one good reason to buy a saturn...either pay or dont buy. what i do not like are salesman (joke) who know nothing about a car's features...i was looking at a fusion as a possible replacement for my taurus and he did not know any of the specs and then i talked about the mustang on the floor next to the fusion and he tried to bs me...did not know anything...if i was a salesman i would study the specs of all cars and be prepared to discuss with a customer because when you get a customer that did his researh he only looks a fool...me personally now i will only make an offer to the sales manager and be prepared to leave at that point if the bs starts...remember - dont fall in love with something that cant love you back (car). and fords are a dime a dozen.

 

Dealer preperation fees. (AKA washing the car)

 

edmunds.com has some real serious car buying tips.

 

"dealer fees, etc.... BS or real?" Answer - (some of) those dealer fees are REAL BS alright! Ha ha ha!

vicmeldrew, the salespeople at the dealers are SUPPOSED to study and KNOW what they are selling. There are resource guides (for lack of a better term) for each vehicle that lists specs, features, selling points, etc. I've seen and read them in some of the salespeoples' offices and sometimes in the showroom area itself - still doesn't seem to help.

 

No worries my friend Art, no worries. This is the only thing I hate about my profession, is the perception that we have. Believe me, I have seen it at other dealers when I have to go for a dealer trade. I have good hearing, and I have overheard false information, BS, you name it. The people who don't do their homework, and learn product knowledge, and treat a customer like they want to be treated, I just , and look away. I always look at the whole picture. If you turn off someone, the rule is that they will tell 10 people they know within a few days. Then those 10 people tell other people, when the topic comes up in conversation. That is ALOT of potential referral business, and repeat business that the bad salespersons out there lose every day.

The manufacturers need to clean house, and it just isn't Ford. Its all the brands, even Toyota, and especially Honda. They have the attitude. If you won't pay the price (usually MSRP) someone else will. I've heard horror stories from friends who try to purchase imports, like a Toyota. they didn't even go near a discount. They expected you to pay MSRP, like it was a privilege to purchase this car. All I can say is . I just keep my mind clear, and offer help to whoever needs it. I know if you treat someone well, they will do so back. Its worked for almost 10 years so far.

 

That is so true. I love reading books. But really, salespeople don't even need to read the source books, but just play with each car, and view the window label. This is the best way to learn about any car, is to mess around inside, checking out all the gadgets, and what not. Then after doing that, they should at least check out the ordering guides for the vehicles. Now, don't get me wrong, I pretty much study all vehicles, but when someone needs an F650, I pass them to our fleet manager, as he deals with these all the time, and in 10 years, I have never sold one. Plus, I would rather have him help the customer than me, as I would have to go back and forth with him anyway.

For me, I got all the options, option packages, and colors, and what is standard with each model in my head. I even have the option codes for specing out a factory order in my noggen. Its the small things, like overall length, or cubic feet, behind the 2nd row for an Explorer, thats hard to remember. This is where the books come in for. I'm a car nut, but believe me, with all the vehicles, and all the different packages (and stipulations on what can and can't be ordered with what), its a lot to learn. But that is why I love it. You truely learn something new everyday.

Just yesterday, we got our 1st Edge in, and I was in it for over 20 minutes, just checking out out, playing with the roof, and seeing how everything works, so I know for future use. I just wish more people learned their product (not just Ford).

I went to the local BMW dealer, and they had a 2007 M6. The guy there asked me what I was staring at (the carbon fiber roof). I told him I was looking at the CF roof, as you can see the weave. He said "Really, I didin't know that". He didn't even know that the roof on the M6 came bare carbon fiber and wasn't painted body color!! COME ON!!! Its a $100,000 car, you D*** well better know all about it, if you want to sell it!! We have a Ford GT, and I learned EVERYTHING about that car! I walked away shaking my head.

 

Discount on imports is a bit different, for say Camry's and Accords. Accords and Camry's keep higher resale values due to the fact that not many discounts, year end specials, etc are offered on the price of the vehicle. As such, if you already own one, the resale value is higher due to less disparity between a used one and a new one with lets say, 10,000 taken off the price. These large discounts offered on new vehicles, diminish the used value of that same vehicle as long as no major changes have occured in the product line when comparing vehicles.

It's quite interesting actually, I wrote an economics paper about this once actually.