@maple_shaft you already knew it was true. The baffling thing is the local marketing machine that constantly bombards the area with "We're a vibrant metro, with immense growth opportunities attracting the best and brightest young people!" when the region has lost population year over year for 4 decades straight, with the oldest median age for metros in the nation... the marketing machine they have is staggeringly silly.
@ThomasOwens then you got taken for a ride my friend
claims itself to be so good for non-commuters: But the vast majority of the metro has no sidewalks
I narrowed my choices down. I walked into the Toyota dealer and they found a specific car on their lot that met my criteria. I told them to give me one number for cost and put it on paper - that would be their number that I was comparing to other dealers. Then, I went to the Ford dealer and did the exact same thing with the specific car I wanted. Then, I went to the Honda dealer, and a second Ford dealer. I went with the lowest price - no negotiation. They had one shot to sell me a car.
And then, I brought out my employee discount and told them to take it off the number they gave me. Saved an extra 6%.
@ThomasOwens so you're saying having to go all over hell and back to compare prices was a pleasant experience? How long were you filling out paperwork, or did you buy it in cash outright?
@JimmyHoffa No. Of the four dealers, three were in the town I lived in. The other one was the next town over. Two were across the street from each other.
I spent less than an hour at each dealership. I gave them the info so they could give me their best financing deal as part of it.
In one day, I had a new car in my hands, including trading in my old car and a 0% loan.
My last car purchase I did precisely what you describe but online / over the phone. Then when I went in (with financing from my own credit union all set), the guy in the back office spent forever punching numbers in trying the classic tire-me-out-so-he-can-add-fees routine. He tried to put another $400 on the price and said "We have to, it's standard, we do it on all our purchases" - I had to tell him alright I'll just go next door then of course "lemme speak to my manager - hey he waived it!"
I've never had an experience where a dealership didn't try to weasel some shit
@JimmyHoffa I flat out told them up front that if they tried to do anything, I'd just walk out.
Pretty much the moment I suspected something, I'd go to the next best place. Give me the best deal you can, right now, in writing. When I was ready to buy, I even told them that they would be hearing from me that day on my decision and they were competing against other dealers.
@ThomasOwens as did I, they still tried... that was the easiest it's ever been for me. I was in the back room with the guy for an hour and a half as he's filling shit out all the same which is just a stalling bullshit tactic.
@JimmyHoffa Lets not forget the other Pittsburgh marketing lie... its great for non commuters... but the entire flippin' downtown area shuts down after 8pm and the closest grocery store is Giant Eagle in the Hill District.
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