A lady bought a brand new Impala SS convertible in 66 from our local Chevrolet dealer. She walked out of the showroom and got in the car and backed out in front of a p***ing car who t boned the p***enger side of the car. They drove it straight to the body shop for a 1/4 panel and door and door jamb. My buddy's dad was the body shop manager and said he had never fixed a car hit that hard with 2 miles on it.
"What off the wall thing changed hands in your most unusual dealer trade transaction?" Reminds me of the old Nestor Pistor story about the Uke who went into the dealership and asked if they took trades. Well, of course we take trades, what have you got? I want to trade my wife in on a half ton truck. Uke looks serious so the salesman marches him right into the sales manager. Boss, this guy wants to trade. Sure, we take trades, what have you got? I want to trade my wife for half ton truck. You can't be serious? Do you want to make a sale or not? Why do you want to trade your wife for a half ton truck? I'm looking for something with a smaller box...
There was a Dealer who was always advertising new trucks with the sales tax paid. and they where always 3/4 ton trucks and 4 wheel drive. We where running a business it was in 2000 and his farm hand was always bringing us tractor flats ect. One day they brought a gooseneck trailer and wanted the brakes fixed. So I put everything new backing plates and shoes wiring magnets on the trailer. Well the hand comes back stating brakes aint working. My son comes over and ask is the speedometer unhooked? now this is a new truck with a sheet over the seat and newspapers on the floor. And we had noticed that the hand seemed to be driving a different new truck every month. and shure enough the speedometer was Un hooked. that somehow messed with the antilock brakes and made the electric trailer brakes not work. the next week a different customer comes in driving what appears to be the same truck. My son asks where he bought it. and after it was confirmed. My son states I bet the sales tax was paid and you got a gooseneck hitch installed for free? Then my son told him I would be dammed if I bought a new truck that had the speedometer unhooked and the new wore off of it. The customer was very upset. and the next week that dealership was closed. and remained closed.
somewhat related: Back around 1981, I was pumping gas on Rt 1 between Baltimore and Washington, at the time kind of a tough, industrial, gritty area. Junkyards, roadhouses, low rent motels, a police station....one junkyard right down the street also had a body shop. Low prices, dirty old shop...then the police came in the front office with a search warrant and arrested the owner and some others for running a chop shop. When the police went around back, included in the body shop parking lot were a few parked police cruisers getting, or just finished getting repairs. They had to take apart those patrol cars to recover evidence as a part of the case. (....low bidder on body work? of course the police garage nearby would send the cars there...) of course with repair parts = free, I guess they would be the low bidders!
Stolen parts was a huge business until the mid eighties, when parts began to be marked with the VIN. Looking back at the statistics was an real eye opener.
This was around 1977. I was working in a place that was open on Saturdays for service, it was a big $$$ day for them so we had to hustle. In the spring we would get a lot of guys with new-to-them Cadillacs in for things like tire upgrades, shocks and alignments. The owners were almost always little short Italian guys and the cars were 2 or 3 years old, but in good shape. They were proud as pea****s about them. So they would be talking to the shop foreman and I'd hear enough to get a shoe horn to make my move. I'd look at the car, make a show of checking out the paint. The owner would look at me and I'd ask, "was this ever in an accident? The paint on the fender is off a bit. ". Of course the owner was upset and he'd say he just got it and he was told it was a 1-owner, never wrecked, etc. I'd go away and watch, he'd be going over the car, looking at every panel for something that wasn't there.
I purchased one of those Eaton cars in late 1975. A 74 Impala 4 door post sedan. Copper color, about 37,000 miles. Real clean and super tight with new Michelin's all around. It was leased thru GELCO and I bought it from one of our regular Rhode Island wholesalers. Yup, had A/C, cruise, Am/Fm stereo and the Oldsmobile dashboard you mentioned with airbags. Beautiful driving car, much heavier and tighter than your average every day Impala.
In 1966, I had just turned 16 and had just gotten my permanent driver's license. My Dad, my older brother and I went into the local Ford Dealership to look around. In the back was a tan 1964 Ford Galaxie 2 dr fastback with a 427 and 3-speed transmission. I drove it first out of the dealership and promptly ran a red light because I was so excited about driving a car with a 427. Nothing hurt but scared everybody! I bought several cars from the dealer where I was a salesman. I went in to find out about my payment and the Finance Manager said, "I choked ya but I didn't croak ya." In those days, "choke and croak" meant you got disability and death benefits added to your contact. We had a hail storm with lots of damage to all the cars and trucks. They were covered by insurance so the dealer received a huge check. We had a "Hail Sale" and with the insurance money, he made more per vehicle that way than if they had been sold with no damage. The first car I sold as a new salesman in 1981 was a 1964 Thunderbird that was sitting on the showroom floor of the Ford Dealership. The guy who bought it was waiting for his other car that was in the Service Department.
I worked at a Dodge dealership fresh out of school. My work area was next to the service writers desk . An older “ gentleman “ came in complaining of the new to him “ factory official “ was knocking . The service writer proceeds to have him start the car and raise the idle speed a bit . It’s knockin like the bongo drummer in Ricky Recardo’s band . Service writer tells him “ I don’t hear anything to worry about “ . The older gentleman protests and says it’s knockin and under warranty . The Service Writer asks him to leave nothing wrong , come back if he thinks it is getting worse . The gentleman exits and to get out of the lot , you had to do a 180* turn and exit same drive you enter only exit p***es rear of the building . On his exit I beat feet to rear of the building and stopped him . I ask him if he changed his own oil ? He proceeds to tell me yes . And asks do you think I did this ? I answered him NOWAY ! But you can fix it ! He looks puzzled . I told him drive it home , jack it up drain the oil into a pan , reinstall the plug , let the car down and start it up , let it run until it locks up . Pour your oil back in and call the Bozo inside and tell him , come and get it , it’s locked up tight . Sure enough an hour later , the car returns on the hook . The Service Writer says to me “ I didn’t think it was knocking than bad . I was hoping it would last out of warranty before it took a dump . “ That day I closed my toolbox , called my Dad to stop with his pickup , loaded up and never worked in a garage again . If Jesse James could have stolen that easy , he would not be in a history book . I hate dealers they are all the same thieves to the unknowing . I have to look at a tough , ******* in the mirror every morning when I shave and answer to him about how I treat people . I can not lie or cheat , it’s hard to lie out of it to him .
Used car managers are about the slimiest things in a dealership. Hell, they would even screw employees over. Fall of 1999 my wife wanted a newer car. Year before had been pretty rough for us, I was hospitalized and out of work for three months but we got through it ok. I felt like I needed to do something nice for the grief she dealt with. She saw a 95 Grand Am GT on the used car lot, a GM Certified Used Car. She made a remark that she liked it. So, I decided to surprise her with it. I pulled the deal jacket, saw the intake gaskets had been replaced (common leak), new brakes and rotors, new tires and power steering rack. They were in it a bit high but even so my employee price was not too bad. Car drove well so I decided WTF. The only thing I did not test was the A/C, car was certified, checklist said HVAC p***ed also. It was late October so it was probably 50 degrees that evening so no thought of A/C. I went to work on Thursday morning and got one of the salesmen and told him "let's go". Got the VIN, called my insurance agent to start coverage. Loan was processed, by noon, went to my cardiac rehab program. Came back to a note on my desk from the salesman "Here's the keys, go get it from the wash area, it's all set. See me and sign your paper work." So Michigan being Michigan, this day it's about 80 degrees out. Flip on the A/C in this now hot car, guess what, hot air only, no compressor kick on. So I pull the car up front and go to the salesman and tell him "A/C inop". Now he's surprised, this is an inspected car. So we pull it into the shop, tech checks the pressures, puts a pound of Freon in and shoves the snout of the sniffer into the A/C housing. "BEEP", the infamous GM evap core leak, a common problem for early to mid 90's cars. So we walk up to the manager's office, salesman said to him "The A/C is out on that car" to which the manager replied while looking at me "Your problem, you own that and you didn't want to buy a warranty". I looked at him, tossed the keys on his desk and said "**** you. It's still your car, I didn't sign anything yet!", spun around and down the hall I went. He started chasing after me offering to split the cost 50/50, I told him to do something with that car that was physically impossible to accomplish. Well his trying to screw me subsequently cost him at least four car sales from my immediate family plus at least a couple from friends. Slimeball!
Does the private party have a new car for you in the color, options and engine you want? Will the private party take payments on a new $30,000 vehicle they no longer want? Will the person take your upside down trade in and clear the lien?Will the private party warranty it for you? Will the private party do all the service and maintenance recommended? Who will do your warranty work for you? The original now disinterested previous owner? You need to run your thinking thru a little more completely.
If I had the money to walk onto a dealer's lot and buy a new car, caring about nothing but convenience and the hell with the expense, your advice would make perfect sense. Since I don't have that kind of dough to throw around I will continue to buy used cars privately like a peasant.
I've had the best experience with a local dealer and my o/t truck. They'd always seemed to take care of what my truck needed in the service department with no h***les and a fair price. First time was a simple clutch replacement. I'd called around and the other guys wanted to charge more and not use OEM parts. Well one day my clutch went out and I had to have it towed in. Being a 4x4 it wasn't as easy as a standard transmission. I'd done it myself before but it took me longer to do than them and it cost me more in lost work than what I saved. Anyway, this time it was towed in and by the time we got there it was nearing closing time. They told me they'd get to it the next day and I'd have it back the following day. They called me early the next morning to come and pick it up. Surprised, I went in and the service manager said it looked like a work truck so he figured I probably needed it for work so they got right on it. Someone must've worked late into the night on it. I never felt such great customer service, nor heard of it before. After that I'd heard many glowing testimonials of that dealer. They're not all bad!!
I went into a local new car dealer several years ago to try and buy a new car at the end of the model year.They had 10 cars in the model I was looking for.They were all optioned exactly the same and in different colors.Another shopper on the lot told me he had just retired from that dealerships parts department after 25 years of service.He needed a car because his had been totaled earlier that week and the sales manager told him to come on down and he would get the employee discount.He was met with a big pat on the back and was in and out in less than an hour.We negotiated our deal and paid cash and left a few hours later.When we checked our paper work a few days later some of the former employees paper work was mistakenly included with ours and it showed that he had paid $2800 more for the exact same car we had bought the only difference being his was a different color.
Old friend and ace mechanic and fabricator was a died in the wool Ford guy so how he ever wound up wrenching at a GM store is a mystery, I ***ume it was because other friends who were mechanics worked there and talked him into it. He had a then new 64 Comet 289 4speed 2dr sedan he had bought new. One day he decided he needed an econo driver instead, so he went to the mgr of the used car dept who was a co-owner of that GM store for the in-house, special employee-only low-profit super duper deal. The suit offered him basically nothing for his Comet and he left mad. I mean mad. Time p***ed and one a day a just slightly OT brand new Caprice ultra-full-load came in for a PDI. Everyone gathered around to admire it and see options no one even knew existed. It had been custom ordered for the co-owner so guess who wangled the PDI? When he went out on the road test two other buddies that worked there grabbed something and followed the Caprice. What happened to that car was unique, prolonged and painful. At one point they lost it and while parked trying to figure out where it might be they heard squealing tires and noticed smoke coming up from behind the school they were parked in front of. Drove around back with the lights off and saw the smoke show, first then reverse then first then reverse and one tire fire. Story went on for a long time but the proud owner, it is said, could never figure out why his Caprice drove and sounded like a clapped out cab.
I read this entire thread yesterday. Yea I know get a life. But most of these stories are not dealer stories so much as bad employee stories. **** ups, thieves, incompetents, you get the picture. Still all a good read, and very entertaining. So keep them coming please.
Early seventies, working next to a, too old to be one, wild child named Harold. He had to put a used engine in a white on white, new paint, and top 64 Chevy convertible. Harold pulls the drain plug on the engine and water runs out. "This engine is junk." "Its OK put it in." "I'm not putting it in." "PUT. IT. IN." Come fire up time, Harold puts the garden hose in the radiator filler neck, turns on the water and fires it up. It's running kind of rough when the oil filler cap blows off and baby diarrhea starts pouring out. As the fan is blowing it all over the car, Harold leaves the car and the water running and walks away looking for the service manager.
The last time I was in a new car dealership was in 1994. It was a Dodge dealership that had been around for years. I was looking to trade my 1990 truck for a new one. I gave the salesman my keys so the used car department could appraise it. The salesman, white belt and shoes, etc., and I talked a little and I made an offer. He said that he needed $20 to attach to the offer so the new car manager would know I was serious. I gave him the $20 and away he went. He was back with a counter offer in about 5 minutes. It was way too high so I told the salesman that I needed my $20 and my keys back. Suddenly, no one could find the keys! I waited around for about 10 minutes and no keys but the salesman kept lowering his price $50 at a time. Finally, I found the new car manager and restated my "request" in a different manner. Guess what? The keys and my $20 suddenly appeared and I left. A couple of folks have said that there are honest dealers out there. Maybe but I don't have the time or personality to put up with their ******** to find them.
A Ford dealer North of my little town was big into tossing customers keys up on the roof and other sleazy tactics. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The salesman separates you from your vehicle. They then isolate you in a gl*** walled room, and play good cop bad cop with "their Sales manager", who is the bad cop. Try to leave, and they can never find your car that was being "checked out" by their used car manager. I finally had to threaten to put the sales managers lights out, when he ran down from his upstairs gl*** office, jumped in front of me and tried to stop me from leaving the dealership. Some dealers are just ****ing sleazes balls. Novak GMC Forest Lake MN. They are out of business now. Go figure.
I looked at a used truck at Hal Gilliam Ford in new Carlisle Ohio years ago and they took off with my keys and before they would talk anything about the price they made me put a offer on paper but did not accept and had a hard time finding my keys.
In Dec '73 I was 19 ,living at my parents home and working 2 jobs ,so was doing well. I was tired of wrenching on my '70 Duster 340 that we just rebuilt the engine on and installed my engine,trans,and rear in my buddies '70 Dart ******* 340 as I was going to trade, and he wanted my Duster. My dad and I stopped at the Dodge dealer and looked at and road tested a new '73 fully loaded Challenger 340. Went back the next day to buy and they had sold it night before 1 hr after I looked at it. Horror!!! ***le in hand, new car fever, I went down to Crown Pontiac in St.Pete and looked at 3 new '73 GTOs they had there. Base models, 400 cid bench seat, am radio, no ps, no pb, no ac sticker $3795( wish for that today!!) So I bought the maroon/with white interior one. Go into the "finance office and get told the factory just puts on those junk white letter poly-glas Goodyears for show and they won't last 10k miles (the same ones on the Duster fronts lasted 55K) so I need these "Vogue premium tires" with gold and white wall stripes for mega dollars. I said no thanks, then he moves to financing and gives me a application to fill out, then gives another so if I can't get the credit, my dad could co-sign. I gave it back and told him "if I couldn't get credit on my own, I didn't need the car" I got the loan.
The one and only time I bought a new vehicle (a Jap pick-up), I made the deal, and sat down in the office to sign the papers. Naturally the dealer asked what "finance package" I needed (or what type of loan I wanted), and I said that it won't be necessary, as "Mr. Cash" is paying for it. I pulled out a pound of notes, put them on the table, and started counting. The guy looked at me, and got very nervous, and went to "check up" with his manager. They had never sold a new car that was paid for in "real" money before!.
Late 1969 I was pricing a factory ordered Nova SS at different dealers looking for the best deal. I had a ‘67 283/4spd Nova that I was selling to another party as soon as my new car came in and would be paying cash for the ‘70. So I order a car and drive it for 13 months when it is rear ended while parked, resulting in a total loss. Going back to Mc M**** Chevrolet the same salesman as last year greets me and soon says ”Hey, I remember you from last year. I spent an hour with you and you didn’t buy a car from me.” To which I said to him you apparently don’t know how this works. I come in the door with money and you talk nice to me and give me your best possible price. If I like that price you get the money. Tom P. got the money.
Nothing good for you ever happens there. It is the last ditch effort to separate you from some more of your money.
The Jalopy Journal
