Hey everyone! So, I’ve been having a difficult time getting dealers to work with me without a quote from another dealer, but so far I can’t get anyone to budge too much on prices.
I was wondering if it is okay to use someone else’s lease as a negotiating tool. Essentially I have a scan of a quote on the exact vehicle/trim/package/term/miles I want and its on the letterhead of a local dealer. So, my idea was just to say, “My friend got this quote, I want the same car and I’d like to know if you can match it.”
Would this be unethical and/or illegal?
I asked this same question on Reddit’s “askcarsales” and was ripped a new one, called a douchecanoe and told it was a completely dick move by the people there that work at dealerships and was banned from the subreddit. However, I don’t really understand why given how many tricks dealers use on a daily basis. Am I missing something?
Why not? But to me, it usually wont work. They can say so many thing why that work on that person like “it was a managers special” and lie straight to your face. If you know the numbers, you dont need to show any quote or deal. Work with sales. If dealer wont budge, move on and find another who will deal.
Yeah, it’s specifically a subreddit for people who work in the industry to answer questions.
Though they were nice enough to point out that the FAQ I failed to read clearly states, “Our mission is to bluntly (and to be honest not at all politely) help you navigate the car buying process. Your hand will not be held, and you will be talked down to,” before banning me.
After talking to so many people here that are more than eager to help, and paying it forward to help other people get fair leases, it was pretty shocking!
Leasehackr is a customer friendly community first so you will not be talked down here as long as you are reasonable, genuine and polite. To answer your question, you can certainly use someone else’s “current” quote to negotiate and only other factor you should make sure to match is your credit score bracket.
That’s a good question, may I rephrase it for you…
" When dealing with people who have a reputation for lying and cheating just how ethical need you (personally) be ? Should I feel bad about lying to people at a dealership ?"
My personal opinion is, don’t compromise your personal ethics but hold on to your wallet when in the presence of such people. Be as polite as possible but take everything with a grain of salt. If you detect any untruthfulness just leave. Don’t reward their poor behavior with your business.
I think you are better off leveraging the quote you have in hand to get the selling price you are looking for. If you are asked where you are coming up with that number then you can mention that a friend got the same car for that price, but at the end of the day either they will let the car go for that agreed upon price or they won’t. You could be pulling it out of thin air and it won’t matter.
When shopping for a new car it’s best to use the shot gun approach, cast your net far and wide. I’d say start with at least 5 or 6 dealers for quotes and see what you get back. You’ll find out really quick who wants to play ball.
Reddit can get like that sometimes.
Browsed that sub real quick and it seems to have a lot of dealers as members.
So it’s understandable that they’d feel how they feel. I would assume to the bigger the discount the lower the commision.
I don’t think it’s unethical but it’s not YOUR quote so you are lying and the random stranger online is not your friend so that’s another lie.
It’s up to you as an individual to determine if what you’re doing is unethical and whether or not you’re ok with that.
I personally am OK with 2 little white lies to unethical people who lie about about everything.
I agree with @ElectricEliminator, they will either do the deal or they wont, so I have no issues using someone else’s quote. The dealer will always say no if they wont do the deal, even if someone bought same vehicle at same dealer the day before.
it takes a little finesse to do this in a way that it doesn’t come across like you’re just calling 20 dealers trying to beat a deal on paper. Dealers aren’t interested in that, you’d have to do it with a little more urgency and willingness to pull the trigger if they can beat this particular deal. If you just ask if they can, and then they say yes, and then you ignore them because you’re going to try another dealer and then come back to them 2 days later, you’re going to lose the dealer as they know you’re just shopping numbers and it’s not worth their time. If you tell them “if you can beat this deal and i’ll sign today” or something to that extend, you will prob get further.
You are already way ahead of the game. You know the buy price for the vehicle. I would first attempt to use that information without using any names to lock up a price.
Think about it, you have the leverage here. You don’t have to disclose how you came up with your price. Just ask for your monthly with and understanding that you will sign on the spot, immediately, if they agree to the price.
