'Car dealer tells me I should waste my time': Dealership judges potential customer, customer takes business elsewhere then returns to gloat

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Apr 10, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

This buyer prepared well before heading to the car dealership: they researched the cars and knew exactly what model they wanted. And of course, they knew the right price that they should've been getting the vehicle for. You can't expect the dealer to give you a low price, you have to fight for it. 

While looking to buy a new car, this person decided to check out a major dealership in their area, since they'd had a good experience with them before. But they'd only had their car serviced there, and they hadn't met their sales department yet. It turns out that the sales department was quite judgy, and made a snap judgment about this person's income just by looking at what they were wearing.

The writer of the story shares that they were so sure they wouldn't buy a vehicle that the dealership assigned an inexperienced worker to show them the cars on the lot. That wouldn't have been so bad if they'd treated this buyer with respect, but the employees seemed to relish in ignoring this person. At least the dealership learned their lesson when u/NOVAEvilCapitalist showed up again to gloat. 

Next up, read about the fake note that one college student left on the Corvette that took up four parking spots. 

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    STINGATOR 5
    via Popescu Andrei Alexandru on Unsplash
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    Car dealer tells me I should waste my time and go to a competing dealer because they also won't give me the price they list on their website.
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    This is a rather long, detailed story so if you're the impatient sort please skip to the bottom, though note you're missing out on fun details. This took place eight years ago when I was buying my first new car, not just a new-to-me car. I spent a good amount of time researching the options available, both in terms of other models from other manufacturers and option packages on the car in which I was most interested, so I
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    knew exactly what I wanted coming in the door. In 2014 car dealer websites hadn't quite gotten to the level of borderline bait-and-switch trickery you see these days so if a dealer's website said they had a particular car on the lot at a particular price, they almost certainly did. There were several in the region that matched what I was looking for, one specifically at my existing dealership. This wasn't a smaller dealership; it was one of the largest in the Northern Virginia
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    area for this particular brand. I had had a reasonably good experience with their service department overall and figured I'd give their sales department a chance to shine. That was my first mistake. I showed up on a Wednesday after work. It was early June, so with the mercury being in the upper 90s I was dressed in a comfortable, but still very presentable combination of a
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    polo shirt and khaki shorts. When I entered the sales side of the dealership I could see what appeared to be all the salespeople in a conference room laughing and joking while taking scissors to the tie of one of the men present (later, I found out that was a rite of passage after making your first sale). I waited around for a minute or two as the conference room had glass walls and it would be impossible not to notice me as I'm not exactly a
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    small fellow at six feet, six inches tall. When no one came out to greet me I went up to the receptionist's desk and said "Hi, I'm interested in (model of car) and there's one in stock I'd like to see." Her response, without even looking up from her phone was "Okay." I stood there for another 20 seconds or so and then politely asked "Would someone be able to show me that car?" This finally prompted her to look up from her phone. She looked me up and down, scoffed a bit,
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    and said she'd go and get someone. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt hoping that things would turn around. That was my second mistake. The receptionist came back with what looked like the youngest, most wet behind the ears salesperson she could find, as evidently I wasn't worth the time of the more experienced folks. I explained that I was interested in
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    a car that their website said they had in stock and provided him with the printout, showing the stock number, price, and all other pertinent details. It took him a while to find the car on the lot but after a brief test drive I knew it was what I wanted and began the sales process. I had a trade-in, which had been primarily serviced by them and for which I already had a written offer from CarMax so I knew how much I should receive for it. He quoted
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    me just over half of that figure. When I pointed out that I could get several thousand more by taking it to the CarMax just up the road and had a written offer from them for that specific amount he went and got his sales manager who offered to drive me there and pick me up afterwards, but that they wouldn't match what CarMax offered. I was a bit surprised that they didn't want a nice used car to sell for themselves (six years old, top-of-
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    the-line, reasonable mileage, and serviced by them specifically), but again, cut them more slack than they deserved. When we got to price things really fell apart. He quoted me a price that was several thousand dollars higher than what they displayed on their website. When I showed him the printout again with the noticeably lower price he looked to the sales manager for guidance. The sales manager immediately took the line that "the price listed includes all available rebates and special
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    offers and you may not qualify for all of them". I was now frustrated and showed them printouts from the other dealers in the area that had a similar price shown and said that if they weren't willing to honor the price listed on their website, I'd just go to the next closest dealer that had that model in stock at that price. His response sealed the deal for me: "Go ahead, waste your time and go to (competing dealership). We won't hold it against you when
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    you come back here." I told them "Okay, thank you for your time. I'll go to (competing dealership)." and got up to leave. No one stopped me and the receptionist said nothing as I walked past her out to the parking lot to drive to the other dealership.
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    When I got to the competing dealership it was already around 8PM as I had spent a fair amount of time at the first dealership and Northern Virginia traffic has never been known for being reasonable. I had a salesperson approach me immediately upon entering the dealership and I explained "I've just come from (first dealership) and want to buy (particular model of car). Both of you have that car in stock with the options I want. They wouldn't
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    give it to me at the price shown on their website. If you will I'm ready to sign on the dotted line right now." The salesperson immediately took me to his office, verified that they had the car and confirmed that yes, the price on their website was accurate and I could walk out the door with that price. We started the process and when we got to the trade-in, I further explained how the other dealership tried to lowball me on
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    the trade. He said if I could produce a written offer from CarMax for the price I mentioned, they would match it. I gave him that paperwork and without any further discussion he agreed they would match that, and we moved on to financing. I hadn't gotten this far with the other dealer, but I had already lined up financing through my credit union. He asked if I'd be willing to see if his F&I guy could match or beat that figure. I agreed to let him try and
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    he came back with a rate that was 50bps lower. Needless to say, I was already very happy with these people, but that definitely sealed the deal. Right as I was finishing the paperwork the salesperson from the first dealer texted me to ask if they would give me the car at that price. I responded back that they would and I was finishing up the paperwork at that very moment. He immediately tried to call me, then texted me saying
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    he'd give it to me for $500 less. I responded to his text stating that I'd already signed the paperwork and he had lost the sale. Once the paperwork was complete, the exceptionally pleasant and helpful salesperson at my new dealership spent an additional half hour after the dealership had closed for the night running me through some of the features of the car and showing me how the infotainment system worked. This was completely above and
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    beyond what I expected, as I thought I'd just be reading the 300-page user manual to figure it out on my own. I drove home that night with my shiny new car a very happy camper. The next day I decided to rub a little salt in the wounds of the first dealership, so I drove there straight from the office. For context, I work in the banking industry and at that point it was still very much business formal
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    dress. I showed up in my suit with my briefcase and had people falling all over themselves trying to help me, including the receptionist who clearly remembered who I was midway through me asking for the particular salesperson I dealt with the prior day. She offered me a seat and asked if I wanted some coffee while she went to get him and I politely said "No, thank you.
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    I won't be here long." She somewhat quietly/sheepishly responded that she'd be back with that salesperson very shortly. There was a couple in the waiting area who seemed a bit displeased that they'd been waiting for a salesperson, but I got one the moment I walked in the door. No more than a minute later the salesperson and his manager came out. The salesperson recognized me and with a look of defeat on his face
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    shook my hand and asked how I was today. Before I had a chance to respond, the sales manager spoke up to introduce himself as if I hadn't spent an hour and a half with him the previous day. After I reminded him that I was there yesterday, and he had said it would be a waste of time to go the competing dealer because they'd never give me the car I wanted at the price shown on their website his demeanor very quickly pivoted back to the
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    snotty, insolent person I dealt with the previous day. He proceeded to ask, "Well, did they?" with a bit of a sneer. I said nothing but turned to the side and clicked the remote for my new car so the horn would give a few chirps. He said "Good for you" in a rather curt tone and walked away, leaving the poor salesperson on his own. I shook that salesperson's hand, thanked him for his time, and turned around to leave. The receptionist
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    spoke up as I walked past her and asked in a rather chipper voice if I needed any further assistance. I politely responded that no, the other dealership had provided me exactly what I needed and I was all set. To make things just that little bit better, as I passed the couple sitting in the waiting area, I saw them exchange looks with each other that seemed to say
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    "Perhaps we should go to (the dealer I mentioned)." I said nothing further and walked out of the building wearing the smile of a winner. TL;DR Car dealer treats me poorly and won't honor the price they list for a car. Tells me that I should waste my time and go to a competing dealer in the area because they
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    also won't honor the price they list for the car, but the competing dealer DOES honor the price and I get a fine new car at a very nice price.
    via u/NOVAEvilCapitalist
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    dellaevaine I would have recommended your salesperson at the other dealership to the couple. That's a huge thank you for a salesperson.
    via u/dellaevaine
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    desertrock62 You people work on commission, right? Big mistake. Big. Huge.
    via u/desertrock62
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    _Oman If you are looking for a nice new car, dress like you can't afford it. The better dealers will still treat you like a real person. The crappy dealers will blow you off. Don't buy from the latter.
    via u/_Oman

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