Don’t click that.
Said the man who clicked it?
I have been inactive and this is the thing you want to tag me in?!?
Never a better time to become active then when @max_g is talking about rectal storage, @anon65069371 is posting his search history, and @IAC “mistakenly” clicked said link.
But I ask again any update from the OP, or was this a survey for somebody’s research project?
It’s not storage, it’s hide-and-seek. Sheesh I gotta explain these basics?
I knew there was a reason why @IAC is the only broker I’d have a beer with……
Everything is bigger in TX
I’ve had a Volvo sales manager send me a pencil, which I agreed to. Ran credit, told to come on down and the car was getting prepped. 30 minutes later the same sales manager emails me and tells me that they cannot do the deal. The GSM didn’t want to do it. The sales manager went rouge and created an imaginary deal that didn’t exist, ran my credit (hard pull), got the approval from VCFS and then told me to go kick rocks. I was beyond livid. Ended up emailing one of the owners and explained what happened and I told them I would be filing complaints with the State and two other government agencies who oversee car dealerships, and well as negative reviews on BBB, Google and Yelp. The owner apologized and agreed to honor the deal, but I ended up walking away from the deal because they were the only Volvo dealer in town and I felt we could no longer have an amicable relationship going forward. So even some sales managers have to desk check the deal apparently 
What does this term mean?
Quote sheet from dealer
I don’t know if they really had to ‘desk check’, versus they knew all along and just tried to pull fast one (you are all excited, on your way to pick up the car, so , they thought, you would agree to bait and switch tactics they used and sign it on whatever terms they presented to you at the last moment).
That is an awful situation all around. I wonder if that’s their mo though?
Many dealers try to avoid email because it puts what they say in writing. They’ll still deny they said it and not honor what they told you it’s just harder than when your only contact is over the phone and they can claim they never said that or you misunderstood. As many have said, know exactly what you want, exactly the deal you want and find the rare good salespeople that will work with you and keep going back to them. It’s sad how terrible buying a car can be because the dealerships are so awful. It’s why Tesla threatens them, say what you want about EVs or Tesla quality but buying a Tesla is much much easier. Go online, order it, pay for it, pick it up.
MOST dealers I dealt with honored what they said over the phone when I closed deal over the phone. I would apply for credit and go to sign, and they would have on the table what they said over the phone. Very rarely I had dealers silly enough to bait and switch upon my arrival (may be once in so many years), and if they did it I would just seriously threaten to walk out (never bluffing on it).
Going back to the same dealer rarely if ever works. Great deal depends not only on a great salesperson (which is always necessary part of equation), but also on time of month, year, how pressed is the dealership to move the stock on the lot and etc.
I don’t like the idea of one price for all like in Fitzgerald’s. I have to pay extra so some fool who doesn’t want to do homework, research market and invest time on finding a great deal can end up paying the same amount I do. I don’t want to subsidize laziness or financial negligence of others.
Going in person to a dealer isn’t necessarily a no-no, you just need to be aware of their numerous tricks and not succumb to their high pressure tactics to make you buy something the same day, before you have time to regret your purchase. Going to dealer allows you to test drive a car and build a rapport with a salesperson, get questions answered, do research on a model, etc. You can also get a good idea of what that particular dealer is willing to charge for the car you are interested in and how relaxed or how sleazy a particular dealership is. Do this with multiple dealers to get a real feel for what the market prices are like (of course you will need to be in a location where there are multiple dealers). The important thing to know when going in person to a dealer is to exercise self-control and know how to escape if and when the high pressure tactics start coming on. If you are getting the run around or don’t feel comfortable anymore, you can always leave, you don’t owe them anything!
My usual strategy when visiting dealers in person is to tell the salesperson that I am just researching different cars models and brands at the moment and haven’t decided which one I want. They will be happy to let you test drive, an important way to know if you really like a car. Sooner or later they’ll ask if you want pricing info, or you can ask them if you are ready to deal with pricing. Typically the salesperson will then disappear for what seems like forever and eventually come back with a piece of paper from the finance dept with some numbers on it. Unless it’s a really strong offer, I don’t negotiate at this point and instead close the conversation. I thank the salesperson and tell them I need to go look at some other cars (you can name some other brands since they will probably ask you what else you are looking at). At this point the salesperson will either give you his card and ask you to call him if you have any questions or want to discuss more price options. Thank them and say goodbye. Some salespeople will pressure you into accepting an offer on the spot or bring over the finance manager to haggle further. A typical question they ask is “What would it take for you to buy this car today?” If you hear that question or encounter other high pressure tactics, run for the hills! Tell them you are just doing research and not ready to buy. Take their card and walk out. Once you have done this at one or more dealers you will have some idea of what prices are like and can negotiate further by phone or email with the salesperson. Try and avoid dealing with the finance dept in person as they are sharks and are trained to rake you over the coals while in captivity. If you are ever in a position where you really want to leave, just tell them you have a headache and you can’t think properly so you’ll come back tomorrow. This is a sure fire way to escape the dealership when things get sticky and uncomfortable.
Pressure tactics never worked on me. I am by nature very soft person and I always treat those I buy a product or service from with kindness. I don’t like people who go to a restaurant and treat waiter like a cr@p. Dealer is a human, a worker, and is there to make a living. So, rather than being aggressive and go on power trip (I am the one paying you here, be my slave!), my natural inclination is to treat them with empathy. This being said, I have my red lines and when those are crossed I can become very nasty person. I will treat dealer (anyone) very aggressively if they misread my good faith and empathy and take it for weakness. I will not hesitate to walk out if dealer exercises even a bit of pressure tactics, I can do so without even saying that I am leaving (simply stand up and go), or if I notice sleazy, stupid game playing on their part (sitting you at the desk, watching you for an hour while there is no traffic, no customers to serve other than you, and I have seen this at “hot car” Mercedes dealership recently, where there was no single soul other than myself sitting at the desk and waiting for the ‘pencil’ offer).
Having tried all the different ways to work with dealerships over a span of 20+ years, I came to conclusion that going from dealer to dealer is a great waste of the time. It’s ego trip for most of them who ‘feel in control’ of situation when you are there, and I have no intention to give them a satisfaction of experience (we brought him in, wasted half his day and sent him to pound the dust, haha). I no longer do that, except in a very rare instance where I go with deliberate intention to just meet the salesrep and nothing else. I would never walk into dealership with set mind to drive off with their car, unless I closed the deal and had final numbers worked over the phone.
I think if someone has plenty of time and doesn’t mind spending the weekend visiting different dealerships that will play their usual ‘mind games’ , then going in person to shop around might be an option. But be prepared to deal with morons who will think they are PhD’s in psychology and attempt to play those notorious, futile mind games with you while there.
I almost always close my deals over the phone, apply for cred as a last step and only then go to dealership to sign papers and drive the car off their lot.
My 2 cents.
I agree, but to have the audacity to go to the extreme to pull credit on false pretenses is not only unethical but illegal. There’s two sales managers here, one who did this ghost deal and the other one is a complete moron who insisted that Volvo doesn’t do MSD, and even insisted that he called and verified with VCFS.
Sure is. Next Volvo dealer is 6 hours away so they know most people aren’t going anywhere else.