used car dealership experience?

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a used CRV from a Honda dealer and wondered if anyone
reading this group has had any success not paying the various fees?
(also what are the fees)

All price offers seem to have the magical + + beside it and an "admin
fee" usually in the $350 range from the various dealerships have
visited. Anyone argued successfully that they won't pay any fee beyond
the purchase Price?


- buyer

 

Why do you tell us the fees? Also what kind of warranty are you getting?
And what year and exact model? How many miles?

What you can do is go here: kbb.com, nada.com and cars.com get estimates
of what the vehicle is worth. Also, look in the newspaper, at
Craigslist.org and at ebay.com for similar vehicles in your area. I
wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't get the dealer to budge on the
price (because the dealer will get someone else to buy it at that
price), but that you can get a similar vehicle for a lot less elsewhere.

Jeff

 

I always tell the guy I won't pay those ridiculous $295 or $395 fees--
especially the "Administrative" and "Title" ones. The dealer says those are
for all the work they have to do to get the title and the fees they have to
pay. They also tell you-- sorry, the fee is already printed on the form.

I take my pen and draw a line through it, initial the cross out and say--
there, now it's gone.

In Georgia where I live, if you take the MSO form to the county title
office, fill out a one page form, pay them $15---they mail you the title in
about 2-3 weeks. After your check clears, the dealer is obligated to give
you the MSO. Don't loose it though-- you'll really have a problem titling
the car until you replace it and that is a real hassle...

 

Oops-- didn't real OP carefully enough. There's no MSO with a used car. Just
get the old title that's been properly sighed on the back-- same deal at the
title office.

 

Hi,
If it is Honda certified from Honda dealer, I won't worry much.
If it is local trade-in vehicle then they may allow you to contact
previous owner as well. Few hundre add-on is not excusable but you may
haggle on price a little bit.

 

When I deal with car dealers, new and used, I always make it clear to them
up front that I am negotiating the "drive out price" which is defined as the
number I will write on my check. If they want to lower the salesman's
commission by loading on a pile of fees, that is their business. I have yet
to encounter the place that doesn't understand this and will go along with
it.

One thing you need to remember is just because they advertise a particular
price, that is almost never the bottom line that they will take for the car.

 

Somewhat on the same topic... I went to a dealership in Fremont, CA..
Can't recall what dealer, I was looking at a Hybrid, so based on my
preferences either Toyota or Honda. For some reason before the test
drive, they insisted on holding on to my car keys. For some odd
reason, I said OK. We did the test drive, then came back to work the
numbers.. The price he came back with was about twice what I was
willing to pay. I told him this, he said hold on, and came back with a
number like $50 less (nowhere near half). I told him that won't work.
He said wait another minute, and just stood up and walked away. I
followed him to where he walked, and he started talking to his boss. I
asked loudly for my keys - he said "Hold on a minute". I said "No, my
keys. NOW." He looked at me again "I'll be just a minute, I'm seeing
what I can work out for you." I VERY LOUDLY said "My keys. Now. Or the
police get involved." His boss looked at him and gave him the evil
eye. He hands me the keys. I leave. Boss comes out and as I'm getting
into my car asks if there's anything they can do to win my business. I
look at him and say "Cut the monthly payments in half from what you
first quoted." I gave him about 30 seconds, and then left.

Shady. Very shady.

 

Sadly, I have encountered the holding-on-to-the-keys gambit twice. Both
times at Honda dealers. Deal breaker for me whenever they pull anything
like that.

When I bought my daughters Infiniti, the salesman (an Infiniti dealer, but
it was their used car lot, not the show room) pulled the same trick of going
to talk to his supervisor. The place was completely empty, it being 10 AM
on a rainy weekday, so I could hear everything that was said. He tells the
boss "He's only offering $5000". The boss says "What are you bothering me
for, you haven't sold a car in a month. Get on with it". Needless to say
there was no upward movement in my offer after that. The edmunds.com trade
in value of the car was $11000 at the time. I got it for $5000. Nothing
wrong with it either, we've been diving it for 4.5 years now.

Another time, with a different daughter, I was in a Ford dealer's used car
lot. The guy had just quoted me a price for a car & I made a counter offer.
He left to talk to the boss. While we were sitting in the little cubicle, I
commented to my daughter that the plastic flower in the pencil jar was
probably a mic and they were listening. I then said he would stay out of
sight for about 5 minutes and then come back and counter our offer with this
& I told her a number. The guy came back in exactly 5 minutes and said word
for word exactly what I said he would say. My daughter was laughing so hard
she fell off the chair.

 

Went to Courtesy Honda in Sanford and am totally pleased, happy, about
their deal and positive service to the customer. Having looked at used
CRVs at 5 dealers, but, having been a dealer for ten years, in Florida,
knew all the tricks. had walked away from the first 5 dealers.

They do deals everyday of the week, and a purchaser probably buys a car
once ever three or four years. You might think you are going to 'win',
but, reality is that they have to profit.

If they got a trade in at $4500, it will go out at $5500 minimum.

Courtesy Honda, of Sanford, sold us our used 2003 CRV with Honda
Certified 1 year warranty, (no trade - in!).

As a past dealer, with many other dealer friends, we searched the auto
(December 2006, end of year, pre-inventory for tax sales, also!)
auctions for a wholesale deal. The final price, including tax and title,
for our CRV from Courtesy Honda of Sanford, was $1500 below the lowest
wholesale bids (scanned the prior 4 weeks of sales, also!) at 6 major
"dealer only" auto auctions!

Out of warranty, after 15 months of use, the Air Conditioner Compressor
exploded. Courtesy Honda Service Department went to Honda USA
Corporate, and gave us a free rental car, replaced the contaminated AC
system (!), and Corporate paid the entire $1991.00!

Honda certified dealers seem to go above and beyond their normal mandate
in servicing the entire deal! The serve the customer!

We have owned Honda cars, since 1988, (a 600cc Civic, in Japan, while in
the USAF, and stationed there), and the motorcycles since 1969, and
prefer them for their longevity and stamina.

Think about the entire cost of a vehicle, before you sign on the dotted
line. Will you get the kind of superior service that we experienced?