is there such a thing as a stupid question?

i have been trying to do my homework on the honda ridgeline rts, online before talking to anyone from the dealer ship. i choose one dealer ship to try and see what kind of price they can offer me to buy a honda ridgeline rts. miller honda of culver city, talking with one of the sales people nora, after talking with this sales lady. after telling here my situation on buying a ridgeline, cash, and a.s.a.p. so she wasnt able to give me a drive off price over the phone. so she trasfered me to a sales manager, i was cool with that. thinking i would get a direct answer. i really didnt get a good impression from the manager, i asked him a few question about pricing on the ridgeline.. "is there any factory rebaits on the ridgeline?" he responed to me "laughing are you serious". i was so stuned and shocked at the manager sarcasm laughing. i also noticed he gave me the price for the rtl.. not the price for the model i was asking for. so i asked him again"is the price you gave me is for the rts right?" his remark "oh you want the rts laughing". "ah i'm really buisy right now why dont i get your phone number and i will get back to you in ten minutes"
so i have been waiting to hear back from them still nothing. already a day and a half has passed since my last talk with the culver miller honda people. i'm still wondering what the drive off price is.
i really liked the ridgleine, but i'm so unhappy on the way i was being jerked around. i was thinking buying a car should be easy and fun..

My first dealer to talk to about the RL were jerks also. The salesman took 3 days to call me back after he took my info. When he did he talked the sale down so bad nobody would buy. He said, "yeah dude, this isnt a cheap truck.Youre gonna need something like $5000.00 down"
He assumed I didnt have the money to buy this truck. I went to another dealer which was only 4 miles from my house. Straight up honest. Same deal as the other dealer but they didnt treat me like I couldnt afford it. I put $5000.00 down and said order it.
I would try another dealer if there is one.

IMO dealer like that doesn't deserve your business, I would go elsewhere if I had a choice.
when I wanted to buy my RL, dealer#1 s/man told me that he'll call me the next day for the test drive confirmation, he never did. Being the closest to home and on my way, I still went there the next day but he was nowhere to be found.
I went to dealer #2, same story, "I'll call you on Wednesday for the test drive", never did.
dealer # 3 did take me out on a test drive but when I asked the salesman for an absolute out the door price, he went to ask his sales manager and the sales manager yelled from across the showroom " I CAN'T GIVE YOU MY LAST PRICE, COME BACK WHEN YOU'RE SERIOUS" (after I told the salesman that I am not here to waste anyone's time and will be paying cash for my truck) :rolleyes: needless to say, I just got up and walked away.
dealer#4 had the time to take me for a test drive, sit down and make a deal, so they got my business.(I wish they had a better service dept though)
Come to think of it, me going to buy a truck in my work clothes might have something to do with it:D I hate to think it is the color of my skin :rolleyes: .
dealer#4 asked me how much would I be putting down? I looked him straight in the eyes and said "ALL OF IT".
I realize that some people might not have the luxury of choosing between that many dealers specially if you live in a small town community. but try not to let them smell blood:cool: and be willing to walk.
Good luck!!

I agree that this dealer does not deserve your business....

I went to 4 dealerships before I finally found a dealer who wanted the sale as much as I wanted the truck. At the time, no one had a Silver RTL w/Navi. I was told it couldn't be found, how bout the nice white one on our lot. Or, I can't give you a better price, I don't know where I can even find one. And the best one, which was the dealer I actually test drove with, "I have one coming in in 2 weeks if you want to come back in..." So I said I wanted to talk price and his response was, "I can't talk price on a truck I don't have on my lot yet..." O-kay...

So the last dealer (dealer #5) wanted to talk price before even trying to locate the truck. He said he could find it, not a problem. So, he threw out a price, which was pretty much sticker. I laughed. He asked, "You were expecting something lower?" and I responded, "Considerably." His Sales Manager came back, gave me a little lecture, which I really wasn't paying to much attention to and I balked at his next offer and again stated what I wanted to pay. He questioned me saying "I thought you were expecting something a little lower?" and I responded in front of the Salesman that my exact words were "Considerably" lower.

He then gave me a price $1000 higher at which point I stood up and said, "I'm aware of the current $1000 incentive program currently running. You've already told me what your invoice price is and I agree with that. So, I will take this price home and consider it with the other qoutes I have and will get back to you..."

I called later that day and told them if they shaved $500 off the price, we have a deal. Guess what... It was a deal. So I actually paid $500 more than I originally asked and yet we still played the back and forth game. The poor Salesman took 4 days to locate my truck. He searched all of New England and found nothing. He asked if he could search New York and I said so long as this truck does not have more than 1000 miles on it. Guy found it, drove out, picked it up and drove it back for me.

Moral of the story and my advice... Prepare yourself. Don't be intimidated. Bring a book to read while they leave you waiting and have a folder with anything you want in it. They'll just think you have qoutes and info in there. And lastly, invest the time to get the deal your happy with and with a dealership you think is interested in your needs. It may be tedious and trying but the reward at the end surpasses any inconvenience or troubles you meet along the way. You be in charge. :D

And lastly, the dealer who had one coming in called me when it came in. My wife kindly told him I was not in as I was the proud new owner of a Silver RTL w/Navi and I was out driving it around....:p

Good Luck :)

Moral of the story and my advice... Prepare yourself. Don't be intimidated. Bring a book to read while they leave you waiting and have a folder with anything you want in it. They'll just think you have qoutes and info in there. And lastly, invest the time to get the deal your happy with and with a dealership you think is interested in your needs. It may be tedious and trying but the reward at the end surpasses any inconvenience or troubles you meet along the way. You be in charge.

I agree with everything that brich said. The only thing I would like to add is do your homework. Go out on the net, find the RL(s) you like, and ask for quote(s) via e-mail. You'll know then what the dealerships are asking for that particular vehicle. Also, start a below invoice and deal up. Never start at MSRP and try to deal down.

Oh, and finally, no, there are no dumb questions, just a$$hole salesmen and a$$hole sales managers. If they make you feel uncomfortable....walk!

First mistake...don't call them, work with email instead. Much less emotional and there is lots more to do at home than at the dealership. Good luck on your search.

Laura

i was thinking buying a car should be easy and fun..

I agree jake. Car/truck buying should be fun. Instead you have to deal with salemen that will use almost every sleazy trick in the book to squeeze a few more dollars outta you. For how much money you are spending on a new vehicle, the salesmen should be kissing your butt; instead they lie to you and treat you like you have the IQ of a slug.

Personally, I have come to hate buying new cars. But, I have found out, if you take the time to research, know exactly what you should be getting a particular vehicle for, and sticking to that price no matter what.....it has become much easier. It's not any more fun, but it's easier.

Echoing others here....

Do your research, find out the dealer cost, know exactly what you should be paying, and then DEAL WITH THE INTERNET PEOPLE!.

The floor salespeople at most dealerships are simply not authorized to offer prices as low as the internet folks. Get quotes online from as many dealers as you can; get a quote from every dealer in a 100 mile radius. Then get a quote from carsdirect.com. You will quickly find out exactly how much you should be paying for the car.

Once you've found an internet salesperson you like, go get the car and bypass all the a$$holes on the sales floor.

In my opinion, only a certified nutcase loony-toon crazy person would, in this day and age, go into a car dealership cold and try to knock out a deal with a salesperson. 10 years ago, that was the only way to do it. But now, with all the information you need literally at your fingertips, it would be just moronic to go into a dealer with no information and deal with a salesthief.

Go the internet route, and you'll be glad you did.

Just be prepaired to hear that the qoute for the truck you were offered online is no longer available. The truck is already sold. Happened to me. I got to the dealership and guess what, truck just sold.... ah ya.... Also, be aware that unless you ask and they answer, you may be qetting a qoute on a demo model with mileage, wear and tear. Lots of little things to be careful of...;)

Just get as much info as you can and decide what you are comfortable in paying and stick to your guns. At the end of the day, no one gets hurt and you may even have a truck to take home. :D

I'll take the contrarian view. Spending $30,000+ should NOT be fun, nor easy.

Do your homework. Find out list prices, average retail prices from edmunds and the like, determine what you want, determine what you can afford, then make a serious approach to a dealer in person or via their web site if they support that. The only thing I saw wrong in their response was letting a live one with money to burn get away. They could have taken you to the cleaners since you were not prepared. They could tell you weren't serious and not worth their time, and probably did you a favor.

Sorry: Yes, there are stupid questions. Also, spelling counts.

Good luck, F.

Well, let me tell you what I did. I did the internet thing and found a dealership in New York. That gave me a better deal then the ones in the Maryland area. So I took the train, my brother and sister in law took me to the dealership. Worked out the deal, drove the truck back to Maryland and had a ball even though it was raining, I had fun driving that truck and it was my first truck ever. The only thing was they didn't do dealer prep. It was late night when I finally picked it up and they were about to close. But when I got it home and looked it over the next morning I see that they didn't do dealer prep. But thats fine. I'm gonna take it to a detailing shop and let them do wash, polish and wax it.