Baiting GMC Dealer

[wjburken]

One time I was out test driving a vehicle and when I got back to the dealership, I was informed that while I was test driving it, a guy who had drove the vehicle earlier in the day, came in and signed all the paperwork to buy it. That was a little surprising to say the least, but that guy was ready to sign in the dotted line and there was a chance I’d pass on the car. If they told the guy to wait and see if I was going to buy it, he very well could have gone down the street and bought a different vehicle and I could have said no and they are left without a sale.

I guess the way I look at, car dealers and their sales force have to operate with the mentality of if the vehicle is on their lot and no one has signed on the dotted line, it’s available because there is always a chance folks will change their minds and back out, even vehicles that someone ordered in special.

I’ve dealt with stuff like this while selling cars privately. I’ve held off other interested buyers after setting up a time to show the vehicle to someone only to have the first person end up passing and find out the second person found a different car while they were waiting.

 

[Stbentoak]

The odds of you making a purchase go up exponentially once you cross their threshold. The way to fix this is to tell them I want to put a refundable 500.00 deposit on a credit card to hold it till I get there.. and send me a receipt with the VIN on it. That will make them fess up whether it's actually available or not.

 

[R32driver]

The way I see it nothing is set in stone until you have signed and put your money down. You've got the entire sales team trying to make their cut off that lucrative dealer markup and they all probably have a list of interested buyers. Any vehicle that shows up in the pipeline is up for grabs and they all want to be the one to sell it. Salesguy Joe tells you to come in and make a deal but meanwhile saleslady Sally already has a customer on the hook before you get there. Cutthroat sales market out there

 

[Steebu]

Out of curiosity, has anyone successfully purchased a vehicle that was listed on the GMC website when you "Shop Inventory"?

I've had similar experiences as the OP, although a few have been very straight-up about the vehicle no longer being available.

 

[wjburken]

The way I see it nothing is set in stone until you have signed and put your money down. You've got the entire sales team trying to make their cut off that lucrative dealer markup and they all probably have a list of interested buyers. Any vehicle that shows up in the pipeline is up for grabs and they all want to be the one to sell it. Salesguy Joe tells you to come in and make a deal but meanwhile saleslady Sally already has a customer on the hook before you get there. Cutthroat sales market out there

They are definitely always on the look out for a sale.

When I was looking to trade in my 2005 Silverado Z-71 Extended Cab for a 2004 Crew Cab at the local Chevy dealer that was owned by a family friend, when I got back from test driving the 2004 the salesman, who I’ve known my whole life, said he already had my 2005 sold if I went through with the trade, which I did. He even had the guy wanting to buy it come over and ask me about the truck. 1 hour after walking into the dealer, they had my truck spoken for. Red letter day for Roger!

 

[PaulGA]

I called about 10 dealers within 500 miles from me that had Denalis listed on the GMC inventory page, only 1 dealer told me that they didn’t take any pre sales on “in transit” vehicles and that dealers manager added me to a list when it actually shows up. The other 9 dealers were all sold or were pre sold custom orders. I check the inventory page on GMC daily to see if anything new pops up

 

[Stbentoak]

Out of curiosity, has anyone successfully purchased a vehicle that was listed on the GMC website when you "Shop Inventory"?

I've had similar experiences as the OP, although a few have been very straight-up about the vehicle no longer being available.

Actually, mine was, my dealer had 4 listed in transit in April of last year, 3 of the 4 were 6.2's and were presold...But the 4th was an Ultimate Denali with a Diesel that he said most of his buyers didn't want ( at least at that time...!) Of course, that is exactly what I wanted and gave him an immediate deposit. Best thing I ever did. Within a month of delivery this dealer went to the +5-10K on the sticker game, and I got out of there at MSRP and not missing any chips etc...
But I did scour the site and called many places to find the one I wanted months before, and yes most were presold..It was getting pretty disheartening. But perseverance paid off...

 

[91RS]

That is one of the largest dealerships in probably the whole southeast so don’t be too mad. Could be honest mistake, just be glad u called multiple times. I lived that area for 7 years and it’s a massive dealer. Huge carl black Chevy dealer too very close by

No, that’s Carl Black MO. They did the same thing to me years ago at their Kennesaw store. I drove over an hour to look at a V6 Malibu and I got there and was told it sold 3 days ago but they had 5 others just like it! Except they were all 4 cylinders and I told them on the phone I was only interested in the V6.

 

[justchecking]

I started to write about my first negative experience buying a car, but that guy with the high hair and lifts in his shoes taught me a valuable lesson. I will take that as a positive.

My second car I stopped at the bank after work to get the money and the teller didn't have $2000 LOL (this was at the drive thru). I asked for a check or something and she told me I would have to come back the next day during regular business hours when the lobby was open. So I went over to the Ford dealer and showed him my passbook and explained I had only put money IN that account and never taken money OUT and explained what happened and I had to go back to the bank the next day to get the money. He looked at my passbook with the regular deposits, gave me the keys and said no problem, bring the money in tomorrow.

 

[vcode]

There are several dealers in the Chicago dealer that excel in bait and switch. Advertise a low but refuse to tell you in an e-mail or over the phone if you qualify. You HAVE to come in to the dealer and basically no one gets the price advertised. B.S. mandatory fees boost the price. They even put ADM on their used cars! I once walked out of a Toyota dealer after they told me I had to put $1000 down in a check or credit card in order to get their actual sales price. I was told never to return after my rant.......