Exactly! Not worth it to sell one car just to lose an equivalent of 5 cars over a bad survey. Yes it’s that bad…
Very true point on the dealers complaining to corporate about each other when it comes to advertised pricing. Herb Chambers up in Mass went after another, new MB dealer for pricing shenanigans and it got ugly.
Heck no. Anyone that mentions that they will give me a good survey in exchange for pricing will never get a survey. Normally a red flag.
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Just bookmarking. Good stuff in here!
I am sitting on the other end of the table. My fear is that the salesman has all of my contact info, income information, company info, employment information, SSN, etc. so it makes me nervous so fill out an honest survey because he has every detail he’d ever need to do me dirty if he lost his job or was reprimanded once my survey shows up. Especially if it’s not anonymous.
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In a loyalty sale, is there any added incentive to give the customer a break on their lease return, for example forgiving some extra mileage, or is it always just a numbers game that will count against the possible discount on the new car?
Is it better to just leave the lease turn in out of the negotiation?
I’m not sure how the dealer could/would give you a break on mileage. That’s between you and the captive. The dealer doesn’t have anything to do with that. I suppose the dealer could call the captive and try to go to bat for you.
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Some great stuff here, would you say the process goes by a lot faster if I point out the specific car with stock#?
Also how much back and forth could there be before I get the “best” price they can offer me?
I think it’s significantly easier to negotiate when you’re talking about a specific vehicle in stock. I imagine the sales person will be much more likely to work with you.
Every vehicle I’ve leased has always been a specific stock # that I inquired about.
I have an issue with the survey system like everyone else, in as much as it doesn’t allow manufacturers to get an honest picture of things.
If I truly felt like I couldn’t give a positive review, I’d contact the salesperson or manager directly and have a conversation about it. If things were that egregious, I’d likely just walk away from the deal and go elsewhere. Even when hacking, I’ve had pretty decent customer service experiences - I try to respectful of everyone’s time and if it seems too tense or combative, I move on.
If every dealership person I interacted with was like most of the dealers I see posting here, hacking would be easy.
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Every manufacturer has a different lease return policy. Audi for example you can schedule the inspector to meet with you and have the inspection done on the spot. Definitely take the time to do this as they are less likely to write things up. Last thing they want is an upset client in front of them.
Dealerships have an option to see the car and decide if they want to purchase it. If they do, you don’t see any charges from the manufacturer but usually the car will go back to the manufacturer and they will write up whatever they see fit. You can always call them and try to talk them down on the write up, most clients have success doing it that way.
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I am planning on leasing a special order 2019 Audi. A few dealers have told me that they’re doing me a favor, and so they won’t offer much if any discount off MSRP. I think we are doing each other a favor, right? I get the exact car I want, when I want, without a bunch of options I have no use for. And the dealer gets a sale without having to keep a vehicle in inventory and incurring rent and advertising charges. As such, shouldn’t a dealer treat the special order vehicle the same as one in inventory and offer the same discount?
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I second this. I used to be email only, but through experience I have learned that a quick call really moves the process along. I think dealers also sometimes think an e-quote/email inquiry is just another dealer fishing around for a competitor’s pricing.
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It’s not a sale until it’s signed for, even when you order it. I think Ivan or someone else mentioned it but you aren’t obligated to sign it for after it’s ordered. So there is always the risk that you walk.
Not to mention, if you’re ordering a car with less options than most would desire, it could become difficult to move if you backed out.
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Depends on how rare of a car and what color choice you are choosing. Don’t see how they are doing you a favor when you are giving a dealership business.
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To piggyback, the fact that the dealer is NOT paying floorplan on a ordered unit would give them LESS incentive to want to move it at a higher discount, as well as it not aging on the lot.