[motoguy128]

I love test driving cars just for the entertainment value of all the features and inaccurate descriptions. To be fair, I know these folks aren't engineers, mechanics, technicians etc. and I've worked as an engineer in high speed manufacturing and automation for most of the last 15 years. And GASP! I actually do research and read all the specifications. Bottom line, there's nothing they can tell me I don't already know, and I get some twisted pleasure in pointing out where they are wrong, though I mostly just let it go.

1) (while testing the Touring) The Touring model has the Active Nose Cancellation that makes the car quieter. TRUTH - all Honda models with the 1.5T models have this.
2) The car has active suspension that makes it ride really smooth. He alluded to the Touring having this over the others. TRUTH - While Honda went to better fluid filled bushings and like most new cars, has active engine mounts, it does not have an active suspension, which would mean it have electronic dampers. I think only he Civic Type R and maybe the Honda Pilot have these.
3) This is our "sale" price. TRUTH - Uhhhh that's the MSRP.... here look at the NADA website on my phone. Whatever, we negotiated aggressively on our trade instead. Although their first offer was so low we almost walked right there it was so offensive.

What other goodies have you been told?

I do find some of the little functional things helpful that you don't see on spec sheets, although U-Tube videos have them. Honestly, I'd rather just buy at a fixed price and save $1000 on a salesperson commission and just have a service tech do a delivery tutorial.

Honestly the whole process pisses me off because only an idiot would take their 1st offer and it's always a ****ty offer. I've never had a fair price placed in front of me. I also never feel like I gotten a great deal. On used cars in hindsight, I've paid too much almost every time.

 

[moogs]

I love test driving cars just for the entertainment value of all the features and inaccurate descriptions. To be fair, I know these folks aren't engineers, mechanics, technicians etc. and I've worked as an engineer in high speed manufacturing and automation for most of the last 15 years. And GASP! I actually do research and read all the specifications. Bottom line, there's nothing they can tell me I don't already know, and I get some twisted pleasure in pointing out where they are wrong, though I mostly just let it go.

1) (while testing the Touring) The Touring model has the Active Nose Cancellation that makes the car quieter. TRUTH - all Honda models with the 1.5T models have this.
2) The car has active suspension that makes it ride really smooth. He alluded to the Touring having this over the others. TRUTH - While Honda went to better fluid filled bushings and like most new cars, has active engine mounts, it does not have an active suspension, which would mean it have electronic dampers. I think only he Civic Type R and maybe the Honda Pilot have these.
3) This is our "sale" price. TRUTH - Uhhhh that's the MSRP.... here look at the NADA website on my phone. Whatever, we negotiated aggressively on our trade instead. Although their first offer was so low we almost walked right there it was so offensive.

What other goodies have you been told?

I do find some of the little functional things helpful that you don't see on spec sheets, although U-Tube videos have them. Honestly, I'd rather just buy at a fixed price and save $1000 on a salesperson commission and just have a service tech do a delivery tutorial.

Honestly the whole process pisses me off because only an idiot would take their 1st offer and it's always a ****ty offer. I've never had a fair price placed in front of me. I also never feel like I gotten a great deal. On used cars in hindsight, I've paid too much almost every time.

Yeah, it's a frustrating process and I hope some real change comes to the dealership business model.

The dealer told me they were going to give me their "employee pricing" on the CRV after we had got done purchasing a Ridgeline. The quote was like $1k above msrp. I walked out right then and went to a different dealership. The other laughable thing was them expecting me to pay $400 for wheel locks.

As far as features go, I don't think I had any salesmen tell me something wrong. I just had a bunch that wouldn't know any answers to the questions I had. They had to go look them up. This is just so baffling to me. These people are on commission and I never witnessed anything that made me think they deserved it.

 

[fishycomics]

As the 2017 is starting to be the first in a driverless car. A sales persons job is to sell you, if you want to be sold then let him or her sell you? They may come from another car dealer and company still the same a sales perso? gets me from Point A and back, its Quality, and reliable engineer, sales whatever

 

[beachpassport]

When I was a teenager, my father warned me about dating salesmen. A successful salesman must be a master manipulator in order to have happy customers (all the while selling them things they don't need -- at prices they can't afford.) Unless a dealership has a sales staff not working on commission, you are going to encounter aggressive, lying salespeople.

 

[Genesis]

Fish:
Started drinking early today

 

[BigD]

When we were looking to buy a used Honda for my college aged daughter, we looked at one where the salesman said "this vehicle is in perfect shape. It has undergone a 101 point check of every thing on it. She is flawless". I pointed out the windshield wiper blades were so worn out the rubber has split and part of the blade was just dragging behind the wiper, he quickly said "whoops they must have missed that." Then I pointed out the miss matched tires, where one was bald and he said "whoops". Then I pointed out the moon roof didn't work and he said "whoops". When I tried to put the window down and it wouldn't go he said "perhaps this isn't the right car for you!" We walked out never to return.

 

[BirchBarlow]

The first time I test drove a CR-V, the salesman told me only the Touring had the memory driver's seat (liar liar pants on fire) and that CR-Vs are only sold at MSRP (again liar liar pants on fire). Obviously we ended up buying our EX-L at another dealership for well under MSRP.

 

[hans471+]

This year I worked with my grand daughter to help her buy her first car. She learned the art of buying a car in today's world. First I had her sit down and figure out just what her needs for a vehicle would be for the next five years. (She is a senior in college and will be going to grad school. She works two jobs and will doing internships). Then she worked on her budget. Then she did research on cars that fit her profile learning about operating costs, resale value and safety features. Once that was done we looked at cars at the dealership WITHOUT the help of a salesman. Once she had picked the model and color out we went on-line and asked for bids. The dealers fought to sell her a car. Only when we got the right price (well below MSRP) did we actually go to the dealership and actually speak to a sales person. As I told them, the only time you will need to spend with us is to take our check and fill out the paperwork.
Grand daughter was amazed at how low a price we got and how easy it actually was to buy a car at a low price. As I told her, "They act as if they are doing you a favor by selling you a car. Truth is you are doing them a favor by buying one". Her mom loved this as they all learned just how to make a major purchase at a good price.
Avoid salesmen. Some know their cars, some-many, don't. What they do know is how to wear you down and take more money out of your pocket.

Key phrases to signal you its time to go:
This model (or color) is very hard to get.
They aren't building any more of these for....(six months....a long time...whatever)
We are not making any (or very little) money on this deal.
This offer is only good today.
I like you and can assure you I am doing the best I can on this deal.
You really need to get this extra warranty as these cars are so expensive to fix. ( I tell them if their car is that bad I will buy something else that is better)

 

[az_crv]

OP is having fun with this one. No doubt there are lots of good stories to share.

Years ago, I watch an episode of 'Cops.' One of the dumb criminals was arguing with the police officer and says, "you can trust me, I'm in sales." Right!

 

[fubarnow]

I have experience in car sales.
One reason I did not like it was customers are A-Holes.
They were rude and obnoxious and not pleasant to deal with.

While it is true that some salesmen will lie to you
there are those like me--that would be honest.
The more honest I was being--the more the customer thought I was lying.

In the Honda dealership's I've worked in
the customer's seem to like the flashy, lying saleman
while getting it all bass ackwards.

When you go into a dealership, it's the salesman's job to sell you a car,
not be treated like **** by the customer who has never met before.

Part of the Bad Experience--Comes from you and your attitude before
you even drive onto the dealer.
Sometimes your own "vibes" can make a deal difficult.

I have a lot more to say but my finger is getting tired.

 

[rjparker]

Even salesmen that start out ethical and God fearing (at least on Sundays and when they are gravely ill), even the guy who also does his homework on his brand and the competition’s offerings, even the minister that has a day job at the Honda dealer, all of them let the new car manager massage you in all the wrong places while they drink the holy water. I had one manager five minutes from a deal who just HAD to massage the deal sheet so the numbers erred significantly in his favor, fully expecting the customer was too tired or stupid to add the columns. Walked out and wrote the owners, posted online and have steered dozens away from their slime show.

 

[upnorth]

The dealership salesperson model will be changing - welcome internet sales. Best feature ever.

 

[crv383]

Most people/businesses, that have "whatever" for sale, sit around big tables in conference rooms on Monday mornings figuring out ways to boink their fellow man. Whatever you buy....beware, especially internet sales.

 

[Sydney_NYC]

Salespersons are getting better in general because I think because of the internet, consumers are more aware. We've bought the last 3 Honda's from the same dealership and they have never tried any shenanigans with features are even price. Some haggling was required (I learned that from watching my step-father buy many cars over the years.) As a woman let me say that my wife and I have had some whoppers told to us by several other dealerships. We looked at the Buick Encore and the sales person was a very old school Italian guy and he said "You shouldn't look at the internet and just see what's on our lot!" He didn't like the fact that a woman knew more about the car than he did. We looked at the RAV4 and they were trying to artificially raise the price $2k above MSRP because they were in such high demand. There were over 50 of them on the lot according to their website.

My mother used to own a collection agency (mostly medical collections) and I know how credit works and I always keep tabs on our credit. We had one dealer try to tell us or credit score was 100 points lower (from 720 to 618) than it really was and they wouldn't even say which credit agency was reporting it and claimed is came from all three. They used this tactic to try and raise the interest or lease payment to a lot of consumers. That dealer try to nearly double the car payment on a negotiated lease (from $443 to $817) and we walked out. We got our CRV for a little less than what that dealer originally offered.

Bottom line is that it's best to be an informed consumer and being armed with all the facts and to know when to walk away.

 

[hans471+]

I have experience in car sales.
One reason I did not like it was customers are A-Holes.
They were rude and obnoxious and not pleasant to deal with.

While it is true that some salesmen will lie to you
there are those like me--that would be honest.
The more honest I was being--the more the customer thought I was lying.

In the Honda dealership's I've worked in
the customer's seem to like the flashy, lying saleman
while getting it all bass ackwards.

When you go into a dealership, it's the salesman's job to sell you a car,
not be treated like **** by the customer who has never met before.

Part of the Bad Experience--Comes from you and your attitude before
you even drive onto the dealer.
Sometimes your own "vibes" can make a deal difficult.

I have a lot more to say but my finger is getting tired.

Sorry, I am ALWAYS polite to sales people. I just don't let them insult me and rob me, which some really try hard to do. Like the guy who offered me four thousand less for my perfect 2012 CR-V on trade. He dropped the price by things like $1,000 for new tires. ( I had new Michelins with only about 2,000 miles on them). Or the "body work" it needed. (Narry a scratch on that car...perfect body.. I asked them if they had wrecked it while looking it over).
I make it clear up front that I want to be fair to them and expect them to be fair with me. Without fail they always start out trying to make a $5,000 profit on a car at my expense. I go the internet route now and save everyone a lot of trouble. My wife bought a Accord from a local dealer. She went in and tried to talk to them but they treated her like dirt. She got mad and left and went on line. Ended up getting the car from the same dealer but for $2,000 less than their "best deal" when she first went in. She asked the jerk why he had not just been more reasonable to begin with.

Car sales people are from another universe...one without reason or logic....or many times, ethics. I am sure there are honest ones but darn if they are not hard to find!

 

[stirfried]

I came in a dealership knowing pretty much knowing exactly what I wanted, an EX trim. We test drove an EX-L and the salesman kept making statements like "Honda sensing comes standard on EX-L and Touring" even after I said I'm pretty sure EX models include them as well. He would say that it is available as an optional installation for a higher price. He went on to say a handful of just plain untrue things like how the silver exterior models don't have grey interiors. What baffles me is how confidently he could say these things he had no idea about and double down when I tell him otherwise.

 

[NYDolfan928]

Like most of you, I was well informed before getting to the dealer. I was going to look at CPO CR-Vs, but when I asked the salesman where the 20 or so they were supposed to have on the lot - he just waved his hand and pointed in a general direction. This was off to a good start I thought... So I hunted them down - one was dirtier than the next. Then saw a 2017 Sandstone EX-L. Went in - asked for pricing etc... he was sticking to MSRP... so I walked out. Two days later I met the salesman and offered a fair price - knowing their invoice price, giving him a fair profit margin. He refused. Sales Manager refused. So I upped it by $100. They still refused. I gave the salesman one last chance saying otherwise I'll go elsewhere. He let me walk. I got home - emailed every Honda dealer within a three county area - specifically stating color/model/price. Within an hour I had 3 offers below my price. 2 that matched it and 2 that said they couldn't match it. This was all at the end of quarter/end of month when they are typically hungrier for sales. I find that timeframe works best. As long as you know your stuff beforehand and willing to walk away - you will get a good deal. That goes with financing and ext warranties too. You have to hold the upper hand. Just my experience and $0.02 for what it's worth.

 

[wandl]

Slightly off topic but I went through an experience that was unfortunately not the salesperson's fault - the way dealerships want to sell is no longer matching to the way customers want to buy. This sales rep was the typical "won't quote you a price, but come in we'll make it worth your while!" - it was on the way home so I gave them a shot, got quoted close to MSRP for a 17 CR-V Touring that he defended saying they sell every unit they have, and the Touring's had better soundproofing than EX-L's (factually incorrect). But he was a young 24 year old kid, got the training/quotes from older salespeople on the lot. I ended up telling him (politely) on all the reasons why I'm not buying him nor his dealership (here in north Dallas area), showed him the quotes I got from the other dealership that were below invoice and if this was his $$, would he buy a car from himself?

Alternatives like Vroom, Carvana (and most recently Beepi.com) are great viable alternatives as well as Carmax....if it weren't for their prices, everyone who has purchased from Carmax had good things to say about the buying process.

There is no excuse now, in the age of the internet, for the buyer to know more than the seller - slick lies and fancy stories justifying dealer add-ons are something the market is pushing back on.

 

[billyrule]

I did my homework.. and sent out bids across Texas.. Got a great deal 250 miles away.. wrote a check and picked it up.. Touring/AWD $32,000 cash with tint/free oil change on 1st visit.

 

[fishycomics]

i put a sales sign on, the car I want to sell and its sold. Never turn down the first Bite