[mydon]

Ok...no flaming here...I've never bought a new car before and was excited to get a Murano and may have done something stupid. With that said...I went to the dealer on Saturday to pull the trigger. They didn't have the model/options/color I wanted on the lot but said a dealer nearby had one and they'd have it delivered near closing time that night. So...we went through the negotiations and I put a $500 deposit on the car. Well...of course the car didn't arrive that evening...I was told that the car at the other dealer was a demo and had 4k miles on it so they're looking at other dealer inventories to find a non-demo of the one I bought and would have it Monday. So now I'm thinking I made a mistake and shouldn't have put down the deposit until they had the car...I'm worried they're going to drag this out for weeks. So what are my rights with a situation like this...can I just say forget it if they don't have it within a few days and get my money back? Or am I locked in for what might be a long haul?

 

[njjoe]

mydon-

Don't sweat it. Give the dealer the benefit of the doubt and see if he comes through with the new car on Monday. It is not uncommon for dealers to search other dealer's inventories for a car.

The $500 deposit is not lost. You can always get it back.

-njjoe

 

[fireball]

Same feeling... don't worry about it. It's gonna be worth the wait.

 

[Eric L.]

Of course you do not have to stick with your current dealer if you think they have some shady business practices (like suddenly discovering a new car is actually a demo). Shop several dealers and get the best price for the model you want (just remember to take your time and not jump to decisions).

 

[Enforcer]

I was feeling evil and was going to say OH NO! Now they got you!:22:

Very typical dealers don't know the cars status. They see it in their database as a new vehicle even though its being used as a demo. At least Regal here is usually careful to say we'll get it in if it ain't being used as a demo.

Speaking of that, I wouldn't be afraid of the demo providing you check it out thoroughly. Are they willing to sell it? 4k miles ain't squat, maybe they will make a good deal. Your dealer probably won't get it in for you but you might go check it out at the other dealer. On a new car, ie non-demo, deals made +/- $500 of invoice are considered good.

Even if they are shady, they can't keep your money forever. Probably make you think they have you and put the pressure on ya. Just ignore it and demand your money back, if you have to, ask for the managers card walk to the door and say either the district attorney or my lawyer will be calling you.

Worse I heard was a salesman wouldn't give a guys car keys back on a trade in when they couldn't get what he asked for. He got his keys back as he started to call the police. It's a shame but this stuff goes on all the time. And to make matters worse, they go to school to learn these psychological ploys...and it works so well on average, that they keep doing it. So stand your ground.

Also very typical they promise to get something in but it falls through or is late. Basically they have to go get it and make arrangements with the other dealer. Sometimes dealers don't cooperate. What they try to do is swap inventory. Say a red one for a white one etc. And, if its at another dealer sometimes they will send somebodies kid there to bring it back, don't expect it to be hauled on a car carrier unless you negotiate that.

Good Luck.:roadtrip:

 

[mydon]

Speaking of that, I wouldn't be afraid of the demo providing you check it out thoroughly. Are they willing to sell it?

Actually yes...they didn't tell me how much but I went to the dealer and checked out the demo. There was a pretty bad scratch in the paint and cigarette ashes and sticky soda spills all over the back seat so I passed.

Thanks to everyone...I feel better now....still have my fingers crossed that I get my car tomorrow though. After calming down a bit I realized that the dealer wasn't trying to pull anything. Heck, they gave me a $400 over invoice price (plus the 4% financing) without a single haggle....I'm sure if I sat there for another hour I could've gotten down a couple hundred more but it was such a pleasant experience not having to do the haggle dance that I was happy with my purchase price. I felt stupid having my back pocket stuffed with Edmunds and KBB reports as well as a car loan payment cheat sheet when the whole thing took about 20 minutes with no haggling.

 

[Nizmo]

Yes! I mean No~


NZM

 

[mgthe3]

A trick I have heard of a few shady dealers doing here:
Throw the keys to the trade in on to the roof of the dealership.
Yep, nasty isn't it?

 

[jballchat]

I guess the lesson there is always have a spare key handy for anything you plan to trade. OR be ready ti dial 9-1-1 and report a "theft"

 

[njjoe]

Originally posted by
A trick I have heard of a few shady dealers doing here:
Throw the keys to the trade in on to the roof of the dealership.
Yep, nasty isn't it?

mgthe3-

I would think that is more of a "local legend" than actual fact. Some car salesmen can be pretty stupid, but I doubt they are that dumb. (But I have been wrong before.)

-njjoe

 

[gmsmith]

My (now) wife was looking at a Rav 4. I went along as the good boyfriend...she had an old Neon that she was getting rid of and they took it to do the "evaluation" of it. We took the test drive, she liked the car. We got back to "do the dance" and I asked for her Neon keys back. The guy got crappy...I said basically if you don't give the keys back we are done discussing the deal until we get the keys back. He said they would look for them, I said okay...(in an escalated voice so others could hear) that as soon as you stop holding our trade in hostage we will be happy to talk about the deal. He gave our keys back and we walked out the door with him screaming at us that we weren't ready to buy a car...and to get off his lot and not to come back until we were ready to buy the car.

(This was the Toyota dealership in Tyson's Corner VA)

She wound up buying a different Volkswagon Golf because she refused to go back to a Toyota dealership (any dealership) after that...

The sooner you realize all car dealers are scum, the sooner you get along better when buying a car. We just bought a G35x and the dealer, while very nice, was still a salesman (not as scummy at that level, but none the less). And this guy has sold Infinitis to my family (my parents and now us) since 92.