Local car-buying -- our experience

[protogeek.livejournal.com]

If you're looking to buy a car in and around Somerville, here's some info about my experience today (one great dealer, one slimy) that might help.



(This is a slightly altered version of what I just posted in my personal journal, thought it could be useful to those looking to buy a car in the area.)

My fiance (Mike) and I went car shopping today, and ended up getting the 2007 Honda CR-V EX 4WD for $2200 under MSRP.

Cambridge Honda: awesome. First place we walked into to see if they could beat the lowest price we'd negotiated over the phone elsewhere (from submitting requests online for quotes), they drove us out to Waltham to drive back the color we wanted (red) from their other lot. Best they could do was a couple hundred bucks over the lowest quote we had, the guy basically told us what he could do and said that was it. When we said we'd walk, he let us walk. We were a little surprised he didn't come after us to try to talk us back.

Newton's Honda Village: initially seemed decent, ended up being really, really slimy. This was the place that quoted us a really low rate over the phone. When we actually got into talking price, though, it turns out they only meant it for what they had in stock on the lot (only black, which we didn't want), which wasn't what they'd said they had in stock over the phone 2 hours earlier, and it was going to be another $700 to get it in another color, which they'd have to order. We called bullshit, the douchebag called his boss "Bobby" on the phone and explained that we were displeased. Over the course of a number of these calls and a number of threats and wheedling and cajoling and trying to dig a number out of us that was in between what they'd originally promised and the number we said we had from Cambridge Honda (Mike kept replying that it would take meeting the number they originally quoted, there was no "in between"), he came down to the original number and then told us he *did* actually have the color we wanted, just in their Charlestown lot, which he couldn't get into on the weekend, yadda yadda. Finally we really just decided to walk, even for the couple hundred bucks we *maybe* could have saved there once we talked them back down to what they'd originally promised, we really had *no* faith in the sleazeballs there. The salesman, as we were walking out, said "just let me wait so I can tell Bobby you're leaving" and we just walked out (he'd already called him 3 or 4 times by this point). It was bizarre watching this guy that originally seemed helpful (he took some time to show us a bunch of features on he car we didn't know about) and nice, degenerate into this slimy, panicky worm.

Back to Cambridge Honda. We were afraid they wouldn't honor the verbal price they'd offered us just a few hours earlier... but they totally did, no questions asked, no pressure. Very minimal pressure (more like "encouragement") to get some add-on warranty stuff (which we declined and that was that), they had no problem with the fact that we already have a loan lined up. In fact, they think they can get us a half-point better, so we applied for it, and they were very open that if that didn't work out it was fine to go with the original loan we'd already lined up online. All in all, *very* smooth process, we pick up the car Monday.

All in all, very educational. Today's lessons:
- doing your homework really pays off
- be ready to walk out -- seriously, and they can make it rather hard
- slimeball salesmen really do exist, but if you're ready to walk out it can be kinda comical to observe them sweat and drool and fall all over yourselves trying to keep you there
- never, ever, go to Honda Village in Newton except maybe to get an initial lowball quote to use at other dealers
- buy from Cambridge Honda, they play straight. the guy (Vincent) made us his best offer and that was that. About the closest to no-haggle I could hope for outside of Saturn. We came away from our various experiences really respecting that he just didn't play games. Here's my best price for you, take it or leave it, done.

Anyway, hope that helps some people!

Comments

[bloodsynphony.livejournal.com]

Wow! Thanx! I am actually looking to get a Honda so this really helps :)

To everyone: Beware of the Quirk guys (Chevy, etc) I tried walking off their lot once when they said the first time they didn't have the car I wanted in stock, then all of a sudden it "magically appeared" at the back of their lot. I wasn't pleased with them, and they followed me to my car. Creepy.

[protogeek.livejournal.com]

Yeesh. I'm kinda surprised the guy in Newton didn't follow us to our car.

One other obvious general car-buying strategy -- go on the last day of the month, while they're trying to make their quotas.

Good luck!

Honda

[bostonod.livejournal.com]

Good luck with your Honda - I had a similar experience and bought from Weymouth Honda - I went to Boch but they were sleezy. If you're interested in a honda extended warranty you can buy the genuine Hondacare warranty from any dealer - Check out this thread or do a search on HondaCare Warranty - I ended up buying mine from Bernardi Honda over the phone.

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX?14@923.1Y1EakcYc2i@.ef0eeb7/370

Good Luck

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

Very useful post!!!

I need both a new car and a fiancee!!!!

I'm considering a civic or a toyota matrix...i wish civic still made a hatchback.

Now just tell me what store you got your fiancee at and I'll be all set!

[denonymous.livejournal.com]

If you're looking for a hatchback, have you considered the Prius? A friend of mine who recently got a new one is in love. Plus, you know, that whole environmental thing.

As for what store I came from, ha. That store would...well, have shelves full of me. I ain't that special. :)

--
Aforementioned fianc´

[denonymous.livejournal.com]

I try to get tricky and put an XHTML-compliant HTML entity in there and it displaying incorrectly is the thanks I get. Yeesh.

[protogeek.livejournal.com]

I ain't that special

I'm thinking about returning this defective one to the store, actually -- it clearly lies.

[tempteq.livejournal.com]

Not considering the Honda Fit?

http://automobiles.honda.com/models/model_overview.asp?ModelName=fit

[duffless2323.livejournal.com]

This is in response to "fiance's" post above too :-)

The Prius is too far out of my price range. If there was a solid hybrid in my price range I would get one. With the gas mileage of the Civic, its actually very close to environmentally friendly as a prius. Even with the tax benefits of a hybrid, its still a few grand out of my range.

I'm not a huge fan of the look of the Fit and its a little too small. I like the size and style of the matrix much better. Also, the FIT is in such high demand its being sold for higher than the list price in our area..I've been this by a few people. Also I dont' want to buy a car in its first model year, the matrix has been around for a few years.

I'm also considering Hyundai, they are now a solid car with great reviews. The resale value is lower, but I'm not looking to resell. They are a few grand cheaper than toyota or honda but have more bells and whistles and safety features. What I like about honda and hyundai is that the safety features com standard, abs, all the airbags etc. With Toyota's everything is extra.

I think I've narrowed it down to the Hyundai Elentra, Honda Civic and Toyota Matrix. I LOVE the look of the Mazda 3 hatchback, but its gas mileage just isn't good enough.

[peebers.livejournal.com]

Back in March, our little 2004 Hyundai Accent was totaled so we had to get another car with very little money to bring to the table. We looked at getting another Hyundai because it fit our needs. The new Hyundais just felt odd. The changes from our '04 to the '07 made us reconsider getting another. The '07 drove fine but I felt like I was in a plastic bubble not a car. The layout of the interior was also goofy. Little things like where cups holders were located didn't make sense. I know it seems like a silly point to think about when buying a car, but if you commute, it is a pain in the ass to reach past your hip to get your coffee and elbow your passenger in the process. It just wasn't a good fit for us.
While the Civics have a higher resale, you basically pay for that upfront. It kills me that Hondas are so expensive.
We almost got the Mazda 3 hatchback because the price was right and it was fun to drive but we ultimately decided on Nissan's Versa.
I know it is risky buying the first year model, but it was the safest car we test drove which was a huge factor after having our last car t-boned (and the versa's cup holders were in the right place). I've never know anyone to have issues with Nissans so we weren't too worried about the hiccups of a new model. It's basically a fun, safe, peppy, hatchback with tons of room that looks sharp. We've had it for 3 months and love it.

Give the versa a test drive before deciding. Colonial in Medford treated us right. They even let us test drive with out a sales rep.

[protogeek.livejournal.com]

I looooove my 10-year-old Civic. It has treated me very well over the years. Not as hot as it was when I got it, but still a solid little car. As far as my fiance, I picked him up in the most convenient store possible for those out of college: at work :)

[heliograph.livejournal.com]

I bought my Honda Element from Cambridge Honda, and the sales guy was fine. The post-sales guy was less fine, but he was just doing his job.

I wouldn't go to Cambridge Honda for service, though. I went for my first service with them and they said they did things they clearly didn't (like topping off fluids), so I went to Burlington Honda the next time Cambridge had told me I needed service... and Burlington Honda told me Cambridge had given me the wrong schedule, and that I needed to come in -less- often (which matched the info in the owner's manual).

I've been going to Burlington Honda for service since, and I've been very happy with them.

[protogeek.livejournal.com]

Yeah, their "COMP" program at Cambridge, where you get their free extended warranty IF you go to them for *all* of your scheduled maintenance, is really a pretty thin ploy for them to make a ton of extra money off of you once you've bought the car. Which is why we didn't tell the sales guy that we're actually moving in just a few weeks -- we wanted him to think that even if he gave us a good deal on the car, he'd still get all that service work off of us. Sounds to me like they're pushing a higher-maintenance schedule than even Honda recommends (I'm guessing they didn't "mistakenly" give you the wrong schedule) to make more money off of people. I definitely wouldn't use them for that.

[hiddenbear.livejournal.com]

Seconded. Their service department sucks. Not only are they too expensive (most dealers are, since they only use new parts), but they are also very bad at diagnostics. They quoted me $3,800 in repairs. When I brought it to a better mechanic, he not only did the repairs for $1,700, but found they completely mis-diagnosed the problems.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

FWIW, a friend of mine was telling me about a very similar experience to the one you had at Cambridge Honda, but he walked out, and then was called back by the dealer to offer him the price he wanted. He says that sort of thing is very common.

(Of course, in terms of a new car, a couple hundred bucks isn't very much, but just mentioning.)

Congrats on your new wheels!

[red-liner.livejournal.com]

+1 on Cambridge Honda - we went in to buy an Accord last year, with quotes in hand from other dealers via the 'net, and background info from edmunds.com on what other people had paid (anyone buying a car should check the Edmunds "prices paid and buying experience" forums for the car you're seeking). The guys at the dealership saw that we were serious about buying that day, and that we knew what we were going to pay....we had to do a little bit of song and dance with submitting the paperwork and moving a couple hundred bucks from one category on the offer sheet to another, but we got the car we wanted for the price we wanted, and once the silly stuff was over everyone was very nice. I'd definitely go there again - but as with any car dealer, do your homework first!