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YOUR RESEARCH996's and used car salesmen
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best car i've ever owned
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What are you guys doing back here, I thought all these cars get checked when you PDI the cars.
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This may be an interesting lesson for me on why used car dealers rank at the bottom with a few other professions....
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One of my distant neighbors owns a couple used car lots in town.
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Some were buffoons, I knew more about the car than most of them did (just from my Rennlist research), but they were all pretty easygoing about showing the car, taking it for a test ride, etc.
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Just bought a 99 from a used car dealer...haven't picked it up yet. I asked for a photo of the odometer and between the time we started talking and we made a deal the picture shows they added 700 miles to the car. This dealership certainly flogs their cars.
Unfortunately, I already wired the money.
First time I've ever bought a car from a used car dealer. This may be an interesting lesson for me on why used car dealers rank at the bottom with a few other professions....
Unfortunately, it's not just USED car dealers. The kid I bought my CPO 986 from was the last car dealer employee who knew anywhere near as much as I have about a car I've been looking at.
We left Toyota, GMC, and Subaru lots because the salespeople were stupid. We left one additional lot because the salesman, upon hearing from my wife that what we wanted to buy is a 4x4/AWD SUV, said: "Miss, you only think you need 4-wheel drive," and then turned to me to explain how silly this request was. This is the point where I said, "You're on your own, dude," and left to find the sales manager to explain that our buddy Anwar just torpedoed what was probably going to be a sale. We took the Jeep out to Anza Borrego last weekend, and I took a couple of action shots. I'll print one out on the postcard printer, get Ms. Schnell to pen a note (maybe something along the lines of "you should have shown me a 4x4, dumbass..."), and mail it off to our buddy Anwar.
Once I explained to the Jeep salesman that they DO, in fact, make a Cherokee 4x4 Limited (and that the giant red tow hooks they bolt all over the Cherokee if you get the Trailhawk version are stupid), he went and found the one we knew was on the lot...and to his credit, he didn't screw anything up badly enough to lose the sale.
It's stunning how hard some of these guys will try to interfere with customers buying cars.
I hate to stereotype, but small used car dealers that only have, say 5-10 cars, have been some of the worst dealer experiences I've ever had. They say you cannot judge a book by its cover, but that does not apply to buying cars, IMO. If you know what to look for, the red flag signs are plain as day.
As a car guy I find I almost always know more about the vehicles than the dealership staff or sellers. I just bought a 996 and gave instructions to the owner to photo the option codes. Not all people are bad but they shouldn't make assumptions about the customer. That's just arrogant and stupid.
I am not sure what your consumer laws are like in SC. Did the original sales agreement list the current Mileage? It might be a way to back out. I would be worried those 700 miles are 'hard' miles. Up here in Albertastan all cars sales documents have to list the actual miles (in our case Km) at the time of the sale, or its no deal. But as noted above it is still Buyer Beware world. Good Luck.
My recent experience is that dealers get most of their 996s via auction. They have one key and no documentation or maintenance history. Definitely a crap shoot when you buy it. They usually have them nicely detailed though. The dealers usually don't know anything about the 996. It's just a car to them.
I live in South Carolina. You have three days to back out of the contract. Billh1963 can ask for his money back and walk away. Otherwise, he might be able to alter the deal based on the additional miles, but the dealer will probably tell him to take it or leave it.
I had this happen many years ago when I factory ordered a Mustang GT from a dealership near Atlanta. I couldn't pick up the car until the weekend after it came in. When I got down there, the car had about 500 miles on it. I was pissed and they said that Ford test drives some of the cars at the factory and that's where the miles came from. Then, I pulled the paperwork out of the glove box and the inspection sticker paperwork was in there showing the car had 5 miles on the odometer when it arrived at the dealership. They were lying pieces of s&%t. I had the option to get my money back and walk away, but since I had waited months to get the car, I reluctantly went through with the deal. Still makes me mad decades later.
There is a high end used car salesman that lives in my neighborhood. Every time I pass his house there is a late model, high end vehicle in his driveway with Dealer plates. Sometimes its the same car for a few days, but often it is a different car. Mostly MB's, Bentleys, BMW's and occasionally an exotic.
I'm sure its a nice perk, but I don't think he cares how many miles he's putting on those cars.
One of my distant neighbors owns a couple used car lots in town. He's got a rolling inventory of nice cars, all on dealer plates. When I drive by in one of my classics, he gives me a head flick. Thinking I'm prolly a car dealer too. Last month his daughter rolled up in a Ferrari. They live on a little hill and she was having some trouble getting it up in the drive. I think she burned off a good 5000 miles of city clutch just that one turn. lolz
I drove a 1999 cab 2 weeks ago, crunched a lot in second gear. Seemed to be synchromesh related.
I got back from the test drive and the "director" who is "a big porsche race car driver" tried to tell me that I was bad at shifting and that as I had a boxster years ago that I just didn't know how to shift in a 911 LOL
I even offered them a lower price based off buying a used tranny but they still insisted the car was good. After me telling him I drove 3 more 911's in the 2 weeks before and I've been driving stick for 26 years...
Used car salesmen are the worst....Ironically I'm buying a 911 tonight from...(drumroll) a used car broker...
Just watched the video. Wow. It is nice that the two front wheels go together into a curve after the C4S turbo boost kicks in. Deer skin headliner, ceramic brakes, just an awesome example!
I mostly agree with the sentiments, with few exceptions, one of them being the dealer I bought my car from. I got it just outside of Chicago and we have a strange kind of "dealership" here. The dealer will rent out a large warehouse and all of the cars will be inside. These dealers will typically offer higher end cars. While a few of the things above were true, my car DID come from an auction, it did have two keys and I was able to track down the previous owner. The experience was 180 degrees from what is typical with a dealer. The guy was an enthusiast, respectful, did NOT push at all, and was fair. After chatting with him for a few minutes he offered me to drive the car and didn't even go with (that's never happened). The whole experience was like none other. It was a small place with 30-40 cars, the salesmen was the owner and other than him was a finance person and a few porters. I liken this guy to a person who just likes cars and found a way to make a living selling them. The dealership had almost perfect reviews on cars.com, car gurus, etc with the only spoilers being incoherent idiots who couldn't string three words together. I'm going to be looking for a "interesting" DD in a few months and I'm going to go straight to him to find one.
I'm in SC but the car is in MA.
I figure if the car has survived this long and I don't know it's history it should survive these 700 miles. I'm getting it at a price that if something does happen I can be close to current market if I have to put in a used engine. I'll be a little upside down on market...but, not too bad.
Don't get me wrong...I'm not happy about this. However, I'm trying to be realistic that these cars are pushing 20 years old and most have been through multiple owners. For most of these cars their history is a crap shoot.
"Porsch CS4"
I have to go out to garage and figure out how to switch the 4 and the S around on the engine lid! I was hoping I would never have to see that buffoon, again!
In 2000 I treated myself to a new BMW 540i.
Flew from CA to OR to pick up the car. Was pissed off to see about 80 miles on the OD! I asked the salesman where the mileage came from and he said, "I let one of our junior salesmen take it home last night. He wanted to buy it SO BAD for himself, but he didn't have the money."
Incredible.
I almost cancelled the deal right there on the spot. But the model and color I wanted were VERY hard to come by at that time, so I drove it home to CA.
The good news is I drove the car just over 200K miles before selling it and had about zero problems with it. Just followed the factory m/x schedule. I took this pic the day I sold it in 2013 with tears in my eyes. It was the best car I've ever owned:
IMG_2590_zpsou8gciul.jpg
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Yep...I've got a feeling the sales guy took the car on vacation during the week between my contacting them and closing the deal.
The IMSB likes to be driven so it stays lubricated...maybe its a good thing. Yeah..that's it...that's the ticket!
I had fairly good interactions with the used car dealers I dealt with. Some were buffoons, I knew more about the car than most of them did (just from my Rennlist research), but they were all pretty easygoing about showing the car, taking it for a test ride, etc. They all simply wanted way too much for what they had.
The guy who sold me my 986 was awesome. He knew everything about the car, up to and including being conversant with some of the more publicized M96 flaws. As I was just about to drive away after finishing that purchase, the kid came booking out of the service department with gray side markers - no charge - because he correctly understood that orange side markers on a seal grey Porsche is an abomination.
I was actually bummed when I got an email from Porsche San Diego last year telling me that he was no longer with the dealership.
yep, same thing happened to us when shopping for our DD. Our must have's were 4WD or AWD, Sunroof, heated seats and CANNOT be red (we hate the color). THATS IT.
Everywhere we went, we were told we didn't really need 4WD or AWD and that a good set of tires is what really makes the difference. As soon as they tried changing MY must have list, we just walked away. We tired it with one dealership and they just kept bringing in cars that had 1 missing must have or didnt have any of them! and yes, he even bought in a mint red one. "I know one of teh must have;s was NOT red, but this car was just to mint for us not to show it to you" My wife didnt even get out of the car. lol
Such a waste of everyones time. I know what I want, I probably know more about all these cars than you do, so just tell me if you have what I'm looking for and we move on.
Ordered an Explorer five and a half years ago. Went to the dealership with exactly the spec I wanted, written down with option codes and everything. Had an X-plan so didn't even need to haggle over the price. The guy tried for a good half hour to sell me either the right car in the wrong colour, or a lower spec car in the colour I wanted. "So basically, Sir, it comes down to a choice between these two vehicles". Er, no it doesn't. Build me the car I want or I'm walking out the door.
OTOH the small dealership I bought my new-to-me Touareg from this week has been fantastic so far. Replaced and painted a missing washer cover, put $25 in the tank and brought the vehicle to my town to save me a trek back out to the dealership. Now as long as the car doesn't blow up ...
My buddy was buying a 2008 Audi RS4 in 2008. He went to the dealer to pick it up, as he got there, he saw a junior sales person tear out of the dealership lot, going to redline before shifting, and generally just beating the car that had 8 miles on it.
That junior salesperson cost the dealership a sale of a $74K car...
"Don't Get Taken Every Time: The Ultimate Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car, in the Showroom or on the Internet" Paperback –
Read this...I read the original in the '80's, been pissed off ever since! This is the newer version and if anything like the original it may open some eyes.
My first job working on cars was at a Honda Dealer. Fresh out of tech school and a month in, a "veteran salesman with 20+ years selling cars" storms into the shop, screaming. This lady just picked up a car, drove a few blocks and the Airbag light on the dashboard came on. What are you guys doing back here, I thought all these cars get checked when you PDI the cars.
Me - Wwhere is the car?
Dbag salesman - Outside!
Me - Lets take a look then.
I walk over and the light on the dash center console area is off. The customer is there looking pissed off, huge purse slung over her shoulder.
Me - I thought you said the light was on?
DBag salesman - It was when she came in. you calling me a liar?
Me - No Sir, I'm just trying to figure this out properly.
I look around the car and the notice the paper mat on the passenger floor was undisturbed.
Me - Ma'am, How heavy is your purse?
DBag salesman - What does that have anything to do with it? what are you doing, what type of tech are you?
By this point, the sales manager, service manager and half the shop are looking at this **** show go down, but of course, let the new guy struggle.
Me - Well, if you give me the opportunity, I'm going to show that most techs go to school to fix cars, but you clearly don't need any sort of education to sell them.
Promptly placed her oversized handbag that probably weighed the better part of 25lbs on the passenger seat and boom, light comes back on.
Me - "Ma'am, your purse is too heavy, it triggers the passenger seat occupation sensor and shuts the airbag off, which is what the light on the dashboard indicates. Ma'am, i would suggest putting you purse on the floor, or the back seat. I wont say empty it, I'm married and my wife's purse is just as big, so I know how that goes. Enjoy your day
Lady goes from pissed to laughing , the shop breaks out laughing, Service manager shook my hand as I walked back in. Sales manager didn't appreciate a mechanic showing up a "veteran salesman". needless to say, didn't last there long!
My wife hates blue cars to the point it's irrational and she KNOWS that the features of non-blue cars are identical to the features of blue cars. It doesn't matter - she can't stand blue cars, and if the first XYZ she sees is blue, I know we're not gonna buy an XYZ.
Toyota dealership has a few AWESOME 4Runners that would be perfect for me, but definitely not Mrs. Schnell's dream car. Things are going fine until the f-stick wheels around the corner in a baby blue truck...
I (hopefully) have aligned myself to be an exception to these scenarios. I've had plenty of similar bad experiences with dealers and flippers, but have also worked at several different dealerships. "It's a jungle out there" doesn't even begin to cover it. Now that I have my own classic car place, I strive to be different/better than the others, so far so good..
