W4RLR wrote:
Went through this when I had to replace my truck. Found one at a dealer in Nashville. Did my homework and researched the prices for similar trucks. Dealer would not take my offer, said that my numbers were incorrect, and to top it off, he wanted $700 "dealer preparation costs" on top of the deal. Guess the gold plated bathroom fixtures and marble floors in the combination Ford/Lincoln dealership should have been a clue.
Finally bought my replacement truck from a small Indiana dealership for a fair price. Some dealers, be it RV or vehicle dealers. put on a lot of flash and have fancy establishments they want you to pay for. Other places want to make a reasonable profit and still be fair to a buyer. The trick is to distinguish between the two.
I just bought a new commuter car. A Ford Focus. Went to my local Ford dealership. Was about to go with them when they started taking a long time and started to play their games. Meanwhile, I pulled out my cell phone and started looking at another dealership 40 miles away. They hada nicer model for less than what the local dealership "came down" to. I called them in front of the sales manager. When I got off the phone, the sales manager told me that they other dealership would charge me these exhuberent fees I called the dealership back and asked them what their fees were. They were less than what the local shop was charging. I guess you can tell where I bought from....trying to sell me a car...ok. Lie to me and don't beat their price, no way!
