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Crappy dealers may have soured me on the whole WK2 purchase...

3K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  Yaccster 
#1 ·
Hey all, just thought I'd post and get others' experiences. I've been shopping in earnest for the WK2 over the last 3-4 days and have been doing it (or attempting to) over the internet the way I have done the last few transactions. My Lexus, our Prius, and the Lexus I had before that were all found, negotiated, priced, and set up over the Internet and it was great. I walked in, signed the paperwork, and drove off.

Well, I have been having a very hard time getting Jeep dealers to do this the way I want, including through the "internet sales managers". I've also been struck by how rude and curt everybody is, nobody seems interested in me or my business, and nobody will just flat out answer my questions. Every time I ask a simple question the answer is "When can you come in and we'll go over everything?". I then politely let them know that I'm happy to come in once my questions have been answered. Even dealers like 50 miles away, you would think the statement "You're 50 miles away from me, I really want to have everything ironed out and know that when I make that drive, I'm coming back with the Jeep" would make sense to them...I'm in sales myself and I know why they want me to come in.

Then theres the fact that the price quotes they give me over email are on vehicles they don't have in stock, the ones they have are always more. One dealer quoted me the following deal:

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Comfortably Equipped
Laredo 4dr 4x4
(Manufacturer Code WKJH74)
MSRP: $38,285
xxxxxxx's Price: $33,789
Manufacturer Rebate: ($1,000)
Your Final Price: $32,789*
The asterisk:

*Your price quote is valid for 7 days and does not include Dealer Installed Accessories, State Tax, Tags, Destination and Processing Fees. We reserve the right to modify this quote to correct arithmetic errors. Incentive and pricing programs are subject to change by the Manufacturer without notice. Vehicles contained in this quote are subject to availability.
She quoted me some lease payments based on that which were way too high. So I asked her to send me the residual and money factor. Turns out in speaking with her on the phone, the vehicle they have is actually $700 more, the "Manufacturer's Rebate" is a military rebate that I don't qualify for.

Its not just this dealer either. EVERY dealer I've reached out to has been the same way. I know its been a long time since I've bought a car that wasn't a luxury car, but I am really shocked by how sleazy this whole process has been.

I think for now its enough that I don't even really want to buy the vehicle anymore...

How has everybody else's experiences been?
 
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#2 ·
I've been going thru the same thing. Mostly with Audi dealers from the Boston area. They won't talk or give you any kind of a deal till you show up in person. My smug Audi dealer will not give me the same deal on a Q5 that they gave me 2 years ago. Why...because they don't have to because someone else will be more than happy to pay more.

So now I move on and thinking about ordering a 2012 GC SRT8. Called dealership that I bought my 2007 SRT8 from and they wouldn't talk or answer any of my questions without me showing up there to talk to sales manager. I asked are you trying to get sticker or will you discount. Never got back to me. Once again large dealership from the city.

They all seem to think the economy is great and everyone has more money than they know what to do with.

Drove buy local Jeep dealer today and the lot was full of 2011 GC's. Looks like these are flying off the lot...NOT.
 
#3 ·
Supply and demand. If you want an Overland or SRT8, the dealers know supply is limited and they will eventually sell it for what they want, vasoline included for free. For leasing, any dealer desperate for a sale will offer the lowest possible advertised price (restrictions apply, of course). There is no way around this other than to shop different dealers. There are people who travel a few hundred miles to an out-of-state dealer make a deal that saves thousands; that may be worth a trip.
 
#4 ·
I almost gave up when I was looking to purchase a GC a few weeks ago. The dealer wouldn't make any effort to get me a 2011 that configured the way I wanted. He kept telling me I had to be happy with his inventory. When I finally was beat down enough, agreed to buy one from him, he called to tell me another couple was looking at the GC I drove and they were willing to pay more. I never went back and according to the dealership website that GC is still sitting on the lot.

I ended up buying from a dealer in the Boston suburbs. He had the model I wanted, configured the way I wanted and the price was good They were flexible. The car was delivered to DC for $460 dollars.

The others in this area also suck. It isn't just Chrysler/Jeep. I've had bad experiences with Honda and VW dealers here also.

I actually keep cars longer than I intend to. Whenever I get ready to buy a new one, the memories of the buying process keep me away.
 
#7 · (Edited)
So far Jay, I haven't found one I wouldn't avoid. I've probably talked to 7, been serious with two.

Hey Steve, can you send me the same Private Message? Could you also let me know who you bought yours from in Boston? I'm happy to travel, hell I'll take the train to Boston and drive it back, it'd be fun.

Bmwister said:
Supply and demand. If you want an Overland or SRT8, the dealers know supply is limited and they will eventually sell it for what they want, vasoline included for free. For leasing, any dealer desperate for a sale will offer the lowest possible advertised price (restrictions apply, of course). There is no way around this other than to shop different dealers. There are people who travel a few hundred miles to an out-of-state dealer make a deal that saves thousands; that may be worth a trip.
Actually the dealers here have TONS of Overlands. I would say 70% of the dealer stock is Overlands, lots of Summits too.

I mean, the prices I'm being offered are good...I would pay them. I would pay that woman's price before the $1,000 rebate I don't qualify for, I'm in sales and I realize everyone needs to make a living. I just can't bring myself to do business with assholes...thats really it. I'm just not going to go sit in a car dealership for 5 hours and be "worked over" like its 1995. I haven't even pushed any of these people on price, just taken what I've been offered at face value and still they want to treat me like crap, its terrible. Its just when we start talking about out the door stuff and financing the numbers don't add up. When I push into them its because the vehicle is not equipped the way we've been discussing, the dealer today was trying to charge me the destination twice, $400 "processing fees", Of course the numbers don't add up when the price is $2,200 more than the quote you gave me over email!

I want the Jeep, but the payments are such after all their bullshit that maybe I should just go get a Lexus RX and be treated like a human being.

Also I wanted to let you guys know, this is a great forum. I started off at JeepForum.com and this is such a better forum, the people there are rude, traffic is poor. They have the name of your forum blocked as a dirty word LOL.
 
#8 ·
do be careful with CJD online quotes.. before going for my silverado i was thinking of buying a ram from a dealer in california and ship the truck here..
they had an awesome price for a Ram R/T, so emailed and then talked to them only to find the price given was "if i was eligible for the incentives" the incentives added up were employee discount, factory incentive, military personal etc..
none of which i was eligible for.. ended up if i wanted the truck i'd have to pay more or less 10K$ over the quoted price.

But still you guys in the states have tons of great dealers with awesome prices to be had for these cars. So i'm sure you'd be able to find a dealer thats willing to be straight and upfront with you in order to get your money.
 
#9 ·
One thing to consider is employee or member purchase programs. Some businesses have agreements with the automakers for certain pricing structures (when we bought ours, the Walmart program price was 1% under invoice and an additional $500 off... no haggling). The same thing is often going with discount clubs like Costco and Sam's Club; it can be worth your time to join one of those clubs just for the purpose of buying the vehicle- you get a good no haggle price and the deal is done.
 
#12 ·
Has anyone here used the "Tread Lightly" discount? It is supposed to give you 1% below invoice without haggle and I was just curious to see if it really is a no-haggle deal.
Yes, lots of us on here have used it. My understanding is that all dealerships must accept, not sure about higher demand models though. They accepted mine for a nicely equipped Overland with absolutely no hassle. But I have heard of some horror stories from others.
 
#13 ·
**Almost gave up ** myself.. went to dealership.. told them what I wanted.. they did a locate for the color combo.. and found 2 in the area.. both dealerships.. DID NOT want to swap .. flat out made excuses.. (it's sold etc) (I called and viola-- they had it available =) ) anyway.. this was the hardest car to get-- be patient.. dealer had my deposit for 3-4 weeks before. we could locate one @ the factory .. then I literally called the shipper.. and worked directly with them to get it on the train.. so YES the hardest 'work' I had in giving a dealership 45 grand.. =0

Trust me it's worth it.. I still get calls from my local BMW dealer who sold me a 3 series last year-- (summer car) to sell me the X3.. SUV.. it's junkie compared to what you get for less money.. GC OVERLAND all the WAY!
 
#16 ·
I got your PM Steve, thanks. I don't have enough posts to reply back to you yet...

Now the fight is over extraneous fees. I've got a good handle on the pricing, the issue is all these dealers keep trying to charge me between $750-850 for "freight", and $400 for a "processing fee".

I keep pointing them towards the window stickers and that they include $825 for destination already. I've never bought a car and paid an additional "freight" charge above and beyond the destination fee included in the MSRP. Now, all dealers in VA charge a "processing" or "doc" fee because they can (MD caps the amount of this fee to like $100, VA has no caps), but their prices are lower enough than MD dealers to make up for it. I have the lease agreement for my Lexus (leased in VA) right here and I paid a $349 "doc" fee. But...no "freight".

What have your experiences been with this "freight" charge?
 
#17 ·
I got your PM Steve, thanks. I don't have enough posts to reply back to you yet...

Now the fight is over extraneous fees. I've got a good handle on the pricing, the issue is all these dealers keep trying to charge me between $750-850 for "freight", and $400 for a "processing fee".

I keep pointing them towards the window stickers and that they include $825 for destination already. I've never bought a car and paid an additional "freight" charge above and beyond the destination fee included in the MSRP. Now, all dealers in VA charge a "processing" or "doc" fee because they can (MD caps the amount of this fee to like $100, VA has no caps), but their prices are lower enough than MD dealers to make up for it. I have the lease agreement for my Lexus (leased in VA) right here and I paid a $349 "doc" fee. But...no "freight".

What have your experiences been with this "freight" charge?
That's totally bogus. Walk out on the dealer.
 
#19 · (Edited)
In CA I used zag.com and had two dealerships send me offers for ~$1,100 under invoice, on a 2012. One dealership called within 15 minutes of submitting on zag, and within an hour I had the VON. No fees or other BS as CA has laws on what dealerships can charge fees for. Absolutely no hassle at all, and very upfront and ready to make the deal without question. Easiest car purchase I have made.

They want you to go in so you see the vehicle and hopefully form an emotional connection so when they crank the price up you are fine with it...
 
#20 ·
I tried to go through zag.com in MA but one dealership who was interested in working with us was bought out before we were ready to buy and the other two dealerships didn't show any interest in selling to us. It was a real shame because they were also supposed to be offering around $1100 under invoice.

Dealers in MA do hit you up with a "documentation fee" but it's around $300 or so. Just need to consider that in the overall negotiations.
 
#22 ·
I'll tell you one dealer in the 'DC' area to GO to and that is Fred Frederick (Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge) in Laurel MD. Talk to Craig, he's always done right by me and their service is top notch too. I drive there from Potomac because it's worth it. 12 years, 3 vehicles from them and my 4th is on order.
 
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