Local car-buying -- our experience
Jun. 30th, 2007 06:31 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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davis_squareIf 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!
(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!
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