O/T New used car

I went to my local ford dealer to buy a new Ford Edge. After the deal was made on the new car, I was signing the final papers. Just before I signed the contract they produced one more paper for me to sign. The paper was a form stating the car has been sold and registered, then returned for some reason. They called it a rollback. ( a sweet name for a used car) Had I known of the car's history I am sure I could have had a better deal. I was ready to walk out, but my wife wanter her car. There is nothing I can do now, as I signed the used car doc. The car had 500 miles showing, the salesman said it was a demo. The car looks and smells new, the wife has her new (used ) car, so I should be happy. I still can't help thinking I have been taken advantage of somehow. Has anyone else has this happen? I called the salesmanager a few days later about my concearn of the used car sold as new. He said I will give you two free oil channges, I told him to keep your oil changes. This took place in Calif. Stan

Impossible to answer without knowing exactly what the dealer cost/invoice is and exactly what you paid for it. Go to Edmunds.com and get exact cost figures. If you paid $500 or more under invoice then you did ok..if you paid a penny over invoice then not so ok. 500 miles is nothing...I can drive that much in 3/4 of 1 day...but nonetheless the car should have sold at least $500 under invoice because of that.

Didn't you notice that the car had all those miles on it when you drove it?

Did the salesman say it was a demo before or after they sprung that last form on you?

There's a significant difference between a demo and a used car in that you have no idea how the short-time owner may have abused the car or what went wrong with it while he had it. The dealer's salesmen have at least a little incentive to take care of it.

Can CarFax (or similar vehicle research outfits) find out if significant work was done under warranty? Maybe you can call somebody at Ford to see if there is some way to find out.

Sounds like a pretty lousy dealer to me, but all car dealers need to be treated a strong "buyer beware" attitude. Sounds like a situation where you might not have done all you should have to protect yourself, and they took advantage of it.

Roger

Rule one: never bring spouse with when buying car.

Jim

jim rozen said:

Rule one: never bring spouse with when buying car.

Jim

Click to expand...

^^^^^^^^^^

Ditto!!!!

I thought Rule 1 was:
"In large organizations, the managment MUST operate according to the rule that
any one employee, can do the job of any other employee."...Jim's rules

....

IMHO, dealers (the upper management or owners) drive new cars all over the place putting 300-500 miles on them.

I've noted a difference of above, and didn't really care...but made them note the actual miles on the contract paperwork, plus guarantee in writing the factory warranty was now good for 36,300 miles (etc).

They weren't very happy because they had noted their "guilt" in paperwork but it was either change the paperwork or I was back to my collection of used trucks

There are other stories too....many dealers allow crooked practices.

jim rozen said:

Rule one: never bring spouse with when buying car. Jim

Click to expand...

After my last car stealership experience, I have to take my wife along to keep me from KILLING THE FRICKIN" SALESMAN!!!!

She cried on the way home, thought she'd never get a new car again.........

The one and only new car I've bought had about 80 "transfer miles" when I bought it. I completely beat them up on the deal, so I didn't care... Until the car (2002 Civic Si hatch) started using oil. And more, and more oil.

Hondas simply don't consume oil. I'd owned nothing but Civics since 1980, and none had ever used more than a quart between changes, and that car had 150K miles. My assertion was that the car had been driven at steady state highway speed for 80 miles when it was new, and had glazed the rings. It ended up being an extremely painful process involving doing Honda's mandated 1000 mile oil consumption study 3 times, being literally lied to by several service managers and dealership managers, and eventually involving another dealer to finally get the short block replaced under warranty, after which, with a correct firm, brief ring seating period the car never used a drop of oil.

I'd be sure that your warranty reflects the initial mileage, and I'd be very careful to catch any unusual trends immediately.

Like one person said you should have noticed the odometer reading. Sounds like the salesman took you for a ride when he failed to mention it was used. Did you get a good deal on the car? One that might reflect the additional miles?

I hate buying cars. Last time I purchased a car for my wife (2006 Toyota Sequia) I spent 6 hour negotiating the deal. I saved a ton of money but I was worn out for three days.

The sentences

"Oooo, I LOVE this car honey. Can we get it pretty, pretty please?"

translate into "Give the nice salesman an extra $1000!"

Seriously, you should have blown up. Especially good in a crowded showroom on a busy Saturday.

"YOU BASTARDS! YOU LIED TO ME AND TRIED TO SELL ME A USED CAR FOR A NEW CAR PRICE! A PERSON WOULD HAVE TO BE AN IDIOT TO BUY FROM YOU GUYS! YOU'RE A BUNCH OF DISHONEST CHISELERS! MAYBE YOU CAN SELL USING DISHONEST TECHNIQUES TO THESE RUBES, BUT NOT ME! I'M OUT OF HERE!"

I'd then escalate this to a Ford VP, telling him the story and that you plan to buy a Chevy or Toyota next Friday. You may get another Ford dealer calling you with a sweet offer.

Last time I bought a car I used the "FAX attack". I test drove some new cars when I was on business trips (so I didn't have any relationships with local car dealers, which would require that a sales guy would get a commission). I narrowed down what I wanted and the features I wanted. Loved the Maxima, but my 6'4" son wouldn't fit in the back, so it was Toyota Avalon. For about 15 nearby dealerships, I got the Fleet buyer's fax number and name. FAXed them all a note: "I am buying XXXX vehicle within the next ten days, I want features A, B, C, and D, I definitely don't want features E, F, and G, and I can accept (but would not expect to pay for) H, I, and J. Prefer Machinist Grey or Hardinge Green [you get the idea]. Please fax me back a list of vehicles with your best price for each". All of the prices came back better than offers from dealerships that I visited. I figure I saved about $750 this way.

The fax is more effective if you can get the latest cost figures. Adding a line like "The base dealer cost of this car is X, less the hold back Y, plus options at Z, and I know you have a $1000/car incentive for sales in October, which would indicate that your cost for the car is W" is powerful and avoids wasted time. I learned this method from a book by James Bragg, an industry expert, who wrote Car Buyer's and Leaser's Negotiating Bible, which details the method and describes some of the idiocy that is car dealerships. Bragg also operates Fighting Chance, a website that gives you accurate dealer cost figures (including holdback and current incentives).

No connection with James, I just feel I profitted from using his method and service.

Best,

Jim

Rule one for buying cars, not for negotiating with employers.

There's a rule one for:

canoeing

shooting

rigging

motorcycle riding

etc. Most activities only have a few simple rules that if you
adhere to them, you can't go too far wrong. If you know all
three you are pretty much an expert.



Jim

Why get involved? it's their car and whatever you do will be wrong so set budget for spouses new car and leave them to sort it all out, including after sales problems, then watch em back pedal