Hiya. I need help understanding where I went wrong. This was my first time ever interacting with a dealership, I did it alone, succumbed to peer pressure, and made a bad deal. People are shocked when I tell them how much I pay per month for this car. This was signed approx. 1 year ago.
I am paying $931/month. They gave me a $7500 rebate which I thought was a really good deal but I guess it’s not. I also got a $400 college grad rebate which is not showing in the contract.
Things I think I did wrong:
I went into the dealership not knowing what a good deal was. I still do not know.
I did not, and still don’t understand all the terminology of the contract.
I was impatient and very excited to get my first electric car (not my first car – I drove a hand-me-down 1998 Mercury Mountaineer before this), so I did not really shop around. They had me drive the car first and I was really excited to drive home with it. Did not want to go home empty handed.
I did not know how to negotiate. I succumbed to peer pressure. I once tried to leave to go home and research their offer, but they pressured me into staying and got me a better money factor (which I now know was still awful). I also felt really bad because they were staying very late after hours to help me. By the time we were done I was the last person in the dealership and it was past 12AM.
Can you help me understand where I went wrong and how I can improve? I figure I’m stuck with this lease now, so all I can do now is enjoy the car for the remainder of my lease and take this as a learning experience.
I’m relatively positive he has a bunch of negative equity, so getting out early is slim to none, especially since EV value tanked the past year.
For the OP, just drive the car until the lease ends. Dealers are a for-profit business, they definitely made money off you. Most deals that you see here is strictly for dealers to move units with little to no profits. It seems like you learned, and just have to move on.
Yea solid feedback for the OP. We’ve all probably signed leases we weren’t 100% satisfied with (at least I have). Lessons learned and on to the next one
This is 99% of the problem. You can not effectively negotiate a deal if you don’t know where youre trying to get to. Having this knowledge gives you the confidence to walk away, explains what all the contract terms are, and prevents you from making rash decisions.
For the future, are dealerships generally open to negotiation by email? Can I still get a good deal this way? I feel like this would cut out almost all of the pressure for me. I have never been good with face-to-face conflicts or negotiations of any kind. Certainly it’s something I should improve upon, but the question remains.
Also, I do have negative equity. Here’s the numbers:
Some are, some aren’t. Most of us preach that one should only ever step into a dealership once a deal is negotiated and agreed on. You can cut out a lot of the bullshit if you put together a well-researched target deal and then make an offer to the dealer rather than asl then how much they want you to pay.
I’m sorry to hear that. It must be hard to stomach that monthly payment.
Next time just reach out to a broker or discuss the deal here before signing it.
I would be very interested in doing this! I am hoping that Ford releases a hybrid Bronco (not sport) by the time my lease is up. That is what I’d like to try next. The IONIQ 5 is very fun, but I am finding that I don’t enjoy how careful I have to be with it for every little thing. I want something I can take camping and throw dirty things into without feeling bad.
I understand dealerships try to make money but two things upset me with this story
how absurd they started with prices to begin with and took advantage of how fresh you were to the process from the get go
more so that they were drooling over you so much that they kept the place open until midnight to secure the deal and pressure you into it. I can’t imagine how many hours you spent there and how tired you were by the end of it all
Agree with the above. Use this forum to get an idea of a good price, or get a broker next time and don’t rush anything.
For your own financial safety you should only deal with a broker moving forward. From this website, NOT one you find on Google maps as they are as bad as raw dogging it with a dealer.
just take it as a lesson learned.
Don’t worry any more than it deserves to be concerned about.
Next time around do a slow shopping, research this forum and you will be fine. Don’t sign before checking with folks here, it’s costs nothing to create an “ask the hacker” thread and hear sometimes painful but truthful advice.
The term “peer” refers to someone who is your equal. If you are not initiated and versed in car sales, you are not their peer. In this case you were their prey. Not every dealer is going to rake an uninformed rube over the coals (I am speaking generally, that’s not meant as an attack on you or a putdown) but there are a lot of them out there that will.
Please see above. While you may encounter helpful dealerships and salespeople throughout your life, understand that their paramount goal is to sell cars, they are not here to help you. Even the best deals you see here only exist because they somehow benefitted the dealership in some way, not because anyone was looking to help anyone out. The number one rule in Boxing is to protect yourself at all times and that rings true in nearly every aspect of life, including car sales.
It happens man, sucks that you’re stuck with it for a while but it is what it is.
All the leases I’ve done have all been over the phone.
I call, I tell them I’m looking at this car and the terms I want, if they can do it I’ll go and sign the same day, if not no hard feelings and I move on
EDIT: I’ve also used a broker from here when I simply could not get a good deal from my own efforts.
I also think that a lot of us here generally shop deals and not cars.
