holding car reservations.

[BruceK]

Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode about holding car reservations.

EXACTLY!!

[BruceK]

New game: Quick! find the elevator call button!

[MiniDave]

Black one with the red circle?

Yea, maybe you use your phone?   ;D

[Brit_in_TX]

Is it just me or do new car salesmen never seem to actually want you sell you a car?

My wife is wanting a new car, and she likes the Acura MDX.  At Cars and Coffee in SA on Saturday, the local Acura dealership was there with an MDX and I stopped by ask them about availability the current pricing etc etc.  The guy could not have been less interested in talking to me, he just kept saying words to the effect of "the model is exclusive and we are selling above MSRP right now, so have you factored that in?" and then added something about "our finance team have strict requirements".  Not once did he ask me what we were looking for in a car, why we like the MDX, what would be the best trim level for us etc.

I thought the BMW dealership were a-holes, but this guy was worse!

[MiniDave]

They're under immense pressure these days, they have nothing to sell and have been forced by the ownership to maximize every penny - which means "additional dealer markup", all sorts of added on things like Truecoat, undercoat, special floor mats, vinv etching and who knows what plus they almost insist that you finance thru them so they can get the back end too. Trying to pay cash right now is difficult to impossible.....if they have the no penalties for early payoff you can always arrange your own financing, then just go pay it off after the deal is closed.

I would NOT want to be a car salesman right now (I did it for almost 30 years) nor would I want to be in the market for something new. The prices are over the moon and no sign that they'll be coming back down anytime soon. No one has any inventory.....it makes for a very unpleasant way to buy something this expensive......it used to be the highlight of people's lives when they got a new car and proudly parked it in the driveway, now buying one is more like going to war, and you almost feel guilty for being able to buy one in this climate....

This is absolutely no comment on your situation, simply my read on the market right now and why salesmen are in such dire straights. If you wanted a Volvo I can hook you up with a guy in Dallas (Plano?) who will treat you right and be pleasant to talk to .

[Brit_in_TX]

I understood some of those pressures, but thanks for your insight.

What annoyed me is that he just talked about "exclusive", "expensive" and then said their finance team would have strict requirements.  We did not even talk about the car!  If he wants to up sell, he needs to get me to that point, not just dismiss me out of hand.