I went to one of John Jochem's tent "sales" at Darwin Square. It was advertised in the newspaper that all used cars were priced BELOW wholesale. I am in the market for a minivan so when I got there they asked me how much am I looking to spend and I told them 6000 one of the salesmen (I do not remember his name) showed me a 99 Ford Windstar LX with about 86,000 miles. He told me that the price on that vehicle was $10,000 but that he would work with me to get it close to my budget. So much for the so called sale (The van's value is $3825 in good condition. That one had a relatively dirty interior, needed new tires, and had an idiot light that remained on during the test drive. There is also no warranty on the van.) As a side note, this dealer is famous for jacking up its prices based on the guaranteed trade-in amount. So whatever you give them as a trade is to their benefit because they get something for nothing. After I test drove it, I met the used car manager and negotiations began. At first, because I had said earlier that I had a budget of 6000, the van was offered at 6000. I was told that I would be saving $4000 dollars. What a deal, NOT! I said no, then the manager asked me how much I think the van is worth and I said no more than $4000 (I did not know about it's actual value at the time). He asked me if it was a done deal at that price and I said that I wanted to think about it and check the value of the vehicle. I also wanted to get a Carfax and get my mechanic to check it but I didn't mention it to him. Then he goes on and gives me a b.S. Example about if i were to go buy a pair of Levi's jeans and the price was originally $36.00 and now they are $18.00 would I have to check the value of them before buying it. Jacka*, there is a reason they make value guides on used cars and not for jeans. Then that piece of crap asks me that if the price I check is higher will I pay that higher amount for the car then (Just a bit of advice. If you use NADA or Kelly retail values make sure you divide the value by 2.5 to get a realistic value. Those guides are geared towards dealers wishes. NADA does stand for National Automobile Dealers Association by the way). Of ooure I tell him know because there is no reason for me to pay a higher price if we agree upon this price right now. I insisted that I need to check the value fo the car first. Then I am asked to sign a statement on a paper they asked me to sign earlier titled "Offer to Purchase" that says that when I come back the price of the vehicle will be offered to me in the high 5's which in dealer speak would mean 5995 or 5999. I decline to sign the statement because
1) At that price, I will not be coming back. I know the vehicle is not worth anything near that AND
2) The statement was on the paper titled "Offer to Purchase." If this dealer was corrupt they can make a few modifications and make it seem like I offered to buy the car at that price. Then they can simply accept the offer and I would be stuck with a legally binding contract.
I told the manager that I refused to sign it because I don't want to be ripped off. He then gets nasty and says to me that if I used the term "Rip Off" again, I would not be buying a car from there. I simply walked off and I will never return to their "sales" again.
If anyone ever goes to one of their sales make sure you get a price that is at least 2500 below the price they offer minus the trade-in and NEVER, EVER, GIVE THEM THE TRADE.
Example car listed at 8000 "guaranteed trade-in of 3500"
8000 minus 3500 trade minus 2500 as indicated above= 2000 max you should pay.
The reason for this is because they jack up the prices by the guaranteed trade-in amount at all of their sales.
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