I can identify with the lady who filled out this report. I am a young college student who is also looking to buy a car. (My car, a Toyota Celica, was totalled in an accident.) I am looking to buy a car within the next month, and have narrowed my choices to a couple of car models.
My boyfriend and I went into Keyes Toyota in Van Nuys (on Van Nuys Blvd.) and told the salesman I was looking to buy a 2000 or 2001 Celica GTS. I asked him if had a 2000 or 2001 GTS, and he said they did. He asked if I wanted to take a look at the new ones, but I told him that I really would like to see a used one because that is more in my price range. He said "Just take a look at the new ones", so I figured fine, I'll take a quick look at the new ones and compare them to the used ones to see what the price difference was between new and used.
He showed me the new Celica's, which were between $21,000-$26,000. The only new Celica GTS they had was a manual, and I was looking for an automatic, so they did not even have a new one that I liked. After 10 minutes of looking at the new cars, I told him I wanted to see the used Celica's he supposedly had.
He insisted he had some in stock, but kept asking why not a new Celica? I told him once again that I wanted to see a used Celica. We went back into the showroom waiting area, and he told my boyfriend and I to wait while he went to "go check his stock".
Five minutes later, he comes back with a man who introduces himself as a "manager". (I believe he was a closer.) The manager then asked why I want to see a new one, when they are having a zero down payment special on new ones. Once again, I repeated what I had told the salesman, which is I wanted to see what the price difference was between new and used ones.
I also told him that I was looking at another possible car, which is the Ford Mustang GT. He said "Why would you want to buy something that's not realiable?". They went into their whole financing pitch and took out credit report papers and everything to try to get me financed into a new one! All this and I did not even get to test drive a single Celica, and there was not even one car I was interested in buying!
These guys were already trying to push paperwork and financing on me when I didn't even have a car in mind! Believe me, we walked out of there in disbelief at the crap they were trying to pull. I asked once again if they had any Celica GTS's to show me, and they said they did have them in stock, but they would show me one when I was ready to buy!
The next day, a woman from the Keyes Toyota dealership called me. She claimed she works directly with the owners, and wanted to know why Keyes Toyota couldn't do anything for me. I told her that within the 20 minutes I was there, they were already trying to talk about financing and all this without me having a specific car in mind or test driving a car!
I also told her my experience was bad, and I did not want to deal with anything like that ever again. She apologized for my experience, and she checked her database and told me there were NO USED 2001 CELICAs in stock! When she said that, I told her that even as I left, the so-called manager and the salesman were still insisting they had the used Celica's in stock, and I did not appreciate being lied to!
When a woman shops for a car, the salesman are much more aggressive and much more manipulative. It is such a headache to shop for a car at a dealership. After my experience with the Keyes Toyota dealership, I decided I'm going to buy my car private party. I've had friends and family buy private party, and the experience was much better than that of dealerships.
Usually private party sellers just want to get a decent price for their car, so you usually get a good deal. You don't have to deal with the bullsh*t that comes from the middleman (the dealer), with their salesman and managers trying to milk you for as much as they can so they can get more commission. If you buy private party, I recommend taking the car (before you buy it) to a mechanic and having him check it out to make sure the car is running good and has no problems.
For the lady in Glendale, you can find lots of cars in your price range Auto Buys, Auto Trader, and Recycler. (These magazines also each have a website to look for cars.) And I'm sure you can find lots of Camry's within your price range. Financing might be a problem as you said, but I am sure you can find other options to help you.
As for the guy who was venting, the lady in Glendale was just saying that she feels that she might have been treated this way because she is a woman AND ethnic. I read her letter and I can't believe that kind of treatment she received. Maybe she was treated that way because she was a woman, or maybe they just treat all people like crap. Young people at dealerships get treated like crap and not taken seriously because it is assumed they have no money to buy a car. I encountered this often when I was shopping for my first Celica; I was 18 and some of the salesman wouldn't let me test drive because they assumed I had no money to buy. And sales people can also be very prejudiced when people come in dressed a certain way. I've gone in wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt looking to buy, but was treated like I was poor.
Basically the only people who are treated better and taken more seriously are nicely-dressed older people.
Elaine
Woodland Hills, California
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