[jfkheat]

A couple weeks ago when I was looking for my 2SS, I talked to Parks Chevrolet in Charlotte NC about one they had that I liked. When I asked for a total price they sent me a quote for exactly $3000 over what they had the car was listed for. The extra $3000 was for dealer "ad ons". I told the salesman that I was ok with their original price but with the extra ad ons that I didn't want or need I would pass. I think they were offended. The salesman had his sales manager call me to discuss the extra $3000. I had already been talking with another dealer about another car and closed the deal after hearing back from Parks. I told the sales manager that the extra $3000 cost them a possible sale.

[Motor Fast]

Originally Posted by dpevans

I seriously doubt they were trying to bait and switch or scam you. When I ordered my 2024 they had no idea how much it was going to be and they told me. They had no idea GM was tacking on 5k on the base price on the 24 models. Sure the ad was an honest mistake and you can't expect them to take a 10% hit on price. Salesmen go by what is in their system so I would assume they would also make the same mistake. I am also sure that some kid got their butt chewed on for posting the wrong price in the system.

Well, the window sticker is on their website and I verified it was going for MSRP. Lady said yes and I agreed to buy it. She was going to do the paperwork and email everything I needed to fill out. So I logged in and sold stock to free funds up. 30 seconds later I get a phone call and was told there's a $5k adjustment they mistakenly left off. I asked the sales manager multiple times if he was going to honor the price I agreed to. His answer, nope. Scam, dishonest, not a respectable business, whatever you want to call it. I would have paid the $5k if they were upfront; I don't play games though.

Still on their website for $51,215.

[Motor Fast]

Window Sticker on their website.

[MT-SS1LE]

File a written complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. They are instituting new rules for car dealers that ban this very thing, among others. When the new rules go into effect, probably next year, dealers will be required to accurately disclose the price up front including any useless addons and markups. The price you see advertised will have to include everything and be the final price, excluding government fees like taxes and tags. No more "oh, we forgot about that markup". Fines for dealers violating the law will be significant. It's about effing time too.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by dpevans

I seriously doubt they were trying to bait and switch or scam you. When I ordered my 2024 they had no idea how much it was going to be and they told me. They had no idea GM was tacking on 5k on the base price on the 24 models. Sure the ad was an honest mistake and you can't expect them to take a 10% hit on price. Salesmen go by what is in their system so I would assume they would also make the same mistake. I am also sure that some kid got their butt chewed on for posting the wrong price in the system.

Naw, this is classic bait and switch.

Kia tried to play that **** with me but I wasn't having it. I finally got them nailed down by bringing in the the internet price. After my deal went through, they "updated" all of the internet prices with markups. They were 100% trying to sucker people in and then raise the price after.

If they are not advertising the correct price, it's false advertising. Whether it's due to lack of action on their part, it's still on them.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by MT-SS1LE

File a written complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. They are instituting new rules for car dealers that ban this very thing, among others. When the new rules go into effect, probably next year, dealers will be required to accurately disclose the price up front including any useless addons and markups. The price you see advertised will have to include everything and be the final price, excluding government fees like taxes and tags. No more "oh, we forgot about that markup". Fines for dealers violating the law will be significant. It's about effing time too.

I'm not sure if these laws are going through. That was the proposal, but it entered a comment period and I haven't heard anything after the comment period.

The absolutely sick part was the dealerships were asking their employees to comment on the rules against them. I know the exact rules you are talking about, these weren't anything to curtail a non-shady business, it was all the shady business practices that dealers employ. These guys are the lowest scum and they have earned their reputation.

[MattFL1]

Originally Posted by dpevans

I seriously doubt they were trying to bait and switch or scam you. When I ordered my 2024 they had no idea how much it was going to be and they told me. They had no idea GM was tacking on 5k on the base price on the 24 models. Sure the ad was an honest mistake and you can't expect them to take a 10% hit on price. Salesmen go by what is in their system so I would assume they would also make the same mistake. I am also sure that some kid got their butt chewed on for posting the wrong price in the system.

I was working with one salesman on a used ZL1 they had. I ended up passing. A week later they text me about this same car. I had already purdhased one and posted its availability here. Another user posted they tried to buy car but were told it had a $5k ADM. I wasn't told about the ADM. Now a week or so later OP gets the same ADM tacked on without advertising. Mistake or sales tactic? I think its obvious that its a sales tactic.

[MT-SS1LE]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

I'm not sure if these laws are going through. That was the proposal, but it entered a comment period and I haven't heard anything after the comment period.

The absolutely sick part was the dealerships were asking their employees to comment on the rules against them. I know the exact rules you are talking about, these weren't anything to curtail a non-shady business, it was all the shady business practices that dealers employ. These guys are the lowest scum and they have earned their reputation.

Agree 100%. I know the comment period closed on the new rules recently in September I think. Let's hope the FTC follows through and implements these much needed rules. The hilarious part is hearing all the moaning and groaning from dealers saying the new rules will "hurt consumers, add too much paperwork, and are unnecessary". So the thousands of complaints the FTC receives about car dealers every year must be all made up, LOL.

[Evergreen6]

When I bought my 1SS a few days ago, it was a slimy experience.

I came prepared to pay cash. But they'd give me an additional $700 off if I financed, which was after $750 GM rebate and $500 First Responder rebate. So I let them run me through their buy-here, pay-here bank after a long story about how they couldn't write through any bank I work with, so I took a subprime rate of 7.39 when I qualify for 6.49 which is the best rate through my credit union. Whatever. They want to pad the back end, save the lies. What's going to be disappointing is when loan paper drops and I'm already requesting the 10 day payoff. All that work and any money the dealership is getting on that loan will be clawed back.

Play at their level. Fair is fair. I never agreed in writing or otherwise to hold the loan to term.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Evergreen6

When I bought my 1SS a few days ago, it was a slimy experience.

I came prepared to pay cash. But they'd give me an additional $700 off if I financed, which was after $750 GM rebate and $500 First Responder rebate. So I let them run me through their buy-here, pay-here bank after a long story about how they couldn't write through any bank I work with, so I took a subprime rate of 7.39 when I qualify for 6.49 which is the best rate through my credit union. Whatever. They want to pad the back end, save the lies. What's going to be disappointing is when loan paper drops and I'm already requesting the 10 day payoff. All that work and any money the dealership is getting on that loan will be clawed back.

Play at their level. Fair is fair. I never agreed in writing or otherwise to hold the loan to term.

Yup. When I bought my car, I actually waited long enough with payoff for the dealership to claim their cut from the bank, because their salesman (and later the service department especially) treated me like royalty---in the same spirit, I thought why be a dick and strip them of this profit when they 1) matched my approved loan rate from my bank I brought with me on delivery day, 2) gave me an additional $2k off for financing through them, and 3) also gave me a fair price on my trade.

And as you say, the same goes the other way, of course, had they treated me like garbage, I would've paid the loan off the first open day, enjoying the credit score bump but leaving them with no bank check.

[Evergreen6]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Yup. When I bought my car, I actually waited long enough with payoff for the dealership to claim their cut from the bank, because their salesman (and later the service department especially) treated me like royalty---in the same spirit, I thought why be a dick and strip them of this profit when they 1) matched my approved loan rate from my bank I brought with me on delivery day, 2) gave me an additional $2k off for financing through them, and 3) also gave me a fair price on my trade.

And as you say, the same goes the other way, of course, had they treated me like garbage, I would've paid the loan off the first open day, enjoying the credit score bump but leaving them with no bank check.

Exactly. I've also held on to financing on a handshake and verbal agreement that I'd keep the loan long enough for them to get their cut. Nothing holding to it other than my spoken word. When I give my word, I will follow through! That was with staff who were transparent, honest, and at a dealership that genuinely wanted to move inventory over padding deals to make a few bucks.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Evergreen6

When I bought my 1SS a few days ago, it was a slimy experience.

I came prepared to pay cash. But they'd give me an additional $700 off if I financed, which was after $750 GM rebate and $500 First Responder rebate. So I let them run me through their buy-here, pay-here bank after a long story about how they couldn't write through any bank I work with, so I took a subprime rate of 7.39 when I qualify for 6.49 which is the best rate through my credit union. Whatever. They want to pad the back end, save the lies. What's going to be disappointing is when loan paper drops and I'm already requesting the 10 day payoff. All that work and any money the dealership is getting on that loan will be clawed back.

Play at their level. Fair is fair. I never agreed in writing or otherwise to hold the loan to term.

I purposely financed my truck last month through GM Financial with the 3 year 1.9% rate because it allows me to leave my cash in the bank and earn 4.5% which more than makes up for paying interest on the loan. If rates tank, I'll pay the loan off early. If I couldn't have gotten than rate, I would have financed if it netted me any savings and then immediately paid it off instead of carrying the loan. So, I understand where you're coming from.

You -might- get a small surprise if they sell the servicing of that loan off while you're waiting for the initial payment date to arrive. Also, you might actually want to consider making one payment before paying off to ensure that the title gets generated in time. That way, you can go directly to DMV/RMV and request a duplicate once you have the payoff letter if they don't send it to you right away. If you pay the loan too quickly, the title may still be "in process" when you pay off the loan and that could cause headaches if something happens to the car...

[Allez]

Originally Posted by Motor Fast

Coughlin Chevrolet of Pataskala has a Red 2024 SS 1LE in that I tried to purchase, just now. Online their price is $51,215 and both people I talked to at the dealership stated that was the final sale price. I agreed to buy it and sold stock to free funds up for the purchase. 30 seconds after I sold stock they called back and said there's a $5k adjustment that their website, and AutoTrader, didn't reflect. I spoke to one of the sales managers and he said he would not honor the $51,215 price, stated there was a disconnect between the sales team and their business department side. What a shady and greedy move. If it was originally advertised with the $5k then I would have been fine, but not after I agreed to a price. I tried getting on their C8 Z06 list a few years ago, they never responded or showed interest after multiple attempts.

Interestingly I believe that this is the dealership Rick Conti sells Corvettes out of (for those who don't know, he has a YouTube channel).

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by Allez

Interestingly I believe that this is the dealership Rick Conti sells Corvettes out of (for those who don't know, he has a YouTube channel).

It is. And his YT channel has been blasted for wildly inaccurate information over the years... It sounds like he spews the same bs as the dealership (or the other way around).