A car buyer has taken to social media to ask if it is normal for a dealer to call them back after they walked out of a deal. The conversation started on Reddit in the r/askcarsales subreddit, with user Dominicdp99 asking the question.
The Reddit user went to look at a pre-owned car recently, and they had an appointment to do so. They said that the car in question had been at the dealer’s lot for over 75 days, and that it was a 90-minute drive to get to where the car was.
From the sounds of things, the experience didn’t start great. They said that after the drive, the car wasn’t ready for them, and that the key fob didn’t work and the car needed gasoline. It was another 30 minutes before they were able to get out in the car for a test drive.
The car in question had 35,000 miles on the clock and had tires that were six years old. Upon negotiating, the dealer came back with a price higher than what their OTD calculator said on the website. The buyer walked out of the deal, but they then had a flurry of messages from the dealer the next day.
Why the Buyer Walked Out of the Deal
Dealer called back first thing next day after walking out of a deal. Does this happen often?
by
u/Dominicdp99 in
askcarsales
Reddit user Dominicdp99 explained why they walked out of the deal. “When we get to negotiating, they present me with an OTD of $ 4000 over list on a $25k car,” they said. “I get them to remove add-ons, and they are still $500 more than what they advertise online with their OTD calculator.” But the buyer tried to get the dealer to come back down to the internet price, as well as cover the cost of new tires.
“I tell them I want the car at their internet price minus $800 to cover the cost of new tires. The manager wouldn’t budge at all and let me walk,” they said. However, the next day, the dealer got in touch again with the buyer. They called, texted, and rang the buyer, and told them they would take his offer, which was $1,300 less than the initial offer on Friday. With the drive being so far, they said they couldn’t make it for another week, and they then asked for $300 off for wasting their time.
The dealership, however, agreed to this, and the buyer will have to go back the next week to finally get their hands on the car. It left them confused about why they came back in with a much lower offer than before. Dominicdp99 wondered if they had been dealing with a new car sales manager, or if somebody had just messed up with the original offer. That is why they put the question to Reddit, to see if anyone else had shared the same experience.
Reddit Users Waded in With Their Own Experiences
Comment
by
u/Dominicdp99 from discussionin
askcarsales
Several Reddit users shared that similar things had happened to them in the past. “Yes, it happens often. It’s usually a game of attrition; hoping that you will call back and give him to their deal,” said one user. “It most likely was sitting, and they just want it gone. They are either still holding some profit (doubtful), or it’s going to auction soon, where they are going to lose even more vs. selling for your price,” said another.
“This, sadly, is common. They hope you will take their offer, and they know when you walk what your bottom line is,” said another user. In short, it’s an experience that has happened to a lot of people. In fact, there were quite a few users who reported something very similar to that having happened to them in the past.