If you did not agree to interest rate they try the highest. Next time show up with credit Union financing so you know what to expect. My findings on last purchase , 3 previous were credit Union to Finance Manager frustration. I had same move pulled on wife’s Tiguan so she refused delivery and brought financing forcing dealer to re title car.
Finance manager experience...
- Thread starter gregk24
- Start date
Sorry you had to go through that nonsense Greg! The past couple Toyota's I've bought at the same dealer, the finance person was really good and not pushy at all. My recent Tacoma purchase I had more "issues" with the initial deal, but the finance guy was awesome! He happened to live near me and got me a good loan through a local credit union that had special rates for people in my county (confirmed true, looked it up). He did go over extended programs, but was not pushy at all, just doing his job.
Yep. It all depends on the dealer. With our first 2020 Jetta the salesman was great, sales MANAGER was a complete jerk, and the finance guy was awesome!
I find the F&I office fascinating. Once they start with the sales pitch I make it clear I'm not buying anything and that has actually worked a few times. When I bought the Jeep, I told the guy I never buy any addons, he started going down this road asking me if I understand the warranty that comes with the car is limited 
he quickly got the hint and we just moved on and went forward without any more mention.
I've also run into the "Explain to me WHY you DON'T want this" guy...like I'm going to explain my life to him. If he wants to find out who the bigger jerk in the room is, I'm happy to play along! Firmly stating "I don't want it, please don't ask again" usually gets the point across, I have even more fun repeating it multiple times.
I've only had one dealer actually sneak something in and change the OTD price on me, some theft registration crap for like $500. I got the whole big charade about having to redo all the paperwork too...fine I'll happily sit here and play on my phone while you pretend this was all just a big mistake.
he quickly got the hint and we just moved on and went forward without any more mention.I've also run into the "Explain to me WHY you DON'T want this" guy...like I'm going to explain my life to him. If he wants to find out who the bigger jerk in the room is, I'm happy to play along! Firmly stating "I don't want it, please don't ask again" usually gets the point across, I have even more fun repeating it multiple times.
I've only had one dealer actually sneak something in and change the OTD price on me, some theft registration crap for like $500. I got the whole big charade about having to redo all the paperwork too...fine I'll happily sit here and play on my phone while you pretend this was all just a big mistake.
If it's the car you want at the price you want, never walk out over how you're treated in the finance office. Don't buy any of the crap - no commission for the jerk and it hurts his metrics, he needs to sell a certain percentage and your not buying brings it down. Then you blast him on the survey from VW!
I've had pretty good luck telling the finance manager up front that I an a cost conscious customer and will not be interested in any packs, upsells, or dealer provided items, unless complementary. That sets the tone, and I usually don't have a problem.
I do have a standard response to any salesman (the finance manager is one by another name) that I stole from the excellent TV series, Mr. In Between. When asked any sales leading question, the response is "I don't answer questions." Repeat, as needed.
I do have a standard response to any salesman (the finance manager is one by another name) that I stole from the excellent TV series, Mr. In Between. When asked any sales leading question, the response is "I don't answer questions." Repeat, as needed.
The finance office is the worst part of buying a car. Last time I bought a car, I simply said no thanks to the extended warranty. The finance manager literally says to me "I thought you were smarter than that!". I almost pulled the plug at that point and walked out, but I wanted the car and had already been there over 3 hours at that point.
I would like to get a new car next year and will not hesitate to walk away if the finance office experience is lousy. If the dealership tries to take advantage of you in the finance office, you can't trust them for anything else either.
I would like to get a new car next year and will not hesitate to walk away if the finance office experience is lousy. If the dealership tries to take advantage of you in the finance office, you can't trust them for anything else either.
Sadly, these extended warranties, gap insurance, etc go beyond dealerships. I got a loan from my credit union for my car and the guy at the CU started with "I'm sorry, but I have to ask you about these..." followed by "just put an 'X' by the decline choice and initial it", meaning he has to ask but he wasn't going to push it or make a 2nd push whatsoever.
I think I would have gotten up and walked out at that point. Maybe went looking for the general manager or owner if I didn't head straight out the door.
Did you read his original thread?
A good F&I manager will make a lot more profit than the sale of the car, even used cars which make a hell of a lot more money than a new car does. They often pack a deal, especially when the customer has poor credit, they did it to some customers with good credit too. They'd size them up the day the deal was written. Not to list all of their tricks, but one of the more profitable tricks was to ask the bank for several thousand more than the customer actually needed. At the time I was selling cars that was usually in the neighborhood of $3,000-$4,000 more, or higher. Then they'd tell the customer that the only way the bank would approve the loan was if they took an extended warranty. The pitch was "the bank feels if you have a major repair you might not be able to pay the car loan," that usually set the hook!! I would say nine out of ten used car buyers fell for that trick, they nailed several new car buyers with it too. I could easily write a book about all the tricks used.
Well he sure pegged me wrong. I guess they thought since I was trading due to a paint defect I may buy paint protection? Please! Hard pass from me. I told him to take off any other options he may have rolled in. He took offense to that, to which I say good! Don’t be trying to rip off customers.
They aren't still offering 0% financing? The VW website says they are.
That's an interesting one and I wonder, are the banks in on that just as much as the dealer ? I mean, the bank gets to loan out more money so they win as well. Along this same line, a friend had an auto loan that was on the high side of interest rates but improved their credit enough to qualify for much lower interest. I told her if you refinance, do not extend the loan term or even start over. Pay it off in the same time frame as the original, just pay less interest. She started getting numbers back and all but one was adding thousands to the payoff amount and she asked 1-2. They had a minimum amount they'd refinance and her payoff was below that so they added a service plan/extended warranty and made the cost of it the difference of their minimum and her payoff !! She found one that was just as competitive on their numbers without a minimum loan amount that she went with.
Last edited:
Many of them were banks that specialized in people with poor credit. The banks had a big interest in it. It amazed me at how high some of the rates were, 16-19% was not uncommon or higher. The finance manager made a nice piece of the action for himself, and the salesman got a cut too. I forget the percent. It was funny though listening the F&I guy beg them to make at least the first three payments, when they were signing the papers. If they didn't make those three payments he'd get a charge back for his chunk of the pie, and the car would get repossessed, if they could find it. LOL
Yikes! I can't imagine paying interest that high.
If they know they have a customer that has a brain they'll try a little, piss and moan on occasion, and eventually back off. I was shocked how many people didn't have the smarts to know they were getting screwed.
The banks aren’t in on it per se. Lenders aren’t involved in the sale price of the vehicle, but the lender can limit how much advance (loan amount) they will give. Separate from the loan amount, most lenders limit how much total backend product $$ amount can be sold.
That's usually for tier one credit. A good F&I guy has tricks for screwing [some] people out of that and moving them to a bank he prefers to deal with. Then he can get a piece of the pie and load his pockets up a bit more. Smart people know their credit score before they walk into a dealership and finance a car. They also shop loans on their own. Occasionally a savvy shopper can get a better rate from a dealer than on his own, the key is knowing how to work the dealer.
My days for selling cars are long gone, and the banking industry might have changed a little bit. But a good thief F&I guy just changes with the times.
