How do you deal with car dealerships, when you want a specific car?

[Janeway]

My husband and I have decided exactly which car we want. But when we went to the dealership, they had different models and colors and tried to push those on us. We went on to a different dealership and they were worse. I got home and decided to search from home for which dealers had the car I wanted and found two. Both were a distance away so I called the first one. They said it is a vehicle they do not have but will take delivery of and would email me the information. They said we could do a deal on it right away and then I would have it as soon as it arrives. Ok. I never got the email. I contacted them two more times and no email. I decided to go back to the first dealership and tell them exactly what I wanted. They explained to me why I did not really want blue and why I do not want the EX. 

 

One thing I did get out of the return trip though is that oddly, I cannot fit a car seat in the middle of the middle row of the Odyssey. Both seats would need to be on the outboard or would not fit. We need use of the seats. We cannot access the back row if both outboard middle row seats have car seats installed. And we cannot reach to the back to strap in a rear facing baby. So, we are postponing the purchase. 

 

But seriously, has anyone been able to go to a dealership and say they wanted this model in that color and been able to get it?

[DawnM]

We have always bought exactly what we wanted and we knew going in what we wanted.

 

The last couple of cars we have gotten we have found a deal online and asked local dealers to match.  This last one made me nuts.  Two dealers tried to get us to get something else.  Just know my DH was a car dealer for a while, THEY LIE!   He hated working there.  He was much too honest.

 

Anyway, one dealer was bold enough to say, "They are lying online, that vehicle must not be what they say it is, there is NO WAY to get that vehicle for that price, so here, let me show you this one instead....."  He was lying through his teeth.  

 

We finally found a dealer willing to go get the vehicle from 200 miles away AND sell it to us for the advertised price.  

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

We always do the entire deal online for a specific vehicle with a VIN, and can do this even if we have a trade in. We show up to sign papers or they courier the papers to us. If we are shopping to see what we want, we never set foot in the sales office- stay on the lot and do your test drives. We figure out which car and model we want and then go home and research and have a firm number of what we want to pay and for trade, then we deal with the internet manager. We flip cars about every 18 months to 2 years and have kind of refined it to an art by this point.

 

If someone is advertising a car on their site that they do not have in their possession that is a bait and switch. I wouldn't work with that dealer in any capacity after that.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Or just go there and be firm.  You want that car and if they don't have it or the means to get it you will just go elsewhere period.  If they want your business they'll do it. 

 

 

[zoobie]

You can now do so much online and via text. DH bought the last firm car that way. He emailed what he wanted to a few dealers and finished negotiations via text. It was much less painful than normal!

[zoobie]

My husband and I have decided exactly which car we want. But when we went to the dealership, they had different models and colors and tried to push those on us. We went on to a different dealership and they were worse. I got home and decided to search from home for which dealers had the car I wanted and found two. Both were a distance away so I called the first one. They said it is a vehicle they do not have but will take delivery of and would email me the information. They said we could do a deal on it right away and then I would have it as soon as it arrives. Ok. I never got the email. I contacted them two more times and no email. I decided to go back to the first dealership and tell them exactly what I wanted. They explained to me why I did not really want blue and why I do not want the EX. 

 

One thing I did get out of the return trip though is that oddly, I cannot fit a car seat in the middle of the middle row of the Odyssey. Both seats would need to be on the outboard or would not fit. We need use of the seats. We cannot access the back row if both outboard middle row seats have car seats installed. And we cannot reach to the back to strap in a rear facing baby. So, we are postponing the purchase. 

 

But seriously, has anyone been able to go to a dealership and say they wanted this model in that color and been able to get it?

 

We have two large, rear-facing car seats in the outboard and middle seats on our Oddy (2012 I think?). The outboard seats shift a few inches to the outside. I can't remember the technical term for it, but I'm sure it's in the manual. Check the forums here for which seats should work in the car you want: http://www.car-seat.org/

[J-rap]

The way it seems to work in our area, is that a chain of dealerships within a large metro area will have different models/colors on site.  So, one dealership may end up sending you to one of their other dealerships (could be up to an hour away) that has the exact model and color that you want.  I always assumed that they could otherwise order exactly what you want, but that it could take awhile to get it and might be a higher price? But I have no idea really.

 

I didn't know you could do most of this online.  I wonder if you can bargain for a few extras when you do it online though?  For example, when we bought our Honda CRV two years ago, we were at the dealership all afternoon it seems like, but were able to get them to throw in some extras like a cross bar on top, all-weather mats, etc., at no charge, as well as take off a little more on our trade-in.  But, maybe online they would have given us all of that right away, who knows! :)

 

[purplejackmama]

Yep found the exact car we wanted, online. Flew to pick it up, dealer gave us a ride from the airport. We drove it home the next day. Best car buying experience I've ever had :)

[Georgiana Daniels]

Ask them to do a dealer trade. I'm sure most places will still do those.

 

It's where they find the exact car you want, they call that dealership and swap them for a car that the other dealership will take. Then they have someone drive their car over and swap it out. I used to make extra money swapping cars for dealerships all the time.

[Tammyla]

We purchased a car last year, and yes the sales people do try to steer you to what they want to sell.  Just pick a sales person and give them the specs and exactly what you want...then tell them to call you when they have it.  It's less work for them to sell you whats on the lot and it might mean less $$$ if they have to get a vehicle from another dealer, but they do it all the time.   Also if you can bend on something like color...(Don't tell them.) but that's an easy way to get the car you want for possibly less money esp. if it's on their lot.

 

Good luck, be strong and willing to invest some time and effort on-line helps, but as someone mentioned, they often don't actually have the car yet, or it sold or whatever :auto: .  Towards the end of the month is a better time to buy, oh and summer is their big-easy selling time...lots of people want to buy a new car in the summer.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Tammyla

[purplejackmama]

Ask them to do a dealer trade. I'm sure most places will still do those.

 

It's where they find the exact car you want, they call that dealership and swap them for a car that the other dealership will take. Then they have someone drive their car over and swap it out. I used to make extra money swapping cars for dealerships all the time.

We tried this but the car was in "such high demand" that the dealer wasn't willing to swap.

 

No clue if this was true or not, but that's the story the local guy told us. So we bought it from the out of state dealer.

[Annie G]

Ask them to do a dealer trade. I'm sure most places will still do those.

 

It's where they find the exact car you want, they call that dealership and swap them for a car that the other dealership will take. Then they have someone drive their car over and swap it out. I used to make extra money swapping cars for dealerships all the time.

 

That's what they do here all the time. One of my friends has a job driving for a dealership- that's all he does is take a car to swap for another or take cars to and from auctions for the dealer. It's super common here- you just tell the dealer what you're looking for and they find it.

 

ETA: I missed that we're talking about Hondas. When our kids were little we were buying a new car and called the Honda dealer to arrange to come test fit our carseats before we bought a van. Nope. They said they were selling so fast that they didn't allow that, would allow ONE of us to test drive the car, and no kids were allowed to even sit in the car.  Hondas sell easily enough that they don't often feel compelled to go the extra mile to get you the car you want. 

 

We mostly buy Chevys. 

Edited June 9, 2016 by Annie G

[NorthwestMom]

I have a 2016 Odyssey and you are definitely correct that a carseat will not fit in the middle of the middle row of that model year.

[Crimson Wife]

If you're a Costco member, you can use their car buying service to get a no-haggle deal. It's possible that a good negotiator could walk out the door with a lower price than Costco's but being able to get in and get out without having to deal with pushy sales staff may be worth sacrificing the possibility of saving a teeny bit more.

 

We used USAA rather than Costco since we needed a small loan to bridge the gap between our savings and the purchase price on the one vehicle we purchased new. But we got quoted the exact same price from both USAA and Costco.

[EmseB]

The dealership's internet sales division. It's been awhile since I've done it, but I've found the car I want online, negotiated via email, and went in to pay. There's still some haggling, but it's not near as bad.

Edited June 9, 2016 by JodiSue

[EmseB]

Our 2012 Ody fits a full size convertible in the middle seat of the middle row, fwiw.

[Georgiana Daniels]

We tried this but the car was in "such high demand" that the dealer wasn't willing to swap.

 

No clue if this was true or not, but that's the story the local guy told us. So we bought it from the out of state dealer.

 

That happens sometimes. I'd think *most* dealerships would be willing to work with you, but there are sticklers who don't feel the need to. When I was doing dealer trades, we drove from AZ to Nevada to do a trade once. That was actually kind of a fun day....

[Janeway]

Our 2012 Ody fits a full size convertible in the middle seat of the middle row, fwiw.

Yes, but can you pop up the outboard seat to get in the back after you put that seat in the middle?

[kroe1]

I have always had good luck buying new cars from dealerships. But, perhaps it is because I have "financially stupid" written on my forehead.

[cjzimmer1]

My husband and I have decided exactly which car we want. But when we went to the dealership, they had different models and colors and tried to push those on us. We went on to a different dealership and they were worse. I got home and decided to search from home for which dealers had the car I wanted and found two. Both were a distance away so I called the first one. They said it is a vehicle they do not have but will take delivery of and would email me the information. They said we could do a deal on it right away and then I would have it as soon as it arrives. Ok. I never got the email. I contacted them two more times and no email. I decided to go back to the first dealership and tell them exactly what I wanted. They explained to me why I did not really want blue and why I do not want the EX. 

 

One thing I did get out of the return trip though is that oddly, I cannot fit a car seat in the middle of the middle row of the Odyssey. Both seats would need to be on the outboard or would not fit. We need use of the seats. We cannot access the back row if both outboard middle row seats have car seats installed. And we cannot reach to the back to strap in a rear facing baby. So, we are postponing the purchase. 

 

But seriously, has anyone been able to go to a dealership and say they wanted this model in that color and been able to get it?

 

When we bought our last car and the dealer didn't have the specific model we wanted they arranged to get one from another dealer nearby.  They have some kind of trade agreement with many (maybe all) the dealers within a few hundred miles of us.  They brought it up on the computer and showed us our choices (because we didn't specify a color, they were showing us all the choices).

 

As far as the seating thing, I'm a little confused. Going off your signature line, I'm guessing you have two in car seats/boosters and 1 rear facing and then two older kids.  Are you saying your rear facing seat doesn't fit in the middle even with the seats on outboard?  I'm not sure why you would have car seats on both the outer seats in the middle row.  Couldn't you put one of those in the back?

 

We have a 2014 Odyssey.  We have our 3 year old in a rear facing seat in the middle third row (not every car seat will fit in this spot but there were several choices.  I checked on car-seat.org).  The two sides are in the outboard position where our 15 and 18 year old sit.  In the back we have a booster for the 7 year old (but have done two car seats and another child in the past).  With 6 kids, every single seat is always occupied.

 

One other thing to think about, considering the price of a vehicle, I found it easier to purchase car seats to fit in the vehicle that worked best for us rather than trying to buy a vehicle that fit the car seats we already owned.

[cjzimmer1]

Yes, but can you pop up the outboard seat to get in the back after you put that seat in the middle?

 

In our 2014 Odyssey we can, but I expect that could vary depending on the specific car seat you are using.

Edited June 9, 2016 by cjzimmer1

[carriede]

We just bought a Yukon XL, lowest trim style.

 

We did our search exclusively online at cars.com and autotrader.com. When we found one we were interested enough in, we went and saw it. We went to the dealer and said, We saw X car online, do you still have it in stock? Some we called before hand.

 

Good luck!

[Arcadia]

We can't get the color if we want the same day because all the local dealers may not have that combination. We can get the color and model if we can wait a week because the local Toyota and Honda dealers get a shipment at least once a week so they just need to request.

 

The hardest to get same day was the 8-seater Sienna or Odyssey. Most don't have it in stock and those that had only had one.

[cjzimmer1]

I have a 2016 Odyssey and you are definitely correct that a carseat will not fit in the middle of the middle row of that model year.

 

Really?  I didn't think they changed anything in the seating configuration in the last few years.  We were planning on buying a 2016 last fall but the dealer didn't have them in stock yet.  We went to a different dealer that had them in stock but while waiting for the salesman we discovered a great deal they had on a used 2014.  They told us the seating was the same in both models (and has been the same since 2012 or maybe it was 11).  We didn't  actually load the seats into the 16 because the 14 was a much better deal for us but our rear facing convertible fits just fine in the middle seat and we can always slide the seat forward to get to the back.

[Alessandra]

Ask them to do a dealer trade. I'm sure most places will still do those.

 

It's where they find the exact car you want, they call that dealership and swap them for a car that the other dealership will take. Then they have someone drive their car over and swap it out. I used to make extra money swapping cars for dealerships all the time.

That's what I did. I preferred to buy locally, but got prices all around. Dealer swapped cars with another dealership -/ not a chain, but another company they dealt with.

 

Dealer did try very hard to sell me a car he had in stock that wasn't what I wanted. The magic words seemed be that I was looking at other dealerships, but would prefer to buy from him. A bit hard nosed on my part, but also a bit nice.

[SparklyUnicorn]

You can now do so much online and via text. DH bought the last firm car that way. He emailed what he wanted to a few dealers and finished negotiations via text. It was much less painful than normal!

 

Ya know, I have not found this to be true.  I would LOVE to buy a car on-line.  Last time we bought one I wasn't able to do that.  I could shop around on-line, but not actually buy the car on-line.

 

I also printed out one of those True Car quotes to take to a specific dealer for a specific car.  I shopped around on-line for a lower than the True Car price and printed that too.  They gave me the lower price. 

 

So on-line definitely made it quicker.  I didn't have to go to several dealers.  But then there are some mega dealers around here who have on-line stuff, but they are sneaky.  They want you to call them.  Probably so they can haggle with you on the phone. 

[Joules]

If you're a Costco member, you can use their car buying service to get a no-haggle deal. It's possible that a good negotiator could walk out the door with a lower price than Costco's but being able to get in and get out without having to deal with pushy sales staff may be worth sacrificing the possibility of saving a teeny bit more.

 

We used USAA rather than Costco since we needed a small loan to bridge the gap between our savings and the purchase price on the one vehicle we purchased new. But we got quoted the exact same price from both USAA and Costco.

My credit union offered a service like this and it was great!

[dirty ethel rackham]

Wow.  I know that many car dealers are dishonest, but I have never been treated like that.  We are always firm but nice.  If they start giving us the runaround, dh and I have a conversation loud enough for them to hear about how we should probably go to x-dealership in the next town instead.  Or, if all else fails, we say, "let's just go to Carmax and be done with it."  They want our business more than we want to work with them and they know it. 

 

The only time I had a hard time with a dealership was with the parts&service guy.  We had a seat belt that wasn't working properly and we also has some regular maintenance work that needed to be done.  So, I scheduled an appointment so that it would be done in plenty of time for us to take the car on a long trip for vacation.  Well, I got a call back the day I was supposed to pick up the car to find out that the replacement seatbelt ordered was the wrong color and we would just have to be happy with that one or we would have to wait another week.  Since we were leaving in 2 days for vacation, I told them that neither option was good enough, that we needed to use that seat (he told us to just use the back seat and leave that one empty.)  They had the car for plenty of time to have noticed their error and that they should fix it.  They said that no other dealerships had that part in that color.  I called around and found a dealership that did have the part, but it was an hour away.  The parts manager refused to send someone to pick it up.  So we called the person who sold us the car (it was 4 years old by then.)  Since he was hoping for repeat business and really cared about the satisfaction ratings, he busted his tail to make sure we were happy. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Our credit union offers a car buying service, but they charge a higher rate for their loans when you use that service.  I know nobody does anything for free, but I'd rather just do it myself to save a bit of money.  It's not that difficult.

 

 

[EmseB]

Yes, but can you pop up the outboard seat to get in the back after you put that seat in the middle?

 

Yes, although maybe with a Britax Advocate (with the really wide head wings) it might rub.  I did it with a Chicco Nextfit, and I think it would also work with our Pria85, but I haven't tried it.  I can try later if you'd be really interested to know.

[Guest]

I also suggest shopping your trade through multiple dealers. The amount is going to vary significantly in most cases. Negotiate the price of the car and the price of the trade in your head as two separate deals. You might get a better price on the new vehicle at Dealer A, but they might screw you on the trade. Dealer B might come in $200 over on the price of the new car than A did, but they give you 1500 more on your trade. So dealer B is the win. Both numbers- car price and trade in value- are equally valuable. A lot of dealers offer these amazing online deals because they plan on you knowing zilch about your trade and they will make all of their money there, leaving you feeling like you got this awesome deal when you really left several thousand on the table.

 

If you are financing- just remember- Never negotiate off of monthly payment. That is one of the surest ways to get taken advantage of. Know your monthly payment when you walk in because you know what you will pay and what your interest rate is because you already went through your credit union to get preapproved for the loan. If they can beat the rate at the dealership, great. But have your own financing secured before hand. If you are paying cash, keep that nugget to yourself ahead of time as well. They won't make as much off of you if you and they know it. The deal making might change. They're going to play the four square game and so you have to know ahead of time what those four numbers are. 

 

If you aren't comfortable negotiating, the Costco or credit union negotiators are probably a good way to go. They will usually get you the car for something similar to invoice plus $100 or so. If memory serves however, Honda tends to not deal off of invoice. That may have changed though since the years I was more up to date with everything. But however you do it- KNOW YOUR TRADE IN VALUE. 

[zoobie]

Yes, but can you pop up the outboard seat to get in the back after you put that seat in the middle?

Yes, with both a Radian XT and Chicco NextFit in the middle seat. If you can, take the seat with you. That forum I linked often has videos of seats fitting in cars.

[cera2]

I decided exactly what I wanted and looked online to find the dealer incentives and holdback information.  Then, I decided exactly how much I was willing to pay (I included some profit for the dealer) and started making phone calls.  I called the closest dealership and worked my way out in concentric circles until one agreed to sell me what I wanted for what I was willing to pay (47 dealerships over a few weeks).  My offer was decent and I explained to each one how I arrived at my number and let them know I wasn't negotiating but if they wanted to call me back they could (four did end up calling back but I had already made the purchase).

[Guest]

We do it all on email.  We never even test drive.  We do go to a dealer and sit in the car, because you can't tell about visibility and actual *sit* from specs.  Most other things you can, though.  The hardest info to be certain about is the driving decibel level, but you can't tell that from a test drive, anyway, at least not all the circs.  It's different in rain vs on a sunny day where the asphalt is hot.  

 

We are flexible on exterior color (we have a required set of interior colors--NOT GRAY NOT BLACK NOT IN SEATTLE!), and somewhat on add-on packages.  

 

We never even met the sales guy on our last two purchases until we had come to terms on email.  

[Plateau Mama]

The Honda dealer would only let us pick from a list of incoming cars. No customization. If the car I wanted wasn't already ordered tough luck.

 

Toyota let me order exactly the car I wanted. If it hadn't left the factory I could order whatever I wanted.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

What my mil does is decide what cars she would be happy with.  Then she goes to the dealerships and says that she is buying a car that weekend, will be paying with a cashiers check and what is their best price for XYZ.  If that isn't a price she is willing to pay, then she says thank you and leaves.  She generally gets chased down in the parking lot.  

[Ali in OR]

Can you remove a seat and still fit all of your kids?

 

We have a 2012 Odyssey that was converted to fit a wheelchair. They had to remove the middle seat of the second row and we have no third row, all to fit the wheelchair in back (rear entry). I was wondering if the middle seat is removable and could you then get three in back?

 

When we had three littles, we had our 2000 Odyssey. For a few years we had one of the captain seats (2nd row) out and sitting in our garage so we could easily get all three kids in--disabled dd in other captain seat and her two younger sisters in car seats in the now easily-reached third row.

[gardenmom5]

my van.

 

I wanted all but one option.  there was ONE in all of FIVE states.

 

the first dealership did the guppy impression when I said what I wanted and how much I would pay for it.  and that I wasn't interested in negotiating.  they could take it or leave it.  they wanted me to pay more than the costco deal.  (uh, no.  costco is a great deal for the dealership, and that was still less than what they wanted me to pay.)  

 

next dealership . . . they had fully loaded - and were willing to sell it to me for the same price as I'd pay without that option.

[6packofun]

I keep seeing warnings on the news about how vehicles that have been in flooded areas--as in, the vehicle was submerged!--get put into the used car market.  How does one protect oneself against that sort of thing if you're doing it all online and/or over the phone?  Are any of you pros getting your vehicles checked by your own mechanic, etc.?

[Guest]

I keep seeing warnings on the news about how vehicles that have been in flooded areas--as in, the vehicle was submerged!--get put into the used car market.  How does one protect oneself against that sort of thing if you're doing it all online and/or over the phone?  Are any of you pros getting your vehicles checked by your own mechanic, etc.?

 

Personally, we haven't really been too concerned with this. I don't think it happens much with new cars, plus there's the warranty, and even if we buy used we buy with mileage to where the warranty is still in effect for at least six months. There are certain dealer chains around here I would not buy from because they have a reputation for flipping flooded cars, but I'm honestly not sure how true it is. Like you, I've seen it on the news but I've never known anyone encounter it in real life.

 

We don't typically have a mechanic check anything out to be honest, but I do have our insurance agents run the VIN on used cars we are looking at. Sometimes you will have wrecks pop up on the insurance database that aren't on the CarFax, and I have noticed that StateFarm for some reason can pull up data that say, Liberty Mutual can't. I'm not sure how that works, but I've had LM give me the all clear, and my friend at SF call me back with info for claims out of California or something.  

[Guest]

What my mil does is decide what cars she would be happy with.  Then she goes to the dealerships and says that she is buying a car that weekend, will be paying with a cashiers check and what is their best price for XYZ.  If that isn't a price she is willing to pay, then she says thank you and leaves.  She generally gets chased down in the parking lot.  

 

This happened to us, too, on the first car we ever bought together.  :0)

[catz]

For a Honda? No. We found the salespeople barely willing to give us the time of day. Evidently those vehicles sell themselves. We looked at them twice. We now own 2 Kia's though and have been very happy with them and have not had trouble.

[Janeway]

I feel bad as they gave us the price we wanted now, we dealt with them via text only, and the color we wanted, the model we wanted, on a vehicle to be delivered next week, and I don't want it anymore. It is because we tried the car seats in the Odyssey and could not figure out a configuration that works. Otherwise, we would go for it. 

[Guest]

I feel bad as they gave us the price we wanted now, we dealt with them via text only, and the color we wanted, the model we wanted, on a vehicle to be delivered next week, and I don't want it anymore. It is because we tried the car seats in the Odyssey and could not figure out a configuration that works. Otherwise, we would go for it. 

 

Well, at least you know the PROCESS worked.  Tell them the reason, so that good people who get you what you want won't be left wondering "what happened?" and go back to the old ways.  

[melmichigan]

dp

Edited June 10, 2016 by melmichigan

[melmichigan]

I sat down with spreadsheets and built my Jeep down to the penny based on dealer cost (not manufacturer), made sure I had approved financing that the dealer could match or beat, and showed up at the dealer with everything in hand.  It took about thirty minutes to build it online and then I followed it from the factory line to the dealer lot via online links.  The dealer made their money in the shortest amount of time, which we both appreciated, and I got exactly what I wanted down to the stitching on the seats. ;)

[maize]

I sat down with spreadsheets and built my Jeep down to the penny based on dealer cost (not manufacturer), made sure I had approved financing that the dealer could match or beat, and showed up at the dealer with everything in hand.  It took about thirty minutes to build it online and then I followed it from the factory line to the dealer lot via online links.  The dealer made their money in the shortest amount of time, which we both appreciated, and I got exactly what I wanted down to the stitching on the seats. :)

 

How do you find out dealer cost?

[melmichigan]

How do you find out dealer cost?

I got mine online.

 

I did the same thing with the warranty a few months after I bought the Jeep.  I searched online for the dealer cost, called the dealer and said I'd take the x,y, z warranty if they could do it for a certain price on a zero interest payment plan and signed the papers the next day.  I got what I wanted and the dealer got the sale credits for less than five minutes of his time (this works especially well if you call at the end of a slow month).

 

It just takes some time to do the research, and to understand invoice versus msrp pricing.  It was worth my time to get exactly what I wanted (and I've wanted a Wrangler for 20 years) and to get it at the absolutely lowest price available, with the lowest possible interest. 

Edited June 10, 2016 by melmichigan

[gardenmom5]

I keep seeing warnings on the news about how vehicles that have been in flooded areas--as in, the vehicle was submerged!--get put into the used car market.  How does one protect oneself against that sort of thing if you're doing it all online and/or over the phone?  Are any of you pros getting your vehicles checked by your own mechanic, etc.?

 

vin#s. rip back carpet - you shouldn't see any mold. get a title history, it may tell you if it's been in the area of floods.

 

Personally, we haven't really been too concerned with this. I don't think it happens much with new cars, plus there's the warranty, and even if we buy used we buy with mileage to where the warranty is still in effect for at least six months. There are certain dealer chains around here I would not buy from because they have a reputation for flipping flooded cars, but I'm honestly not sure how true it is. Like you, I've seen it on the news but I've never known anyone encounter it in real life.

 

We don't typically have a mechanic check anything out to be honest, but I do have our insurance agents run the VIN on used cars we are looking at. Sometimes you will have wrecks pop up on the insurance database that aren't on the CarFax, and I have noticed that StateFarm for some reason can pull up data that say, Liberty Mutual can't. I'm not sure how that works, but I've had LM give me the all clear, and my friend at SF call me back with info for claims out of California or something.  

 

dealerships still get flooded out.  flooding voids the warranty.

[mamajag]

Yeah, I've done it. I had to be a bit rude, especially as I was a female buying a Mustang. I wanted a specific red in a middle of the road package without the performance package. Performance package came with summer-only tires and I have no interest in swapping tires twice a year.

I found 3 dealers who had what I was looking for.

• The first one was really patronizing and told me to ask my husband to explain to me why I wanted the performance package. Crossed him off the list immediately.
• The second had it in stock and waiting but it was an hour away and they weren't fantastic about returning calls or emails. He was in the hunt but not really into selling a Mustang to a woman.
• The third one was completely unaware that Ford was sending them that car and had to call Ford to ask about its arrival and would email me when it arrived. It was a 3-day wait. Nice guy there. Would have bought there had the following not happened.

In the meantime, I had put in an inquiry on Ford's website and a 4th dealer cold called me. They had a Ruby Mustang with the interior color I wanted but it was the highest package and had nav...two things I wasn't interested in. The sales guy was polite but insistent and finally gave me the internet sales price on the car and the negotiated starting point was lower on it than the other 3 dealers with the lower package. I went to the dealer, drove the car, realized it had been on the lot since December (thank you, lojack card!) and still had only 3 miles on it. I played hard to get and got it for a steal because no one had even asked to look at it in 4 months.

Always at least look at the numbers when they offer a higher package because sometimes you luck into a nicer car simply because it lost at car shopping roulette and they are desperate to get it off of their lot. I've done this with cars twice.

But all in all my advice is to know what you want and do the hunt for your specifics online, not in person. It saves a lot of time, headache, and needing to explain why this car needs to be the perfect hue or you won't buy. Don't be afraid to cut them off. Bluntness is your friend.