Dealing with truck salesmen

[Fishingfarmer]

I hate dealing, it feels like begging. My wife will go for it though. I told her we could trade her car in for the one she wanted, but it had to be at a set price. Salesman is a friend in the loosest sense of the word, talk to him and know him somewhat well but we never went out with him directly. Showed him the car we wanted at another dealer and the price we wanted to pay after trade. Took almost 2 months I think, but he finally said they needed a few extra sales at the end of the month and I needed to be there the next day. I got the challenger at a steep discount (carryover 2019 I bought in feb of 2020) and was paid almost personal sale price for her trade in. Her car was fine and didn't really need the new one, but left it in the dealers hands if he wanted an extra sale.

[The Bass Junkie]

Anyone else hate having to deal with salesmen when buying a new truck ? I'm going to be in the market for a new truck within a year and am dreading having to deal with the games that most car salesmen play .Let me quickly add that I don't want to insult anyone that works in auto sales. But I suck at negotiations when it comes to buying a new truck I always feel like I've been screwed anyone.I'm a easy going ,quiet honest guy and I feel that salesmen get over on me .anyone got any tips on negotiatING when buying a truck .any advice will be deeply appreciated

Had the whole we are giving you the best deal ever at the "biggest volume dealer in texas.."

Those guys were absolute clowns. Bought my 3500 MC at the dealer by our house at the lake in Havasu..super simple deal...no hassle. Actually buying another truck from them for my mom Friday. Its not just trucks...were still waiting on our second key from BMW on my wife's car. I hate car dealers, and absolutely refuse to hire former car salesman as reps for us.

[GOTTA BIG SACK]

I shop on Cargurus.com. Find the cheapest one on there and call them and tell them what I got and ask what’s gonna be the difference. I don’t even deal in person anymore. And it amazes me how they have all those fancy buildings selling everything at or below cost.

[wingrider1800]

I bought a new 2016 using the internet. I found the truck I wanted, called the dealer and made deal over the phone. I went to the dealer to sign the final papers and drove the truck home. No hassle, had already went through that with another dealer. The first dealership I went to for a price was a real pain. I was there 2 hours trying to get a price and they were trying to sell me payments.

[geodebasser]

Tricks to not fall prey to.
1. Alternate Of choice close. Do you want to buy the blue one or the red one the salesman will ask? Once you agree to either choice you feel committed. Instead, answer a question with a question. Ask the salesman which one he likes. Avoid any commitment until you have gotten the deal you want.
2. The urgency close. We have another buyer that wants that truck. You need to buy it now. Tell the salesman that if you sell it to someone else, I will find it at another dealership. I am in no hurry.
3. The assumptive The salesman hands you the paperwork and says, all I need is a down payment check and for you to sign here and the truck is yours before you agree to anything. Tell the salesman that he is way ahead of himself and that you have not agreed to anything. Then promptly ask him what his out the door price is for his vehicle .

[Dogfish_Jones]

I just bought a 2020 Silverado RTS 4 wheel drive, crew cab loaded out. I stopped in at the dealership because I already knew they had the truck I wanted by viewing it online.
The salesman came out to greet us, I allowed him to go over the truck with me and then I told him my price I would pay. He said he would tell the manager that and see what he said.
10 minutes later the salesman came back and told me that they could not get close to that price. I said okay, when your manager decides he will sell me the truck at that price just give me a call and I will buy it.
long story short, two weeks passed and the salesman called and said if I still wanted the truck they would sell it for my asking price. I bought it and it was around $18,000 off the sticker price.

[xcoach]

Can’t deal with them, just bought my truck from Enterprise Car Sales at the end of April. Prices have gone up, my timing was perfect.

[Mcjenson]

One option is paying a guy like Tom Mcparland who does car deals for a living to do the deal for you. I hate playing the games and am limited on time so I might consider paying the premium to have somebody do the legwork to get quotes from dealers around the country for me.

[Rodney P]

Go in knowing what your trade is worth and what others are paying for the truck you are looking at and stick to those numbers. Be stern, but friendly with what you are willing to pay. You should be within a 1500-2000 of the price of the vehicle if you did you homework correctly. Already have your financing before walking in and work deals at multiple dealers and different brands then play the dealerships against each other. This works most of the time. I am not brand loyal and jump on the best deal. I was able to trade every year or two doing this. When I get a new sales guy I generally end up with the sales manager. I like the negotiation and even had one sales manager tell my wife he could never get a read if I would have walked over a 100.00, she replied he would have

One other thing if you get to a dealer that has a huge dealer addendum sticker with a lot of add ons leave and do not try to deal with them. They are playing the slimy salesman game. There is a couple around here with 2k+ add ons

[Javelin389]

The car buying game sucks to me. Fortunately I've only had to play it a couple times in the last 30 years. But hey, if you want to get into a new Nissan Titan, look me up. I can make that process easy for ya

[Bob G.]

yeh I hate the dealership game. Why cant they just put a price on it. like any other product

There is a sticker on the window for those that don't want to negotiate the price.

[Riccochet]

Good luck getting any kind of deal on a truck right now.

National on lot inventory is super low. Dealers are selling trucks that haven't even left the plant yet. Used inventory is next to nothing.

Expect to pay what they're asking. Or expect to not buy a new truck.

[mactlman]

Do what I do for my company vehicles. I call 3 dealerships and tell them what I want and the options I want. Tell them they have 1 chance. Cheapest man wins.

this works for me also tell them the first quote better be the best one as no second chances

[Bartman]

I would also suggest to get pre-approved for the lowest interest rate loan you can find on line. If you finance through the stealership, they will not offer you the same interest rate but when you tell them what you're approved for a lower rate they'll match it. I always tell them I'm going with the business that offered me the lowest rate first so unless you beat it (not match), I'm going with them. Most will beat it.. Be sure to have your pre-approved paper work with you.... I also NEVER buy on the first visit. Always walk out the door the first time.

[WWDIII]

It was years ago living in Corpus, trying to buy a new Suburban. I ran across a I'm a really cool, by the way I am a really good golfer sales guy. He was such a d.........k. He told me there was no way I could buy for what I offered along with many other smart arse comments. Walked on him, when to the dealer across bought a new Suburban. Drove back across town drove right up front. He could see me and walked out, I showed him the sales contract, told him what I thought of golfers and drove off.

Now as I've got older and wiser I don't let salesman bother me. I try to use a company code or say a Costo buying program. Those are about as good of deals as you can get. When I worked for Honeywell, they had really good buying programs for Dodge.

[1Holeshot]

Tell them if you're looking or buying. It's not personal so don't take it as such. Don't hesitate to walk. I have a few that are pretty good, I know they make money just like they know I make money. It's the take my keys hostage places to avoid like the plaque.

This is good advice. Be willing to walk because they don't want to. What seems to work best for me is to make a counter offer that I am willing to pay and stick it. When they say they cannot meet my price I tell them I am leaving. Then they start moving closer and try to get you to up your offer. To get to the serious negotiations just say " all you have to do is tell me you can't do this and I will leave and go to another dealer". That will usually create more downward movement. If they don't drop the price get up and leave. Often they will follow you out of the door or call you later the same or next day accepting your offer.

Just remember, you are the only person there who will look after your best interests.

[billius]

I buy my cars and trucks from a local used car lot. He specializes in vehicles with very low mileage, maybe 1-3 years old. No arguing over price. He will give me a price, if I like it, I buy it. If its too much money, no issue. He'll just try to get me another one in the price range I want. Since the early 80's, I've bought 22 vehicles from him. Hopefully he won't retire before I kick the bucket.

[breeves2245]

Decide before hand if you want an extended warranty or not. They will run you through the "finance guy" to get all your paperwork signed. That is when you will get the extended warranty sales pitch.

[Dogfish_Jones]

Decide before hand if you want an extended warranty or not. They will run you through the "finance guy" to get all your paperwork signed. That is when you will get the extended warranty sales pitch.

I generally hate extended warranties, they have some fine print on page 487 subsection 4 that tells you it will not cover it.
BUT... once they offer it to you, pretend to think it over and then say no. 99% of the time they will leave then come back and offer it to you at half off or even more.

[1stindoor]

I try to remember that there are three distinct and separate parts to the deal:
1. The price I am willing to pay.
2. What I think my trade is worth.
3. The interest rate on the loan.

I don't talk trade until we've agreed on a price for the new truck, and I normally start the negotiations over the phone after picking out what I want online.