I Hate Car Dealerships

5,144 Views | 53 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by Oldbear83
Oldbear83
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OddFire71 said:

You wont find a better time to sell/trade your old truck than right now. Used car prices are WAY up right now.
Unfortunately, this also means there are no good deals on new trucks. At least not on Frontiers or Tacomas.

Getting mine fixed and will keep it running.
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
Bexar Pitts
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OddFire71 said:

You wont find a better time to sell/trade your old truck than right now. Used car prices are WAY up right now.
Took my Maxima by the Dealer for a quick inspection and was swarmed by salespeople wanting me to trade it...I've driven Nissan vehicles for the last 20 years, and evidently you are correct in that the demand for clean late model cars must be high.
Proud 1992 Alum
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LIB,MR BEARS said:



If you go pre-owned, I suggest certified preowned so you get the benefit of the manufacturer warranty.

If you go with something outside of the manufacturer warranty, there's a lady that calls me frequently about my soon-to-be expiring warranty. I can hook you up with her.



That warranty lady calls me all the time.
Edmond Bear
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I drive a 2006 Nissan Titan and love it. Had added a few extras over time.

For repair costs, I've found Repairpal https://repairpal.com/estimator to be pretty accurate.

And, I never go to the dealer for repairs. Have used a reputable local garage for 10 years that is very fair.

As far as buying, I've used EBay Motors and Autotrader to buy 1 and 2 year old vehicles. Both offer a service to send a 3rd party mechanic to look through everything on the vehicle including service history, remaining tire and brake life, and a hundred things I would not know to look for.

Have had a lot of success doing that.
Oldbear83
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$2,050.46 to fix it all.

And the creep from Sterling McCall keeps asking me to reconsider his overpriced garbage inventory.

A long week.
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
Bexar Pitts
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Oldbear83 said:

$2,050.46 to fix it all.

And the creep from Sterling McCall keeps asking me to reconsider his overpriced garbage inventory.

A long week.
That's about what an oil change will cost in another 6 months. :-)
Brian Ethridge
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Staff
What kind of truck do you want?
Oldbear83
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If I was getting a new truck, I'd want a nice mid-size with a crew cab, Tacoma or Frontier again. I spent $20k drive out total in 2010, so I am not willing to spend MSRP on the new ones. Just not worth the price.
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
jupiter
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Oldbear83
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Got a very nice call from Nissan's head office today. The bad news is they were calling because that 'service engine soon' light is on again.

Starting to feel like a mark in a con game.
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
RegentCoverup
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Oldbear83 said:

If I was getting a new truck, I'd want a nice mid-size with a crew cab, Tacoma or Frontier again. I spent $20k drive out total in 2010, so I am not willing to spend MSRP on the new ones. Just not worth the price.
Tacomas are always in high demand, but with Ford/Chevy entering the small truck market, that should ease up a bit.

Try sitting in a Tacoma first, it's a tight cab, but the reliability is legit and parts are cheap.

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Oldbear83
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TellMeYouLoveMe said:

Oldbear83 said:

If I was getting a new truck, I'd want a nice mid-size with a crew cab, Tacoma or Frontier again. I spent $20k drive out total in 2010, so I am not willing to spend MSRP on the new ones. Just not worth the price.
Tacomas are always in high demand, but with Ford/Chevy entering the small truck market, that should ease up a bit.

Try sitting in a Tacoma first, it's a tight cab, but the reliability is legit and parts are cheap.


I had a good laugh yesterday.

I took my truck to Mossy Nissan again to deal with that 'never leaving' engine light. This time they said it was another oxygen sensor and maybe I need to replace the catalytic converter.

Ouch.

Well, I had talked to my wife and we agreed that after spending $2k on three prior visits, we were not going to spend more at Mossy on repairs. So I had my truck appraised and talked to a guy about what they had in stock.

I'm simple in my tastes, really hoped for a base model, but those are pretty much all gone. Still, the sales guy found a 2021 Frontier SV with only a few mods, special rims and side rails, and offered it for $32,265. Mossy offered another $2,967 to bring it down to $29,298. They added a 'value package' for $1,995 which he said we can negotiate because it has things I like (wheel locks, window tint) and things I don't need ( VIN etching, special polish). They offered $8,000 for my truck and in the end it works out to $25,171.34 drive-out.

All in all, a very good offer which we are chewing on.

But my wife likes Toyotas, so I promised I would get a price from a Toyota dealer on a Tacoma. So since they were just down the street I stopped by Don McGill Toyota. They only had five Tacomas on the lot, all of them the TRD sport with the special mud wheels and so on. But I asked for a price anyway, and asked if they could look for a base model (the SR) for me. So McGill started with a price of $34,853 (fair enough), but then added 'professional handling' charges of $2,995* which takes us up to $37,848. They added a Lojack knockoff called APEX for $1,895 (not negotiable he said), which takes us up to $39,743. They offered $4k for my truck and in the end the numbers totaled $39,577.62 drive-out.

So I am looking at a difference of roughly $14k between the two trucks, and the McGill guy tries to tell me the higher price is still a better value because ... "it's a Tacoma".

So I thanked him for his time and the quote, and he asked what he could do to make the deal work. We talked for a while, and he went as low as $29,247.63 drive-out, which I would have considered except that I don't like the TRD design that much and prefer a more professional look than candy-apple red or silver. One reason he was able to come down on the price, was that the first quote was loaded with mark-ups like that $3k 'handling' charge, which was nothing but mark-up. The salesman tried to tell me there was such high demand for Tacomas that they had to charge more than MSRP. But when I got up to leave, suddenly he finds a way to drop the price by $10k.

I thanked him for the quote, explained we'll make a decision in the next couple weeks, and he promised to see if he could get a base model Tacoma, but said that price would still be around $32k, which would not win my purchase but we'll see.

It did give me some good laughs though. I plan to going to a couple more dealers this weekend to see what they say. I don't think I can get $8k for my truck anywhere but Mossy but you never know if you don't ask.

If nothing else, I have a long, boring story to tell folks.



That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
LIB,MR BEARS
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Oldbear83 said:

TellMeYouLoveMe said:

Oldbear83 said:

If I was getting a new truck, I'd want a nice mid-size with a crew cab, Tacoma or Frontier again. I spent $20k drive out total in 2010, so I am not willing to spend MSRP on the new ones. Just not worth the price.
Tacomas are always in high demand, but with Ford/Chevy entering the small truck market, that should ease up a bit.

Try sitting in a Tacoma first, it's a tight cab, but the reliability is legit and parts are cheap.


I had a good laugh yesterday.

I took my truck to Mossy Nissan again to deal with that 'never leaving' engine light. This time they said it was another oxygen sensor and maybe I need to replace the catalytic converter.

Ouch.

Well, I had talked to my wife and we agreed that after spending $2k on three prior visits, we were not going to spend more at Mossy on repairs. So I had my truck appraised and talked to a guy about what they had in stock.

I'm simple in my tastes, really hoped for a base model, but those are pretty much all gone. Still, the sales guy found a 2021 Frontier SV with only a few mods, special rims and side rails, and offered it for $32,265. Mossy offered another $2,967 to bring it down to $29,298. They added a 'value package' for $1,995 which he said we can negotiate because it has things I like (wheel locks, window tint) and things I don't need ( VIN etching, special polish). They offered $8,000 for my truck and in the end it works out to $25,171.34 drive-out.

All in all, a very good offer which we are chewing on.

But my wife likes Toyotas, so I promised I would get a price from a Toyota dealer on a Tacoma. So since they were just down the street I stopped by Don McGill Toyota. They only had five Tacomas on the lot, all of them the TRD sport with the special mud wheels and so on. But I asked for a price anyway, and asked if they could look for a base model (the SR) for me. So McGill started with a price of $34,853 (fair enough), but then added 'professional handling' charges of $2,995* which takes us up to $37,848. They added a Lojack knockoff called APEX for $1,895 (not negotiable he said), which takes us up to $39,743. They offered $4k for my truck and in the end the numbers totaled $39,577.62 drive-out.

So I am looking at a difference of roughly $14k between the two trucks, and the McGill guy tries to tell me the higher price is still a better value because ... "it's a Tacoma".

So I thanked him for his time and the quote, and he asked what he could do to make the deal work. We talked for a while, and he went as low as $29,247.63 drive-out, which I would have considered except that I don't like the TRD design that much and prefer a more professional look than candy-apple red or silver. One reason he was able to come down on the price, was that the first quote was loaded with mark-ups like that $3k 'handling' charge, which was nothing but mark-up. The salesman tried to tell me there was such high demand for Tacomas that they had to charge more than MSRP. But when I got up to leave, suddenly he finds a way to drop the price by $10k.

I thanked him for the quote, explained we'll make a decision in the next couple weeks, and he promised to see if he could get a base model Tacoma, but said that price would still be around $32k, which would not win my purchase but we'll see.

It did give me some good laughs though. I plan to going to a couple more dealers this weekend to see what they say. I don't think I can get $8k for my truck anywhere but Mossy but you never know if you don't ask.

If nothing else, I have a long, boring story to tell folks.




If you end up keeping your current ride, there are plenty of muffler shops that can do your cat for a fraction of the dealer price. I would stay away from the chain muffler shops like Midas etc. Find a mom and pop with a good reputation.
Oldbear83
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LIB,MR BEARS said:

Oldbear83 said:

TellMeYouLoveMe said:

Oldbear83 said:

If I was getting a new truck, I'd want a nice mid-size with a crew cab, Tacoma or Frontier again. I spent $20k drive out total in 2010, so I am not willing to spend MSRP on the new ones. Just not worth the price.
Tacomas are always in high demand, but with Ford/Chevy entering the small truck market, that should ease up a bit.

Try sitting in a Tacoma first, it's a tight cab, but the reliability is legit and parts are cheap.


I had a good laugh yesterday.

I took my truck to Mossy Nissan again to deal with that 'never leaving' engine light. This time they said it was another oxygen sensor and maybe I need to replace the catalytic converter.

Ouch.

Well, I had talked to my wife and we agreed that after spending $2k on three prior visits, we were not going to spend more at Mossy on repairs. So I had my truck appraised and talked to a guy about what they had in stock.

I'm simple in my tastes, really hoped for a base model, but those are pretty much all gone. Still, the sales guy found a 2021 Frontier SV with only a few mods, special rims and side rails, and offered it for $32,265. Mossy offered another $2,967 to bring it down to $29,298. They added a 'value package' for $1,995 which he said we can negotiate because it has things I like (wheel locks, window tint) and things I don't need ( VIN etching, special polish). They offered $8,000 for my truck and in the end it works out to $25,171.34 drive-out.

All in all, a very good offer which we are chewing on.

But my wife likes Toyotas, so I promised I would get a price from a Toyota dealer on a Tacoma. So since they were just down the street I stopped by Don McGill Toyota. They only had five Tacomas on the lot, all of them the TRD sport with the special mud wheels and so on. But I asked for a price anyway, and asked if they could look for a base model (the SR) for me. So McGill started with a price of $34,853 (fair enough), but then added 'professional handling' charges of $2,995* which takes us up to $37,848. They added a Lojack knockoff called APEX for $1,895 (not negotiable he said), which takes us up to $39,743. They offered $4k for my truck and in the end the numbers totaled $39,577.62 drive-out.

So I am looking at a difference of roughly $14k between the two trucks, and the McGill guy tries to tell me the higher price is still a better value because ... "it's a Tacoma".

So I thanked him for his time and the quote, and he asked what he could do to make the deal work. We talked for a while, and he went as low as $29,247.63 drive-out, which I would have considered except that I don't like the TRD design that much and prefer a more professional look than candy-apple red or silver. One reason he was able to come down on the price, was that the first quote was loaded with mark-ups like that $3k 'handling' charge, which was nothing but mark-up. The salesman tried to tell me there was such high demand for Tacomas that they had to charge more than MSRP. But when I got up to leave, suddenly he finds a way to drop the price by $10k.

I thanked him for the quote, explained we'll make a decision in the next couple weeks, and he promised to see if he could get a base model Tacoma, but said that price would still be around $32k, which would not win my purchase but we'll see.

It did give me some good laughs though. I plan to going to a couple more dealers this weekend to see what they say. I don't think I can get $8k for my truck anywhere but Mossy but you never know if you don't ask.

If nothing else, I have a long, boring story to tell folks.




If you end up keeping your current ride, there are plenty of muffler shops that can do your cat for a fraction of the dealer price. I would stay away from the chain muffler shops like Midas etc. Find a mom and pop with a good reputation.
I have a mechanic I have used for 30 years, only went to the dealer on his suggestion. Going back to see him Saturday, get his verdict on whether the old truck is savable or on the way out.
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
4th and Inches
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Have small shop replace your cat but make sure you get the old one and find a cat recycler- should be able to recoup a few dollars. Dont let the shop keep it. Some cats are worth alot of money which helps take away the sting of the repair.
Bexar Pitts
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4th and Inches said:

Have small shop replace your cat but make sure you get the old one and find a cat recycler- should be able to recoup a few dollars. Dont let the shop keep it. Some cats are worth alot of money which helps take away the sting of the repair.
Good advice...Palladium has skyrocketed in the last several years...Don't know the exact Pd content in the converters, but I do understand that it has played a big role in their increased cost.
RegentCoverup
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OldBear83, your story just reiterates why I have no problem abusing, berating, ignoring or suing a car dealer.

As an auto exec once told me, "We will never hire anyone with the stench of a dealership on their resume."

Btw, I've seen the raw cost numbers on Tacomas, depending on options, the range of mfg cost is 13-19k. Tops.

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Oldbear83
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Finally decided to get the Frontier deal at Mossy. They are giving me $8k on my trade, $3k more than anyone else.

Besides the engine issue , I have bumper damage front and back and that hurts my numbers.

Replacing a black Nissan Frontier SE with a crewcab and short bed, with a black Nissan Frontier SV with a crewcab and short bed.

That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
BellCountyBear
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I've just never liked how Toyota trucks look.
Oldbear83
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BellCountyBear said:

I've just never liked how Toyota trucks look.
Some look real good, ironically the base models got it right and the add-ons look like frosting on a sugar cube.

The Frontiers looked the same since forever, except for the various package models. The '22s are going to be a big change, so I actually wanted to get a 20 or 21 model, spend less to get the look I like anyway.

The new truck will have a back-up camera, USB connection so I can put nav apps on my phone then use them on the truck and display on the dashboard screen. The sales manager knows I wanted a base model (the S model) but they did not have any, so I am getting black rims and side bars thrown in for the base model price since they were already on the SV model he showed me.

So I will have a clean-looking black truck suitable for my job (for some reason we're expected to have dark, professional" colors in our vehicles we drive, even though they're not company vehicles.
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
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