Why is it that so many people truely believe that car salesmen rip you off?

Question

in todays society where car sales is regulated to the hilt people still believe that they are being ripped off. yet with a dealership you get a car that has been inspected to ensure good working order, they have limits on how much they can charge you for the car, and most of what they do is actually regulated by banks. so please share your stories on how you feel you got ripped off.

OzStar

first i dont know of any car lot on earth that can bet a car financed for less than 3000 bucks unless they do in house financing. if a company sells new cars of a specific make, they probably dont do in house finnacing. also they may have owned that car for more than what you wanted to pay for you. an experianced car salesman probably could have convinced you to pay way more for that car than they were, instead they decided to let you leave without the high pressure. what jerks.

curious:

your car is never worth what you paid for it again. they dont screw you on your trade in they have to pay the finance charges, there is no way around them. and if they can buy your car all day long at auction for 5000 buck they are not gonna give you 8000, you may be able to meet in the middle though.

Dirty D:

people who work for commission for the most part would rather make a sale next time, or sell this one and the next one than just sell this one. lying wont pay the bills for long, honesty will. that is the new face of sales.

also they ask that question because people often answer it, today i asked that question of a customer (worded differently) and the response i got was "Window tint, and im hungry" so the dealership payed for window tint and i bought him dinner. every one was happy.

conundrum_dragon

there is no way to guarantee when a car will break down, that is why your mom was offered a warranty. i bet she takes it next time.

trishay

i dont believe that story for a second.

ridgewayz

you forgot about the markup on glasses. americas best has the cheapest prices on prescription glasses on earth, they sell the exact same glasses as every one else and charge maybe 1/4th the price. and still have a 100% markup. the average markup nation wide on a pair of prescription glasses is 500%.

Answer 1

because they royally screw you on the trade ins

Answer 2

im a car dealer. most dealerships and salepeople dont "rip" people off. the real issue is that you are buying an expensive product. the average profit is only about 4% on an automobile. not every sale, but AVERAGE. the average profit on a shirt at walmart is about 200%, jewely 250%, and some retail stores get as much as 500% profit. dealers have to mark cars "up" in order to show a profit to a customer. if you tell a customer there is only $1000 mark up in a car they never believe you whether its true or not. i have brand new cars that have no more than $400 mark up in them from cost to sticker price. thats less profit than the diamond ring you bought your wife/girlfriend. the dealer does not rip people off. cars can and do break down, there is no crystal ball that says whether or not an engine or transmission is going to go out. are there dishonest people that sell cars...sure...there's dishonest people in any business. but as a whole, car salesmen are just business people trying to make a living. most car salesmen sell onlyu 8 to 10 cars a month, and need to make a living off that. a $2000-3000 profit is a small amount when you consider your buying a $20k to $30k+ vehicle. when you buy a house the realtor gets 6% off the top and everyone seems to be ok w/ that. financing is similar. can the dealer make money on that side. sure. but they are also arranging something that most people dont want to fool with. often a dealer can get better rates/terms, down payment options than what a local bank or credit union can provide. local banks and credit unions also dont help your credit like a national bank/lender can. i have certain lenders that count local banks and credit unions for half the credit a gmac/ford/chrysler/toyota/nissan etc...lender gives you, in their internal scoring systems when determining a customer. if i make $2000 on a customer 9 times out of 10 they are a happy customer. when i sell a car for $500 below my cost (and we do more often than you'd believe) that customer is never happy and nearly always a pain later on.

Answer 3

It's not just car salesmen. Anyone that makes a living off of commission is suspect.

The reason why is simple. Since they make all or most of their money from commission they HAVE to sell in order to pay their rent or put food on the table. This doesn't mean they have to lie or always do lie, but it does create a situation where if it came down to them not being able to pay their bills or lying and paying them - they'd pick lying in a heart beat.

It also depends on what they are selling; how easy it is to sell without lying; and how much they believe in the product.

I think one reason car salesmen get such a bad rap is because of the way they swoop down on you like a vulture. Every single time I've gone to buy a car the salesmen jump all over you and then they try to keep you from leaving without making a purchase. One of the most annoying questions they ask, "What can I do to get you to buy this car right now?" or some form of that. If only they knew.

Answer 4

I'm in the market for a used car for the first time. I found out that the dealer would rather let me walk away with my cash than negotiate a fair price. They want the person who'll finance the $3000 and is only worried about the monthly note not being too painful--no matter if they eventually end up paying 3x the value of the car.

It's disgusting.

Answer 5

Honey, I don't know what rock you have been under but these folks need to make a living also. And they make it mostly by commission!! I have two brothers and a step-son who could sell a bucket of chicken poop to a farmer and make him believe he needed it. It all depends on how the salesperson decides to make the sale go and how good the buyers credit is. The buyers credit especially in this day in time really dictates how things will go. You need to meet a few friends that work for dealerships and they will tell you the very same thing. Sales is a way a life, it takes a special person to do it and make a good living at it.

Answer 6

It's perception. Salesman of all kinds manipulate the situation in their favor by taking advantage of what the customer does not know.

For example, items like VIN etch. Dealers charge up to $200 for it, but it does not cost the dealer more than $5 to do it. Customers do not realize that this is not a mandatory charge, but rather an add-on and can be removed. Dealers like to "pack" many items into the price of the car.

Answer 7

"ripped off" is just a term used by someone on the paying end, "profit" is a term that means the same thing, but is just used by someone who is on the receiving end. If you have a problem with someone making profit, especially with everything this country stands for, you've bumped your head. I'll tell you who feels ripped off, the salesman who spends 6 hours with a customer who is such a grind, that the salesman only makes $100 dollars, and that type of customer is usually still unhappy. No one puts a gun to your head and makes you buy it anyways, right? People take the auto dealership for granted. They get the cars there for you, on one location so you can choose which one you want, they show you all the advantages and present the features of the vehicle for you and let you get hands on with it. They offer you a test drive in it. They offer a nice air-conditioned or heated facility for you to make your transaction in, with comfortable chairs to sit in, drinks and snacks for you to enjoy, and even a baloon to shut your snotty kids up. They offer you financing, they will buy your old car from you, they have a person there on site to assist you in a loan, dmv paperwork and registration, insurance, they warranty the car for you, they clean the car for you, they fill it up with gas, and show you how everything works in it, and when it's broken, they fix it there too. try getting that while buying a car private party, thats where your profit goes. You even went to them on their car lot, and all you have to do is manage to not mess anything up, and rip yourself off.

Answer 8

who knows. sticker price on my last used car bought at a dealership was $3995. Mom and I negotiated the price all the way down to $800. Sticker prices are way overblown.

Answer 9

If a dealer can't make $2,000 on a used car he won't sell it and when you trade a car in on a new one thats where you royally get hammered.

Answer 10

maybe the salesmen dont...the real rip is when you finance thru they re sources.Especially if you have great credit...you should finance thru your credit union or bank.They make lots of extra money off you from the in house financing.Better yet...negotiate a cash deal....they hate that.

Answer 11

Alot of people don't realize it's the sales managers that are pressuring the salespeople to pressure you into a sale.