I went to a local dealer here in Michigan all set to purchase a 2004 Sportsman 700 - sales man was kind of goofy but I am used to dealing with goofy sales people [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I offered him $6800 out the door for the ATV to which he replied well if you are serious lets write it up put a deposit down on it and I'll take it to my manager. This ticked me off at first..as if he's not the one who can make the deal get me someone who can. More importantly I thought it strange that I'd have to deposit to get a quote...even that though I can understand as dealerships get alot of quote cruisers who simply get the best quote and take it to the next dealer who undercuts $100 and makes the sale. Let me point out thats NOT what I was doing...I had every intention of leaving the dealership with the machine.

Anyway - as he's writing it up and taking my CC info he asks how much I want to deposit...I tell him $200. He then asks how I am going to pay the remainder of the $6800. I tell him I'll put 3k down and finance the rest through Polaris (or another finance company whoever has the best rate).

This is where I get uncomfortable - He looks at me and says well the $6800 is a cash only price I can't go to my manager with this. I look at him for a second (in slight disbelief) and ask him whats the difference to him? He makes the same markup - gets the same holdback from Polaris and to boot he makes a percentage on the financing. Please correct me if I am wrong here? He then says that well Polaris sets the pricing then if its going to be financed...its out of their hands.

Now I know the value of having cash on hand to make deals etc...and if I am wrong please tell me...but I just didn't feel like he was being on the up and up. I thanked him kindly, told him to cancel what he was doing and left the dealership.

If anyone who works at a dealer want to comment on who was or wasn't in the wrong or who was misunderstanding how things work...please enlighten me

At this point I am with another dealer - looking to get a 2004 Sportsman 700EFI with Glacier plow system and 2.5 winch for $7300 (out the door - including tax title and license) - I thought that was a good deal, do you?

Thanks to all the members posts who've helped me this far weed out the BS from the truth.

 

The dealer is putting you on. You dont need to put a dime down to get a quote. You should be able to get the final price before any paperwork is signed.

The "i have to see my manager" trick is the oldest in the book. He's working you and you almost bit. Just be more careful next time you go into the dealer.

 

Yeah, that sounds super shady to me!

The first thing that I usually do is get them to write me up a quote! If it is a new bike they are the ones that have the price tag! Once, you give them the $6800 amount then they do all there BS and come back with there price etc... money down for a quote? WTF???? That sounds like BS, you should have called him out on that one!

Well now that I think of it, was he new? It sounds like they usually ask how much down.. Then you say your $3000 and then finance the rest! I wonder if you said you would put $3000 down for a quote? Actually, better yet say $1 down for the quote! See what he comes up with... Humm, I wish I lived near the area, I would go in there just to see what they were all about.

If I were you, just by doing a quick search don't even mention your $6800 OTD. I would ask way less! What are the doc. fees, etc.? And looking at it again, is this a dealer incentive/price? I know some dealers offer less for all cash deals. Try it one more time! I think the outcome would be way different. If not check other dealers. Or be plain and simple and ask for the sales manager, tell him your previous experience, and say I would like to purchase an ATV here but I am seriously thinking about going elsewhere because of your salesman. And if you want to sell that ATV right there we will talk business right now.

just for kicks!

Good luck,
Sorry for the rant -Tom

 

I did argue with him for a couple minutes - and made him feel pretty uncomfortable. I guess he's used to dealing with hillbillies who don't have good credit and don't understand financing. Not that I am the wiz - but...


I figured hey I'd show him I was serious with a deposit...credit card transactions can be reversed by me easily...so nothing hurting me there.

I don't pay document fees period! Its another BS charge - why dealers feel the need to hit you with another $100 and make it look like its mandatory is just crazy.

Funny I looked at their Better Business Burea report and shockingly it reported that this was not a reputable business and had complaints that weren't addressed by the management.

Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't Out the Door mean - including document prep (if someone were silly enough to pay it), dealer prep, taxes, and title?

Don't worry about the rant...thats why I posted...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Yeah, OTD (out the door). The final price that you paid or agreed to pay with everything included.

Price of vehicle
+Taxes
+licenses
+Dealer fees(doc fees or freight)
+additional goodies
+warranties
=OTD

 

that salesman is a junktalker. most are.look at all my previously owned quad list.i NEVER had to or would pay for a quote price.to be honest i never even heard of that .dont deal with that chump.there are plenty of other dealers who are good to the people who support their living.good luck

 

Hi when you experience problems with a dealer like this ( especially if the better business bureau does not like them ). You should POst their name , state and location to warn other potential customers / victims


PINKMOON

 

I agree - Michigan Powersports in Ypsilanti.

 

That is used car mentality talking there... I'd have said get the manager right then and there and been done with this jerk.. then when the manager came, I'd tell him that this jerk just cost him a sale, flash the cash and walk out the door.

It is not unusual to ask for an out the door price, and dealers make MORE money on a financed machine than a cash deal. In fact, they perfer you finance the WHOLE deal, as their kickback is a percentage on the financed deal, so they get more money that way.

That guy was pure BS. He should have stuck to the bait and switch vaccuum cleaner sales job he had prior to this gig.

 

There is another side to this. I'm familiar with this other side as we started selling mini-bikes this summer thinking that it would be more profitable for my college kid to sell on commision then the 6-8 weeks of summer jobs she normaly gets. Needless to say - we learned a lot.

1) If we had made $1 an hour for every hour we spent talking to perspective customers who were interested in the bikes - We'd have made a lot more money.

2) Cash is worth more. A 2.9% credit card merchant rate on credit cards can make a difference in profit on large ticket items.

3) My daughter was "authorized" to discount to a certain price. Anything below that she needed to check in with me "the manager". I did discount further when 2 units were purchased together.

4) It is dangerous to give a commisioned sales person full authority over discounts to close a deal. It can get expensive.

Once you reduce your price "to be a nice guy" its hard to raise it again. Word gets around you discounted $100 off the price tag and now everyone wants $100 or even more off the price tag.

We lost a good deal of profit from kids playing on the mini-bikes, tipping them over and tears in seats.

We sold many bikes. But it wasn't worth the time that was spent. Would have made more money working half the hours at Wal-mart.