Deceptive car salesman loses a sale

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This is a screenshot of a text conversation between myself (green) and a salesman. I test drove a Toyota Venza last week and he had texted me a couple of times to try to convince me to come back in and buy the car, which I was actually strongly considering. I responded to the last of his messages with "Make me an offer" and the rest of the exchange is below.

IMG_3587.webp


I was prepared for him to tell me $10K OTD was a firm price, but I was not prepared for him to tell me it was an imaginary one. There's no way I'm rewarding these tactics with a sale even if he comes back down to the initial dishonest offer. Doesn't his offer of $10K appear to be a legitimate offer, not "throwing out numbers," or am I wrong here?
 
How much are tax and fees?
$10,488 is the listed price. This was cut off of the screen shot so I could fit in the last message from him:

$630 in taxes and $500 in Dealer fees, so you'd be $11,618 OTD
that would be a $1618 discount to earn your business
 
I think the two texts came in out of order so they were supposed to read like this:

Priced at $10,488 + tax and fees... can we earn your business at $10,000 Out The Door?
$630 in taxes and $500 in Dealer fees, so you'd be $11,618 OTD
that would be a $1618 discount to earn your business
 
$10,488 is the listed price. This was cut off of the screen shot so I could fit in the last message from him:

$630 in taxes and $500 in Dealer fees, so you'd be $11,618 OTD
that would be a $1618 discount to earn your business
So the next question is do you want the car at $10 OTD? If you do you would need to go in and make that offer to his boss.

At a low enough price he doesn't get paid - but if its aging his boss may do the deal. A lot of if's. Just because some sales guy sent you a text on his personal phone, doesn't mean that is what his boss actually said.

If your not that interested anyway - then just move on.

And yes, the sales guy is a turd, but most are in my experience. Its why Carvana is so popular.
 
Doesn't his offer of $10K appear to be a legitimate offer, not "throwing out numbers," or am I wrong here?
Been a while since i was on a car lot.

Does the offer appear legitimate, yes, but seems like a pretty typical tactic (just played out over text not in the office). Would it make me want to buy from the guy, no. But then again it depends how bad I wanted to car. Always have to be willing to walk out the door and live with it if they don't go after you.
 
So the next question is do you want the car at $10 OTD? If you do you would need to go in and make that offer to his boss.

At a low enough price he doesn't get paid - but if its aging his boss may do the deal. A lot of if's. Just because some sales guy sent you a text on his personal phone, doesn't mean that is what his boss actually said.

If your not that interested anyway - then just move on.

And yes, the sales guy is a turd, but most are in my experience. Its why Carvana is so popular.
Just as an FYI I edited the post you quoted to re-sequence the texts after you replied.

Good point about his not talking to the boss. That wouldn't surprise me, nor would a text saying "my boss says we're willing to take the loss to earn your business" LOL.
 
Just as an FYI I edited the post you quoted to re-sequence the texts after you replied.

Good point about his not talking to the boss. That wouldn't surprise me, nor would a text saying "my boss says we're willing to take the loss to earn your business" LOL.
Buying a used car is a dirty business, especially when you get this far down in the paint. There trying to pull one over on you. Your trying to get a car there asking $11618 for $9500. Not saying its wrong, it just is the way it is.

Its why people buy new, or buy from Carvana or Carmax. Its why there are 3 or 4 concurrent threads here about how crappy buying or selling a used car is.

Trust no one, but don't take it personally either. Its just business - and unfortunately business as usual in that realm.
 
once i made an offer on a car . they did not take it so i left. the next day the salesman calls me a says come on in and we will do the deal at your price. i asked him if its the price i offered yesterday and he said yes.

So i drive 30 miles to the lot and walk in ready to buy it . i find the salesman and ask him how do we finish up the sale. he says he never told me the deal was good and just told me to come on in again . in this situation i may have been very irritated and could have made a scene, but i know to them they don't really care and its just a game to them .
 
once i made an offer on a car . they did not take it so i left. the next day the salesman calls me a says come on in and we will do the deal at your price. i asked him if its the price i offered yesterday and he said yes.

So i drive 30 miles to the lot and walk in ready to buy it . i find the salesman and ask him how do we finish up the sale. he says he never told me the deal was good and just told me to come on in again . in this situation i may have been very irritated and could have made a scene, but i know to them they don't really care and its just a game to them .
take the extra 5 minutes to write a review of your experience and the name of the person, it may not get everyone but a lot of people read reviews (like me) and they will lose business based on your experience.
 
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