We went to three dealers when buying our Encore -- we knew the price of the Encore already ... so we brought our trade and we'd already had it appraised.
Nine year old Pontiac with 40,000 miles - No kidding! Looked almost brand new as it wasn't driven major miles. Trades always scream about "high miles on trade" ... no screaming allowed on this one. Altho' we got, OH, nine years old, and well, hasn't been driving enough (Imagine that one) ...
Three dealers low-balled us on the trade, half its value ... even tho we had prices over emails. So, we said: Give us the real value or we're not buying it from you." They came back 'a tiny bit higher' and we got up and left. Before we even got into our car, out runs the salesman with a higher trade offer (a lot higher) -- but we had already told him he had ONE chance - he blew it. That happened three times, three dealers, exactly the same, like a movie repeat. Was kinda weird, for sure.
So, we stopped at another dealer we had not yet emailed. Said, "We want a value on our trade BEFORE we get the value on the Encore. He actually laughed, and said, "You actually want me to give you a trade value BEFORE we make a deal?"
And we said: "Yes, so we know before we start where our trade value is on it, and we already know the Encore price." And, you only get one chance. He stopped laughing and went to talk to "someone"- then returned and valued our Pontiac a few hundred less than our appraisal, and we bought the Encore on the spot.
We don't always look for the "cheapest deal" on anything we buy -- we just want truth and fairness. And, when we get that, we finish the deal. Once a salesman tries something 'weird' or defaults on his original terms, we no longer trust that salesman. That's the bottom line ...
We probably paid more than "rock bottom wheel and deal" price on this vehicle, but we're happy, salesman's happy, dealer's happy, and we get good service. That's more important than 'slick willy pricing' on either side of the deal." ...
