So you want to hear about my dealership experiance

[azjeeper]

I just bought my new 05 jeep unlimited rubicon about 2 weeks ago , thought you may wish to hear all about the transaction since ya have this forum here goes .
Back in 03 i heard these new unlimited's were comming out from a pal , and since i had sold my cammando i wanted another jeep .He said these were close .
I did a year and a half of digging before i bought .And i had not bought a new vehicle in over 20 years .I thought this would fit all my needs and so far it does and more .That brings me to the reshearch part "DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU BUY" !
Thats my #1 advice #2 take each item and work on its price getting the best OUT THE DOOR PRICE .DO not trade your car into the dealer 9 outta 10 times your going to get better money for your old ride if you sell it yourself .
I do not understand these salespeople when i come armed to the teeth w/ info including how much the dealer is making , yet they will not move on price .I also had a dealer tell me 27K otd for and unlimted rubicon , only to bait and switch me to another for 35k otd .Which brings me to yet another point "WALK AWAY" do not be afraid to walk out the door .Your the buyer never get preasured into a deal thats not a deal .I was also shocked that i got crap service after the deal .Like a simple detail where stevie wonder coulda done a better job on it .Never pick up your car at night ! My new jeep had a tiny inperfection in its windshield wich turned into a full vertical carck .When i brought it back to the dealer after 120 miles asking them to fix it , there answer was " its and insuance claim .In the end they did take care of it , but it took me getting mad and not giving in .Even then they were more worried about the satisfaction surrvey , that i have yet to fill out .
I also found it funny that i am spending more than 28K on a jeep and when i told the salesman i was getting thirsty he just pointed to the vending machine s .I know if i had already made the sale and i had a thirsty new jeep owner sitting in front of me I would have paid the whole 1 dollar for the coke as the salesman , but thats just me .
The other problem i had is i wanted bigger tires for the lift and had that deal all worked out . The next day i get a call from them wanting more than 300 buxs since they did not have the tires in stock .AGAIN stand firm if you have a signed deal they can not charge more for them screwing up , or not checking inventory .Again in the end i got the upgraded tires at no charge just hassle .
Don't get me wrong i love the product , just did not like the whole sales and service .My wife gets better service when she gets her nails and hair done and she spends alot less .I will end this here as not to take up a whole book sized thread right outta the gate .but if you wish more info lemmie know , maybe i can help you get a better deal and happier experiance .
Now that i do have the new jeep it is a good thing though .

[Tomster]

Thanks, Scooter. We hope that by reading about other people's experience, prospective buyers will be better prepared to make their deals.

Hope you find a better dealership to go to for service and/or warranty work. Or, hope those guys wake up and start treating you better.

Tom

[mawardjr]

I hate buying a vehicle from car lots. It is more fun when you have all your facts, not dependant upon them to finance and not worried about a trade in. Then you can basically haggle about the price and if it doesn't come in line with what your willing to pay, you can leave.

[Paul E]

I like having all the information and going to a dealer and ask a bunch of questions that I know the answer to (this is for ANY vehicle). If the salesman cannot answer the questions, I play stupid until the end when I correct him on everything he got wrong and say thanks. And leave.

Dishonest or inaccurate salesmen (whether thru lying or stupidity) just really irritate the **** outta me.

[Don]

Isn't buying a new vehicle fun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/td.gif

[azjeeper]

I did forget another hint for ya all .If you own your home or land , take out an equity loan for your new vehicle .The intrest is now a write off , and the payments can be stretched for a longer period of time .
Also when you do find the real price or cost of the vehicle , Just know that they have to make something and they make more selling bolt ons and add ons than they do on thier intial costs .So if you want to save money tell them to keep the 80$ floormats ,30$ locking gas cap 600$ window tint etc .READ BEFORE YOUR SIGN do not take what they are shoving under your nose to sign as absolute ,I found hidden in paperwork 300$ and made them take it off .
Supply and demand
On a rubicon unlimited your not going to get them to drop the pice like you are the 500 pick up trucks they have on the lot .hope this helps somebody

[kevin]

[ QUOTE ]
Isn't buying a new vehicle fun /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/td.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

well my buying experence wasn't that bad. I bought my jeep used from car-max. At first there prices were a little higher but nothing to bad. But when i went down to the carmax lot and looked at the jeeps they had i learned that the extra $ to buy from carmax was well worth it. They made the buying experence very plesant. Their prices are non-adjustable so you don;t have to worry about haggeling the sales man. Speeking of sales man .. during the test drive we noticed the wiper blades were a little worn, and the sales man slapped some new ones on for free. He even called me back 4 weeks after i bought my jeep, he remenbered that i was going to use it for offroading and for my lawn bizzness and he asked me if i was having a good time using it for work and offroading. plus with carmax they only sell cars that pass there 100+ point inspection, so i knew i was going to get a good vehicle.

kbo /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dance.gif

[Paul E]

..until you rolled it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif hehehe

[gmbtj]

/\ /\

Ditto. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Don]

Paul has the right approach, treat me like dirt I walk away. Think about it, why should a dealer or a saleperson improve, if you are going to purchase no matter how poorly they treat you? After the sale, they treat you poorly because they think, we treated him like SH@# and he still purchased from us.

When I purchase a new vehicle, I research vehicles, decide what I want, then I order only WHAT I want. I am very direct with telling salesperson, from the first moment that I meet him/her, 1) I am just doing research today and have a few question (refuse to discuss $$$ during this process), help me get the answers to my questions and I'll come back and talk with you when I am ready to purchase, _OR_
2)I have checkbook in hand and I am going to order a vehicle TODAY! This is a fact. The question for YOU to determine is will I order from you or the guy down the street? If I cannot close the deal in 30 minutes, I am in the wrong dealership. The last vehicle I purchased, I purchased it over the phone. I NEVER met the Salesperson, nor did I ever step foot on the lot until my new vehicle arrived at the dealership. Before I called this Jeep dealer, another Jeep dealer would not talk to me unless I came into their showroom. I told the salesperson, right here, and right now was his (he was a Man) ONLY opportunity to sell me a Jeep.

[JeepTales]

You guys are hurting my feelings...

I sell Jeeps on the Internet for a Dealer in Texas and I’ve been doing it for a long time. Selling on the Internet since 95 but in total for 15 years.

The vast majority of my custom’s become my friends they like me and they trust me they know I will be there to take care of them if they need me.

Last year I sold over 230 New Jeeps and that is no easy task for anyone.

There are people out there that will take good care of you if you want them too. I know that my profession has more than it’s share of rats but so do a lot of other gigs.

My credo is simple… Don’t make it difficult for people who want to spend their money with you. I’m sorry so many of you have had a bad Jeep buying experience but I know there have got to be a few of you who have had good experiences???

Please don’t leave me hanging

[Paul E]

I bought mine from a private party sale, so that doesn't really count. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Tomster]

Greg:

I have had some very good experience with car salesmen and sales ladies.

I feel like I go in with reasonable expectations as far as the deal I should get. I realize that the dealer has to make a profit, so if I trade in a car, I expect the dealer to offer me a trade-in allowance that gives him room to make a profit when he sells it. I realize that if I want top dollar for the trade-in vehicle, I should sell it myself.

As far as the new vehicle, I do my homework and find out what the invoice price is, and I simply get offers from the nearest dealers based on invoice. It was a simple matter of calling the dealership where I bought Thelma Jane and asking how much in relation to invoice they would be willing to sell me a new Wrangler for on a no trade-in basis. The salesman said $200 over invoice, and from time spent researching, I knew that was about the best deal I could expect. I appreciate that he didn't make me haggle for that deal. I had asked for his best deal, and I believe he gave me the best deal he could.

I not only got my Jeep for $200 over invoice, but I was allowed $1000 over average trade-in on my Grand Prix. I had asked for a no trade-in deal, so that I would see what kind of deal I was REALLY getting on the new Jeep. I then told the salesman that I was going to try to sell my Grand Prix, but that I would have to trade it in, if no one bought it. I advertised it, but got no takers, so I traded it in. They gave me such a good trade-in that I really didn't try too hard to sell it and then have to rent a car to drive to work.

There are some scoundrels out there in the car business, but there are also some honest, hard-working people. I feel that the latter outnumber the former by far.

Tom

[mikea]

You also can't expect a great deal on vehicles like the unlimited rubicon. They are in demand and dealers are hard pressed to get them. They don't stay on lots long and someone will pay sticker for it right now. Next year will be a different story. Just like in '03 the Rubicon were selling for sticker or higher.

[gmbtj]

and im sure the 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Sahara model is going to be in even greater demand.


Dang that is a long name for a vehicle.

[Paul E]

At the local dealer here, I counted about 6 or 7 Rubi Unlimiteds. I stopped and looked /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Ya know, as much as I love the idea of a Rubi Unlimited, I really love MY TJ and the stuff I've done to it. While I could start over, don't think the other half would appreciate it too much. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[azjeeper]

Just an update on my new dealership purchase.First it was the windshield breakage that i had to rant and rave to get them to fix .Then the steering bolt which another dealership fixed under coverage for 120 buxs ONE BOLT ! Now yesterday i go in just to get a couple of oil filters and my spare tire carrier is about to fall right off my jeeeep .I call the service writer over , one giant jack *** himself that he was . His answer was make an apointment , bring it back , get a rental car , takes more than a day ta fix .I said yer full a crap , went inside to assories and it was swapped out aprox 8 min .I am sure the saga will go on ...

[Paul E]

The next time you have a fix to make, buy the parts yourself, and do the repair right in front of the dealership... make people wonder what you are doing. Then tell em why you have to fix it yourself. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Nothing like displaying the facts. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[azjeeper]

Paul funny thats what i told the service writer guy , he wanted my ruby for a day maybe more for a 5-6 bolt on N off swap out .And people wonder why i change my oil every 1,500 miles , I DO NOT WANT THOSE GOOFBALLS WORKIN ON HER .
Thats a will do idea on the next fix , and i will do the repairs right in front of the new jeep line if another problem like this occurs for ALL potenial buyers to see .THANKS fer that one ! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/screwy.gif

[Paul E]

It would DEFINITELY get their attention. Just make sure you do it OFF of their lot, like in the street in front of it (if it has a shoulder you can use). Be safe, but don't be on their property directly, or they could have potential recourse. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif