Unbelievable bad experience trying to buy a C6 - Lexus of Smithtown
07-04-2012, 01:56 PM
#1
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Unbelievable bad experience trying to buy a C6 - Lexus of Smithtown
Well, I have been back and forth deciding between buying a new 427, '12 or '13 GS Vert or used Vert. Nice thing about a used Vert I would not have to borrow any money.
After looking for the past few months I finally found the one I wanted to buy last weekend. A '07 Lemans Blue manual Convertible came on the market at Lexus of Smithtown. His price on his web site and AutoTrader was $37k. I emailed and called Monday morning with a whole list of questions, some of which were not answered, including the one about a clean CarFax. I was worried because he offered free CarFax on all his other late model used cars, but not this one. Spent my money and got a carFax report (it was clean) and called around most of Monday afternoon to get prices to truck it home. Told "sales consultant" I was going to make cash offer as soon as I knew CarFax and trucking cost. Went to web site Monday at 6:00 PM when I got home to get phone number and stock number and they raised the price from $37,000 to $41,995 on Autotrader and $42,055 on their web site, UP NEARLY $5,000. I emailed "sales consultant" and he basically said too bad, this was going to be the price they put the wrong one on the car ... but come and see it because it was a great car. So, I went to their web site today and they raised the price again, now it's $44,353, UP ANOTHER $2,300. Greedy, greedy, greedy car dealer. Needless to say, won't buy a car there.
So I am out what I spent on the CarFax, my time calling around for transport and back to square one. Unbelievable.
After looking for the past few months I finally found the one I wanted to buy last weekend. A '07 Lemans Blue manual Convertible came on the market at Lexus of Smithtown. His price on his web site and AutoTrader was $37k. I emailed and called Monday morning with a whole list of questions, some of which were not answered, including the one about a clean CarFax. I was worried because he offered free CarFax on all his other late model used cars, but not this one. Spent my money and got a carFax report (it was clean) and called around most of Monday afternoon to get prices to truck it home. Told "sales consultant" I was going to make cash offer as soon as I knew CarFax and trucking cost. Went to web site Monday at 6:00 PM when I got home to get phone number and stock number and they raised the price from $37,000 to $41,995 on Autotrader and $42,055 on their web site, UP NEARLY $5,000. I emailed "sales consultant" and he basically said too bad, this was going to be the price they put the wrong one on the car ... but come and see it because it was a great car. So, I went to their web site today and they raised the price again, now it's $44,353, UP ANOTHER $2,300. Greedy, greedy, greedy car dealer. Needless to say, won't buy a car there.
So I am out what I spent on the CarFax, my time calling around for transport and back to square one. Unbelievable.
Last edited by MDK9950; 07-04-2012 at 01:57 PM. Reason: sp
07-04-2012, 02:03 PM
#5
Racer
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Its probably been said before...carfax is not worth the paper it's printed on due to the lack of reporting ...just last month I looked at 10 different late model cars ,all with clean reports that were wrecked at one point in their lives ,very disappointing for me and my customers...If you find another one get it checked out by a mechanic
Last edited by tonysrep; 07-04-2012 at 02:05 PM.
07-04-2012, 02:12 PM
#7
Burning Brakes
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07-04-2012, 02:18 PM
#8
Burning Brakes
Its probably been said before...carfax is not worth the paper it's printed on due to the lack of reporting ...just last month I looked at 10 different late model cars ,all with clean reports that were wrecked at one point in their lives ,very disappointing for me and my customers...If you find another one get it checked out by a mechanic
The other steps are your own inspection/drive, dealer/owner service record reviews, and professional inspection. I would NEVER skip any of these steps when buying a used car--including carfax.
Last edited by Texan1Z06; 07-04-2012 at 02:32 PM.
07-04-2012, 02:19 PM
#10
Drifting
Kbb is about 40500
So they probably did put up the wrong price. But should have worked with you. Maybe they gave the trade in 37k for it which is high but the new car had a lot of profit to offset. Used cars are going for a premium now days! If you really want it try to work with sales manager and not a schmuck salesman.
Or go on to the next one but that color is popular.
Should have just got it quick before they realized. Hope it works out.
So they probably did put up the wrong price. But should have worked with you. Maybe they gave the trade in 37k for it which is high but the new car had a lot of profit to offset. Used cars are going for a premium now days! If you really want it try to work with sales manager and not a schmuck salesman.
Or go on to the next one but that color is popular.
Should have just got it quick before they realized. Hope it works out.
07-04-2012, 02:29 PM
#11
Race Director
KBB can be too high though. I looked at Edmunds, a base 2007 Vert with around 40k miles on it is $30k certified, $27k private. There is no way a 2007 Vert is in the high $30k range, definitely not in the $40k range. A few exceptions might be ultra low mileage or the indy pace car.
As soon as you said you will make a "cash" offer they knew it was not going to be $37k. Also their asking price doesn't mean anything unless they can sell it at that price. A LOT of dealers overprice their cars to give them more room to sell it at a somewhat fair price. Then some leaves the lot with the car for say $37k and they think they got a killer deal, at least until they research it on this site or another one.
But Corvette Magazine will tell them they got a good deal no matter what.
As soon as you said you will make a "cash" offer they knew it was not going to be $37k. Also their asking price doesn't mean anything unless they can sell it at that price. A LOT of dealers overprice their cars to give them more room to sell it at a somewhat fair price. Then some leaves the lot with the car for say $37k and they think they got a killer deal, at least until they research it on this site or another one.
But Corvette Magazine will tell them they got a good deal no matter what.
07-04-2012, 02:30 PM
#12
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St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
That does not discredit carfax at all. Carfax is not the end all be all, it is simply 1 step in the process in buying a pre-owned vehicle. If information is available on the car thru carfax, you should know about it. If it shows up clean it's a good sign, but it does not guarantee a clean history like you said. If it shows up dirty, it does not mean it is dirty....... like 1 mileage discrepancy. This can be a mileage error entered by 2 different dealerships. Also, if it shows up dirty, there might be other worse things that didn't make to the report. It's just 1 step in the process in gathering info.
The others are your own inspection/drive, service record reviews, and professional inspection. I would NEVER skip any of these steps when buying a used car.
The others are your own inspection/drive, service record reviews, and professional inspection. I would NEVER skip any of these steps when buying a used car.
"just last month I looked at 10 different late model cars ,all with clean reports that were wrecked at one point in their lives ,very disappointing for me and my customers...If you find another one get it checked out by a mechanic."
07-04-2012, 04:10 PM
#14
The Consigliere
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Patience. Lots of nice low mile vettes out there.
For the price they want for that one you could probably get close to that on a new one or a hold over, with the Forum dealers.
For the price they want for that one you could probably get close to that on a new one or a hold over, with the Forum dealers.
07-04-2012, 04:14 PM
#16
Drifting
Criswell has a 2006 Lemans Blue with manual 29K miles for $35600, I'm sure you'd be able to get them down a bit with a cash deal too. They are a forum vendor and I bought mine from them and was very happy with them. I dealt with Noah over there. From Pittsburgh, you'd be about 3 hours so probably wouldn't need trucking?
http://criswellcorvette.com/Used-Cor...965117510.aspx
http://criswellcorvette.com/Used-Cor...965117510.aspx
07-04-2012, 04:20 PM
#18
The Consigliere
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You're a bad influence. . . . in a good way . . .
07-04-2012, 04:51 PM
#19
Race Director
Prices have soared for Corvettes in the last couple years!
In 2009 I had noone interested in buying my former 2007 VY Z51 car with 27k miles for 30k! As someone mentioned, used car prices in general have rebounded and many cars have appreciated in value.
In any case, at 37k for an 07 vert, I'd be taking a hard look at a *new* base 2012/2013 vert, just a better value at that price point.
In 2009 I had noone interested in buying my former 2007 VY Z51 car with 27k miles for 30k! As someone mentioned, used car prices in general have rebounded and many cars have appreciated in value.
In any case, at 37k for an 07 vert, I'd be taking a hard look at a *new* base 2012/2013 vert, just a better value at that price point.
